Re: FAQ education

Dave Schweisguth (dcs@proton.chem.yale.edu)
Thu, 8 Feb 1996 20:29:34 -0500 (EST)

Messages sorted by: [ date ][ thread ][ subject ][ author ]
Next message: Dave Schweisguth: "Can't send messages if not subscribed?"
Previous message: Danny R. Faught: "Re: FAQ education"
In reply to: Danny R. Faught: "Re: FAQ education"
Next in thread: Mama Lani: "Re: FAQ education"

Danny said:
[> Someone else said:]
> > When I see a question being asked that's answered in my FAQ, I send the
> > following form letter. [...]
>
> Can this sort of response have any long-term affect, or do you have to
> continually educate a stream of new readers? If I had any hope of building
> critical mass, I'd be more motivated to hold people's hands for a while.

Only a group that isn't getting any new readers isn't getting a steady stream
of novices who ask FAQs. I can't see the flood slowing until literally
everyone in the world has Usenet access! I send my FAQgrams because I really
have gotten replies which indicated that the recipient understood the
situation and would check RTFM next time around. One can at least hope to
minimize the time-to-hipness of the average novice, and thus (given that
annoyance = novice population * time-to-hipness) minimize annoyance.

Cheers,

-- 
| Dave Schweisguth                        For purposes of complying with    |
| dcs@proton.chem.yale.edu (MIME OK)      the New Jersey Right to Know Act: |
| http://proton.chem.yale.edu/~dcs/       Contents partially unknown.       |
| Yale Depts. of MB&B & Chemistry   Phone: 203-432-5208   Fax: 203-432-6144 |

Next message: Dave Schweisguth: "Can't send messages if not subscribed?"
Previous message: Danny R. Faught: "Re: FAQ education"
In reply to: Danny R. Faught: "Re: FAQ education"
Next in thread: Mama Lani: "Re: FAQ education"

[ Usenet Hypertext FAQ Archive | Search Mail Archive | Authors | Usenet ]
[ 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 ]