How do i get my questions answered on these forums

[dumwaldo]

interested in knowing how to get your questions answered then read this

#1 do not ask "what is best", there is NO answer to this question in any aspect. there is no best player, encoder, format, or anything else for that matter. the best is what works best for you and only YOU can tell what works best for you.

#2 include information. far to many questions are asked in the shortest form possible. i cant speak for everyone but i know when i see a question where the asker couldnt be bothered to do any more than type 6 or 7 words i never answer these questions even if i know the answer. you get out what you put in and if you put in half assed questions with little to no information you will get half assed incomplete answers.

#3 read this site. if i had $1 for every post that can be answerd by placing a link to another page of this very site i could retire. before asking your question ask yourself if you have looked at the guides and FAQ, if you havent then you shouldnt be asking. this includes looking at the player list to check for compatibility.

#4 if you are "in a hurry" or "don't want to burn anymore coasters" then just stop now. get a VCR and a case of blank video tapes because VCD creation is not for you. i would be willing to say that anybody on this forum that knows what they are talking about got that way by taking the time to learn and also burning coasters learning. if you dont want to invest any effort in learning then dont expect those that did to bend over backwards to accomodate you.

#5 communication MUST be clear and ACCURATE. nobody can help you understand an error unless you provide the exact error message. nobody can tell you if there is information for your player available on other sites unless you include the correct model number. nobody can tell you why your VCD wont play if you dont say how you made it or what you are playing it on.

i understand that there are many people that are not native english speakers that use this forum and they may have a problem being able to ask their questions in english. i do not suggest that these people are less deserving of help because they dont speak english. what i suggest you do if you do not have a command over the english language is to ask your question using the best english you can then also include your question asked in your native tounge. many times someone will ask a question and because their broken english it is not understandable and because they did not include their question in their native language as well one of their fellow countrymenthat may have been able to help does not understand the question either. make one post and ask your question 2 ways in that post, once in english and once in your native language.




the most important thing you can do is to show that you are trying to help yourself. nobody want to help someone that gives the impression they can't even help themself. if you make a post with a header saying "TMPGEnc keeps screwing up my audio" you will get replies from people that really like TMPGEnc saying unhelpful things. the software did not make a mistake, you did. say "i screwed up my audio with TMPGEnc" and the replies you get will be very different i am sure.


one last thing i need to say. this is not one of those "WHA WHA this forum is going to hell" posts. to be perfectly honest i think this is possibly the best forum anywhere on the internet. all i hope to accomplish with this post is to provide some understanding to others why their posts either did not get replied to were replied to in an insufficient manner. my hope is that at least one person will read this and be able to get the answers they need in the future because they followed these tips.

peace out,
dumwaldo

[tigerwolf]

That has to be the most thought out, put together breakdown I've seen yet.

Bravo and I have to agree on every point. 8)


have a great day.

totally cool.

[kinneera]

i would be willing to say that anybody on this forum that knows what they are talking about got that way by taking the time to learn and also burning coasters learning.

Footnote here: CD-RWs are a godsend!

[jasond]

i just burned my vcd but it wont play in my vcr! whats wrong?


J/K my vcds play good in my vcr



Great post! hopefully it will clear up a lot for some members

[resnullius]

your vcd play well in your vcr(videoCassette recorder)!?!?! WOW you've got to tell me how!

[DiViNeLeFT]

your vcd play well in your vcr(videoCassette recorder)!?!?! WOW you've got to tell me how!

well, my friend has a dvd/vcr combo player that plays vcds, so technically...


but anyway, great post... ive actually been considering writing somethin similiar... especially about the RTFM posts... i hate having to say "look to your left and click convert" or something like that....

so great post.

[Nelson37]

Now I feel better about pounding my desk and shouting at the monitor
"READ, YOU LAZY DUMBASS, READ!". Well done.

[gnome]

Yes I do agree, but what about the kids who are trying to learn. Isnt this what off topic i all about?

[DiViNeLeFT]

Yes I do agree, but what about the kids who are trying to learn. Isnt this what off topic i all about?

by following the guildlines listed this is the easyest way to learn from these forums... this isnt reffering to the off topic forum but all forums in general.

[tenders]

this is all well and good..and i agree with people having to do a little research on thier own,but ,i have seen many posts that DO NOT meet the criteria metioned above, that have NOT been answered!!! myself being one of them!!! so maybe its time you come down off your high horse and HELP someone

[jexster]

this is all well and good..and i agree with people having to do a little research on thier own,but ,i have seen many posts that DO NOT meet the criteria metioned above, that have NOT been answered!!! myself being one of them!!! so maybe its time you come down off your high horse and HELP someone

Hmm ok were did that come from hmm your post didnt get a answer. I think some body wants some attention so come on everyone show your love to tenders.lol

[vitualis]

this is all well and good..and i agree with people having to do a little research on thier own,but ,i have seen many posts that DO NOT meet the criteria metioned above, that have NOT been answered!!! myself being one of them!!! so maybe its time you come down off your high horse and HELP someone

Why is it that some people here believe that they "deserve" to be helped?? Or just because they post something that someone has an "obligation" to solve all their problems?

This is a public forum. It is a free exchange of knowledge. Basically, if get a reply, you are getting "something for nothing" and should be happy. VCDHelp is one of the best forums in that it is regularly frequented by many experienced members and most problems do get sorted out. If no one responds at all, there is usually something wrong with your question...

If no one answers your question is can be because:

1. Your question was too hard or obscure and so no one who read it knew the answer
2. Your question was too vague or lacked detail and is generally unanswerable (e.g., "My VCD doesn't work, HELP!")
3. Your question was inappropriate (e.g., wrong forum) or it was obvious you didn't do any reading at all (e.g., "What's a VCD?")
4. Your question was rude and demanding
5. You haven't waited long enough

Regards.

[ya_jai]

vitualis is right and i would like to add something
1. double post, i have seen a lot lately and I think it isn't fair to anybody elses.
2. post same question which has been answer sometime even in the same day.

[LeeBear]

You forgot another way to get your questions answered:

POST IN ALL CAPS!

j/k

-LeeBear

[sonic-z]

well and don't forget, as tender already did very well, to add multiple exclamation marks or question marks at random positions.

j/k

[Laura]

...or you can just change your member name to Pamela Anderson and say "pretty pleeeeeze!"

[Will Hay]

#3 read this site. if i had $1 for every post that can be answerd by placing a link to another page of this very site i could retire. before asking your question ask yourself if you have looked at the guides and FAQ, if you havent then you shouldnt be asking. this includes looking at the player list to check for compatibility.

I don't want to fly in the face of public opionion here and firstly would like to say on the whole this post is excellent but...
...I am sick and tired of getting critism from experineced forum users who 'assume' you haven't done your homework.
Just because you ask a question that's been asked before doesn't mean you haven't looked.
As for "...if i had $1 for every post that can be answerd by placing a link to another page of this very site", well I doubt there isn't many questions that *haven't* been asked in the past, so why don't we just close down the forum and replace it with a simple search box?
I'm not advocating the 'how do I copy a dvd ' idiots, but when I first arrived (and I'm a little more experienced and wiser now) I couldn't follow some of the guides and unless I posted 'I've searched the forum and can't find what I need' I got accused of lazyness.
Some people need a little assistance, we all have an responsibility to assist and give something back and give these people a nudge in the right direction, *not* put them off the site.
Will

[Laura]

It's fair to say that this site has expanded soooo much with information that finding the answer is now more time consuming sifting through hundreds of postings. I agree that probably the majority of posts *have* done their homework first. It's just that this medium is so diverse that seldom do two people have the exact same problem or question.

I have to admit that when I made my first post inquiry (after spending 8 hrs on this site and still not finding the exact answer) I felt very guilty about posting a question and preceeded it with "I searched on this site first..."

I am grateful to this site and the members here and the time they've taken to contribute. I honestly feel the 'lazy ones' are a minority group and I think Silky31 is right on by saying this is a forum not a static search box.

[tgpo]

I think the comment was made more for the people who don't look at all. We have had tons of posts that asked "How do I back up a PS2 game". Sometimes they are only a few posts a part. As for the people who do look, but can not find, I hope people do help you in a freiendly way.

[Will Hay]

Along with matroxusers.com this is by far the most friendly
There is also a good argument for wanting to interact with people and seek ideas person to person, rather than trawl through endless pages...
...to those people I say WELCOME!!!!
Will

[hoyboy]

Hello to everybody, I think this forum is great. I has placed a few questions in the last few days and have recieved replies for them, most of them excellent. I realise what I have posted has probobly been dealt with in an earlier thread, but as a new member to the forum it can be very hard to trawl back maybe three months to where someone would have had the same problem. It is always very handy to have people on-line who may have had the same problem, and who are able to reply within a short amount of time, to help people such as myself. Anyway, xcellent forum,try to look at it every day for new info.

[ckdexterhn1]

Great thread! Some very well thought out answers and replies. These are the kind of forums I look forward to.

[jdizzy40]

Thats why they call this a forum. Look it up in the dictionary. What you title is what you get, a bunch of questions. A lot of good points, but not everyone is on the same level. I'm sure no one was born with this knowledge, of course it is learned through sites such as these. You can't go to your local library and get an answer to this kind of technical stuff. It is a great way to exchange knowledge. But just remember everyone's agenda in life is not the same, we all have our list of whats important at any given moment .

[Nitemare]

In my opinion WAITING is the most important thing. I see posts where a question is posted, then in the same day, only an hour or so later later, the same moron is typing HELLOOOO! ANYONE!!!! I hate those guys and refuse to answer. This is a message board/forum, not a chat room, you IDIOT!

Sorry... personal pet peeve. Won't happen again.

Waiting pays off. Most of my original questions were answered in the 8 months I lurked here before becoming a member. Of course I spent those 8 months researching my questions in the forums, guides, and FAQs... but the daily posts were the most helpful. I was getting answers there to questions I didn't even have yet! You've gotta love that!

For me, entering this hobby was like learning to cross the railroad tracks ... I had to stop, look, and listen! By the way... this group has the best information and people available. (Thanks guys and gals!) Pay attention to this excellent post, (the original... not my $0.02), and you'll learn more than you could ever wish for!

Regards,
Nitemare

[Hardcoreruss]

A very good thread which I heartily agree with

[resnullius]

WOW although a very worthy topic, it's incredible how ppl seem to be still paying attention to this post.... (normally it should have disapeared less than two weeks later to be forgotten somewhere on baldrick's server...)

[Will Hay]

...normally it should have disapeared less than two weeks later to be forgotten somewhere on baldrick's server

It's going nowhere, it's a sticky.
W.

[Will Hay]

Hey Baldrick, wouldn't the initial post in this thread be better served somewhere other than 'off-topic'?
It's relevent to all forum's really, more so to the one's new member's frequent
Will

[Baldrick]

Moved it to the newbie/general forum.

[Quigonsean]

The one thing I think most posters who don't get a reply forget is that sometimes no one knows the answer. Sometimes a question is placed and plain and simple no one knows, or it is such an odd situation being asked about that almost no one knows so it takes time 'till someone who does know gets online pops over here and takes a peek.

I must agree with the previous statement about people treating this as a chatboard. I however think I hate seeing *bump* more than even "Hello, can't anyone be bothered to answer me"

I don't know I spent about 3 months reading posts here and guides as well as reading the posts at Afterdawn.com, and just about everyguide at doom9 before registering. In fact I was so agitated by the wait 3 days to post, but not so I could ask, but so I could answer some posts because I had read so much I actually knew the answer.

Sean