FAQ page

[Peter Garrett]

On Thu, 3 Aug 2006 21:53:59 +1200
Matthew Paul Thomas <mpt at myrealbox.com> wrote:

[snipped - a number of good points, as usual Matthew :) ]

> > 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.

That's true - I guess that's what I was groping towards with my "readable
road signs" analogy. There is still a place for encouraging people, where
appropriate. to learn some research skills - but then, if someone is on IRC
it more or less goes without saying that the person is at least a
"proto-geek" ;-)
> 
> > ...
> > 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. :-)

Agreed. I think the wiki search function has improved ( I used to find it
quicker to simply type in " wiki.ubuntu.com/WildGuessHere and see if there
were any "similar pages" ;- o but now I get a reasonable set of hits from
the search, although it should be made more prominent than a little box in
the top right corner, it seems to me . )

Peter