Technical support on the list [was Re: rogers rocket stick sierra 330U]

[Darcy Casselman]

Kip, saying "You can't ask that here, go to <some other site>" isn't
"concierge treatment."  It's rude.

Looking up the answer on one of those sites and posting the link is
okay, but it would be friendlier to also include a story that includes
your personal experience with the technology at hand.

Having a forum where someone says "I see you're having a problem with
your device.  As it happens, I wrote the interface for that device in
Ubuntu and tested it myself.  You may want to try...  Let me know if
you have any problems." is *phenomenal* and priceless.  That's exactly
the response Rob got from Matheiu *on this very mailing list*.  I
think that's awesome.

Darcy.

On Fri, Sep 14, 2012 at 4:12 PM, Kip Warner <kip at thevertigo.com> wrote:
> On Fri, 2012-09-14 at 09:35 -0400, Mathieu Trudel-Lapierre wrote:
>> Let's not fool ourselves and think tech support on a mailing list
>> isn't the answer.
>
> Canadian thought experiment, complete with moose, maple syrup, and
> smoked salmon:
>
> Which is more valuable?
>
> 1) A new Ubuntu person gets concierge treatment that tactfully points
> them to the best online support site for Ubuntu in the world. The site
> is free and jammed with experts on Ubuntu, and the correct answer is
> entered into a database that helps hundreds or more Ubuntu people,  or
>
> 2) A new user gets in-person outreach from a friendly Ubuntu tech
> support person in their town/city and makes a personal connection to the
> Ubuntu philosophy and project, or
>
> 3) A new user gets random incorrect advice from some grumpy guy who has
> never been to an Ubuntu event and never wants to, only occasionally uses
> Ubuntu (begrudgingly), and longs for the good old days when everything
> free was incorrectly named after a kernel and the world didn't care.
>
> Answer carefully. Bonus points for speed.
>
> --
> Kip Warner -- Software Engineer
> OpenPGP encrypted/signed mail preferred
> http://www.thevertigo.com
>
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