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Not Sure!!!

916 views 7 replies 5 participants last post by  Gr3iz 
#1 ·
Are tech sites like TSG as relevant and useful as they were 15 years ago?
 
#2 · (Edited by Moderator)
There are still many non-tech savvy people around. And there are always beginners, which may grow to become a tech savvy person, but you have to start somewhere.

As powerful as Google is, when you don't know the terminology, you can't Google for an answer.

The moderators will be able to give you some numbers, such as new threads per day.
 
#3 ·
I've been in the IT/IS business for over 25 years and, in addition to formal training, I've learned a lot from forums such as these. Moreover, I continue to learn from such forums and I think they're a valuable resource.

I think @lunarlander hit the nail on the head: if you're not really sure how to craft a question on a search engine, the quality of any results will be suspect. In addition, without the underlying knowledge or, at least, a decent grasp of the knowledge, can you really tell if you've got accurate information to resolve your issue?
 
#4 ·
Exactly, Colin. If you look at many of the initial thread posts by users (new or otherwise), you'll see that they don't know what they are asking, many don't know what information they are even looking for. The people who are helping them attempt to draw out the circumstances surrounding the issue to point in a correct direction.

Try to Google for "my screen is black" and see how useful it is. We ask the questions that leads up to finding a reasonable solution, or at least a troubleshooting path. Like you, Colin, I've dealt with users for many years. They are not stupid. Many are quite intelligent, but not about computers or, sometimes, commonsense troubleshooting. I don't know how much time I've spent with users just trying to get them to power cycle their PC! They either press the wrong power button (the monitor!), or press it briefly and put it to sleep, whereby it wakes back up to exactly where we were. ("It's still doing the same thing!") And just try getting them to tell you what you want to know that is showing on their screen. They read EVERY single word/number on the screen so that you've lost track of what you want to hear ...

Sorry. <soapbox mode off> ;-)

Gotta luvem, though! They keep us working. (Even when we want to retire!) ;-)
 
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#5 ·
They are not stupid. Many are quite intelligent, but not about computers or, sometimes, commonsense troubleshooting.
Bingo, Mark! Oftentimes when helping people, they'll tell me they feel stupid. I always tell them there's a big difference between ignorance and stupidity. I wouldn't know how to carry out a successful heart transplant operation on a patient, but I know I'm not stupid. It's all about playing to our own strengths.

Also, dealing with a lot of people remotely over the last year has taught be a lot about being very specific when I'm walking a user through an issue on the phone. I have to think lower than I usually do, and I don't mean that in a condescending way. Rather, the things I do and take for granted may include steps I need to be explicit about when describing to a user, so they understand fully.

Case in question: I told a user over the phone to left-click on her Windows Start button on the lower-left of her screen. After some really confused back & forth, I ascertained she'd moved the taskbar deliberately to the right-hand side of the screen. Baby steps!
 
#6 ·
In addition to what Colin and Mark posted, technology has advanced. New uses, connecting more and more peripherals that weren't common 15 years ago.
Operating code and updates changing frequently.
So there are many new problems to solve and many new solutions to become aware of.

Myself using Linux.
Sure, it was here 15 years ago, but my goodness, what a difference today for the casual user.



Things change and help sites, the good ones like TSG, meet the challenges from them.
 
#7 ·
I hope to be back in school in the fall for continuing studies in computer science. Having said that, I learned a large part of what I know now right here. What was really special is learning while at the same time helping others learn. We give and get back at the same time. It is very satisfying. I hope to be doin it again soon. Thus the reason for my question.
There used to be a lot of good people here and I'm sure there still are. Hopefully I'll be getting to know some of you and learning from you again soon. I have really missed it.
 
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