Discussion on which distro is better should be in General forum

Where I would agree that there are problems with people not searching for an answer, I would like to add to my previous post and the posts that followed. I have seen to many times when people/even mods have asked why no one used an old thread to stay on that topic. I have also seen where there were cases where these old threads were brought back to life only for someone to get angry because old topics were being re vamped. We can't have a double edge sword here and have it make sense. You can't tell someone to post to an already made relevant post the get angry when they do, and get angry when the make a new thread on such subject.
<quote>
but I used to be a teacher not too long ago, and there's a fine line between helping someone write a paper and actually writing the paper for her</quote>
Then you of all people should know there are people who are born slackers and will always look for the easy way out. These people are part of life. I deal with them every day.

There is no fix to anything when you have what over 100,000 personalities gathering in one place. You have your people who just like pushing buttons and will do so if this or that was put into effect. LQ is a great place and the mods here are great as well but there is alot of people that belong now with there own feeling on things and there own personalities and these are the kinda things that happen when you get into big groups. I think the only thing the people can do that have been here a long time is set an example and live by it. That is the only answer. These kinda things happen when big groups of people come together.

Originally posted by anti_microsoft Then you of all people should know there are people who are born slackers and will always look for the easy way out. These people are part of life. I deal with them every day.

I know there are born slackers. You just don't have to indulge them. My point was simply that there is a difference between helping people and doing the work for them. You made it sound as if we either answer every question or this forum is totally dead. I'm saying there's an in-between.

am I a veteran? I don't know. but I agree with the teacher analogy. Totaly. (teacher aiding is fun but..)

titanium_geek

After graduation (BA Linguistics) I could not find anything to do but English tutoring. Yes, I must agree that giving a hint in one thing and placing the chewed up material in the mouthes in completely pointless. Student must understand material himself in order to progress.

BTW, could be nice if other member also post their thoughts on:
QUOTE:
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Any interest in storing a couple common responses in the LQ Wiki, where they could be continuously refined and tweaked?

jeremy
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Originally posted by SlackerLX BTW, could be nice if other member also post their thoughts on: QUOTE: ------------------------------------------------ Any interest in storing a couple common responses in the LQ Wiki, where they could be continuously refined and tweaked? jeremy ---------------------------------------------------

Maybe if there's an easy way to decide solutions that have been "successful" (i.e., the OP said something like, "Thanks. That solved everything.")...

Negative! I thought that members, instead of butchering each other, had better give an answer to question which was actually asked.

Originally posted by aysiu I know there are born slackers. You just don't have to indulge them. My point was simply that there is a difference between helping people and doing the work for them. You made it sound as if we either answer every question or this forum is totally dead. I'm saying there's an in-between.

I am in no way saying you HAVE to answer every question. I am just saying that if you are not interested then move on. Don't throw in you 2 cents if it is not going to help. Why say a word if you have nothing good to say? I am not speaking of anyone in particular. My idea for the topic given would be to take and make sub forums and let the new people have at it. Then the vets can pass it up without missing a thing.

Originally posted by anti_microsoft We could send everyone on a search trip, then there would be nothing on the forums.

This is the statement I had an issue with. It's not all or nothing. There are lazy questions and there are not lazy questions.

Originally posted by aysiu This is the statement I had an issue with. It's not all or nothing. There are lazy questions and there are not lazy questions.

And I agree. But alot of the people who have been here a long time seem to have no tolerance if a question has been asked more then twice. My point was that with the LQ user base, there is more then likely not a question that has not been answered and we could simply tell everyone to search either here or google and they more then likely would find an answer.

Interesting thread!! While I agree with the previous sentiments of the repititious questions regarding "Which Distro" and "LinuxA vs LinuxB" , I feel there should always be some sort of reply given. To me there is a simple answer to the solution. Automate it!!

Human needs dictates how people act. Why would anybody ask these repetitive questions when the same words typed into google would answer their query? The answer is they want to get a sense of belonging from their "to-be"peers. They want to share their needs and recieve encouragement. They seek to be a part of a group/club and to be heard and understood . And lastly just good old falshioned advice etc....... etc...... There is alot to it - but enough of the psyco-babble

Most people want to be able to input their own personal computer needs, and get a resonse back, from knowledgable, experienced users. They search for the "starting line" of what they should use. This is the beggining of a journey for them. From restriction and frustration to freedom and expression. I don't know how many times I read "Mould your linux distro into anything you want" when I first started myself. But where to start, what to use, how to use it once it is on and how to maintain it in the future.

My suggestion is a simple. Harder to implement, but a huge draw card to the LQ site if done well.

I suggest a mini questionaire. It only needs to be roughly 6 -7 pages long where they tick several boxes - This allows the future linux user to input their personal needs.

Based on the responses a small list of distro's come up with some detail about them, a link to the ISO, and a ratingscore that is able to be compared to other distro's.

What this does is allow the user to get the feeling of a personal response based on their needs, and a rating system that allows them to compare what "The questionaire" gives them to what is out there. This encourages and provokes the three main responses experienced LQ users are asking for from new users. One - do some research. Two - do some research. Three - learn how to make a big pot of coffee so you can still do some more research.

***-----*****-----*****-----*****
For instance I get a response of

The distro that suits your need is
Ubuntu - ratings difficulty 3, update-ability 7, tweak-ability - 1

This is a nice distro for the new linux user etc.... etc....

Feel free to browse the reviews written by our LQ members here - http://LQ.ubuntu.reviews

***-----*****-----*****-----*****

From here I can then go to the "Table of Distro's" page as previously suggested, and compare "my distro" and it's ratings with those of other distro's. This will be a natural step as the human mind natuarally wants to compare. Mine is bigger than yours thingy!!

The result is that by the time they have finished having fun with the questionaire, they will have :-

"Here is your Distro" answer
Further knowledge of other distro's - because we all try it twice!!
The feeling of a personal response
A bunch of decent questions about their chosen distro.


For us it means replies like - Have you tried the questionaire, it was designed by us to help you!!!!

I would much rather say look here http://LQ.questionaire instead of redirecting them to Distrowatch or some other review web site. LQ is filled with experience and knowledge. Channel the resource and provide a one stop shop for newbies and experienced alike.

Chink - that's my 20c

Why don't you point them to these three resources, then?

http://desktoplinuxathome.com/distro.html
http://www.zegeniestudios.net/ldc/index.php
http://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=major

Originally posted by aysiu Why don't you point them to these three resources, then? http://desktoplinuxathome.com/distro.html http://www.zegeniestudios.net/ldc/index.php http://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=major

That WAS my point from VERY begining!!

Errrrrrrrr

I would much rather say look here http://LQ.questionaire instead of redirecting them to Distrowatch or some other review web site. LQ is filled with experience and knowledge.

Fair call to say go here, and here. I would be expecting that response if I was asking you directly to put the effort in to create a questionaire. But I am not! I am voicing a solution for the original posters topic to avoid the constant questioning. Why not do it at LQ?

Trickykid said

I'd have to agree, a forum dedicated to literally the same question over and over, that would be utterly boring. And we already have a forum to discuss such things, Distributions forum is perfect for such questions, since members will never stop asking such questions.

This is exactly my point!! People are not going to stop asking these questions.

The problem exists for a reason. If you do not know what to do or expect, you rely on previous knowledge to find the solution. I see it all the time with Aikido! New commers think they know martial art because of Chuck Norris, Jackie Chan movies. They start off with a tense stance, fists clenched ready to fight. Golfing Pro's have the same problem. New students grip the club as hard as they can ready to smack the ball 400M. Both of these are wrong but illustrate two things. People naturally assume things because they have seen it! Also they begin with a full mind that is not really ready to learn. They are relying on previous concepts that are not accurate. In both cases you need to show them a new way otherwise they will not learn any of the fundamentals.

People new to Linux do not know that loads of research is expected of them. They can be told to read, but you only "really" understand this once you begin. Also because linux has the same base, yet there are near 400 distro's out there - there is bound to be confusion to the uninitiated. If there was only 3 distros in existence, I can guarentee there would still be these constant questions of which distro. This is human nature.

If I said to you explain to me how to take an initial stance in Aikido, or how to hold a golf club ready to swing, you would come back with an answer you have researched. If I ask a windows user the same question - they would most probably reply straight away - "I don't know". You have trained your mind how to question, research and where to go to find answers.

If these lessons and utilities can be put together in one place, there is a greater propencity for new users to research before asking repetitive questions.

I like integrating the questionaire to LQ, but as Jeremy said in a recent podcast(or was that a radio show) that they don't like reinventing the wheel too much with open source. Maybe we could contact the people involved with such quizes...
I really like the comparison table and the rating system.

Search for the "Don't reccomend distrowatch to newbies" thread for some more interesting points.

I think that a balance must be found. Teaching analogy again:
You don't write the essay for them.
You don't give first day 7th graders a 20 page essay to write.
You teach them the skills.
titanium_geek