Re: getting newsgroup readers to look at an FAQ

Edward Franks (fortran@earthlink.net)
Thu, 18 Mar 1999 01:14:48 GMT

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On Wed, 17 Mar 99 08:57:12 -0500, edward@paleo.org (Edward Reid) wrote:
[Snip]
>Would this help? I don't know. In misc.health.diabetes,
>several of the most frequently asked questions keep popping
>up as though no one had read the FAQ. I expect that
>newcomers won't always look for an FAQ, but what's more
>disturbing is that many regular participants seem unaware
>that these topics are addressed in the FAQ. (Thankfully,
>many others demonstrate that they do read the FAQ and even
>keep up with the too infrequent changes.) This leads me to
>wonder whether posting the individual topics -- with their
>individual topical Subject: lines rather than the generic
>"here comes the FAQ again" -- would lead more people to
>read sections that interest them.

Have you thought about doing a "What's new in the FAQ?" post with a
pointer to the full FAQ?

I like your idea of 'targetted' subsections of the full FAQ.
Anything to pique people's curiosity would help, but I think the main
thing is to see if you can change the culture slightly in your newsgroup
to the point where people point others to the FAQ first.

When I answer people from the FAQ I try to just quote the relevant
section included any attributed source for the answer _especially_ if it
came from a newsgroup regular. People like to see themselves credited
and it looks to me as if they refer to the FAQ more often when their own
name is in it as a contributor.

Later,
Edward

Fortran Dragon | "There isn't enough darkness in the world
-=={MDLAM}==- | to quench the light of one small candle."
Hidalgo Trading Company: http://home.earthlink.net/~fortran/

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