Forum "fatigue" sets in

[Karsten75]

I've been a member of Tom's for many years - initially just to ask for getting help and getting my first builds off the ground. Then, after some time I started noticing that the "help" I got wasn't always correct and valid. Some "accredited" members still can provide bad advice (and in honesty, I've done it a few times myself - not intentionally, of course).

Then a few months back, with more free time I thought this would be a good place to hang out with like-minded folks - people that are interested in building computers and discussing those builds.

What I now find is that the plethora of "build me a PC, Max 6000 - 12000" requests are wearing thin. It's no fun to ask umteem zillion times for a purpose, a budget and perhaps what country the build should be in.

My hat is off to those of you that has been here for years, have thousands of answers (and even BAs) and can still maintain patience and courtesy. I find myself becoming snarkier, less patient and less interested in responding to the multiple threads.

From time to time it's still interesting, but I find more and more often rather than reading through all the forums, I just get tired of badly worded, incomplete requests for advice or diagnostic help with a problem.

Of course, the answer is that I'm free to go at any time, and I'm here by choice, but I thought I'd mention it and see what others think, and perhaps how they handle it over the long run.

Edit: Aaand... this probably should have been in the "Opinions and Experiences" forum. Picking the wrong category seems to be endemic here on Tom's 🙁 Moving it might serve a vague sense of tidiness/purpose. Thanks.

 

[MeteorsRaining]

Exactly, no other reason for me to keep the sig I have. People ask for help, but are often not elaborative enough, not always their fault, but many a times it indeed is. I find myself in awkward situations after OPs edit their post and the whole point changes. But to be on the topic, I agree with you on many aspects.

My suggestion? There should be a poster or sticky on the ask a question page, so that people get to read it w/o having to go through any 'how to post questions' tutorial. And by that, I mean, like we see the new updates (unseen threads) section all the time, the OP should see a sticky/ poster explaining what all to include all the time.

 

[Someone Somewhere]

We usually call that burnout. Happens pretty regularly.

Forum feedback is probably the right place for this. Opinions and Experiences is supposed to be more for 'customer stories' and the like.

 

[Titillating]

This has been moved (although maybe I shouldn't have!)

It's an unfortunate reality of the system we are in, the whole "ask and ye shall receive" kind of Q&A format we have. I've only been around a few months and already I know what you mean. Unfortunately, there's not much to be done. MeteorsRaining's suggestion could be a possible alternative, but then you have to consider that not everybody on the forums has the English comprehension needed to read instructions like that no matter how hard we try to shove it down their throats--an unfortunate result of having a large international community. Heck, some just choose to ignore it even when they do see and understand it. It'd also be annoying to people who know what they are doing and don't need to be reminded (we do get a few of those, on occasion).

Many, MANY kudos to those who are willing to put up with it and continue helping others. It takes a lot and it deserves recognition. The case badges we recently sent out (I believe you and MeteorsRaining both received some) were a small token of our appreciation here at Tom's.

When the fatigue sets in, take a break from answering questions! Start a discussion thread. There are many interesting people around, with great opinions and a lot of technical knowledge. Get off-topic a bit! Have fun, get to know your anonymous internet companions. That's as much a part of the community experience as the helping and providing of expert advice.

 

[MeteorsRaining]

Thanks for your encouraging words Titillating, this community indeed is vast and varied, so I guess my suggestion will find itself at a loss for many members. Nevermind, there are far too many positives around here than the poking issues. And at the end of the day, we still are able to solve 99% of the issues!

And yes I've applied for my three badges, not yet recieved them, but eager for their arrival 😀

 

[MeteorsRaining]

The art of requesting for help!

 

[ssddx]

posting soley in the "new builds" section will wear anyone out quickly as it is not varied enough to provide stimulation. plus it can be quite a cacophony of different responses in a single thread which makes 1 on 1 help harder.

i myself only answer a few such questions about builds (normally picking off the ones which show up in other sections) and handle other types of threads instead which interest me more at the moment (which is currently home audio, theater, peripherals, o&e, feedback)

of course we all go through periods of more activity and periods of less. that is pretty normal and i'm sure many longtimers have went through this at times.