FAQ and Tutorial Need Updating

I really enjoy ATS, let me start with that...okay, but...

When I joined, I found a few things just a little confusing...and it took me a while to get my answers.

So....what's the great thing about a good, well kept, frequently updated FAQ and tutorial for any website as large as ATS? Well it keeps new members from asking the same questions over and over again, thus making more work for mods and other members and it's a good source for older members to go back to if they forget something.

My mission with this thread?? I'd like everyone to go to the FAQ and tutorial tabs....I'm not saying what's on there is bad, but it's a needle in a haystack! When a new member has a question, they may not know the best way to search for old threads, but chances are they're gonna know what a FAQ and tutorial is, and they'll most likely look there first!

I'd like everyone to maybe list one or two things they think should be added and why - even volunteer yourself to make the additions! I will! I like this place, but I hate seeing people who want to make a contribution being halted by a question that's been answered in 50 other threads and they don't know how to get to them! Some people will say it's just common sense, but how many of you actually know how to change the time stamp on your messege posts? I didn't know when I first started, and I was joined by other members who had been here longer than me....so don't say it's common sense all the time

I'd like some help here....I feel like I'm the only person with this idea.

Here are some links were I've brought up this issue but havn't, as of 10:20 pm on 7/13/04, been addressed.....
www.abovetopsecret.com...
www.abovetopsecret.com...

I think it's sad that not a single mod or member has replied to this thread yet!!

I'm probablly going to stop posting here at ATS soon - I think it's a waste of my time and not read by anyone.

Sorry for anyone reading my short story in the short story forum - I can email you a word doc of the ending if your're interested

Any super mods or admins reading this can cancel my account - that's about all I feel like saying right now......

Hey man, take it easy, don't overreact like that. Give it some more time, I'm sure you will have the answers your waiting for. Remember, the staff also have lifes outside of ATS.

I had also noticed the FAQ haven't been updated in a while. It appears all the newbie-guidance rely on the newbie adoption project.

I mean, since when have they removed (or is it "have they ever used?") the regular old ranking system?




[Edited on 14-7-2004 by m0rbid]

Sheesh.

First off, the FAQ is the standard FAQ that comes with the original board software. It's quite helpful for things like avatars, smiley codes, and other *general* questions.

The "tutorial" link in the top walks you through several potentially confusing aspects of the board, including Avatars and uploading.

Your constantly updated FAQ/tutorial/info repository can be found here:
www.abovetopsecret.com...
It covers *everything* that staff could think of in regards to the board and is added to or updated as things evolve.

Your rules & regulations are, as always, here:
www.abovetopsecret.com...

We have all the tools to explain how to get around on ATS ... what exactly is missing?

Thanks for the reply

That's a great example of a need for an update!! I noticed that myself - to be honest there's hundreds of things out there....I only mentioned that time stamp thing as an example - and like I said - I'm not mad.....just posting a suggestion which has yet to be taken seriously in several threads and also in one suggestion message

All I want is for ATS to become a more user-friednly place, not some Mac-addict zone.....I'd just like people to understand how ATS works by simply looking at the FAQ or tutorials....instead they post consitantly in the questions forum - which is understandable, but also avoidadble, so that the mods can focus on more important things

Banshee - thanks for the reply...

If you like, tomorrow I'll compile a whole list of things that are missing and you can check back on this thread for them.....many things are missing - not to mention my example of the message time post.....I said right of the bat I'm not trying to be insulting or rude, but that's how everyone is taking me so far! Calm down yourselves! I just want ATS to be a place that anyone can join and study up on without having to ask the same questions twice....that's all I'm trying to accompish here.....

Banshee

I must admit I had missed this nice little addition that is the "Website And Message Board Updates". But it's not easy to spot right away. I haven't even saw it yet.

Maybe a link to this section should be added in the FAQ, new users won't probably think to scroll down to the bottom of the main page to find answer to their question.

Originally posted by EnronOutrunHomerun
I just want ATS to be a place that anyone can join and study up on without having to ask the same questions twice....that's all I'm trying to accompish here.....

I understand your sentiment, EOH ... I'm just not sure what exactly is missing from the various "help" tools that have been put together.

Is the base core of your complaint that the FAQ at the top isn't as relevant as it should be? That the Website & Message Board Updates forum should be displayed more prominently?

Help us out here.
Is it just the FAQ linked at the top, or is it more than that?

How exactly is ATS a "Mac Addict Zone"?? That just pissed me off...comparing a great place like ATS to a Mac.

FAQ stands for Frequently Asked Questions...the questions you stated arent really Frequently Asked. The TimeZone one should be addressed when your editing your profile...cuz it threw me off too...but the FAQ and Tutorial are just fine the way they are. The Website & Message Board Updates forum should be a little closer to the top so its easier to see.

He's not attacking or complaining, I think he just wanted to point out that while the FAQ and Tutorials might cover the basics of the basics, ATS haven't stopped growing, and as time pass, there might (or will) be a need to reorganise, regroup and maybe even add new info to the ressources that are there for new members.

All this, of course, is only intented to reduce the questions asked to the staff from the new members. (especially preventing questions from coming back)

I know it's probably not a major problem, as most people seem to find there way around here easily, and there's a lot of people willing to help new comers. But I'm pretty sure the guy just wanted to help.

Originally posted by EnronOutrunHomerun

If you like, tomorrow I'll compile a whole list of things that are missing ...

Hi EORHR!

Very many apolgies for not replying earlier but yor original post coincided with my bedtime here I suspect in UK and have only just seen it. Sorry

Your offer to compile a list is most welcome although I think it would be even more useful if you could link to items that possibly *aren't* missing but overlooked, probably by doing a search for topics that have already been posted? I compiled a similar list or Index related to SETI@home in an attempt to collate similar posts and threads together to minimise repeat questions being asked, as SETI@home only has a certain amount of generic areas that are of concern to people who want to get started or know more about it. So, it can be done (though time-consuming)!

Good luck with your efforts EnronOutrunHomerun - I look forward to reading your definitive list!!

Originally posted by EnronOutrunHomerun
I think it's sad that not a single mod or member has replied to this thread yet!!

During the less than 3.5 hours between your first and second posts, there have simply been other things for staff to do.

The "FAQ" in the forum menu bar at the top is a hold-over from the original stock code upon which this board is based. There have been a multitude of feature, performance, and security modifications, some of which are itemized here -- www.abovetopsecret.com...

I'm sorry for your confusion, however, with an average of 70-100 new members a day, over 2,200 posts a day, and rising in the ranks of Big-Boards on a weekly basis, we never considered these issues to be a problem that would effect our popularity or user friendliness.

Originally posted by SimonGray
During the less than 3.5 hours between your first and second posts, there have simply been other things for staff to do.

First off, I'd like to appologize for making this issue seem larger than it really is - it wasn't my intention to belittle the mods or make their time seem wasted by not reading my post, although in hinesight I see that's exactly what I did....This issue has bothered me since day one, and I have been wanting to address it, and I suppose it culiminated in that post.

Originally posted by m0rbid
Banshee

I must admit I had missed this nice little addition that is the "Website And Message Board Updates". But it's not easy to spot right away. I haven't even saw it yet.

Maybe a link to this section should be added in the FAQ, new users won't probably think to scroll down to the bottom of the main page to find answer to their question.

I think this is a great point! It is a bit difficult to find even if you've been here a while.....I didn't know it was there either....

Maybe a couple ideas here would be to do what m0rbid suggests and also, instruct mods that if they see a question that appears in this board to simiply have a cut & paste response that directs them to that page...

Originally posted by Genya
I look forward to reading your definitive list!!

I think it's safe to say that even while I was trying to save some dignity in that post my eyes were a bit larger than my stomach so to speak....but I do think that it is feasable and would be helpful for everyone to put together a list - I don't think just one person is good enough for the job, and while I'm more than happy to contribute, my original post says: "I'd like everyone to maybe list one or two things they think should be added and why - even volunteer yourself to make the additions! I will!"

ATS is a great place....it's free, the members are intelligent and care about the issues they post on.....I think as a member who enjoys ATS, it should be there selective duty to assist in making this a better place - That is my intention in this thread, to make it easy for others to simply glide into ATS as a new member and feel at home without too many questions like "how do I do this?" and "What does this do?" - Most of us have been computer literate all our lives and don't need this outstretched hand - I came onto ATS with few questions, but the ones I did have bugged the heck out of me, and I'd just like those with similiar issues to come forward and post their issues here so that when the time comes, mods can come to this thread to update the FAQ and the tutorial, which as I said earlier has great information, but just not enough for this massive collection of websites

Here are a few question trends I've seen recently that could be addressed:

1. What is that bar under my points for?
   
2. Can I change my username?
   
3. How do I adjust my time stamp?
   
4. Why was my message lost when I hit post reply?
   
5. How do I prevent parenthesis from being displayed when I post in ATSNN?
   
6. What are the effects of using the ignore button? Does it block posts and U2Us?
   
7. Why can't I log in?
   
8. What is the text limit on sigs and titles? Why doesn't punctutation show up?
   
9. How does my member status change to writer, scholar, and/or fighter?
   
10. Why isn't my blog working?
    
11. Why am I blocked from this particular forum?
    

I hope that fleshes out at least some portion fo what I'm getting at here....some of these have yes/no answers and some have a,b,c,d answers, but they all occur with some frequency, are not covered in the FAQ/Tutorial (which I realize is a generic one), and each one may puzzle a new member for quite some time until they can get the answer from another member.....And I know there's probablly more issues out there that some of you reading this can add

Please don't answer these questions I've posted here - if you need an answer to one for now, use the search function

Originally posted by dreamlandmafia
FAQ stands for Frequently Asked Questions...the questions you stated arent really Frequently Asked. The TimeZone one should be addressed when your editing your profile...cuz it threw me off too...but the FAQ and Tutorial are just fine the way they are. The Website & Message Board Updates forum should be a little closer to the top so its easier to see.

Good points here.....I think maybe this is what Banshee and SimonGray were getting at in a collberative way...

I had no idea this even existed, but when did a search on Yahoo, I came up with an FAQ for FAQs....lol
FAQ for FAQs

Here's an interesting quote that relates to this....

Sometimes a FAQ or periodic posting is compiled as a result of
extensive research on a specific subject. A convenient way to share
the information with others is by posting the article. In this case,
the article might not really be a FAQ - that is, it isn't necessarily
based on frequently asked questions. However, the term FAQ is
sometimes used as a catch all term for articles, periodic postings,
compilations, etc.

Many of the FAQs found on USENET or the Internet today (including
mine :-) could actually be considered NSFAQBTIWTS - Not So Frequently
Asked Questions, But Things I Wanted To Share (thanks to Robin Getz
for this gem). I've also seen them referred to as LFAQ (Less
Frequently Asked Questions). Is there no end?!

Maybe we need a NSFAQBTIWTS -

Seriously tho - any additions to my list in the prior posting??
Take a look at the board questions page.....lots of questions there that are on my list, and I'm no Nastrodamus....pretty obvious isn't it?.....I'm sure a few of you can think up some more - like "Hey, why not trash this thread?" or "What's this guy, crazy?" - I know those pop up all the time - j/k - don't do that

Any other ideas? Is anyone even going to take my advice here when and if they are updated? Let's talk about that, eh? I'm not making points off this thread, and I'll gladly keep posting until I get some help here - Mods, I know you're busy....I'm looking for member involvment

Here's an idea....

Any time I see something that falls under this category in the ATS Board Questions Forum I'll make this reply:

Yet another case for the need of FAQ updates, addressed on this thread.

Then maybe the people who read those threads with the same questions may feel some underlying desire to go here and see that they may have the same desires....

A little note here - Out of my own interest, I went to a few other boards and looked around, fee and non-fee - ATS by far has a much better setup and FAQ/Tutorial from what I've seen....but my belief still stands.

Originally posted by EnronOutrunHomerun
Yet another case for the need of FAQ updates, addressed on this thread.

Hey EOH. I just read that in a different thread. Sounds like a good mission to me!

I made a suggestion a while back ussing the tab at the top of the page. No answer yet. I may not have included my name since I thought it was like a u2u and would automatically ID me. - logical no?

There is a thread by S.O. about this problem but I see no fix yet. Could you add something like:

"12. How do ATS Suggestions Work?"


My suggestion was to place one of those "This site is best viewed with X set to Y" type of statements at the bottom of the page (e.g. resolution at 1024x768). Another member suggested next to the copyright notice. I would also add to the list something like:

"13. What are the optimal settings for viewing/using ATS?"

Another question that I posted for, was on the Red Warn Tags. So I would add something like:

"14. Is there a legend of symbols used on ATS?"


Thanks for calling attention to this. I too had some questions and had to post for answers because I could not find them. I realize and understand that staff is probably all volunteer, and that we all have a life, so I believe that people will be patient while these things are solutioned.

#12 is a coding solution
#13 is a technical knowledge solution, and
#14 is an information gathering solution.

Who does this for ATS?

Perhaps they are lacking support and could find a few volunteers around the board?


Edit: There are many people who got answers to many questions. So I started this tread to gather the answers in one place:

Answers to FAQs not in the FAQ

edit: link



[edit on 7/19/2004 by Gools]

THANK YOU!!!!!

I've been dying for some assistance and member input here - and that's a great idea to centralize the FAQ answers not in the current FAQ! Also some great additional potentially puzzling questions for new(er) members....

I decided today that anytime I see some repeated questions I'll make a case for my belief and post a link to this thread - now I'll also put a link to your thread - maybe in the future this is were the moderators can send these members....or perhaps the FAQ can simply be update by using these databases that will hopefully grow with the more attention they receive....

I hope the mods don't see this as some uprising, but just a way of making ATS better - and seeing as how I've volunteerd to update the FAQ myself, and hopefully others will follow, it is at little extra energy expenditure for a no doubt already over-worked staff - let us step in and help out on some of the things we see need a little tuning-up - we all have backgrounds in many different areas, and our ability as members to tweak ATS, beyond our fruitful postings, are more than adequete to resolve some of the less frequently addressed issues of this site


[edit on 7/19/2004 by EnronOutrunHomerun]

Originally posted by EnronOutrunHomerun

... now I'll also put a link to your thread

Thanks and you're welcome.

I hope the mods don't see this as some uprising

Nah. We just took the initiative and were not doing anything dumb. They probably appreciate it.

I'm confused on how to post videos. I know there was a thread on it but I can't seem to find the darned thing. Some help would much appreciated!