On Thu, 26 May 2022 16:56:48 +0100, Administrator wrote:
On 26 May 2022, at 16:46, Jim Henderson <hendersj@gmail.com> wrote:
Unfortunately, I don't see this trend reversing itself. Either we go where the users are, or we just don't talk to them until our community platforms entice them to come over to the 'official' spaces, and there's a lot of inertia to overcome in order for that to happen.
I think it may be useful to look at things from the people’s perspective: they have dozens or hundreds of different bits of software / services which they’re using and trying to keep working. Going here / there everywhere for answers is very frustrating, and at a certain point one gets annoyed by “go there for an answer.”
But the same view holds from the developers / supporters perspective.
Where will the two tribes meet?
Absolutely. That's ultimately one of two challenges that exist in online support venues: 1. How do you get people to the place where the experts are who can answer their questions? 2. How do you get people to search for the information they're looking for before they ask a question? That second one would help with the first - but for many people, doing a 'fire and forget' question about something that Google can easily find and answer is *easier* than just doing the search yourself. That's been going on for decades, and it's getting worse. -- Jim Henderson Please keep on-topic replies on the list so everyone benefits