It is very helpful to have some idea about a poster’s background and skill when responding to a question. It seems that many new members have not taken the time to fill out their profile before posting a question.
All too often I have to stop myself from making a “what the ^#%^#$ are you asking?” remark to a posting. I suspect most of these types of posting are made by a beginner with minimal electronics and/or programming experience or exposure to MF, and knowing about the OP’s background would help frame a proper response instead of ignoring the post.
My recommendation is to make it mandatory for a new user to fill out their profile before posting a question. This is a small inconvenience to the OP, but it would result in an improvement in the initial responses to a question.
Mike, I’m right there with you on the WTF posts. I’m not sure if your suggestion would make any difference. It may prevent the stranger “one offs”, which there do seem to be more of lately. However, nothing would prevent the new user from BSing their way through the profile. I already am much more likely to help out the folks who take the time to fill it out. My sense is that the profile is much more honest if someone chooses to fill it out on their own. Requiring they do so does not add any value, IMO.
If we are going to make the effort to answer their questions, they can make the effort
to fill out the profile. It bugs me when people do not fill out their profile.
[quote] If we are going to make the effort to answer their questions, they can make the effort
to fill out the profile. It bugs me when people do not fill out their profile [/quote]
Don’t answer then. Most of the forums I have been to don’t require/enforce to complete profiles.
My uneducated guess is that if you require completed profiles to ask questions, then people will simply fill out the profile with nonsense, or give up in frustration and leave. Neither benefits the community.
I’m with Architecht on this. I think that we should default on asuming that anyone who is new to the forum is new to the products and needs our help unless they specify other wise. Most new posters give a hint at their background when they post a question anyway and if they dont then we only have to ask.
As a hobbyist myself ( with only limited spare time to learn ) I take the view that anyone new is in a similar position. After all i have asked some seriously dumb questions in the past and will probably do so in the future.
One of the things that i love about this community is that there is no judgment of an individuals skill level, only a wish to help. And long may it continue.
My viewpoint is if you can help, and you have the time do do so, then help them.
Why should what they put in their profile affect how one chooses to help someone.
I have taught at the college graduate leve,l and for the largest commercial IT
training organization. One of my first activities in a course has been to
do a round of introductions, where everyone gives a short description of
their background and what they are expecting from the course. This
has been very effective in determining what prior knowledge can
be assumed, and what subjects are of most interest to the class.
This leads to a better learning experience for the students, and
when there are no puzzled faces in the class, a better experience for
the instructor.
My entire profile suggestion was based upon the premise “to be an effective instructor you have to know your students”.
I think this also applies to answering questions in an online forum. I feel I can be more effective if I know a little more about the person asking a question.
My goal is not be able to make a pejorative judgment about a person’s skill set, based upon the profile, but rather have a context to maximize
information transfer.
I hope that the mandatory aspects of my suggestion are soliciting contrary comments, not the intent.
[quote]My goal is not be able to make a pejorative judgment about a person’s skill set, based upon the profile, but rather have a context to maximize
information transfer. [/quote]
Ah, i see what your saying now. I can only speak for myself but your post did not seem to convey that point to me. Sorry for my confusion.
When you’re learning something new and you’ve spent all night trying to figure something out and you finally reach the point of throwing up your hands and asking for help…nothing could be more of a turn off then “please fill out this seemingly useless information that has nothing to do with your problem” first. I’m with Architect on this one.
Showing a friendly message “Hey, we have noticed you haven’t filled information about your personal experience yet. Other users may be able to provide better support if you do so!” when posting or creating a new topic should encourage new users to do it eventually. Maybe enforce it after a few posts should be a good idea.
