Dedicated PC help Forum?

Hellrazer

Was just wondering if there is a need for a dedicated PC tech support forum.Sometimes I find that if Im looking for a solution to a PC problem I have to search through Technology,Ms/Apps,Programming,Wireless etc.Now I know that these are all dedicated to related PC problems etc but they also contain non-PC problems.Like wireless-This includes mobile phones etc.
Just thought a dedicated PC help forum would be better for some users.If there was a PC help forum then it would make searching for solutions to problems that little bit easier.
Thoughts anyone?

Saruman

I have either suggested this or thought of suggesting it but never did... Anyway good idea... Apart from the muppets who tell you to flick the red switch on the back of the psu it should be good! Lots of Techies like myself, Dar Homer, PCIRL.COM etc that answer what we can of tech problems ayway but a dedicated Forum would be a good idea.

Hellrazer

Thanks for the input Saruman.It would be handy to have a few techies that people could get support from when needed.

Mercury_Tilt

This post has been deleted.

Gavin

Jeese, it's not hard to find the right forum to ask the question on. There's lots of them, I'd already see technology as being a pc help forum.

There's no need for lots of new boards....

Gav

Hellrazer

Verb all the Mods of the Technology do a great job with regards to problem solving but all I was suggesting was that maybe a dedicated PC tech support forum would be a good idea.
It would help people with specific PC-only problems to solve them more quickly without doing a search on 5 or 6 different forums.

phaxx

Nah, I think the current arrangement is fine.

Gambler

No way.. We have everything we need in the technology section already

Inspector Gadget

...the way I see it, the person having the problem is, perhaps, coerced into thinking (just a little) about a problem [edit]under the current system[/edit] before posting it to what he/she hopes to be a relevant forum; this is useful in that the person will hopefully be better able to describe the problem, rather than the "Hlep meh PeeSee do35n't wurk!!!11!" line of argument seen on a number of other forum sites with specific help areas.

Additionally, the fact that the "Technology" forum tree is relatively well subdivided means that the people who are knowledgeable in a specific field are more likely to be in a position to see the post - for PC users, the would mean (in order of appearance on the menu at the top of the page):

* HW Tweaking
* MS Apps/OS
* Nets/Comms
* Technology
* Unix

...and, to be honest, these appear to be self-explanatory to me, anyway. ("Mac", "Nets/Comms", "Technology" and, to a lesser extent "HW Tweaking" and "Unix", are equally applicable to Macintosh users - let's not get partisan here )

The other downside of a specific "PC Help" forum is that if the knowledgeable (or semi-knowledgeable) people know that all they're likely to get when they go in there are people asking why their computers aren't working during a power cut, the likelihood is that they won't bother going in there, leaving all of the questions unanswered. That's no good either, is it? The way I see it, most people don't mind helping people out now and again, but doing it all the time is too much like work for most people, I'd imagine.

Just a thought or two...
Gadget

Hellrazer

Gadget there are IMO a few people who actually like helping others out with problems they are having.

Quote By sarunman"Lots of Techies like myself, Dar Homer, PCIRL.COM etc that answer what we can of tech problems ayway but a dedicated Forum would be a good idea."

It wouldnt have to be a forum where we have "muppets" posting
"Hlep meh PeeSee do35n't wurk!!!11!"

It could be a forum where people post specific problems which are then answered by other users etc.
As in most forums "muppetry" would have to be kept well under control.
As Ive already stated the existing mods are doing a great job in their respective forums and I believe that this idea would benefit these mods(by them not having to move posts which are in the wrong forum to the right forum) and also the users seeking help/support.

Inspector Gadget

...apart from my belief that further fragmentation of the boards (allowing for the whims of thems-wot-pay-the-bills, of course) should be justified by some sort of proven demand that existing forums cannot fill, I think a dedicated PC help forum is unnecessary because:

1. As I've already stated in a previous post, there are already forums that cover the bases in this regard, and not just for x86 hardware, I have to presume.
2. Contrary to your (apparent) opinion of me, I'm not averse to helping people out when I can, but, as someone who uses other bulletin boards and has seen what happens in them when these sorts of places arrive and news spreads about them, the "muppets" (as you put it) tend to descend. And if you know you're going to get involved in a protracted round of "thread tennis" along the lines of "okay, now pull out the other stick of RAM"... you're simply not going to go in there; at least you won't go in as often. The current spread of forums means that you get a bit of everything (requests for help, news, polls, etc.) in each of them, and it keeps it more interesting... at least to my mind.
3. Is it not useful that there are forums for distinct areas? For example, if someone has a problem configuring an internet connection, is it not more likely that the regulars in Nets/Comms will be (on average) more familiar with the subject matter than the regulars (assuming there are some - see previous point) in a generic "PC Help" forum?

I don't see that it's likely I'm going to change your mind about this, but I thought I'd throw in my own 2c in case my previous post(s) were misconstrued somehow as an anti-newbie/anti-technophobe stance.

Gadget

Gerry

It wouldnt have to be a forum where we have "muppets" posting
"Hlep meh PeeSee do35n't wurk!!!11!"

And if you have a forum called "PC Help" how do you expect to avoid this?

The current arrangement has too many forums, we certainly don't need further divisions. Its another board to check, which many people wouldn't be bothered checking, for the reasons gadget said already, and because theres already plenty of boards.

We already have forums for every type of computer issue or problem, all those problems were previously posted into technology.

All the board titles are self explanatory, how much hassle is it to search a little bit?

What you are proposing is really a merge of all the boards under technology. I really don't see the point of this.

Hellrazer

Sorry gadget-I dont know what (apparent) opinion Im supposed to have of you-Ive already stated that everyone in the tech forums help when ever possible(you included).Any time Ive had a problem yerself or Gerry are usually the first with a reply.
BTW Gerry you ever sort that Celery 2 problem out.
Any evening after 6 would suit better than the w/e.

Inspector Gadget

Well, it's difficult to construe much else from "Gadget there are IMO a few people who actually like helping others out with problems they are having", but I'll forgive you this time

Gadget

JustHalf

I think there should be a special forum for those who need help with cleaning Viruses.

Hellrazer

Sorry Gadget I never meant that in the context that you picked it up.I meant that there are (probably) people out there who WOULD just sit at their PCs and answer peoples question when and as they were asked.

Inspector Gadget

Originally posted by JustHalf
I think there should be a special forum for those who need help with cleaning Viruses.

I'm not so sure... I'd imagine that there are only so many ways you can say each of the following:

1. Do a google.
2. Why didn't you have anti-virus software installed in the first place?
3. Update your virus signature files at least twice a week.
4. Sorry, you'll have to reformat your hard disk.
5. Don't use Outlook or Outlook Express then!
6. There's no realistic reason why someone you don't know will just e-mail you pr0n attachments "as a nice gesture".
7. Disable your macros in Word/Excel. It's in the help.

... and so on. Plus, I'm sure that those of us already hanging around the Technology forums will be able to scold^H^H^H^H^Hhelp you without needing yet another spangly new forum...

Gadget

Inspector Gadget

Originally posted by richie18
Sorry Gadget I never meant that in the context that you picked it up.I meant that there are (probably) people out there who WOULD just sit at their PCs and answer peoples question when and as they were asked.

I suppose. But I'm a firm believer that boredom is a force to be reckoned with - people would tire of the idea if they knew that all they'd be dealing with was people who were probably already in a bad mood already because anyone who posts in the forum will, more likely than not, be having a problem with their PCs - I'd say you'd be able to count the number of 's used in that kind of forum on the fingers of one elbow

There is also the fact that most people who "just sit at their PCs and answer peoples question when and as they were asked" happen to be in callcentres at the time and getting paid for it... or am I being cynical?

Gadget

koneko

JustHalf, funny. Sarcasm is the best thing in the world, ever.


Technology and PC Help are roughly the same. Anyone that reads Technology will either not reply, or help out. A lot of peeps like to help out when they can. Posting it somewhere else will only mean they're less likely to read it.

stu_69

No. It's fine they way it is. Being a PC support technician meself I will use the phrase "If it's not broke don't fix it"

There are too people requesting forums and then expecting to be made mod at the moment. There are quite enough place to ask for techie help.

koneko

Give it time and Caesar_Bojangles will join into this conversation, and ask to be mod. It seems to be his goal in life.

Occidental

Just add PC Help to the title of the forum

(exactly what it says on the can and all that.... .