Copy/Pasta vs personal responses.
I was mulling over this on the flight home (because I’m a big old nerd) and it fell into the realm of how people get so frustrated when we just paste a link. Now. I know that we often paste links because it really is the right answer, and the users get mad because we’re not being personal. In many cases, they should RTFM, but also so should we.
I think the main reason people can’t find the answers when searching isn’t so much that search sucks on .org (it does), but that learning the right terminology to get the right answer takes time. So if we go in assuming the new guys don’t speak the lingo very well, would that change some of our standard responses?
The other factor is that different people learn different ways. I detest video training, my wife loves it. I like clear directions, screenshots if needed, a coworker of mine cannot cope without screenshots for all the things ™. How do we take into account different learning methods when triaging support?
andrea_r 5:38 pm on July 26, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Better and longer Copy Pasta answers, personalized where needed.
It’s the difference between Chef Boyardee canned spaghetti and ordering it at your favorite Italian restaurant.
Some of it does depends on the user’s knowledge level, but it also depends on the question too. I Have to start out now assuming they are brand-new. The questions I answer now help with that.
For example, I do have a standard response on how to add a widget area, but now I include a *lot* of links to various sources covering different ways.
Then personally point out to the user which one might be best for them. At least then I’ve given them as much background as they need to know.
And I really do think we could expand our copy-pastes to be a little more friendlier in some cases. After all, other than the initial change it;s no more work on our part to insert, plus it may leave a first timer with a better feeling.
Michael 5:54 pm on July 26, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
With WordPress appealing to a wider audience, the number of people with little or no knowledge or history of WordPress or coding will increase. The “newbie” will always be among us.
Start by having a more defined way of identifying a persons level of knowledge which means having a posted description of levels of knowledge. People are smart enough to placed themselves if they know what the term means. Currently a lot of people see themselves as beginners but no one really knows what that is. It’s a catch-all phrase. At what point do you go beyond beginner.
Supports answers can then be geared to that level and fewer assumptions will be make about knowledge level. For instance, pasting a link for a new person is frustrating since to get to the point of asking for help they come in frustrated and want “answers”. To a new person most of the codex is intimidating and frustrating and is not the “answer” they want.
While posting a link to more advanced person may be appropriate. I do believe however that most of the support requests are to that new person.
I also believe posting a link to a video for a new person is not as intimidating. Hearing someone use the terms and seeing is important for a new person (a picture is worth a thousand words).
Bottom line – short descriptive videos for support FAQ with more detailed videos for complicated topics.
Yes, it is like starting the codex all over again.
Also a simple phrase like ‘I found this – take a look” or “This may help” before the link feels supportive and not as off-putting.
Siobhan 7:35 pm on July 26, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
If there are support issues that come up again and again that anyone thinks would warrant a video, I’d be happy to shoot some screencasts. Can these be embedded in the codex yet? Maybe we could have some sort of WordPress screencast project?
andrea_r 7:36 pm on July 26, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
i think when anothe rguy asked a while back they were welcome but only as long as nothing business identifiable was visible. it should be a naked fresh install.
masonjames 7:25 pm on July 26, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
“I think the main reason people can’t find the answers when searching isn’t so much that search sucks on .org (it does), but that learning the right terminology to get the right answer takes time. ”
Bingo. This is what the whole “let me google that for you” fails to recognize. I’m amazing at googling things… but really I’m amazing at it because i understand the context well enough to know to search for. A newbie by definition does not.
“I Have to start out now assuming they are brand-new.”
Yep. Agreed here as well. Most forums show some sort of counter as to how many posts a user has made (reputation, how long they’ve been a member, etc).
If I see someone who’s obviously posting their first question or two, my primary job is to reinforce that it’s ok to have questions and that I’m totally comfortable with answering them and assisting in any way possible. This way, down the road, when I need to say RTFM or “here’s a link to the codex”, we already have the previous experience to assure them that I really am providing a solid solution.
And I totally agree with using as many various methodologies as possible for providing solutions. FAQs, Videos, webinars, Q&As, codices and wikis are all valuable ways to convey information. My hang up with providing all these resources is that it has to be maintained. Ugh! Can be a lot to maintain. How does everyone handle keeping screenshots, videos and copy up to date?
Ipstenu (Mika Epstein) 7:39 pm on July 26, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I try to keep the pages about my … uh… obsessions (multisite) under control. Or when I go to look at one for reference and think ‘That ain’t right…’ But yeah, updating and maintaining is an onnerous chore.
andrea_r 7:35 pm on July 26, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I’m only for videos of really BASIC stuff, and only after we’re sure the related codex pages are full of info.
Like for example – there’s NO PAGE on how to use the custom menus. There’s a page on how to use them in your themes and how to customize them but nothing I could find for the user.
And a video for that would brighten the bulb. After the codex page….
masonjames 7:49 pm on July 26, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Great example. A video totally makes sense in this space. In fact, when I get someone who doesn’t understand the idea of custom menus I always point them to a youtube video. It’s just much easier to follow.
Diana 4:40 am on July 28, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
“…learning the right terminology to get the right answer takes time. ”
Yes, terminology! I miss a very strict terminology on some UI, while WordPress panels are quite consistent, some plugins and themes messes all up. This leads to misconceptions , frustration and all that forum topics
By the way I had some time crafting our Codex pt_BR (http://codex.wordpress.org/pt-br:Página_Inicial), quite an assumption but the articles I provided simpler and shorter info decreased a lot of related forum topics.