Questions aren't stupid

I've been noticing that a few threads have started with something like "a stupid question" from a new resident.

No worries you "new" people..you won't feel that way long; SL is like the mean streets of the city..you survive, you get wise fast and resident answers is a great place to get help.

So there are no dumb questions. Ask away. But do a quick search to see if it hasn't already been answered.

This is of course very true -

There are far less stupid questions than stupid answers.

Using that search feature will save a lot of time for new questions, and keep those that get frustrated at seeing the same question over and over again from impulse rude responses. Amazing how many of those we are seeing these days, its no wonder newbies tip toe in.

Nope no stupid questions if they exist in the database of the forum try to find them. What I do hate to see and possibly why the threads are worded the way they are is at time when peopel answer here or any forum the answer is done in a somewhat well "talking down" way which possibly is why people post the questions in the manner they do.

We were all new once. Its "stupider" not to ask and get in trouble

I cringe over New Residents apologizing for being new, and making mistakes. Everyone was new here at one time. Don't worry about it. It is sometimes tiresome seeing the same questions answered, yes, but in that case, don't answer if it bothers you. Sometimes it takes just as long to type a smart assed response as it does to answer the question.

The only dumb question is the one you don't ask.

Spot on. Most forum environments will insist that you "search the knowledge base" or "search the forum" before asking your question. It's refreshing actually to see that 'round these parts, folks don't frown upon repeat questions.. they happily and willingly answer them. And each time, new perspective comes into play.

The more I engage with other Second Life residents, either here in the forums or out there in world, the more I appreciate what an absolute blessing and privilege it is to be involved with this.

It's a phenominal community. It really is.

zk

there is always less stupid questions than there is stupid peoples

That kinda sounds like a challange..

Issue is knowledge base and searching is difficult to use if you're new and it doesn't always help you find things.
Really what there needs is sticky for how to use search and knowledge base better.

Actually, FD, I beg to differ. It's not just difficult for the new people. It's difficult period. That precise word you are looking for might be deemed 'Too common' and thus not searched. Or it could be deemed as being 'Too short.. key word must be more than four letters.'

On the topic: I don't mind answering questions for new players. And while I fill in a brief sketch of the answer, I do try to give them the tools to answer their own questions, such as directing them to the Ivory Tower of Prims for building tutorials. Thus, they might find answers to questions they didn't even know enough about SL to ask. (SL lingo takes some getting used to, come to think about it.)

And none of us know it all. My RL girlfriend recently came in, and although I've been able to give her lots of tips, she's found things in the client I hadn't, and found places I'd never been.

Or as my brother always tells me (just before I do a little smackdown on him), "There are no stupid questions, just stupid people."

That's because I author more answers than questions!

But seriously yes, we were all new once. I sometimes go into search to dig out a thread to help someone and it isn't always as straightforward as it seems. Some keywords bring up a plethora of threads which would take all day to read for that one pathname or whatever you were looking for ... and that for someone who knows it's there somewhere!

Even the Knowledgebase has a somewhat labyrinthine set of links .. much scratching of head to dig out the 'group' page just a day or two back .. not immediately visible from the front page.

So yes, I sympathise with newcomers who have already hit a problem with the world .. and just want a 'real person' to talk to about it.

As we know, there are known knowns. There are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns. That is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns, the ones we don't know we don't know.

Quote from "The poetry of Donald Rumsfeld"

QED

Love Suzi

What I want to know is the great unknown that keeps attaching my hair and shoes to my ass!

"There are no stupid questions, only stupid answers."

-- V. Telegdi, 1991

"There are no stupid answers, only stupid questions."

-- V. Telegdi, 1991

You do know that KY isn't spelled S-U-P-E-R-G-L-U-E, yes?

Just checking.

We should definately party

I suppose the most frustating thing, is seeing threads asking questions, for three reasons:
1) They haven't bothered to use advanced search on the forums/FAQ to find information for themselves in the first instance.
2) They post new threads right above a thread answering their question, which can come across as being somewhat lazy.
3) They post a thread on the wrong section of the forum.

I wouldn't like to work for a 'support' company. Research shows the most common answers to questions asked, of electrical goods support teams, 'Is it plugged in?' and 'Have you checked the fuse?', usually resulting in a silence.. followed by an embarassing giggle/sigh, or the phone hangs up.

Newcomers to a game, doesn't mean newcomers to a forum, which have been around a lot longer.