27 replies to this topic

[chrishirst]

So if they arrive to learn, why can't they understand that was their first lesson???
Or is that everybody thinks they should be treated as "special" and never be told they are wrong?

[cfreek]

So, just to make sure I'm following things... In a forum where the job is to educate, we're not supposed to make sure people are doing things right?

Edited by cfreek, 02 February 2012 - 10:45 AM.

[Michael Martinez]

It doesn't matter what type of forum community you have. You're going to alienate SOMEONE.

[piskie]

It's not so much the educating, it's the glee with which the correctional response portrays shall we say zealousness.
It's as if there is far more importance on almost chastisingly to correct what within the context is quite a minor error than the importance attached to the help request itself.
I have observed newcomers get one liner almost put downs and thought that's a nice Welcome to HR.

My point is that over vigorously correcting a minor terminology mistake is often a turn off for newcomers.
Maybe the low forum activity of late is partly down to deterring newcomers who after all are the ones who will hopefully replace the departed veterans.

[chrishirst]

Maybe the low forum activity of late is partly down to deterring newcomers who after all are the ones who will hopefully replace the departed veterans.

Forum activity is "down" at every SEO/web dev forum there is, even the spammer/scammer haunts of (no names mentioned to protect the guilty but you know where they are) are quiet. Well, quiet apart from the pidgin english comments of "Tnx for nice post I am loking for this since 3 wekks" and the like. All accompanied of course by the requisite signature links of "SEO Bangalore", "Learn English in 24hours", "Vietnam car hire" or "Quality Articles. 1000 words for $10" etc. etc.

Somehow, I don't think we are going to stoop to those levels just to appear "busy"

[piskie]

I wasn't for a minute suggesting that HR should tolerate Crud just for the sake of looking busy.
Not sure where that connection came from.

Some small business owner/operators are quite timid when it comes to looking daft or being (virtually) humiliated on-line.
Many are quite capable of progressing to be useful contributors relating their progress from guidance gained here.

Also, note that alienation of newbies can sometimes be avoided by not being so zealous about a seemingly harmless terminology slip that is not really relevant to the topic in hand in their first or early posts.
It all goes towards making HR seem the helpful and welcoming place it (perhaps) ought to be.

[chrishirst]

So!
If I walked into PC World and asked for a computer, and when the PC world drone starts asking about processor, memory, HD size etc. to which I say, "No no, I just need the bit with keys that I press". Would that also be a "seemingly harmless terminology slip"?

[piskie]

I'm surprised that you consider that analogy to be even remotely comparable Chris.

If my wife goes into a shop to buy a hoover, the assistant (in the UK) would know that she wanted a vacuum cleaner.
If however the assistant proceeded to correct this terminology slip, I'm sure my wife would exit and go to another shop for her purchase.
However the assistant could then explain to the store manager that although we lost a sale, "She had to be corrected .............."

[chrishirst]

The difference is the same, a keyboard is part of the whole just as an attribute is part of a tag.

AND back in the early days of PCs there were very many people who referred to or thought that the keyboard as the computer, simply because with the Commodore 64, BBC A, BBC B, Electron, Sinclair ZX81, Spectrum etc, the keyboard WAS in the computer. Which was fortunate for the company I worked for, because someone broke into the reception/front office and stole all the keyboards from the "typing pool" computers.

How's that for a "harmless terminology slip"??

[chrishirst]

Oh and I do very often correct people who say "hoover" instead of Vacuum cleaner" and when they use the ambiguous "Bulb" rather than "lamp" or "light bulb". Bulb refers to the SHAPE not the function.
Yes, it may be pedantic but it does mean that I am rarely misunderstood.

In this particular industry where many of the participants and "experts" can barely speak, read or write in English, (or American) getting the terminology absolutely correct is paramount, whether people feel slighted by being corrected or not.

[Jill]

As Piskie has said, there does come a point where it's simply rude, as opposed to helpful.

[piskie]

WOW, I agree with Jill agreeing with me !!!!!!!

[Jill]