Over the four years or so that this forum has been here, the Forum Administration & Notices section has become a confusing mess, which is to be expected. Topics are spread out among the various sub-forums, and the answers to some of these help threads have changed over the years. By January of 2021, I'd like to replace most of these threads with a comprehensive FAQ, and maybe some additional Help pages for subjects that require more explanation. There's a lot of work to be done, going through these help requests and notices, drawing out the stuff that is likely to be helpful to people, and deciding on the best answer or answers to the questions. There are eleven months in which to do it, so it's something that I could do by myself if I needed to, but I'd like to open it up for anyone who would like to help with it. It would be a more effective FAQ that way. A few months ago, I set up a private group, currently called Patron, who are the ones with the yellow ribbon on their name. That group has been pretty much inactive lately, so I'd like to rename the group to Working Group, or something else, if someone has a better idea, use it for the FAQ working group, and invite anyone who'd like to help with it. There's nothing overly exciting about the private area. It looks just like the public area, only it's not spidered and not everyone can see it. I would be archiving the threads that are there so that we can focus on a new mission. What I have in mind is for it to be focused on the upcoming January FAQ, but I think I would include a section for suggestions or comments about anything else that anyone might want to talk about. I'd like to keep the group membership down to those who are actually working on the FAQ, so please let me know if you're interested in helping. It won't be like a real job, where you have to put in X number of hours or anything. I'm thinking we'd probably break the work up into teams, but we can decide that stuff once we have a group together. Let me know.
Of course, the FAQ can (and should) include questions that may not have been asked in our help sections. When you first joined the forum, what questions did you have? You may not have asked them, but what questions did you want to have answered? What information would have made your initial (or later) experience more enjoyable or satisfying? This isn't, by the way, just for those who can write well. The writing part will be easy. It's the assembly that might take time.
Seems like you are creating a lot of work for yourself. I personally have never used Administration & Notices. Once a person gets rolling on the forum, it's smooth sailing since most are internet savvy by time they get here, but a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do.
Perhaps not. People generally ask the question wherever it comes up, within the forum, and we refer them to a thread in the help section that covers it. I'd just like to have something to refer questions to that is easier to follow. I wouldn't expect people to "use" the FAQ either. I fully expect that they will simply ask the question wherever they come across the need for an answer, and that's okay. No one is going to be required to read the FAQ and be tested on it in order to participate in forum discussions. But rather than answering the same question a thousand times, across as many threads, the FAQ would serve as a reliable repository of answers.
Down the road, a computer help section might save a lot of repetition as well. Once you decide how you want to organize it, I'll be glad to help. I usually only get online in the evenings, but I can be flexible if you decide to do the team thing.
Online teams don't necessarily have to be working at the same time. The idea would be to avoid having four or five people working on the same thing without knowing that others were doing it too. We may have plenty of time, but most people don't want to feel as if their time had been wasted. As for saving repetition, yes it will.
Yeah, like we have so many important things going on in our life on a daily basis. Anyway, just let me know whenever you are ready to start.
Ken, with such a diverse group as we have here and one of also a partial generation gap, perhaps you could start thinking in those terms as well. There are certainly far more, "boomers" than my "lost" and "silent" generation" folks, so the questions might well be some what disparate under the same heading causing further confusion. Those born from 1946 through, I believe, 1968, are the real, "baby boomers." There may be one or two from the "greatest generation" on here, but I haven't encountered any so far. However, I still am relatively new, so, that doesn't mean anything. I could expound more on how to head this up, but you perhaps have your own ideas on this.
Do you mean an explanation of the various groups who are entitled to be part of this forum? I get confused about the generation thing after the Baby Boomers. I would have had to look up the years, but was aware of the Silent Generation and the general years of the Baby Boomers. After that, it gets foggy. I don't know what the generation after the Baby Boomers was, although some of them qualify for this forum too.
No, Ken. Predominantly, there are two groups on here. Basically, the silent generation and the boomers. I was actually referring to computer questions that might arise from either of these groups, but would perhaps be different from each other. For example, Hal is from the silent generation and had a very difficult time comprehending as to how he could transfer a video from YouTube. Someone from the boomer generation with the same problem might well be able to understand the method immediately, but us elders have fewer brain cells and it takes a bit of time. However, if someone else from Hal's generation can explain it to him, he might be able to comprehend it better. We may speak the same language, but it is often how we use it that makes a difference. As I type this, I can see it is becoming more complicated, so just forget I proposed such an idea altogether. I tend to do this while attempting to simplify matters.
Explaining those things would be very much a part of a FAQ. If it's a matter of how to do, then, by all means, join the effort.
Yes, the assembly is the hard part. Forums are full of writers but few of these writers write from experience and in a way that others can understand it. I once took on a job during the winter when off from construction, to write technical assembly instructions. I was sent everything to assemble I was to write a manual about. I had a good friend that did this year around and I always thought, gee that's easy money. Not so! Having art skills I was able to put together some easy to understand assembly instruction manuals for radio kits, electric guitar and amplifier kits, muzzleloader kits, as well as furniture kits. Having experience making all those things from scratch was certainly an asset. I don't know if I could add anything or be any use to the group, but I would be willing to take a look at the group project and see if I could add anything of value. If not, I would bow out gracefully. I can think of several things I would have liked to have known before posting on this forum. You have the right idea about not making a lot of rules that no one ever reads. Making reading forum faqs fun might be the answer to resolving a lot of issues. Maybe something as a simple drawing might simplify a process or at least attract attention that words won't. I agree with @Lois Winters that maybe two groups, defined by age, but working together might be best to simplify many issues. Many seniors in the elderly category avoid internet interaction because they don't like feeling stupid over things younger seniors find simple. Maybe a group age 50-69 and another age 70-99. @Ken Anderson This forum has vast talents. I am excited about including graphics and our own @Bess Barber has talents in that field. A simple drawing might replace words that few will read. Rather than share something created by someone else from the internet, why not make our own?
To cite an example of what I just encountered on Facbook. I run a couple of groups over there and on one of them, a member wished to post a picture, but did not know how to do this. I began to explain and half way through my discourse, I realized that I was addressing an older person. So, I revised my directions to a simpler dichotomy. I hope she will have no problem with that now.