mgholley
DD-WRT Novice
Joined: 28 Apr 2008
Posts: 23
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 Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2009 8:17 Post subject: Wiki vs Forum, Expert vs Novice, Enthusiast vs End-User |
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So a common thread I've seen in many forums which provide a support function for software/hardware is that overwhelming amounts of information coupled with basic search functionality equals massive amounts of duplicate information and eventually frustrated end-users as well as moderators and power-users. I'm probably like many end-users, I don't visit a forum unless I'm experiencing problems. I try my best to read the sticky notes and FAQ which are easily visible and at the forefront of the logical Forum/Sub-forum. However, I am not an enthusiast. I'm not looking forward to hours and hours of reading notes which may or may not address my issues. So I usually post hoping to catch whichever "expert" (be it moderator, enthusiast, or bored IT guy) is around to point me in the right direction. Using too simple a search term returns hundreds upon hundreds of posts, which I'll never get through, and using too detailed gets me to 3 posts which died a long time ago and were never really answered.
I don't like creating extra work for people, yet I am suprised (appalled?) at the lack of oranization around these forums. I guess I'm an organizer at heart and I feel like I woul go crazy if I was the frequent power user answering a ? I've seen literally a hundred times. [Hell, this note might even be an example]. So I'm curious if there is any effort at DD-WRT to improve organization of the forums/wiki and if I could lend a hand. I guess this is one of the few places where I come back every few months, and I feel like it might be more valuable than a $20 paypal donation.
My short theories:
Wikis are best edited by experts, usually contain factual knowledge agreed upon by consensus, and will often answer 80% of the questions I've seen in the forum. But most of the wiki are kept current, and power users don't answer ?/link to the wiki. They often cut and paste answers, link to previous forum ?s, or point to forum threads which they sticky (or would like to sticky) which really should be wiki entries instead. (i.e. most posts which have 100+ posts and/or 10,000 + views should get moved to a WIKI or FAQ)
Repeat/redunant ?s are left open, making searches more complex and their results left valuable. If a newcomer posts such a ?, it should be turned into a PM, and that user should be redirected to the FAQ, WIKI, or thread which deals with their problem. That way it no longer adds to the pile of searches and devalues the content.
Moderators should be able to mark a post with "ME TOO" syndrome. People looking for solutions aren't interested in viewing a bunch of messages where other people essentially say "me too"..thereby extending the OPs thread to massive lenghts.
The self-help things probably need to be broken down into novice users, expert, and developer. In the case of dd-wrt, assume the majority are novice users, don't know linux/command-shell, and may not be interested in spending several days learning to become a command-like jockey to get their $40 router working with their 3 computers. It just isn't practical. They don't mean to insult the experts and they don't want to waste their time either, but the time/ability/desire simply isn't there. I don't know how much of a desire there is to make DD-WRT the premiere OS running on routers, if they eventually want to incorporate and have a product or what. But I can tell you that the single-most frustrating thing about coming to a forum such as this one (and many others..I'm not dissing DD-WRT or the wonderful people who provide support here) is the assumption that I should desire to spend several hours becoming intimately involved in the program in order to use it. I am one of the tens of thousands of Brand X consumers who became frustrated with the device I purchased only to learn that there was a better answer than just returning it to the store and trying yet another brand.
Lastly, I know that this isn't necessarily the place where I'm supposed to learn about all aspects of wireless communication. But it seems like the ?s inevitably get asked here and the WIKI/FAQ don't appear as robust as they could be, especially in regards to the Novice/Expert/Developer levels I mentioned earlier. It seems to me that by nature most of the folks here are either home users and/or small business. Those folks with enough budget are paying big money for the expensive routers which don't encounter the problems those of us with the $40 routers have. And when they do have them, they have a support number they can call and/or SLA on getting things right. I'm sure its out there, but I have yet to see a WIKI/FAQ that talks about simple, novice level items around wireless communications. Things like insuring using devces with compatible chipsets, good combinations of AP and device hardware, (i.e. getting a good router for the $1400 laptop you already own), physically adjusting the antennas and/or cheap (and easy to install) antenna and/or boosters, devices in the home that can interfere (besides cordless phones/microwaves too), devices in the building materials, etc..etc.. The list goes on...but essentially a single WIKI/FAQ that starts out like this...
"You're a home/soho user who just picked up your third wireless router from Best Buy only to find that it sucks just as much as the last two. An IT friend/Google/a poster at the products support site have directed you to DD-WRT. Before you begin, 1) here is a very short warning about flashing and the novice computer person, 2) here is a list of things you should check before even worrying about configuraton/firmware (i.e. making sure the client device is compatible/has proven track record with the AP (for the many, many folks who think that if the router box says Wireless-G and the Dell website said Wireless-G...the two devices should automatically and easily connect at the highest possible speeds, etc...etc..) 3) + ... (An organized list which covers common hardware/software issues, links to FAQ/WIKI or external sites which address these issues and finally, the top ten most common problems/mistakes/issues
I realize that the problems of wireless connectivity are bigger than DD-WRT. The reason why so many websites consistenly have less than 5 stare ratings for devices which power users know are good equipment is the utter lack/failure of wireless manufacturers to discuss some of the minor nuances such as chipset compatibility and the like, but it seems like this community was created, in part, because of a belief that these devices should work better than they currently are.
If this effort is already being addressed somewhere, could someone please direct me to the right location and then delete my post. If not, could I interest some of the moderators/power users into discussions about how to better organize/clean up the DD-WRT WIKI, FAQ & Forums. I'm not proposing to spear-head the effort as clearly there are many users who know this site better than me, but I would gladly contribute time and project managment like skills to the team. Again, I view myself as a novice user who wants to contribute, make DD-WRT more accessible and end-user friendly, and eventually, hopefully, make the job easier on the moderators/power users who frequent the place....
Thanks for reading and your input...
Update 1: Another thing I thought to address. I would think it would be benefitial if each model router had its own Subforum. (i.e. Broadcom->Linksys->WRT350N) The first/lead sticky in each forum would address some of the following: Latest stable build...latest stable BETA build...latest BETA build...Power users/moderators/devlopers dedicated/working on this model...current identified bugs SPECIFIC to this model...link to build bugs....wish list of features/updates for this model.. |
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