there has got to be a better way...

[anrchy]

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair. I say to you today my friends -- so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the Nexian dream.

I have a dream that one day this community will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all new members will research before posting questions.

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of hyperspace the full members and the new members will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the welcome section, a section sweltering with the ignorance of noobery, sweltering with the heat of misunderstanding, will be transformed into an oasis of knowledge and intelligent conversation.

I have a dream that new members will one day live in a community where they will not be judged by the status of their membership but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

Ok all jokes aside... There has got to be a better way. My face hurts from palming it all day. What do we do? Do we stand together and restrain ourselves from answering questions that are insane? I for one believe there are no stupid questions, except when the answers are right in front of you.

Am I over reacting? Maybe but I just feel something deep down inside that screams... stop feeding the poor, rather teach them to grow food.

Should we stop answering certain questions and start pointing them in the right direction to read about it on there own? How would we decide or even govern such a thing? Should we continue, business as usual? Please dear mods help me from my despair. There has got to be a better way.

 

[Pandora]

If New Members bother you, don't hang out in those areas of the Forum or chat.

Personally, I think the system The Traveler currently has set up is a really good one. And it appears to work very well.

 

[universecannon]

To be honest I would just take some time off from reading them if it really is bugging you that much

Should we stop answering certain questions and start pointing them in the right direction to read about it on there own?

? We already do this all the time man....

 

[The Traveler]

I have a dream that new members will one day live in a community where they will not be judged by the status of their membership but by the content of their character.

The funky part is that people are already judged on their content. And when a person is judged to be a valid addition to this community, they will become a full member. So by being a full member it actually means that other members think that you are a welcome addition to this community.


Kind regards,

The Traveler

 

[expandaneum]

Should we stop answering certain questions and start pointing them in the right direction to read about it on there own? How would we decide or even govern such a thing? Should we continue, business as usual? Please dear mods help me from my despair. There has got to be a better way.

I do get your feeling, i think not answering the question and explain to them how to search might be the best way to go about.

On the other hand you don't want to stop people from asking questions, because some questions can be inspiring and lead to development.

all in all its probably somewhere in between

 

[The Traveler]

Some things we mods also do:

* Tell people that on the DMT-Nexus we expect them to do their homework before asking any questions;
* Move really basic questions to the For FAQ's Sake... thread as a hint;


Kind regards,

The Traveler

 

[obliguhl]

I believe some people do not like to do their research because asking "stupid questions" is their way to engage, to break the ice. It is still somehwat annoying to me. But what is worse: Some people ask questions and never bother to reply to you. That's kinda rude...

 

[anrchy]

It doesn't bother me, I'm not all upset about it. Was hoping the goofyness of my post would shed light on that. And simply "me" not answering really doesn't solve anything.

Look my main reason for this thread was to spark a conversation about it. My thought is this, based on the fact that I see many threads all the time where we all answer some seriously redundant questions, and yes UNI "? We already do this all the time man...." we do... kind of. Quite often I see no one doing that though.

It doesn't happen the majority of the time. I just thought, hey what if thats all we did, was point them in the right direction. I personally answer some of the questions seriously and sometimes I refuse to answer and instead enlighten the new member to search out the answers for themselves. What if we got a little more strict about it?

Asking the question would still help break the ice for those that need that obliguhl and we would then be helping them to learn how to research. Cause that, I think is the real problem. Most people don't know how to teach themselves things. Most people were not taught these things in schools or in there homes by their parents.

No matter what, there are always going to be newbies asking stupid questions. Well put pandora, but the new members dont bother me. Yes travs method of having a new members area is amazing and works very well. I am not proposing to change that. Just think we should refine ourselves and become more like teachers in the way we engage the new comers.

This is a university of sorts. And as professors I believe there is nothing wrong in expecting us to all act a little more teacher like. Some questions, often many, require an engaging conversation and not only that, such things often expand into positive learning experiences. But improving the way in which we help them to learn IMO is an improvement of ourselves, the ones we help, and the community at large.

So don't get me wrong from my OP, sometimes I just like to answer redundant questions if I'm bored. Although I could be more help, we could be if we were more efficient.