Using this Forum as a Tool

[farmer dan]

For many people, getting involved in this forum is a daunting task. Why?1. There's the five day wait to post while one is sitting on a burning project.
2. During the five day wait one sees that there is a lot of experience and knowlege here.
3. After the five day wait, where does one post, how does one ask?
4. The first post has no replies or one that says, "Read this guide."
5. All this time, that hot project is growing penicillin.I've seen many people comment, all over the forum, that they're way of thanking is to give back to the forum in the form of guides or answers to questions. I'm making an attempt to do that by offering my observations on "what I learned about learning" in completing my "hot project."

The project, as I learned, was more complex than I initially thought. And the journey was difficult. It was so long and difficult that I'm just going to supply the link to the thread here (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=63554). Quite possibly it could be called "Newbies Guide to the Forum."

Hope some people are interested in what could be called unsolicited advice.

[Kedirekin]

I remember when I first started doing SVCD conversions. There were no doom9 forums at that time (and no DVD2SVCD either), but there were the guides.

For about 5 weeks I had to struggle, constantly re-reading the same guides (and any others I could find) to learning what I needed to know and where I was making mistakes. It was incredibly frustrating, and on a number of occasions I just threw up my hands and walked away, but I always came back.

Six months later I realized that it's all natural. Frustration and mistakes are just part of learning. If I'd had the forums to draw on back then it might not have taken me 5 weeks, but I can gaurentee it'd still have been frustrating. And if there were no 5 day waiting period and someone to take your hand and tell you where to post, it'd still be frustrating. You'd have to wait for someone to answer your question, and you'd have to deal with misunderstanding their answer or not having the skill set to use the answer immediately.

And of course, there's the flip side of not having forum rules and a five day waiting period - we'd have a forum more like dvdrhelp where the noise level is so high you might never find an answer, or the person who can answer your question might never see your post.

In the balance, I think the way thinks work here is more a help then a hindrance. I'm sorry you and other new members have to suffer through the initial frustration, but I do think it's natural and unaviodable. Perhaps in 6 month's time you (and they) will agree.

[Mac Sidewinder]

I totally agree. When I first joined (ashamedly) it was to ask a question to a problem that was stumping me. I browsed each forum while I waited for my newbie period to end and sure enough I found the answer I was looking for.

There has to be some sort of rules and waiting period or the forums are of no help. It would be total chaos. I have tried other web sites with no rules and after awhile it entirely too tedious even to read the posts.

Probably the hardest thing for newbies is trying to formulate their problem (since they don't have the skill set needed to ask appropriate questions) and using the search function isn't much of a help if you don't know what your are looking for (the proper terminology).

All I can say is hang in there, learn, then help others.

Mac

[echooff]

I agree also. I spent 6 months reading the forum before I even signed up as a member. I have pretty much stopped visiting other forums because of the superflous BS that goes on. People learn much faster if they will search and try to find the answer on their own.

[influenza]

This forum is indeed an magnificent tool. The knowledge stored in all threads and within the brains of the various members is enormous.

I can remember posting here for the first quite well (it's not that long ago anyway). It's probably material for a good laugh or to be very ashamed off. Maybe when I have some spare time I'll reread some of my old posts :).

The best thing about the forum IMHO is that everybody get's treated in a good way. You can ask almost everything (within the forum rules that is). Some members have a kinda cynical way of approaching questions, but you have to be able to see through that.

I don't think a lot of questions go unanswered. Read this or that guide/post might not be the exact answer you are waiting for but will get you there. And in the end (Farmer dan can confirm that) you''ll be very pleased that you were able to solve your problem. With help of other members but also with a great deal of self effort, which highly contributes to the learning curve I think.

[Steelo]

I have to totally agree with echooff because like him I read through this forum (and a few others) for about a year before even joining. I was reading as many guides as I could find before I even purchased a burner. By the time I bought one I had found the answer to just about all my questions through other people's posts.

You need patience and a never give up attitude to really begin to enjoy the benefits that this hobby can provide. Of course you can always purchase one step solutions, but where is the fun in that :D

[r6d2]

@farmer dan,

Attitudes like yours make this Forum a pleasant place for the community as a whole and of course mods's life easier.

I'm glad you're not the only case, as other posters have expressed the same.

Patience is a scarce asset these days indeed.

Cheers.