Who answers questions on this site ?

[comprepman]

It is with regret that I write this message, but someone needs to take note.

Having been an IT engineer for approx 35 years, I am a annoyed that every time I look for a solution i'm not sure of, I get dragged to Toms Hardware.

Why you might ask ?

Well each and every item I have read on this forum starts with a message from, supposedly Tom, who I have to say has not got a clue about IT.

He refers people to other sites, which I assume earns him some money because it doesn't offer any help on the subject.

Also the few times I have seen him comment on the subject he gets it wrong.

EXAMPLE

Can I get windows XP games to work in windows 7

Answer - revert back to windows xp service pack 2 !!!!!!!!

Its called windows compatibility mode and works as windows xp service pack 2.

That is a very simple example, I could go on for hours, please get someone who know what they are talking about to run these threads or just pack in because you are totally useless.

Best Regards

COMPREPMAN

Owner of RoyTech PCS

http://www.roytech-pcs.co.uk

 

[Brett928S2]

It is with regret that I write this message, but someone needs to take note.

Having been an IT engineer for approx 35 years, I am a annoyed that every time I look for a solution i'm not sure of, I get dragged to Toms Hardware.

Why you might ask ?

Well each and every item I have read on this forum starts with a message from, supposedly Tom, who I have to say has not got a clue about IT.

He refers people to other sites, which I assume earns him some money because it doesn't offer any help on the subject.

Also the few times I have seen him comment on the subject he gets it wrong.

EXAMPLE

Can I get windows XP games to work in windows 7

Answer - revert back to windows xp service pack 2 !!!!!!!!

Its called windows compatibility mode and works as windows xp service pack 2.

That is a very simple example, I could go on for hours, please get someone who know what they are talking about to run these threads or just pack in because you are totally useless.

Best Regards

COMPREPMAN

Owner of RoyTech PCS

http://www.roytech-pcs.co.uk

Hi

I think you need to have a look around Toms so you understand how it works....

ALL of the threads here are answered by normal USERS of the site.....not paid Pros...

Now users vary from people like me who actually do know the correct answers (see my sig) to ordinary users who may or may not know the correct answer, but are at least TRYING to help other users, even if their answers are incorrect...

The fact that Toms comes high in Googles SEO, should tell you that someone here is doing things well....

They just passed the one MILLION users mark....

I do NOT work for them by the way.... lol

Hope this helps ...

All the best Brett

 

[comprepman]

Thank you for your reply Brett, but if you don't know the answer, then better not to comment. I have a list longer than my arm of clients who have messed up their PC's not because they are incapable of doing the job, but because someone with a small amount of knowledge has given the wrong answer. Therefor as for my comment, surely in this case the feedback should be monitored and a correct answer placed in to advise both the question raiser and the person who answers.

Sadly as for doing something right ?

If to make a comment on a site you have to join, then it is finance and pay per clicks that is giving the amount of users not someone doing something right.

I just believe that if someone needs help, it is because they cannot afford to go running to a shop or expert for advice, so surely it is the responsibility of help site owners to ensure the advice given is correct.

This is not a crack at you by any means Brett, I just would like site owners to be responsible for the information on their site and to ensure it is correct.

As a IT Service desk Tech and Network engineer I just find this kind of site very dangerous, as proved by some of my clients who have had financial loss from bad info on the net.

Anyway again thanks for the response, all the best and probably catch you again soon.

Regards

Roy

 

[randomizer]

I just believe that if someone needs help, it is because they cannot afford to go running to a shop or expert for advice, so surely it is the responsibility of help site owners to ensure the advice given is correct.

This is not a crack at you by any means Brett, I just would like site owners to be responsible for the information on their site and to ensure it is correct.

Roy, you know that this is not only impractical, but nigh impossible given the number of users we have. Even if there was some way of vetting every single post, who is going to be the fountain of knowledge that ensures that they are all correct? And if the owners are able to determine what is and what is not correct, why don't they just answer the questions in the first place instead of allowing others to do so? And what are they doing running a tech website when they should be running for president?

I can absolutely understand where you are coming from but I'm afraid it's a pipe dream. This site works much like Wikipedia in that bad information needs to be fought with correct information by the users themselves. Wikipedia has staff to clean up garbage (as do we), but they can't ensure that everything is completely accurate any more than we can. The only real difference is that the information on Wikipedia is replaced, whereas here it is simply appended to.

If a person wants a guarantee that support that they are receiving is accurate then they should pull out their wallet and pay for a consultant who has public liability insurance. If they want community help then they need to understand that it is being given freely with the best of intentions (usually) but should always be taken with a grain of salt.

There's a reason why I pay for medical advice rather than reading self help blogs, but I'm quite happy to take more risks where the impact of bad information is lower so in those cases I would rather seek community help.

 

[Saga Lout]

randomizer puts it well enough but I can't resist asking you, Roy, in what way do you think Tom's is any different from TechSupportGuy, TechSupportForum, PCAdviser, BleepingComputer or even Microsoft's own technical forum pages. They all operate the same way with individuals coming in with their own input, some of which is always bound to be off the mark. Some just come here posting links to their own site or to some Pay-per-Click outfit in the hope of fooling someone into spending money but in the main, this Forum and most of those I've named are populated with folks who try to give the best advice they can.

Do you really rate Tom's any lower than any of the afore-mentioned?

 

[comprepman]

Thanks Guys, I see your point. If only the pipe dream could come true, but in the mean time it costs people a lot of money in some cases because of misguiding info. I'm sure there's more positive than bad results, its just my way. If your going to help someone, check and check your info and then advise. You know what they say, a little knowledge.
So all the best and again thanks for your replies.

As for Toms Hardware, I apologise for expecting too much, its just my way. I do believe its important to make sure you don't cost people money they obviously can't afford else they wouldn't come and use the site. If only people would check their info before posting.

All the best for the future.

Best Regards

Roy

 

[Brett928S2]

Thank you for your reply Brett, but if you don't know the answer, then better not to comment. I have a list longer than my arm of clients who have messed up their PC's not because they are incapable of doing the job, but because someone with a small amount of knowledge has given the wrong answer. Therefor as for my comment, surely in this case the feedback should be monitored and a correct answer placed in to advise both the question raiser and the person who answers.

Sadly as for doing something right ?

If to make a comment on a site you have to join, then it is finance and pay per clicks that is giving the amount of users not someone doing something right.

I just believe that if someone needs help, it is because they cannot afford to go running to a shop or expert for advice, so surely it is the responsibility of help site owners to ensure the advice given is correct.

This is not a crack at you by any means Brett, I just would like site owners to be responsible for the information on their site and to ensure it is correct.

As a IT Service desk Tech and Network engineer I just find this kind of site very dangerous, as proved by some of my clients who have had financial loss from bad info on the net.

Anyway again thanks for the response, all the best and probably catch you again soon.

Regards

Roy

Hi Roy

I think your first sentence says it all...

For Pros like me...IF i dont know the answer, I do NOT comment...

The problem being that most users here are amateurs, who THINK they know the answer, and do not realise that what may have worked once for them is not the answer for everyone.... but they THINK it is...

The users who ask questions, do so at their own risk, personally I would much prefer they came into one of my shops lol...

At least if we get it wrong, we have insurance to cover it....although we would put it right anyway, if a mistake was made...

The main problem is that everyone wants advice etc for FREE, they dont want to pay my guys/girls to diagnose things properly at a cost to THEM

All the best Brett

 

[randomizer]

When some people receive help they suddenly feel like they are now knowledgeable about that topic area and proceed to help others with things that they really don't understand. This can indeed be dangerous, but it's also very difficult to prevent. If you do see a post that is providing potentially dangerous advice then report it so that it can be looked into. While we are unable to police every single piece of information given we do keep bad advice at bay and promote that which is especially useful as stickies, to the best of our ability. However, we need users to flag both for us because we don't have omnipresence. Just because we aren't legally responsible for the quality of information doesn't mean we don't have some moral responsibility

 

[jpishgar]

This is actually really where we shine, too. Much of Tom's is self-governed, from volunteer moderators who patrol the wide stretch of forum sections on the hunt for spam and trouble users, to veterans who have been with us the better part of a decade or more, offering advice, alerting staff when necessary, guiding and influencing the course of posts. It is not "Tom" himself doing the referral or providing technical support and counsel, but rather the collective voice of more than a million hardware and software experts. Think of Tom's as as an enormous Borg-like creature with a tech support headset and access to a few dozen petabytes of solutions.

 

[mouse24]

I agree with the "I don't know the answer so I won't comment" line of reasoning, but I am not against googling an answer (though if I do google and answer I will tell you that I did so)... However I can't say people trying to help and giving incorrect info is a horrible thing. Its not, they are trying to help. I have done this a bit in the past. I am just a regular guy, we make mistakes. Its up to the user to know that rewiring electrical things they know nothing about and trusting a guy they know nothing about and connecting that to hardware sockets they know nothing about gives results of who knows what.

I just would like site owners to be responsible for the information on their site and to ensure it is correct.

I take it you haven't been to 4chan/reddit/etc websites looking for tech help then? We are like saints compared to them...

All in all, I try to help people but I know not to tell anyone to do anything that might harm there pc.

We give them information that is to the best of our knowledge true. What they choose to do with that information is up to them. Its always best to get a second opinion, its always best to ask for proof that this would work. Myself, and I am sure many others, would have no problem providing proof and indeed enjoy explaining it to them. Its always nice to see newcomers asking questions about interesting topics.