[SOLVED] Request (reminder)

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[SOLVED] Request (reminder)

Postby wobo » Aug 3rd, '11, 23:02

Please, could an admin (or anybody with the needed permissions) remove the link to mandrivauser.de from the "Supporting communities forums"! I asked for this a while ago but obviously the request was forgotten somewhere...

Reason:
The support for Mageia in the German MandrivaUser forum was only for temporary use until a German Mageia forum was in place. People who accidently come to the English forum can not see any other link to a German Mageia forum, so they keep coming to mandrivauser.de, which is not wanted because their questions/posts are better placed in the German Mageia forum.
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Re: Request (reminder)

Postby Germ » Aug 4th, '11, 12:54

Sorry, I don't have admin access. :cry:
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Re: Request (reminder)

Postby wobo » Aug 4th, '11, 14:14

Then why did you close the request?
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Re: Request (reminder)

Postby barjac » Aug 4th, '11, 19:44

In the meantime a link to the German Mageia forum would be useful here.
EDIT - found it https://forums.mageia.org/de/ :)
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Re: Request (reminder)

Postby Germ » Aug 4th, '11, 21:19

wobo wrote:Then why did you close the request?


Well, that's not what the report post button is for...

Reporting should generally be used only if the post breaks forum rules


Or, have I missed something?
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Re: Request (reminder)

Postby wobo » Aug 4th, '11, 21:31

Germ wrote:
wobo wrote:Then why did you close the request?

Well, that's not what the report post button is for...
Reporting should generally be used only if the post breaks forum rules

Or, have I missed something?

Yes, the word "generally". :)
Yes, the option to give an explanation for the report gives the opportunity to explain why a post is reported because of other than the given reasons.

Anyhow, if the report button is not suited to bring a reasonable request reminder to the attention of the admins, then could you pls tell me how I can achieve that?
Simply closing the matter with a "sorry, can't help" is somewhat unsatisfying, IMVVHO. I always had the impression that this kind of issue is one of the tasks of the Global Admins - relaying issues to the admins if their permissions do not allow a solution. Did you forward the matter to ashledombos (as maat is on vacation)?
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Re: Request (reminder)

Postby barjac » Aug 4th, '11, 21:34

Germ wrote:Well, that's not what the report post button is for...

Or, have I missed something?


As I understand it, from the comments in "that thread" it can be used to attract the attention of a forum police constable who can actually change something. A bit like a police whistle.
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Re: Request (reminder)

Postby wobo » Aug 4th, '11, 21:42

barjac wrote:As I understand it, from the comments in "that thread" it can be used to attract the attention of a forum police constable who can actually change something. A bit like a police whistle.

Yes, in general, more or less.
(For US citizens: "police constable" is an old world expression for "police officer" :) )

I understand it as a means to draw the attention to something. There is no other way AFAIK.
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Re: Request (reminder)

Postby Germ » Aug 5th, '11, 13:15

wobo wrote:Did you forward the matter to ashledombos (as maat is on vacation)?


Yes, I did. Haven't seen either one in a while.
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Re: Request (reminder)

Postby ashledombos » Aug 5th, '11, 13:27

Done, thanks for forwarding me :)
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Re: Request (reminder)

Postby barjac » Aug 5th, '11, 15:14

ashledombos wrote:Done, thanks for forwarding me :)

While you are here - you could mark this solved.
Any chance ( since we still cannot do this as users) of putting the [SOLVED] after the topic rather than before it to make the topics more readable?
Just my opinion, but if others agree I feel it would be better.
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Re: Request (reminder)

Postby Akien » Aug 5th, '11, 16:04

I find it convenient that the "[SOLVED]" mention appears before the name of the topic. At list, it let's me see quickly which topics I should read when I'm willing to help our users: the topics without "[SOLVED]" and without dozens of answers.
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Re: Request (reminder)

Postby doktor5000 » Aug 5th, '11, 16:13

Akien wrote:I find it convenient that the "[SOLVED]" mention appears before the name of the topic. At list, it let's me see quickly which topics I should read when I'm willing to help our users: the topics without "[SOLVED]" and without dozens of answers.

+1
Yes, that's the point, either in search results or in when you look directly in a subforum, you'll see easily what's already solved.
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Re: Request (reminder)

Postby barjac » Aug 5th, '11, 16:23

Sigh...
If you are trying to read the topics - like 99% of regular users, then the [SOLVED] is in the way at the start of each line.
Your eyes have to zig-zag down the list to read the topics.
It's the topic that is important.
I am not talking from the helper's point of view - we are a very small minority and need not be considered in this.
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Re: Request (reminder)

Postby Akien » Aug 5th, '11, 17:02

Well, I don't think regular users bother to read each thread. On a support subforum, the users read the thread which they feel concerned about, i.e. the topics close to their own problem/interest.
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Re: Request (reminder)

Postby wobo » Aug 5th, '11, 17:43

ashledombos wrote:Done, thanks for forwarding me :)

Thx a lot, Germ and ash !

(I marked the thread as solved)
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Re: Request (reminder)

Postby barjac » Aug 5th, '11, 18:56

Akien wrote: the topics close to their own problem/interest.

Exactly, they are looking for the topics - not whether or not they are solved.
I rest my case.
/OT
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Re: Request (reminder)

Postby Akien » Aug 5th, '11, 19:08

barjac wrote:
Akien wrote: the topics close to their own problem/interest.

Exactly, they are looking for the topics - not whether or not they are solved.
I rest my case.
/OT

I guess you have a point. But which category of users spend the most time reading the topics? I think the helpers tend to spend a lot of time doing that, since they tend to review a non negligeable part of the "unread posts", whereas the casual user usually comes on a when-I-need-support basis.
There may also be users who come not to help the others because the lack technical knowledge but to learn new stuff, new CLI or features they hadn't heard of. Those may spend a lot of time reading the topics, too, and could use topics with the [SOLVED] mention at the end.

Since we don't have precise figures on who does what, I guess we can't really decide which way is the best.
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Re: Request (reminder)

Postby wobo » Aug 5th, '11, 19:25

Akien wrote:Since we don't have precise figures on who does what, I guess we can't really decide which way is the best.

Correct. There are a lot of individual use cases, starting with which view users prefer to see for a start, or what their purpose is, as Akien described. For one use case the [solved] is better placed before the topic, for another use case it's better placed as trailing.

But you have to think about how you are trained to read. A human (an experienced reader) does not read characters like a computer search program, he looks at patterns. So, all topics being comparatively short lines you will spot a well known pattern such as a word in square brackets with one glance, no eye flickering from left to right involved. Such a flickering would only occur if the topic titles were ranging from left to right across the whole screen.

So, to me the placement makes no difference at all.
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Re: [SOLVED] Request (reminder)

Postby barjac » Aug 5th, '11, 19:59

To me the current method of putting the [SOLVED] at the start of the line is like randomly putting some numbers in a telephone directory at the start of the line instead of the end. They are of no interest until the name has been found and simply get in the way.

When scanning down the list reading topics it is easy (as you point out) to register the [SOLVED] at the end of the line if it is relevant to you.

This is no big deal - it just seemed to me to be so obviously wrong as it was being done that I thought it needed mentioning.

Seems that my logical view is not universal. ;)
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Re: Request (reminder)

Postby Germ » Aug 5th, '11, 21:13

wobo wrote:Thx a lot, Germ and ash !

(I marked the thread as solved)


You're welcome.
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Re: [SOLVED] Request (reminder)

Postby ashledombos » Aug 6th, '11, 19:06

same as germ :) Sorry for being long to fix this issue, I will be more present soon!
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