High turnover rate of queries on Ask Metafilter September 10, 2004 1:17 PM Subscribe
I've had a few questions at AskMe that have had mediocre number of responses. While it could be that those questions were obscure/malformed, I think not. More likely, it's due to the the high turnover rate of queries on Ask Metafilter. Any decent solution for this?
The economic one calls for sophisticated analysis. You throw out a huge set of numbers and then ask "is this all true?" I'm not surprised few folk were eqippped to prove/disprove the findings of a Congressional Budget Office report. AskMe has limits.
posted by scarabic at 1:39 PM on September 10, 2004
posted by scarabic at 1:39 PM on September 10, 2004
It's a good question (Gyan's MeTa question) with bad examples. Sometimes a decent query goes wanting for answers simply due to bad timing - immediately after posting it, a bunch of questions pop up and push it down.
The best solution to this is on the way (?) - categories/keywords. When people filter the questions, presumably according to their interests, there will be fewer questions on the front page, and they're more likely to see questions that might otherwise have slipped beneath the waves (provided those questions fall within the category filtered on).
posted by luser at 1:49 PM on September 10, 2004
The best solution to this is on the way (?) - categories/keywords. When people filter the questions, presumably according to their interests, there will be fewer questions on the front page, and they're more likely to see questions that might otherwise have slipped beneath the waves (provided those questions fall within the category filtered on).
posted by luser at 1:49 PM on September 10, 2004
I dont think these are fair criticisms. You are saying both that one of Gyan's questions is too obvious and the other one is too hard.
The thing about Ask.Me is that for lots of obscure questions there really is someone out there that knows or may know the answer. Thats part of its purpose, or so I thought. But said person may not be checking Ask.Me on a daily or hourly basis.
Given that, how does one keep a question up so that it can be answered by the right person when/if they come by? Is that a fair re-statement of the question?
posted by vacapinta at 1:50 PM on September 10, 2004
The thing about Ask.Me is that for lots of obscure questions there really is someone out there that knows or may know the answer. Thats part of its purpose, or so I thought. But said person may not be checking Ask.Me on a daily or hourly basis.
Given that, how does one keep a question up so that it can be answered by the right person when/if they come by? Is that a fair re-statement of the question?
posted by vacapinta at 1:50 PM on September 10, 2004
for lots of obscure questions there really is someone out there that knows or may know the answer
True. But this one is a longshot. The "I'm a water systems engineer and I can tell you all about it" answers are great. But for the economic question, you'd have to work in the Congressional Budget Office and be willing to discuss it here. The high turnover is definitely an issue, and I don't see a fix for it furrently. But this particular question is at once too open-ended (please verify this huge report for me) and too demanding (I know the governement says it's true but what do you think?). You can ask for a gut-check on this kind of thing, but really, are you saying AskMe *doesn't* have limits?
Bear in mind that no one's telling Gyan it shouldn't have been posted, or is a bad question, but I'm not shocked at the low response.
posted by scarabic at 2:07 PM on September 10, 2004
True. But this one is a longshot. The "I'm a water systems engineer and I can tell you all about it" answers are great. But for the economic question, you'd have to work in the Congressional Budget Office and be willing to discuss it here. The high turnover is definitely an issue, and I don't see a fix for it furrently. But this particular question is at once too open-ended (please verify this huge report for me) and too demanding (I know the governement says it's true but what do you think?). You can ask for a gut-check on this kind of thing, but really, are you saying AskMe *doesn't* have limits?
Bear in mind that no one's telling Gyan it shouldn't have been posted, or is a bad question, but I'm not shocked at the low response.
posted by scarabic at 2:07 PM on September 10, 2004
Link #1: unlikely any MeFi members can speak authoritatively on the subject.
Link #2: the question is dumb. The answer is obviously "yes." The answer is also "google." You're lucky abuse wasn't hurled at you for that particular question. Get more specific, more quirky, more interesting, you might get more lucky.
Link #3: see #2.
I hate to break it to you, but the problem truly isn't with AskMe: it's with your questions.
posted by five fresh fish at 2:08 PM on September 10, 2004
Link #2: the question is dumb. The answer is obviously "yes." The answer is also "google." You're lucky abuse wasn't hurled at you for that particular question. Get more specific, more quirky, more interesting, you might get more lucky.
Link #3: see #2.
I hate to break it to you, but the problem truly isn't with AskMe: it's with your questions.
posted by five fresh fish at 2:08 PM on September 10, 2004
substrate: eh, how is the apparel question mediocre? I'm asking for the 'best' stores, not a listing. At most, Google will throw up some blogger's comparative pseudoreview. AskMe gives me the collective experience a.k.a. "sharing of knowledge". The same thing with the kuro5hin question, although the phrasing leaves a bit to be desired. Anyway, my Google-fu is not upto mark, so can you provide the search phrases?
BTW, I still don't know of good k5-like sites? Any takers?
And what vacapinta said.
posted by Gyan at 2:12 PM on September 10, 2004
BTW, I still don't know of good k5-like sites? Any takers?
And what vacapinta said.
posted by Gyan at 2:12 PM on September 10, 2004
but really, are you saying AskMe *doesn't* have limits?
Not at all. I'd like to think that people here could agree with Gyan's general point (that the high turnover is an issue) without going on the attack on his particular questions.
posted by vacapinta at 3:00 PM on September 10, 2004
Not at all. I'd like to think that people here could agree with Gyan's general point (that the high turnover is an issue) without going on the attack on his particular questions.
posted by vacapinta at 3:00 PM on September 10, 2004
I definitely agree with that point. There seemed to be some question as to whether it was primarily to blame for Gyan's unsatisfactory results. I regret if addressing that came off as "going on the attack." I took Gyan's MeTa thread as "Hey, I'm getting some unsatisfactory results. Here's why I think that is. What do you think?"
Categories will help with turnover. 'Nuff said.
posted by scarabic at 3:23 PM on September 10, 2004
Categories will help with turnover. 'Nuff said.
posted by scarabic at 3:23 PM on September 10, 2004
The apparel question is mediocre because you didn't describe any sort of style preference, didn't mention your location, didn't set a price guideline, etcetera. It was a vague, uninteresting, google-able question: you should be the one looking for these places via google and deciding which ones interest you, then ask which is good.
The same goes with your blogs question.
High turnover isn't the problem. A flood of poor questions is.
posted by five fresh fish at 3:27 PM on September 10, 2004
The same goes with your blogs question.
High turnover isn't the problem. A flood of poor questions is.
posted by five fresh fish at 3:27 PM on September 10, 2004
fff: The apparel question is mediocre because you didn't describe any sort of style preference, didn't mention your location, didn't set a price guideline, etcetera.
I just want a place that produces custom apparel, I don't care about style. I don't see what location has to do with it. Most questions implicitly deal with the US, without mentioning it. I mentioned "good, cheap, flexible sites" indicating cheap, online outlets. I don't want a list, I want a filter. Same goes for the blogs question.
posted by Gyan at 3:49 PM on September 10, 2004
I just want a place that produces custom apparel, I don't care about style. I don't see what location has to do with it. Most questions implicitly deal with the US, without mentioning it. I mentioned "good, cheap, flexible sites" indicating cheap, online outlets. I don't want a list, I want a filter. Same goes for the blogs question.
posted by Gyan at 3:49 PM on September 10, 2004
Any decent solution for this?
Don't expect too much from a community site that is free to use?
Alternative answer : Google answers
posted by SpaceCadet at 3:56 PM on September 10, 2004
Don't expect too much from a community site that is free to use?
Alternative answer : Google answers
posted by SpaceCadet at 3:56 PM on September 10, 2004
Anyway, as long as we're talking about how to get a question thread off the ground - I'd suggest letting it have its own life once you've posted it. Craft it carefully, then resist the urge to jump in and respond to the first couple comments you get. I've learned the hard way that people's answers aren't always exactly what you were expecting right away, but jumping in to tell them so can stifle a thread and discourage others from participating. Let it breathe, and wait for that one answer that totally hits the nail on the head. It might come days later.
Oh, and no one's mentioned it yet, but: the catchier you write it, the better chance you've got of getting people to see it, read it, enter it, and participate. Sad, perhaps, but as true here as it is everywhere else in the world. Obviously, "catchy" means different things for different question types. I'm always blinded by the ones that have working code in the question itself, but if that's what works... hey.
posted by scarabic at 3:57 PM on September 10, 2004
Oh, and no one's mentioned it yet, but: the catchier you write it, the better chance you've got of getting people to see it, read it, enter it, and participate. Sad, perhaps, but as true here as it is everywhere else in the world. Obviously, "catchy" means different things for different question types. I'm always blinded by the ones that have working code in the question itself, but if that's what works... hey.
posted by scarabic at 3:57 PM on September 10, 2004
Most questions implicitly deal with the US, without mentioning it.
You suck.
posted by reklaw at 4:17 PM on September 10, 2004
You suck.
posted by reklaw at 4:17 PM on September 10, 2004
Nothing really matters on Metafiilter. It's a website. If it disappeared or went "down hill" in your own value scale, your soul would not be damaged; for fucks sakes to be blunt, it won't matter to you what happens here. I hope this message helps you in your journey through life.
posted by SpaceCadet at 5:09 PM on September 10, 2004
posted by SpaceCadet at 5:09 PM on September 10, 2004
Erm, ignoring reklaw and SpaceCadet's trolls, I gotta say I disagree with Gyan's assessment that Ask.Me isn't useful.
I really enjoy this aspect of Metafilter. I've personally received great answers from people on questions I've asked, and been very impressed with most the questions and answers other people have written, in general. I second the Google Answers recommendation if you really need the info but can't be specific enough.
posted by Happydaz at 5:15 PM on September 10, 2004
I really enjoy this aspect of Metafilter. I've personally received great answers from people on questions I've asked, and been very impressed with most the questions and answers other people have written, in general. I second the Google Answers recommendation if you really need the info but can't be specific enough.
posted by Happydaz at 5:15 PM on September 10, 2004
To be clear: I love Ask! Free advice freely shared. Wonderful, wonderful.
posted by SpaceCadet at 5:21 PM on September 10, 2004
posted by SpaceCadet at 5:21 PM on September 10, 2004
Happydaz: I gotta say I disagree with Gyan's assessment that Ask.Me isn't useful.
Huh. Where did I ever assess that AskMe isn't useful? All I'm getting at is that AskMe has a high turnover rate, so obscure and specialized questions might go unanswered altogether and that other questions might be a victim to bad timing, even if in general, there is a decent-sized audience able to participate.
posted by Gyan at 5:28 PM on September 10, 2004
Huh. Where did I ever assess that AskMe isn't useful? All I'm getting at is that AskMe has a high turnover rate, so obscure and specialized questions might go unanswered altogether and that other questions might be a victim to bad timing, even if in general, there is a decent-sized audience able to participate.
posted by Gyan at 5:28 PM on September 10, 2004
Anyway, this thread isn't getting too constructive
We have a few lines of thought
1)There is a turnover problem but my questions were lame/bad, so they weren't a victim of turnover.
2)There isn't a turnover problem. My questions were lame/bad.
3)There is a turnover problem and they affected my questions
a)substantially
b)partially
4)I've been conned and Metafilter will not help my journey in life. Damn Matt!
Which is it and barring 2,4 what can we do about it?
posted by Gyan at 5:36 PM on September 10, 2004
We have a few lines of thought
1)There is a turnover problem but my questions were lame/bad, so they weren't a victim of turnover.
2)There isn't a turnover problem. My questions were lame/bad.
3)There is a turnover problem and they affected my questions
a)substantially
b)partially
4)I've been conned and Metafilter will not help my journey in life. Damn Matt!
Which is it and barring 2,4 what can we do about it?
posted by Gyan at 5:36 PM on September 10, 2004
If you don't care about style and don't care to tell us what sort of things you're actually interested in, then USE GOOGLE. Shit, boy, "google: custom apparel online order" brings up a million-and-a-half hits. Surely you'll find a good variety of shops within the first ten pages.
You want to wholly refute the idea that your questions were just piss-poor questions, instead of facting the truth.
Listen to me, Gyan: Your Questions Sucked.
You can do better next time.
posted by five fresh fish at 5:54 PM on September 10, 2004
You want to wholly refute the idea that your questions were just piss-poor questions, instead of facting the truth.
Listen to me, Gyan: Your Questions Sucked.
You can do better next time.
posted by five fresh fish at 5:54 PM on September 10, 2004
Also, your questions weren't the victims of turnover, they were the cause of turnover.
posted by five fresh fish at 5:56 PM on September 10, 2004
posted by five fresh fish at 5:56 PM on September 10, 2004
For those who can't see the woods for the trees:-
The Basics of Google Search
posted by SpaceCadet at 5:58 PM on September 10, 2004
The Basics of Google Search
posted by SpaceCadet at 5:58 PM on September 10, 2004
fff: Surely you'll find a good variety of shops within the first ten pages.
Of course, I will. I will find sites advertising that they have 'state-of-the-art' printing facilities, and fancy pictures of shirts with perfect-transfers on them. They're businesses, for christ sake. I want end-user comparisons from a community. And what has style got to do with it? I just want a site where I can place and print stuff on clothes, provided they do it well. I recieved three shirts from Zazzle today, and there's a world of difference between how it looked in "preview" and how it came out. I did do a Google Groups search for both my questions and the results were less than helpful.
posted by Gyan at 6:15 PM on September 10, 2004
Of course, I will. I will find sites advertising that they have 'state-of-the-art' printing facilities, and fancy pictures of shirts with perfect-transfers on them. They're businesses, for christ sake. I want end-user comparisons from a community. And what has style got to do with it? I just want a site where I can place and print stuff on clothes, provided they do it well. I recieved three shirts from Zazzle today, and there's a world of difference between how it looked in "preview" and how it came out. I did do a Google Groups search for both my questions and the results were less than helpful.
posted by Gyan at 6:15 PM on September 10, 2004
I would venture 4a, as you've been conned; you seem to be suffering from unrealistic expectations. Though diverse in knowledge and experience, Mefi does have its limits of shareable knowledge. Add to that your previous mention of the quick expiration of posts from the ask.me front page, and you have a recipe for a poor showing of quick answers.
How do we fix it? I don't know that it can be fixed, easily. Maybe we could pitch into an ask.me fund, hire a panel of experts readily available at our beck and call, and pray that the stars align and our queries fall into one of their specialties. Or, we could readjust our expectations, and realize that a poor response is not indicative of anything other than the fact that the special someone with the precise answer we were looking for just happened to be doing something else that day and forgot to check Ask.me.
Does that answer your question?
posted by jazzkat11 at 6:36 PM on September 10, 2004
How do we fix it? I don't know that it can be fixed, easily. Maybe we could pitch into an ask.me fund, hire a panel of experts readily available at our beck and call, and pray that the stars align and our queries fall into one of their specialties. Or, we could readjust our expectations, and realize that a poor response is not indicative of anything other than the fact that the special someone with the precise answer we were looking for just happened to be doing something else that day and forgot to check Ask.me.
Does that answer your question?
posted by jazzkat11 at 6:36 PM on September 10, 2004
Jeebus FFF, didjer Mom putcher underwear on ya backwards this morning or what?
The answer is somewhere between 3a and 3b.
posted by scarabic at 6:59 PM on September 10, 2004
The answer is somewhere between 3a and 3b.
posted by scarabic at 6:59 PM on September 10, 2004
No, it's that I'm getting really tired of trying to get Gyan to understand that his questions are the cause of the poor responses.
For starters, it wasn't even clear that he wanted to do some custom t-shirt printing: he said he wanted "custom clothing," which could just as easily mean bespoke tailoring as cheap Ts; or that he wants custom team-logo embroidering and not cheap ink-jet Ts; or that he wants a freakin' mumu and not a T at all.
If Gyan had done some basic research before asking his question, he'd have had a couple of leads to the sorts of shops that (a) provide the service he wants and (b) are in the price range he wants and (c) will actually provide product to his locale. Then he'd be able to ask an intelligent question, along the lines of "Has anyone used these shops, and did they provide satisfactory quality?"
The problem is not with AskMe: the evidence of that is in the number of questions that DO get comprehensive answers, and right quickly at that.
The problem is with Gyan and his astounding lack of understanding as to what makes a well-phrased question even after having it explained to him several times over.
I'm getting out of this conversation now before I really start to get abusive. This is his last chance to read and understand what I'm saying: I'm done talking to the freakin' wall.
posted by five fresh fish at 7:46 PM on September 10, 2004
For starters, it wasn't even clear that he wanted to do some custom t-shirt printing: he said he wanted "custom clothing," which could just as easily mean bespoke tailoring as cheap Ts; or that he wants custom team-logo embroidering and not cheap ink-jet Ts; or that he wants a freakin' mumu and not a T at all.
If Gyan had done some basic research before asking his question, he'd have had a couple of leads to the sorts of shops that (a) provide the service he wants and (b) are in the price range he wants and (c) will actually provide product to his locale. Then he'd be able to ask an intelligent question, along the lines of "Has anyone used these shops, and did they provide satisfactory quality?"
The problem is not with AskMe: the evidence of that is in the number of questions that DO get comprehensive answers, and right quickly at that.
The problem is with Gyan and his astounding lack of understanding as to what makes a well-phrased question even after having it explained to him several times over.
I'm getting out of this conversation now before I really start to get abusive. This is his last chance to read and understand what I'm saying: I'm done talking to the freakin' wall.
posted by five fresh fish at 7:46 PM on September 10, 2004
fff:For starters, it wasn't even clear that he wanted to do some custom t-shirt printing: he said he wanted "custom clothing," which could just as easily mean bespoke tailoring as cheap Ts; or that he wants custom team-logo embroidering and not cheap ink-jet Ts; or that he wants a freakin' mumu and not a T at all.
How about "I don't care until I see the answers"? I didn't want just custom t-shirts. That's just one of the things.
I did mention Cafepress and Zazzle. Those are adequate indicators to warrant similar responses. What the fuck is up with this location bullshit? I'm talking about online stores. This is a US-centric community. If I was in Papua New Guinea, I would have mentioned it.
I guess you better stay out of the conversation since you're not helping.
posted by Gyan at 7:59 PM on September 10, 2004
How about "I don't care until I see the answers"? I didn't want just custom t-shirts. That's just one of the things.
I did mention Cafepress and Zazzle. Those are adequate indicators to warrant similar responses. What the fuck is up with this location bullshit? I'm talking about online stores. This is a US-centric community. If I was in Papua New Guinea, I would have mentioned it.
I guess you better stay out of the conversation since you're not helping.
posted by Gyan at 7:59 PM on September 10, 2004
eh, I'm gonna say that your questions weren't terrible but they could have been better. The correct answer to your problem is that the post quality, as well as the turnover, are both forces at work upon your unanswered questions. I too have an unanswered question, but I think it wasn't a very good one as I pretty much answered it myself. whatever.
posted by bob sarabia at 8:47 PM on September 10, 2004
posted by bob sarabia at 8:47 PM on September 10, 2004
Gyan, the reason I said the apparel question wasn't a good question is because I see apparel stores on every website, a cruise around a half dozen websites would get you a half dozen places to buy t-shirts. You might luck out and somebody might know of some really cool online boutique but chances are everybodies going to point out the ones everybody already knows. The fact that you didn't say what you were looking for doesn't help. What couldn't you find at cafepress?
The one about kuro5hin like sites is really difficult. You want something like kuro5hin but don't like kuro5hin. Somebody pointed out a list of other scoop driven sites but an honest answer might be: Gee... I don't know of any other sites like that. Nobody posts "I don't know" though.
The economics question wasn't really mediocre and I apologize for implying it was. It's actually a good question but it's a bit of a Hail Mary too. You might luck out and find somebody with the right credentials which does happen from time to time. It's not something you can bank on though.
The turnover does work against you, especially for the economics question because you're betting on whether somebody knowledgable on that topic will show up and decide to respond before it rolls off the page.
Categories might help but only if the government economics guy thinks to himself "I wonder if anybody has any economics questions?" and decides to browse that category.
For some questions Ask Mefi will always be a gamble. For some questions you're more likely to get an answer you find satisfactory by looking for more topic oriented forums. Is there an economics weblog? Probably.
I think Ask Mefi is great, not because I ask a lot of questions or can answer a lot of questions but because I learn a lot of stuff I didn't know about things I'd never dream of asking.
posted by substrate at 9:16 PM on September 10, 2004
The one about kuro5hin like sites is really difficult. You want something like kuro5hin but don't like kuro5hin. Somebody pointed out a list of other scoop driven sites but an honest answer might be: Gee... I don't know of any other sites like that. Nobody posts "I don't know" though.
The economics question wasn't really mediocre and I apologize for implying it was. It's actually a good question but it's a bit of a Hail Mary too. You might luck out and find somebody with the right credentials which does happen from time to time. It's not something you can bank on though.
The turnover does work against you, especially for the economics question because you're betting on whether somebody knowledgable on that topic will show up and decide to respond before it rolls off the page.
Categories might help but only if the government economics guy thinks to himself "I wonder if anybody has any economics questions?" and decides to browse that category.
For some questions Ask Mefi will always be a gamble. For some questions you're more likely to get an answer you find satisfactory by looking for more topic oriented forums. Is there an economics weblog? Probably.
I think Ask Mefi is great, not because I ask a lot of questions or can answer a lot of questions but because I learn a lot of stuff I didn't know about things I'd never dream of asking.
posted by substrate at 9:16 PM on September 10, 2004
Gyan, the reason I said the apparel question wasn't a good question is because I see apparel stores on every website, a cruise around a half dozen websites would get you a half dozen places to buy t-shirts. You might luck out and somebody might know of some really cool online boutique but chances are everybodies going to point out the ones everybody already knows.
This could explain fff's reaction to my Q. I rarely buy clothes online and I have never gone looking for clothes online. The reason I didn't say what I was looking for, was because I wasn't looking for anything specific. I wanted to know who did the best custom-work and take it from there.
posted by Gyan at 9:29 PM on September 10, 2004
Anyway, my Google-fu is not upto mark, so can you provide the search phrases?
This is a joke, right?
How about "I don't care until I see the answers"? I didn't want just custom t-shirts. That's just one of the things.
Do these sentences mean something?
posted by IshmaelGraves at 9:50 PM on September 10, 2004
This is a joke, right?
How about "I don't care until I see the answers"? I didn't want just custom t-shirts. That's just one of the things.
Do these sentences mean something?
posted by IshmaelGraves at 9:50 PM on September 10, 2004
IshmaelGraves: Not a joke. Give me the search phrases that answer my AskMe questions, coz I sure don't know them.
posted by Gyan at 10:03 PM on September 10, 2004
posted by Gyan at 10:03 PM on September 10, 2004
Sense of entitlement: check.
Arrogant: check.
Nationality... well there's a surprise.
posted by reklaw at 10:42 PM on September 10, 2004
Arrogant: check.
Nationality... well there's a surprise.
posted by reklaw at 10:42 PM on September 10, 2004
Well. This seems to be a tempest in a T-shirt. Gyan, I don't think your questions were so bad, I just think that nobody who saw the questions knew the answers. The fact is that questions do scroll off the screen within hours, and this means that the less easy queries are less likely to be answered. I think everybody is hoping that Matt's Ask renovation will address this. In the two cases where you wanted alternative sites (to kuro5hin / cafe press), providing more details might have helped a bit... I truly don't know.
posted by taz at 1:37 AM on September 11, 2004
posted by taz at 1:37 AM on September 11, 2004
Sense of entitlement: check.
Arrogant: check.
Nationality... well there's a surprise.
reklaw, Gyan is, as far as I'm aware, Indian, not American.
posted by ZippityBuddha at 4:45 AM on September 11, 2004
Arrogant: check.
Nationality... well there's a surprise.
reklaw, Gyan is, as far as I'm aware, Indian, not American.
posted by ZippityBuddha at 4:45 AM on September 11, 2004
Not a joke. Give me the search phrases that answer my AskMe questions
Everyone who dismisses a question with a wave of the hand and "Google it" should realize Google is a tool and not everyone is as good at using it as you are. I get questions all the time from family members that are frustrating in their (to me) obviousness. It took a while to slow down and consider they might not be as familiar with the web as I am. So I do the Googling for them and send back some results with the query I used. Kind of the fish + teaching to fish approach. I'm really good at putting together a query that uses the right words but also uses words/ combinations unique enough to make the results worth wading through, but I know that's a skill I learned. Realize anyone can get results from Google (e.g., "sex"), but it's hard to get meaningful results until you learn to form strings Google can use. Just because someone is on MeFi doesn't mean they're a complete geek.
In sum: stop assuming everyone else is at your ability level and just to lazy to do it themselves. Next time you write "Google it," wrap that in a link to a well-formed search.
posted by yerfatma at 7:49 AM on September 11, 2004
Everyone who dismisses a question with a wave of the hand and "Google it" should realize Google is a tool and not everyone is as good at using it as you are. I get questions all the time from family members that are frustrating in their (to me) obviousness. It took a while to slow down and consider they might not be as familiar with the web as I am. So I do the Googling for them and send back some results with the query I used. Kind of the fish + teaching to fish approach. I'm really good at putting together a query that uses the right words but also uses words/ combinations unique enough to make the results worth wading through, but I know that's a skill I learned. Realize anyone can get results from Google (e.g., "sex"), but it's hard to get meaningful results until you learn to form strings Google can use. Just because someone is on MeFi doesn't mean they're a complete geek.
In sum: stop assuming everyone else is at your ability level and just to lazy to do it themselves. Next time you write "Google it," wrap that in a link to a well-formed search.
posted by yerfatma at 7:49 AM on September 11, 2004
*Understated, polite applause at yerfatma's remark*
posted by Blue Stone at 8:07 AM on September 11, 2004
posted by Blue Stone at 8:07 AM on September 11, 2004
Thanks for spelling that out, yerfatma. I've had this problem myself, and I'm not exactly unfamiliar with Google. There are some things that I know so little about that the great challenge is trying to imagine what the magic key words might be, and in many cases it turns out to be very particular lingo that one wouldn't know unless s/he was already so familiar with the subject that they would never need to ask the original question.
posted by taz at 8:12 AM on September 11, 2004
posted by taz at 8:12 AM on September 11, 2004
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posted by substrate at 1:32 PM on September 10, 2004