Drupal Forum Referrees Please
I contribute to the Drupal community forums when I am capable of providing help. I often seek help there too, it is all about karma, right?
Someone posted a basic question about creating menu items with nesting relationships.
I provided the handbook link about menus.
Someone else posted a link to the Drupal API site about creating menus in modules. I politely noted that it did not follow the topic of the original post, and references more advanced concepts when the poster is so obviously struggling with the basics - yes, I called it a "noob question" but not in a demeaning way.
Other poster has launched into a vicious and nonsensical vendetta against me, hijacking the thread for some kind of personal drama.
Moreover, the poster's web site is full of "Not Found 404" errors, which does not reflect so well on their ability to handle menus in the first place.
Referees requested: http://drupal.org/node/279712
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Megan posted this at 13:11 — 9th July 2008.
She has: 11,421 posts
Joined: Jun 1999
Well, it was posted in the module development forum. It seems like that must have been a mistake and you interpreted the question correctly. Unfortunately all this bickering seems to have scared off the original poster, who never came back to clarify the question.
In the context of the module development forum I don't think zeta ζ's post was unreasonable. Both responses were rather terse and not particularly friendly to someone who is new to the community. But maybe that's part of the culture in the Drupal forums, I'm not sure. Here at TWF I wouldn't like it if people just told newbies to go do a search. Sometimes people just want to participate in the community.
Megan
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decibel.places posted this at 14:53 — 9th July 2008.
He has: 1,494 posts
Joined: Jun 2008
On the Drupal community we encourage people, particularly beginners, to search the extensive knowledgebase for answers because:
1) They will likely find the exact information they need, possibly as a well-developed handbook page
2) Cuts down on repetitive posts about very basic topics (how do I install Drupal 6.2?)
I didn't just say do a search - I said you should try searching first, but here's what you would have found anyway (the excellent handbook page on Drupal menus)
WWJBD? (what would JeevesBond do?)
I admit I stooped to a level below the belt - but I thought zeta was using "Cat in the Hat" logic insisting the question was about modules when it appeared to me merely miscategorized (and likely the poster thought menus had to do with modules so posted there)
I found it disturbing that zeta's own site, prominent in the signature, has so many errors, probably in menus (ironically)
Sometimes I can be wry here, but I would never savage a TWF member, don't worry about me, Megan!
Megan posted this at 15:44 — 9th July 2008.
She has: 11,421 posts
Joined: Jun 1999
No, you said "Please search the site before posting" which I found to be terse, and then added some vague instructions about using google advanced search if it doesn't work (there's now a note on the forum home page that explains that more clearly). That's not very friendly to noobs IMO. It's basically telling them to go away, we don't want your questions.
I can understand encouraging people to search first and to use the documentation, but it's good to be friendly about it and not make people feel like they're not allowed to participate or they shouldn't post unless they really really have a good question that definitely isn't covered anywhere else. The other thing here is that this person obviously doesn't speak english very well which might make it harder for them to find things.
I would word that like:
Welcome to drupal! You might find it helpful to do a search for what you're looking for. The search is currently disabled due to server load problems but you can go through google using the site:http://drupal.org modifier.
The following articles might help:
http://drupal.org/node/241980 -> The Handbook section all about menus
http://drupal.org/node/206653 even more about menus!
Otherwise it would be helpful for us if you clarified your question a bit more - what part of the menu interface are you having trouble with?
I can understand if the Drupal community is getting exapserated with people asking the same questions over and over again. I've seen this happen a lot in other communities and even at work but I don't think that shutting people out is the right way to handle it. What I learned in my previous job is that some people just want to participate even if it means asking really basic questions.
The other thing is that the friendliness and responsiveness of a community matters with open source products. If people feel that the community isn't friendly they'll go someplace else.
Megan
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greg posted this at 16:14 — 9th July 2008.
He has: 1,581 posts
Joined: Nov 2005
I must say, unless it's for an exact question that is asked ALL the time and is clearly listed in that page of threads with an obvious title, it's one of my main hates asking for help in a forum only to have a single response of ..
"Did you bother to search the site first? That has been answered loads of times. Please search the site before asking questions."
I know you didn't exactly come across as harsh, but you were still presumptuous thinking the guy you replied to hadn't searched.
And your thread title was "Read before you post!"
I DO often search new sites/forums before I ask any questions, so perhaps the guy you replied to did too.
I often spend 10-15 mins looking. If after 10-15 mins I don't find what I want I feel it's fine for me to ask. Then even if it's a FAQ, someone should just politely point me in that direction. But more often than not the whole thread turns into a discussion/arguement about how much I have searched and for how long. Even if I manage to convince people I did search first I still get told "You should be more wise with your searching then"
:wall:
"Yeah, thanks for your help then."
I usually get that from people who help a lot. They are the ones who get sick of answering the same questions time and time again, and start to snap and tell people to search the site, instead of just helping them.
decibel.places posted this at 01:35 — 10th July 2008.
He has: 1,494 posts
Joined: Jun 2008
All your comments are appreciated, I will certainly try to be gentler in the future - I'm mostly a pretty blunt person, which is good sometimes - but I don't want to scare anybody away.
I did give the links I thought would help, explained better than I could in a brief post.
One of the points I am trying to convey is that often, particularly on d.o. you can find a detailed and exhaustive discussion on a particular topic, even better a handbook page that has been edited and revised and improved, and these resources are more informative than an off the cuff post on an individual thread.
I have posted some really dumb questions on d.o and I have experienced the sarcasm of verymisunderstood but I understand.
I do try to not be sarcastic.
And what about the adversary's Cat in the Hat logic, this is a Modules forum so the post is about Modules? - I have extended an olive branch both on the thread and directly, I don't want any problems with anybody.
I got a terse message from a d.o. admin
but the thread is still there.
It was even providing some entertainment to some bystanders.
Ahhh nettiquette....
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