Warning! Rant Ahead
I don't often rant. Guess I am due for one.
First of all, I understand people all learn differently.
Some people learn by reading, others by listening, others by seeing, and others by doing hands on (verbal, aural, visual, physical). Plus there are other styles of learning.
I, personally, learn physically as in what happens if I push this button. And I have yet to say to my wife, "Honey, hold my beer and watch this."
Members here have many ways to learn new things, solve problems, ask questions.
We have classroom instruction, videos, live chat, blogs, search functions, our sponsors/mentors, live video classes. We even have the free Rubix websites that we can use to set up test or development sites to experiment with themes, plugins, or whatever.
Here is my rant!
I see many questions asked that do not provide sufficient information as to the context or nature of the problem or challenge a member is facing.
I have replied to several questions, which in hindsight were totally wrong for the situation at hand. I made several assumptions that turned out to be false.
Had the member asking the question provided more information and context, I would have answered differently.
This is annoying to say the least.
So what happens is that I am reluctant to answer questions if they are vague or ambiguous. I am hesitant to waste my time or the members' time.
That is all.
Glen
Recent Comments
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First off Glen, "Honey, hold my beer and watch this.". LOL
That came from out of nowhere and made me laugh so hard.
Anyways, I have been in your shoes so many times that I've answered questions that didn't resolve the problem.
To defend the person asking the question, sometimes they don't know the correct wording or they may have a difficult time expressing what they mean in writing, screen shots do help.
I know this first hand because I've ask questions many times that people didn't know what heck I was talking about. I don't mind when people give me the wrong answer because they are trying to help and that wrong answer may be the right answer for someone else who has that similar question.
I think a good solution to this maybe when we do get the correct answer, is to follow up by stating within that question is to express what answer helped so people can know exactly what to do if they have the similar questions.
What do you think about that?
I agree. I know sometimes I don't know how to ask the right question. So I usually go back to the training. And then work through the steps again.
It's hard to give a precise answer if you don't know all the facts of the situation or problem, and last time I checked, most of us aren't mind readers. Good points Glen!
Yes. But the woman in my life thinks I can read minds. And hear through walls when she talks to me. :)
A well crafted rant there Glen, straight to the point. I am not the sharpest tool in the draw but observation tells me that some questions are not for the purpose of resolving and finding solutions to issues that we have, so seem to be light on back ground information..
So true what you say , the more information we can give the better quality the replys, which benefits the community as a whole. Thank you for the reminder.
You may share my blog about this anytime Glen When you are asking for help, please give the details to save time
well for a rant that was short, lol :)
I agree with you though, people should be more descriptive with their questions. I have found many that I could not decipher what they were trying to ask for in the first place and then my answer does not match what they really wanted which is, as you say, very frustrating.
carl
Thanks, Carl. I probably could ask more questions, myself. But I like going off on trangents to see where they lead.
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It can be frustrating Glen, especially if he person responds in a negative manner. Take solace in the fact that you did try.
Good one, Harvey. Thanks.