On Helping AM in Times of Doubt

I really love questions- whether it's helping out or learning from answers- I read 'em all. Unfortunately, all too often, we have posts from Anonymous Monks or from new folks who post already answered questions. I understand this completely, though- it's a new environment with thousands of possible clicks here and there. Admittedly, it may get confusing. It may not be initially clear what's what and what how works- especially if the user scrapped the FAQs which grease the finely-tuned cogs of the PM machinery. Therefore, I ask for a simple addition:

I propose a simple sentence for users at level 1 (though I can't seem to imagine hurting anyone else) before submitting anything to the PM behemoth MySQL vault.

Are you sure that this hasn't been mentioned before? Why not try Super Search or read Site How To or (insert other helpful links here). I see this as especially important for the Anonymous Monk who may be a "hit-and-run" case. I eagerly await your opinions.

AgentM Systems nor Nasca Enterprises nor Bone::Easy nor Macperl is responsible for the comments made by AgentM. Remember, you can build any logical system with NOR.

Comment on On Helping AM in Times of Doubt

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Re: On Helping AM in Times of Doubt by arturo (Vicar) on Jan 25, 2001 at 21:01 UTC
Would it be untoward to point out that something like this has been proposed before? =) (see attendant thread as well as root node) Philosophy can be made out of anything. Or less -- Jerry A. Fodor	[reply]
(jptxs) Re: On Helping AM in Times of Doubt by jptxs (Curate) on Feb 01, 2001 at 08:10 UTC
Something like this has been suggested, but I think the key here it would appear where the "formatting tips" stuff appears now in the preview before the post happens. It's a twist that hasn't been suggested yet and I think it's great. (not that you didn't good friend, rather that you may have missed the subtlety of where he wanted this placed and how ingenious that could be). `"A man's maturity -- consists in having found again the seriousness one had as a child, at play." --Nietzsche` [download]	[reply] [d/l]
Re: On Helping AM in Times of Doubt by zigster (Hermit) on Jan 25, 2001 at 20:28 UTC
I like it ++, hows about we add something about ensuring that tags are inserted. IIRC newer monks have a comment about .. do you need help with formatting look here .. or some such. I would suggests a specific, if you have entered any code then please be sure to surround it in code tags look here for details. -- Zigster	[reply] [d/l]
Re: On Helping AM in Times of Doubt by TStanley (Canon) on Jan 25, 2001 at 20:49 UTC
This is definitely a very good idea. The Monastery seems to be getting a lot more new users these days, mostly those who just simply need a quick answer to a small problem and do not want to create an account. By giving them this info up front, they can come away with an answer that much quicker. And who knows, after seeing the quality of the posts that come through here, they may decide to join us after all. TStanley In the end, there can be only one!	[reply]
Re: On Helping AM in Times of Doubt by ColonelPanic (Friar) on Jan 26, 2001 at 07:39 UTC
How about a modification to the front page for Anonymous Monks. At the top, have a prominent link, larger than the other ones, that says something like "Do you have a Perl question? Click Here". Then, lead them to a page with logical steps to take. Step one, check the Documentation, step two, search for previous posts, and so on. The final link would, of course, be to ask a question. Rather than the regular old post form, though, this one would have a list of considerations right above the text box. Maybe, Anonymous Monks should always be taken to a page like this before they even get a chance to post. When's the last time you used duct tape on a duct? --Larry Wall	[reply]