LQ Zero Reply Drive
 

One of the main goals of LQ is to help members get questions about Linux answered. One way we help facilitate this is with the "Zero Reply" functionality, which allows you to easily find threads with no replies. In the spirit of helping other LQ members, I'd like to have a "Zero Reply Drive" for the next 48 hours. Starting at 10PM LQST tonight (approximately 30 minutes from now) I'd like to invite everyone to click http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...p?do=noreplies and attempt to answer as many questions as they can. At the time of this posting there were 496 threads in the last month that have yet to receive a reply. Let's see how low we can get that number in the next 48 hours. Keep in mind that if you'd like to search for threads on specific topics that have 0 replies, you can do so using the advanced search (Find Threads with -> At Most -> 0 Replies). While we appreciate you regularly checking the Zero Reply list for threads you can help answer, I'm hoping a concerted effort raises the bar here at LQ further. If this is successful we'll consider doing it more regularly. Your help is much appreciated.

If you have any ideas on how we can further facilitate questions being answered at LQ, please let us know in this thread.

--jeremy

Of course, no going into 0 reply threads, posting "zing! another 0 reply bites the dust" and not helping. :)

TG

lol

Just a note: If you'd like to help answer Zero Reply Threads on a more ongoing basis, you can subscribe to the "Zero Reply Email", which sends 25 threads with no replies once a night.

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...do=editoptions ( Messaging & Notification -> Receive Zero Reply Email)

Thanks!
--jeremy

Another note: There's also an RSS feed for Zero Reply Threads: http://www.linuxquestions.org/syndicate/lqnoreplies.xml

We've currently reduced the number of threads with no replies by 10% since the drive started. Keep up the good works and thanks for the help so far!

--jeremy

quick question
 

i've actually never asked a question here -although i come here all the time for problem solving- because there is almost always someone who has already faced and asked the question i'm looking for.
reading all the answers and different opinions in response to someone else's question seems a much better idea than asking the same question again and waiting for the same replies.
so..
for many of the zero-reply posts out there, a simple search in the forum (or google) would yield many (relevant) results in a very short amount of time.
this may be a reason why no one has replied. Its not that they don't want to help, its just kindof a waste of time to keep answering the same questions over and over
usually one should make a bit of an effort before asking, wouldn't u say?
in which case i'm not really sure what the solution is..

I have to catch a bus, but I do have some quick thoughts on this.

When I have browsed the zero-reply list, there have been quite a few things that were pretty specialized and/or obscure (An elegant way of saying "above my pay grade".) What if there could be some "super-gurus" recruited who would agree to deal with some of the toughies at regular intervals---or perhaps upon getting a special notice.

Another category is the questions that I--for one--simply get tired of answering. Could we build some canned responses for--eg--"how do I setup dual-boot", or the ever-popular "Which Linux is best". I would not mind clicking the canned response while browsing around the forum with the brain set on low..........

Back some time ago, I would have agreed with you. But I realize now some people are so "newbies" they don't even know how to search (or they may simply not know what to search for in a given case). Considering this, I might be helpful to answer their question with the URL(s) of previously answered problems and maybe a URL and/or note asking them to search for it next time.

On the other hand, I agree some just didn't want to search it themselves: to those I would usually respond with solely a Google link with the three keywords they should have typed or so (though I must admit giving a 'letmegooglethatforyou' link does entertain me at times).

Now, as to how to distinguish between the two types, I don't know of any sure way, be your own judge. Still, I try to stay cordial and helpful no matter what (after all people who did made a research might stumble on this particular thread).

Regards,
Vhann

could this have anything to do with the zero replies?
 

dslkniste, you do not have permission to access this page. This could be due to one of several reasons:

1. Your user account may not have sufficient privileges to access this page. Are you trying to edit someone else's post, access administrative features or some other privileged system?
2. If you are trying to post, the administrator may have disabled your account, or it may be awaiting activation.

My own experiences with this
 

Hi,

I've looked at a few of the replies so far. I am not really in a good place to help with most of the questions I see here but I have helped a few people over the time I've been on LQ. I have also found a lot of help for issues of my own or on behalf of others in my local community.

The biggest problem is knowing when to not rant about people who "won't" do their own searches <never in public>. Too often a search only turns up 700 rants and no solutions. Fortunately that is rare on LQ. Why would newbies (or anybody else) ever want to do a search if thats all they are going to find? The comments about people who really don't even know "what" to search for or what question to ask are spot on.

I am reluctant to post to many of the threads so as not to add useless bulk. One search process involves looking for threads that have several replies. It's disappointing if all the replies are rants or "me too" replies. I don't have computer science degrees or (gawd!) Microsoft certs, just a lot of experience that used to be referred to as a "power user". A lot of the questions I see here are not in the same woods where I work so I would be barking up the wrong tree if I reply. That probably accounts for a lot of zero reply threads. I'm sure other people here do know when to keep quiet if they have nothing helpful to add.

Finally... I thought I had subscribed to a zero reply notification in the past. I remember seeing a list from time to time from LQ that I looked at to see if I could accidentally help somebody. I don't know how that might have been turned off. I'm going to reconnect to that.

I'm going back to my lurker status now.

Bill

Me Too! ;-)
Gimme tha list an I answer ya!
I feel the miss of canned recipies. Google has a merge feature that could be usefull here. Users could by vote merge or point a solution as a recipy, a merited tutorial, or so.
In the end a search in google would qwickly bring it there.
A few extra icons I d suggest under threads:
( ) this is relevant
( ) this is what call a tutorial, merge it
( ) life saver answer
( ) probed, worked for me
( ) Mee Too!

regards
mario

To rant or not to rant
 

If you want to keep your karma in good shape, the time not to rant is always! Or to put it another way, the time to rant is never (just to cover all the angles)

:o (I know this smiley is officially for embarrassment, but it looks like meditation to me. Om!

With the zero replies, sometimes the best answer to a post is "can you provide more information such as the output from lspci (or whatever)". Often posts get no response because there's either insufficient data or the question is worded in a way to make it incomprehensible. So get clarification, you may not be able to answer it after clarification but it may make it easier for someone else to do so.

dslkniste, I'm not able to reproduce this, but you are the second member who has gotten this message. Can you send me the *exact* URL you're getting this for? The 0 reply search should not even require you be logged in to access it. Thanks.

--jeremy

As an update: with roughly 12 hours left, we're currently down to 305 Zero Reply Threads, which is almost a 40% reduction. IMHO, that's absolutely fantastic. Thanks for the dedication so far!

--jeremy

With the first LQ Zero Reply Drive officially over, I'd like to thank everyone for participating. At 10PM LQST last night, there were 242 Zero Reply threads. That means over the course of 48 hours we reduced threads with no replies by 52%. I definitely consider this a successful effort and would like feedback on whether we should make the LQ Zero Reply a regular occurrence. If we do, how often should we have the drive and for how long each time. Thanks again, your effort and dedication are appreciated.

--jeremy

Well, one thing you can do is when the number of zero reply posts gets large (past a limit) you can do it again ... basically on an as needed basis.

Hi,

As has already been suggested, set some upper limit for the number off zero reply threads. Once reached then do a "Zero Reply Drive"

I think that doing it every x months, or any defined period, would loose its effectiveness. It would just become the normal and get overlooked, like the zero reply threads that its trying to address/fix

Regards
Ian

Something I've wondered about for a long time ...

Roughly what percentage of zero-reply threads (compared to all threads started) "fall of the end" w/o ever getting answered? Do you have any statistics on that?

That's not a statistic we currently track, but the relevant information is all public, so could be worked out if you're interested enough.

--jeremy

Not necessarily. If the drive happens, say, every three months, and the most helpful responder receives a free prize from the LQ store (or a $50 gift certificate to Red Lobster:D), I think that might help keep it interesting and productive.

Just my :twocents:

ROFLMAO!!

That was just too funny!

Cheers

Jeremy, Do you have final counts?

The final counts are in post #16: http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...30#post3705030

--jeremy

Zero Reply vs Not Solved Yet
 

All too often a Good Question gets sunk without trace by a "me too" or "more information please" or "wrong answer" reply.

Can we have a way of marking a query as "Not Solved Yet" and get it back in the Zero reply queue?

Maybe when the question is posed it is marked as "Not Solved Yet".

After each reply it is, by default, marked "Solved", unless a radio button is clicked to re-mark it as "Not Solved Yet".

The current functionality allows posters to mark their query as solved. Anything that isn't marked as such is assumed to not be solved. If we set every thread to solved after each reply we would soon lose members as they get fed up having to manually unmark each time.

In terms of the quality of answers, if the original post doesn't have enough information, the only thing to do is to request more information.

Ah. Now you bring my attention to the existence of such a feature... I eventually found it under "Thread Tools", but only under my own threads...

Perhaps we need a "Unsolved" thread tool to push it back into the zero reply queue.

I also think that this would be a good way to schedule the drives, but regardless which way is decided as the frequency of zero-reply drives, I do think that it would be good to have them every so often, considering the relative success of this one.

Nice going, everyone ;)

Sasha

But the zero reply queue is purely for those threads that have no replies at all. The main queues are for threads that have replies but are still unsolved. And, if I create a thread, I should be the one to deem it solved or unsolved. If I'm happy with a resolution and mark it solved I really would not want someone else to change that because my solution wasn't their solution.

Just my thoughts on a couple things I've read on this, as coming from a Windows only background this site has been huge for me.

I've even had a post where the first reply I got was basically a lecture of "well why didn't you google it" when I had no clue what to google exactly anyway. I could see where some people would get that, get frustrated, and just abandon the post because someone was an arse.

I do think the zero response drive was cool, I tried to even pitch in even though I know very little about Linux. Maybe if you do it every X days, or the first day of every quarter blast out an email reminding everyone its that time again, that would be good.

I wouldn't go through and auto-mark any threads as Solved. I think being able to mark them as Solved is a newer feature. Maybe if it was given its own button instead of buried in the menu, that would remind people that its an option and they would use it more. solved is all relative to the poster, and it may take a few posts for the poster to even ask the right question.

I think drawing more attention to the Mark as Solved feature like I mentioned above would make an "unsolved" drive every few months more worthwhile.

Zeros
 

Unfortunately I didn't receive the email about this drive until it was almost over.

I have to admit that i subscribed to the Zero reply e-mail more to use it as learning tool than a 'burning' desire to help, not that i wouldn't if i could...

I agree that it should be up to the OP whether to mark a thread "solved" or not. But I think a little more consideration should be given to the fact that simply asking for more information bumps a thread off of zero reply. Zero reply, I would assume, is there to draw attention to threads that have not yet had any. Yet, if (frequently through the inexperience or absent mindedness of the OP) not enough information was provided, a post of "more info please" is required, the functional status off that thread still has not changed -- it still needs as much attention as when there were no replies. Indeed this situation is true through the response of the OP (hopefully providing the info). Maybe a button could be provided to allow the request for more info w/o bumping off of zero reply? If it is thought this might be confusing to some or would be abused, maybe only present the button to members with enough post to demonstrate they understand what LQ is about?

I am not saying what I have outlined above is the exact answer. There may be a much better way I haven't thought of. But I don't think the suggestion (whoever raised it, above) that simply asking for more info should not bump a thread of zero-reply should be summarily dismissed. (I appologize to English teachers everywhere for that last sentence. I simply could not figure out a way to make it less clumsy! :p)

If you create a thread with insufficient information it is unlikely to be answered. Simply ignoring the thread until the OP fills out the details will only work in a very small number of cases. Therefore, the logical next step is to ask for more information, surely? The zero reply area should not be seen as a sacred cow, where only answers are allowed - if I need more info to be able to help someone, I should ask in the thread. Otherwise, we would have to email the poster to fill out the details and would overflow their inbox quickly. Also, I don't have the time to email every poster with little to no info in their thread.

Addressing the question??
 

jeremy:

i think having the zero drive is a good thing, and i fully support it, i will look at it and maybe help??

i am a COBOL programmer, usually on IBM or Microsoft equipment, and really am not prepared to be of much help to the many questions asked, but i will try. i have not been into linux that long, but i love it.

it would also be helpful if the questioner only asked about one problem at a time; on one thread. although there maybe several related problems, try to just ask one per question, but you may ask as many as desired at one time.

i also note that not all of the responders are addressing the main question that you have asked;
"we're considering making the LQ Zero Reply Drive a regular occurrence. Visit http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...-drive-758562/ to let us know what you think."
or am I being nit-pikky?http://e1h7.simplecdn.net/lqcdn/imag...s_lq/icon5.gif

thank you, len tyree.

I haven't read the whole thread, sorry, busy life at the moment. But I have read the first page and looked at the Zero reply list and with my little knowledge I can see why some of the questions are likely to end up in this list as some of these are too specialized in something only another 'insider' would know more about. So, is it possible to create a system that helps getting such questions quicker to the attention of a more likely member that may have the knowledge to answer such questions better? Existing Members will have to update their profiles and place ticks in boxes (still to be implemented by LQ site admins) boxes that will help them to see such questions first upon login to LQ website. Just a thought. Not sure how to categorize each specialism but I would say that 'medical' could be one, 'professional audio' could be another if you can see my point. Don't know if this would add any extra value to LQ.

ron

sorry, I can't help you with that problem :-)
yeah, i'm paygrade-challenged (pre-paygrade in my case)
yeah, well... translate that question to: "which point n shoot desktop livecd should i download to try various common usage?" the answers are obvious (ubuntu, often). And if the newb likes photography, add that term to a search similar to: http://www.google.com/search?tbo=1&t...+inurl%3Aforum i check the 0replies posts because I can answer those "dumb" questions (and windows questions).
I need also say that finding the url or outline of the exact pertinent terminology, is very valuable. there's much "almost" exact info (because situations vary in extensive details). So the only way a newb can differentiate "almost" from "exactly", is by spending another 54 (guesstimate) hours sifting, and trying. researching is educational only if "the newb" persists. (this is also true for macs and must be true for windows)

Sorry i saw this post late... How about a Flashing Zero Reply Penguin as a link to zero reply que? Then i wldn't miss it when I goto Forums Tab.
Some of the remarks about newbies are poor reflection of linux spirit. Sometimes newbies need to be instructed on howto use search tools.
I will always be a newbie because i have no OS, Programing or otherwise Computer Training. My entire computer technology experience has be shaped by internet forums both Windows and Linux.
Arrogance and impatience is not a privilege of intellectual prowess but rather the antithesis of knowledge.
There is no shame in not knowing a thing or ignorance unless it is knowingly self perpetuated with conscious decision. Like being rude (hurtful)as i have experienced well its just hurtful.

I will be more than happy to give back or share what i have been taught here and else where. Thank you Jeremy for all yours other's hard work.

I'm not an English teacher but... "appologize" is spelled "apologize"! :-)

I'll try declumsifying your run-on sentence (though declumsifying is not a real word, lash, lash!):
Someone here (above) suggested that in a zero-reply thread, a replier's question** should not bump that thread out of the zero-replies***
I ((blackhole54)) think this suggestion is worth considering.


** (ie, requesting more info - not providing an answer)
*** the zero-reply feed or zero-reply post filter.


do you like that "deciphering"? :-)

"solved" vs "dead"
 

there are a lot of buttons on these forums. it would be easy to not see the "solved" button. It's also easy to not know whether the problem is solved until much later. it takes time to try out the suggestion(s) and the possible variants of those suggestions, including whatever googling the whole internet may bring up (all outside of the thread).

I've often seen other forums apply a "timeout" or "closed due to inactivity (after 10 days)". AFAIK, usually mods manually close threads, but a timeout could be automatic.
but does the forumware provides that feature? if so, then forumware should also allow some manually applied exceptions. the "stickied" property is well-known exception.

I wonder if also perhaps certain threads are appropriately "medium term" so they shouldn't die if read often, but rarely attract new posts?

Threads are never auto-closed here. In the thread tools at the top of the page, the thread starter has the option to mark it as [Solved] or [Unsolved]. Threads do show a message after an amount of time that they are old and it may be better to start a new thread rather than resurrect an old one.

Let's try and think of the zero's as lost penguin egg's. Help Help Help!!!

Help is on the way little penguins.

Happy Hunting, rabid demons!

I do not agree with what you stated. Im actually a 30 year veteran however new to linux and what Im finding is that there are alot of posts relevant to what Im searching for however when attempting to follow the steps provided they either do not work because of version changes or something similiar.

For instance.. I posted a thread regarding getting help installing squidGuard. I have had 0 replies and yes have been searching for days without any link that so calls hits the spot to why squidGuard isn't working for me.

So stating that users don't do their own searches is not relevant. However newer people to this technology also dont know yet what pieces to do searches on.

Instead of saying we dont search. Maybe you just give us tips on what to search for.

We'd like to have another Zero Reply Drive and I'm currently considering March 2-4 as a target. I'd like some feedback on that though. I'm also interested in ways you think we should promote the next Zero Reply Drive and ways we could encourage participation.

--jeremy

Contributing my valuable time....
 

I'm not going to say that I always have the time and inclination to jump and respond to the zero response emails. Because I don't.

I have, however, really enjoyed receiving these emails in my inbox and when there's a lull I take the time to skim the topics and post to help out where I can.

The notion here is that everyone who is subscribed to this has an opportunity to occasionally see and determine whether they have a moment to assist someone who has a predicament that can be addressed.

Not only does it feel good to 'give back', but as far as karma goes, we've all been there and needed a helping hand.

Being subscribed to the zero posts service offers us the opportunity to give back in situations that would have gone unnoticed otherwise, helping to ensure that more issues are addressed, by the collective of people that are now more likely to be aware that someone needs their expertise.

I really enjoy belonging to the service, and something that many people may not realize that discount it, is that sometimes, you see a problem in your inbox that although you may not have the answer for, it's a problem you're having that is actually being addressed, allowing you to participate and learn from.

I thin this program has been a big success - if not for just me, then the whole LQ community at large, in little pieces, spread out over the entire list of people who are subscribed to this serivice.

Jeremy, Keep up the good work dude!

For those of you not familiar with the Zero Reply Email, you can enable it by going to MyLQ -> Edit Options (http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...do=editoptions) and checking "Receive Zero Reply Email". Once enabled you'll get a nightly digest email with links to Zero Reply threads.

--jeremy

Real quick,

When someone post's a new topic, they're taken to a screen that says their post has been made, and then it returns them to the forum so they can see their post.

If, during that interim screen, you add a message notifying them that in the event their post receives no replies in $x days, they will receive an email letting them know, with a link to return to their LQ post so that they may click on a button which will generate another ZR call so that people subscribed to the ZR service will get yet another notification that an unresolved issue awaits assistance.

I think that would be pretty dang kewl!

Your thoughts?

Proof that there's absolutely no point in poo-pooing the ZR system :)

The above post sounds a little convoluted to me (just my two cents) but it DID give me an idea too:

If, after having made a post and clicked SUBMIT, that intermediate screen that reads "You will now be returned to your post.." could maybe benefit with an additional line or two.. Note that at this very second, I cannot recall the exact wording on that page, but maybe something like:

.. or something like this.. It would serve to remind folks that there are lots of people just like them, awaiting a reply to their question, and provide a convenient means for them to hop right over and take a look.

:twocents:

I don't remember the details off the top of my head (perhaps others can fill in the details), but I believe that after a thread has been on the ZR list for a certain length of time it will automatically get bumped back to of the top the list. I don't know how this interacts with ZR notifications since I don't subscribe to them. (Although I usually look at the ZR list when I'm looking to contribute.)

One thing to keep in mind is not to over-promote this drive, because that may result in people posting nonsense in these threads to remove them from the list. From the look of most of the threads in the zero reply list, they often are one or more of the following:

1) Difficult to answer, and probably why nobody has answered.
2) Highly specific, and thus can often only be answered by an expert in the field (and there may not be one).
3) Obscure, and thus require clarification.
4) Forgotten, out of bad luck, and either the OP has moved on, or answering will not make the OP come back with more info. This can only be determined after posting a reply.

Now, this means that there's a good chance that a good part of these will never get answered, but that's just because they cannot be answered ... or maybe they can, and it's worth a try. I'm quite positive that the reduction can never be a true 100% ... not all questions can be answered. Getting outside help can be useful, like getting more people to join LQ, or get them to help answer questions...