[wp-forums] search

[Vicki Frei]

So you want either no response - totally ignoring a first-time-poster perhaps, 
or a totally individualized one with us doing a search FOR the poster or some such?

No response causes stuff like Razorhide in this thread: 
http://wordpress.org/support/topic/52630 - where he states he'd tried 3 times 
(which means he'd started 3 "same-sort" threads).... and he was QUITE irritated. 
  I'm aware that a non-helpful response removes the thread from the 
"appropriate" listing.  However, new posters don't know that AT ALL, and they 
feel ignored and abandoned.  Do you have a "happy medium" for this conundrum?

I'm personally not willing to search FOR people even though search on wp sucks 
rocks through a straw.  In fact, it's not even cool that I personally have to 
use google to find the answers to some questions that I just can't remember 
offhand.  Sad fact of life:  wp is increasingly complex, and I lose track of the 
proper answers to things over time.  It's going to get worse with the release of 
2.0.

I don't find "generic" responses a problem otherwhere.  I'm always pleased when 
someone says, "Hey, sorry I don't know the answer.  Hang on, someone else 
(sometimes a name, sometimes not) will be along (different time zone or whatever 
reason not there at that point) to help you a bit further."  I've not once had 
that sort of generic response either put me off, piss me off, or not result in 
information later.

V

On 12/23/2005 5:10:33 PM, Phu (wordswithstyle at gmail.com) wrote:
> > "Well, I'd prefer almost any response to being ignored...."
> The reason a non-helpful response is worse than no reply is that it
> removes it from the no-replies list; people (including myself) also tend to
> scan for posts with no response so it makes it less likely to receive a
> meaningful response.
> 
> >"we probably should come up with a "generic" reply of some sort"
> Once again,
> I'm against generic responses. This will only end up hurting the volunteer, "anyone will help" feel of the forums. We're
> not a faceless company support group; why emulate one?
> 
> On 12/24/05, Vicki Frei <vkaryl at allvantage.com [link:
> mailto:vkaryl at allvantage.com]> wrote: Well,
> I'd prefer almost any response to being ignored.... but yes, we probably
> should come up with a "generic" reply of some sort - and of course, those who
> spend seemingly 3/4 of their time on the forum posting nothing but links to
> search results should probably be asked to "refrain, restrain, retrain"....
> 
> V
> 
> On 12/23/2005 5:00:09 PM, Phu (wordswithstyle at gmail.com [link: mailto:wordswithstyle at gmail.com]) wrote:
> > >
> > "I agree - which is why I _hate_ people being told to search or just being given links that are searching."
> > On that