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Is it just me or has their been an uptick in questions being asked that are user level in terms of quality of information supplied when asking questions. I have found recently that questions about hardware do not contain needed details on hardware such as model or brand. Anyone else notice this or am I just being a miserable git?

24 Spice ups
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keep this handy

8 Spice ups
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Yes, this has been a trend lately more and more but that is why we need to ask more questions trying to get that information so then we can help. So you are not a miserable git :stuck_out_tongue:

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They are always there it seems.

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As IT professionals it is our job to gather a needed information before seeking elevated help, if you don’t know what to ask then say so.

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Probably spiceworks appearing ahead of naff sites on search results in google… :wink:

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Yes.

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If you check my activity 98% of it is here at the water cooler, so I’d have to say no. :slight_smile:

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Like “Fixya.com” some of the questions asked there are not even questions. I saw one once “I have a problem” That was it. no other words pictures or images. The answer is obvious, “yes you have a problem, either you are an idiot or you saw a squirrel and went to chase it before you finished your question.”

4 Spice ups
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Welcome to the Internet

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Name of software

How to fix?

Those seem to pop up at least once a day.

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My users stopped the whole “My computer has a problem” (nothing in body) emails after I created a canned response that read

"Yes, your computer does have a problem…

You!

#close"

I wonder if it is possible to get something similar here? We could tie it into the BOFH excuse generator for added fun :wink:

1 Spice up
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Maybe the Spiceworks team could create a reporting mechanism and then they could send an email to the offending users with suggestions on how to improve their question asking techniques. I find that requests for improvement usually get more attention than requests from peers, as peer suggestions often trigger defensive responses.

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I wouldn’t go so far as to say that he sin’t a miserable git… he is.

But he isn’t wrong.

4 Spice ups
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yes, I have noticed a bunch of stuff like that.

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It drives me nuts, I’ll get tickets with a subject of “Help x isnt working” with a body of “See subject”. No other details or screenshots.

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Is this a bad thing? Frustrating sure if you are fishing for BA’s or want to help, I agree.

It could be someone new the community, in a rush, or not sure what/where/how to even start.

As a community I think it is our collective “job” to help if we can. That includes coaching people into asking better questions, helping guide them to the right answer or where to find the answer.

Would you respond to a post in general hardware that said “help with hardware” subject and the body said something like “business owner needing to buy 5 PCs what should I buy?”

I don’t think anyone wants Spiceworks to become the yahoo answers forum for IT. I also think we should embrace even the hypothetical post like above. The owner would probably see 10-100 different posts with recommendations. Maybe the community helps build a bridge that connects said owner to a local Msp that can help them with further IT needs. I think that is why we have this community, and the community managers, and moderators.

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all the cool people are miserable gits, so i dont see it being a problem,

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Learning how to properly ask a technical question isn’t a skill that everyone possesses. While it can certainly be irritating to those of us who know what a well formatted question (that includes all relevant details) looks like, we also need to remember that a lot of people who come here for help, aren’t necessarily IT people. I would imagine that plenty of people who stumble across this site looking for answers are really inexperienced when it comes to using computers and could use all the help they can get, including help knowing which questions to ask.

On the other hand, if you are an experienced IT person, please include the details you know we are going to ask for anyway to save everyone a little time :slight_smile:

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Perhaps having a separate forum for users off the home page - where IT people can choose, or choose not to browse. Or do we not associate with minions :wink:

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