Not everyone has the luxury of time to read the entire FAQ from beginning to end before attempting to use the product. Since search tools are provided on the page, many users will choose to use them. Part of the problem may be in the tools themselves. Here is a real example based on Mr. Hickel's query: 1] access VNC home page: "http://www.uk.research.att.com/vnc/" 2] use "search" widget on left 3] use the "search the VNC web pages and documentation form, enter "hide" and "logo" search terms 4] this indeed returns the FAQ (" http://www.uk.research.att.com/vnc/faq.html ") 5} access the FAQ by Navigator 4.08, Edit|Find in Page for terms "hide" and "logo" 6] results: "Search string not found" 7] results for "hide" or "logo" separately duplicate this failure 8] one notes that the FAQ item uses the terms "task bar" and "get rid of", not "logo" and "hide". Hmmmm. 9] use the "search the VNC web pages and documentation form, enter "get rid of" and "task bar" search terms. Results: "no matches were found". Hmmmm. 10] in the same form, reduce search terms to "task bar". Result: 1 match returned: "http://www.uk.research.att.com/vnc/winvnc.html" (not even the FAQ!) Now, I'll allow that better results might have been unearthed by searching the digest, as well, but that wasn't the gist of the responses in this thread, and, in practice, this has produced mixed results for me. I've been monitoring this list for about 1 month. When I began testing VNC for my employer, I searched through the FAQ and the digest for some items of interest without conspicuous success. Rule #1 in user support is to duplicate the user's situation as closely as possible. In this instance, that means using the same tools that the user is likely to employ to search the documents to which he is directed. I do not believe that was done by the respondents. Is it any wonder that basic questions recur on this list when the use of the search tools can be this unproductive? How much more frustrating would the scenario outlined above be for an individual whose command of the English language leaves much to be desired? I also believe that the single most effective way to improve the signal to noise ratio on this list (from the point of view of a "digest" subscriber) would be to convince posters to use a little better judgement and selectivity in quoting previous messages in responces. I've seen most of a digest issue consumed with 1 response to a long thread that was nested at least 4 levels deep. This is even more counterproductive when exacerbated by the repetition of excessively long footers (as others have noted) or code fragments. I tend to agree with those who have suggested that the list could benefit from segregation into "help" and "development" topics. John Wilson wrote: >> SORRY, but my question "to hide the VNC logo... " >> is NOT in the FAQ ... i did not see it >> If I saw it of course I would not asked the VNC list ..!! > >Sigh > >http://www.uk.research.att.com/vnc/faq.html#q45 Scott A. Miller, Mgr IS Support Unimin Corporation --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, send a message with the line: unsubscribe vnc-list to [EMAIL PROTECTED] See also: http://www.uk.research.att.com/vnc/intouch.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------
