How to build a community

[Kerol]

JosePhoenix gave me this link and I think this should be a mandatory read for all (not that I can force anyone to click a link but one still is allowed to wish...)

http://headrush.typepad.com/creating_passionate_users/2006/12/how_to_build_a_.html

Enjoy reading! Hope to see the PS community continueing to grow in a positive way just as it did and does 

[Memnaur]

The posting policy [1] for an extremely high-traffic mailing list that I belong to, css-discuss, adds nicely to the spirit of that post, Kerol

    My philosophy is that there are two kinds of questions: good questions and unasked questions. I much prefer the former. It doesn't matter how "dumb" you think the question might be, because I guarantee you that at least five other subscribers are wondering the same thing, and will learn from the answer....There is a flip side to this, which is the answering of said questions. What I ask is this: if you're answering a practical question, first make the answer practical and directly address the question. Tell the inquirer how to do what they ask. Do not berate or belittle them for asking it. Follow up your answer with "...but here's something else to consider" if you feel it important to do so, but only after you've answered their question...Simply posting a URL as an "answer" is also discouraged. Back up that URL with a little explanation of what the reference is about, why you posted it, and some keys to understanding the resource you're referencing. It doesn't have to be a novel; a line or two will usually suffice. But that line or two will be of enormous help to people reading your message, who may not be as expert as you are... Above all, if you can't answer with a modicum of respect, or without feeling somehow annoyed by the question, then DO NOT ANSWER AT ALL. I'm dead serious about this. You may have seen and responded to a question six thousand times, but the person asking has only heard it once: when they asked it. They're asking it in order to fill a gap in their own knowledge. Make your answer an encouragement for more questions, not an incentive to unsubscribe.

To elaborate a bit on this, they have an outstanding wiki, full of useful information, not unlike the stickies here, our Player Guide, an our own new Wiki, but even if it is the most basic question asked by every noob, it is answered as suggested above, with a brief answer and the suggestion to "look here to learn more." Considering the list gets sometimes hundreds of submissions per day, it works remarkably well.

[1] http://www.css-discuss.org/policies.html

[Kalika]

i think its great you posted that link...

i hope that as a forum weve been tolerant to newbies...at least more so than we couldve been 

[Akaye]

<3

Kerol that link is the shiznit. Jose knows where to get all the good stuffs. I hope as Kalika has mentioned that this will help those who become annoyed with newbie questions to be patient with them.

[Garile]

It was an alright read although more for the GMs and moderators then us who are simply addicted to posting

[zanzibar]

It was an alright read although more for the GMs and moderators then us who are simply addicted to posting

I can stop any time I want.



From the first bit of the article, it looks like an interesting read.  I'll bookmark it.

[Karyuu]

Good read, thanks. There was a (brief?) period of time a year ago or so (could've been two), when the newbie help section was full of "RTFM!" and replies in a similar vein - we have calmed down immensely from such a state. The Newbie Help is pretty much full of repetition: what's the game like, what features are in, should I join, etc. But I've seen everyone on their best behavior when dealing with such threads, and the only exception is when a newbie is not only being a n00b, but a rude one - "FIX THIS NOW," "This game sucks," "I don't want to read anything," etc. When this happens, I have no qualms with sprinkling a bit salt on the n00b slug ;] Such people are usually best dealt with using a brutal honesty.

[Eublepharis]

In a perfect world were nobody will take advantage of your good intention because they are not lazy as heck to look for the answer for themselves, sure, there are no stupid questions.  Let me know if you find that world, I don't think it's near Hydlaa anywhere.

Here is a good question taken from the Default Safari Online - Managing Software Requirements:

One of our friends was once a tour bus guide in the Four Corners area, an area defined by the common borders of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Arizona. The tour bus route included the majestic peaks of the La Plata mountain range and the sprawling ancient Anasazi ruins of Mesa Verde and the surrounding area. Tourists' questions are a constant source of amusement among the tour guide crew and create a certain folk lore of the tour business. In one summer season, our friend's favorite silliest-question-ever-posed-by-a-stupid-tourist was, "So, ummm, how many undiscovered ruins are there?"
...

[Peacer]

It's a good article amd certainly gives a lot of good information, although there's probably a lot more than just this in a community =]

[lordraleigh]

It is a nice article...

But I'm afraid they forgot mentioning on the best way to do the "cleaning up" of the community and to prevent "contamination"

Beyond newbies, beginners, intermediaries and so on...

There are leets, flamers, trolls, flooders and so on...

There is a thin line between asking a stupid question that is already answered on the players guide or on older topics of the forum and flooding

One should know how to judge between lazyness to search for answers and serious doubts.