FAQ page

[Matthew Paul Thomas]

On Jul 28, 2006, at 12:16 PM, Peter Garrett wrote:
> ...
> Well, there are quite a lot of people on IRC who are directed to the 
> FAQ. While I agree that on the face of it a FAQ is kind of old 
> fashioned, and not really a good use of a web site, summaries of some 
> kind can be very useful especially in the case where the user being 
> helped needs to get a few fundamental clues, in order to improve the 
> quality  of help they get on IRC.

Sure, but if a Q is FA, that's probably a problem with the Web site to 
begin with. Pointing people to the FAQ over and over again might be 
convenient for those on IRC, but it won't make the people who want help 
happy about the overall experience.

> Rather than pointing them at an index for a wiki, or a specific page,
> then, it is at times better to give them something that might clarify 
> how live on line help, and navigating documents, works in the Free / 
> Open Software world.

I'm saying that it *shouldn't* work that way. Just as "RTFM" is caused 
by poor usability, so "read the FAQ" is caused by poor information 
architecture.

> ...
> To be more general: there are many types of learners, and a number of
> different entry levels in terms of cluefulness and motivation. Do we 
> not need a variety of tools to help a variety of people?
> ...

Yes -- a reliable search function, a table of contents, and possibly 
even an index too. :-)

Cheers
-- 
Matthew Paul Thomas
http://mpt.net.nz/