How helpful are you?

[un4given1]

It's been nearly a year since I frequented this site, and recently have found time to make an appearance here and there. One thing I have noticed is there is certainly a lot more members. The other thing I have noticed is that it doesn't seem to be nearly as friendly around here anymore. It seems to me like the answer to most questions that are posted is "your an id*** because you didn't do a search or check a guide" Now while I understand that the forum rules state you should do a search before asking a question, it's still no need to be rude, right? Also, everyone has their own opinions on how to do things, that's obvious. The worst part about this is that everyone is so quick to slam other's ideas because they don't quite understand them or because they just dont have the time to figure it out.

So, in closing... When someone post something, help them. That's what this site is for, right? If they are new, be understanding. If they ask something that may be answered elsewhere, be a little more polite about it and maybe help them find it. We could all jump on google to look up something, but maybe not all find the same things... isn't it possible that could happen here as well? Now, I know I am noone of importance around here, but I have been on this site for almost 2 years now, and having taken some time off and returned to what this site is now, I can't say I enjoy it as much as I used to...

Just something to keep in mind.

I wish you all a happy New Year! Let me know if I can be of help... PMs always welcome.

[Incroyable HULK]

Interesting.

Personnaly, I've joined the forum a bit less than a year ago. I didn't became an "active" member until this summer tought. Before I started posting, I've been reading a lot, experiencing, gaining knowledge and testing and I am quite satisfied with what I have accomplish so far.

Speaking about the forum, I often see annoying things.

First off, bad syntax. Even native English fellowmates are making a lot of mistakes, mispell words, use abbreviations making it difficult for other to read and understand.

Second, bad formating. Everybody could use a little common sense to use appropriate bold, italic, colors, etc. Use the tools to make it easier to understand.

Third, Provide enought details, add some screenshot.

People are posting without reading what they have written. Often I am reading a post and until someone with more experience (like Alanoll or prathapml) is guessing what the question is, I won't fully understand what they are asking.

Also, I have noticed some growing tension between certains members... I am not going to give names. Even myself had some difficulties while helping other, just take a look at this one: http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=34499

Well, that's my two cents.

[Shotgun]

Nice to see you back un4given1! Loooong time no see!

As mentioned, there are members who seems to have some type of attitude problem. This forum exists for people with [some] knowledge to help and be helped. Not to start holy flame wars about which [software/hardware/technique] is better than other.

Not to judge a book by its cover, but some members leave a lot to be desired by the weight (and use) of their words. My 2 cents.

Btw, Incroyable. From what I know (FWIK if you see it later) The "Couldn't find NTLDR" message is from one of the boot files loaded by the OS (NT/2000/XP), not a message from BIOS. The message "Cannot load OS" is a BIOS message. Examining the contents of various BIOSes with a text finder utility, no BIOS I've seen has an "Couldn't find NTLDR" message, so my guess is that the message comes from one of the OS boot files. It should indicate that the OS can't find one the critical boot files, or even when the file IS included, that the file is NOT on the sectors the OS looks for it. This could be fixed with a boot disk creation util, or any software that takes care of placing the boot files in the appropriate disk sectors. Notice that my answer is very general, since the boot medium could easily be a floppy, dvd, cdr, or even an USB drive.

Edit: the string "Couldn't find NTLDR" is in the boot sector for NT/2000/2003/XP disks. The boot sector code is in fact, a program. And from the OS standpoint, it IS a critical file that's needed to boot the OS up. Without it, you need to boot up with something else to make the rest of the OS medium usable.

[Incroyable HULK]

Thanks for the input. I think EasyBoot is displaying this text also when it cannot find the boot sector... I think the troubleshooting for this error is about the same, no matter where it is comming from.

Anyway, I was just pointing the Attitude of the member, not the content

[Shotgun]

Yep I know. Been there...

I once had a fairly heated "discussion" about the virtues of IE alternatives. Opera being the one I use the most. NOW (about a year later) many people have learned to use Opera and the new kid on the block: Firefox.

Now that thread is NOWHERE to be found in the forums (was deleted) and the members who insulted me (and felt insulted) are nowhere to be seen. Ironic!

[Bud4wiser]

I'm kind of new around here and I guess I'll try to be helpful. But most of the time -- the few things I can answer "right on" don't mean much anyway.....

I agree, that "all you need to know" has been published somewhere, on some tech page, some support website or owner's manual.pdf......

What I'm looking for is "distilled - contextually specific info" that will meet my intellectual curiosity at a level that makes perfect, concise sense to me.

One of my first questions on these boards had to do with a "50,000ft" view of how optical media is interpreted during the boot process. And the differences in physical and logical geometries regarding boot sectors, file systems etc....

I pretty much got an "looky here" and RTFM response...... Hey, that's OK, the topic was too broad and ill-defined to lend itself message board answers....

In contrast, earlier in this thread a post contained

"""The message "Cannot load OS" is a BIOS message. """"

Generally, "missing operating system" is a BIOS message. "Cannot load OS", at least in my experience, is always stored on the boot sector......

But I digress. All I've meant to say, if posters understand the difference between a "forum", a "message board" and a "chat room" everything else will take of it's self.

[RyanVM]

For me, it honestly depends on the day and what mood I'm in. Sometimes I'm more willing to help out than others. The problem is, once you gain a reputation for being someone who knows what they're doing, people begin PMing, IMing, or emailing you asking for help rather than posting in the forum. That gets very tiring very quickly.

Generally, I stay out of "n00b" threads (I hate that term, I think it's very derogatory). Rather than be a jerk and say "Search id*** " I'll often just hit the back button and let somebody else do it

Yes, I have noticed that things are more tense around here than usual, but this isn't the first time things have been this way. Anybody remember good old gosh ? I got so burned out here after awhile that I actually took a roughly 4 month hiatus from the site before coming back and starting to post again.

In short, yes, I wish new people would read and follow the rules. It gets very irritating that they often don't. On the other hand, I know all too well how bad IPB's search function is. It's pretty much useless. What that doesn't excuse in my opinion, though, is information that's right in the MSFN unattended guide. That should always be the first place people look for information if you ask me.

[prathapml]

I did not enter this thread until now, but now I felt I had to...

- If you're in a bad mood, go and hang out with friends, chill out!

- don't give out your IM/email publicly or in your profile

- There's many people on this board who have a reputation of knowing what they do and members who send them noob messages get no reply in return (thus punished). That's the least you can do, instead of getting irritated with their messages. No one's being forced to respond to all emails/PM received.

- Keep the general atmosphere around here friendly and cordial - its good for everybody when you want to cool down after a tiring day.

- If anyone DOES feel the impulse to slam a "**** IT and search" reply, either put it in nicer sounding words, or don't reply.

- Same goes for someone who can't take the time to articulate their own problem. The lack of response will either drive them to search, or rectify the short-comings.

The above points are where I concur with un4given1's words.

But,

- It is normally the ones who help most, that get flustered most! Simply because of our care to see that no one goes away empty-handed without an answer. So from that point of view, it is CARE and not hostility showing through.

- I strongly dis-agree with:

I know all too well how bad IPB's search function is. It's pretty much useless.

Its one hell of a search monster. I bet once you set your eyes on it and you decide that you don't want to bug people with questions, it takes hardly 10 mins to learn how to use it properly.

- Remember, whether you are the helper, or being helped, politeness counts. You might yourself be a helper one day and seeking help the next. Would you like it when someone else slams the window on you? Okay, maybe you do like it, but the majority of us here most certainly don't. MSFN has always invited people with open arms, and that's the way it will stay.

P.S.: The "you" word used above DOES NOT point towards any specific person. Its simply an open address to the community at large.

Having said this, I just HAD to mention a word of thanks to all of our long-term members here who have made this forum the friendly place it is. Keep on at it guys (and _hopefully_ gals). See you through 2005!

Wishing everyone a happy new year!

[MAVERICKS CHOICE]

Well I tend to think Incroyable is correct. I really think peoples should thoroughly look & read through as many pages as practicle before posting, sometimes I think its just laziness.

I remember myself for many months prior to becoming a member here I would constantly read & read & read sometimes to no avail, I would then post & most likely Alanoll would get up my nose in a helpful kinda way.

Just my two bobs worth.

[prathapml]

up my nose in a helpful kinda way.

lol

Yes, I remember how I'd read loads of pages! In fact, I registered here only after 6 months had gone by of my discovery of this place. All of those months, reading and searching were policies.... That helped us in another way too - to know what the rules of the forum were (by seeing the experiences of others). But the new wave of people coming in just don't want to read at all!

You'd see they found the forum yesterday, signed up today, and within 2 days multi-posted the same n00bish Q across 3 forums and got themselves a warning in the logs!