FAQ page

[Peter Garrett]

On Fri, 28 Jul 2006 03:21:01 +1200
Matthew Paul Thomas <mpt at myrealbox.com> wrote:

> I think FAQs do not make any sense at all on a Web site, for several 
> reasons.
> *   Many people don't know what a "FAQ" is.
> *   Most people have no idea whether their Q is FA.
> *   They're very much longer than people are comfortable with reading.
> *   The answers about a particular topic aren't together with the rest
>      of the information about the same topic elsewhere on the site
>      (except in the pathological case where a FAQ contains the *only*
>      information about that topic).
> 
> So I suggest eliminating both the FAQ pages from ubuntu.com.

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.

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.

In other words, people are directed to the FAQ for a reason - it isn't so
much a resource that is "found" as one that is pointed to.

This might seem rather didactic, but it has its uses, believe me. Of course
a large percentage of people simply refuse to read anything anyway, but
that isn't the point :)

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?

Perhaps a "FAQ" isn't quite the answer - but what would we replace it with,
if so? The index to the wiki is a good entry point for some, but not
others... I'm arguing for some kind of readable road signs - something
that frankly I think is currently missing, but I'm not yet sure how that
is best achieved.

Peter