titanium_geek, almost any Linux related content you'd like can be added to the wiki (and LQ is certainly on topic). We also have the LinuxAnswers section.

--jeremy

cool. I'll do that then.

I'd like to come back to the point that Harishankar originally commented on in post #35, namely to add a filter to the Zero Replies search to only retrieve threads that are less than X months old. My argument is this: Unlike the standard Search, where the specific search criteria are entered by the user, when people use the Zero Reply search, I would say they are not really looking for any particular topic, but instead are trying to lend a hand to others (which BTW is totally awesome and one of the factors that makes LQ such an excellent place). Along those lines though, I think when most people use the Zero Reply search, they're actually interested in seeing the 'current' Zero Replies, where the OP is almost guaranteed to be following the thread, and which (probably) contains subject matter that would be of interest to a broad section of the LQ community.

Therefore, shouldn't that goodwill be concentrated on recent/current questions, which would stand to benefit most from getting a reply? (In contrast, for all practical puposes, reviving a question posted in 2001 about a distro that has gone extinct and uses a kernel that stopped getting maintained 2 years ago is only of marginal benefit at best.) Granted, the Zero Reply results are already organized by date, but putting a 6 or 9 or 12 month limit on the Zero Reply function would serve to screen out threads that are probably somewhat obscure already (considering that nobody has yet responded), probably are not being followed by the OP any longer, and probably refer to out-of-date topics.

Note that these Zero Reply posts would still be fully accessible via a Search on the subject matter, but I'm not sure there's anything significant to be gained by including 'ancient' posts in the Zero Reply results. Strictly my 2 cents, as usual. -- J.W.

Yes J.W. I suggested it and I thank you for bringing back that issue which seems to have got buried beneath other things.

As we can many old threads (and some of which are not questions at all) were revived by some members just to get rid of them from the 0-posts search. This drive to cut down 0-post threads was being carried out too literally and they buried the legitimate questions underneath.

This search limitation would surely help in this by cutting out too many results to the 0-posts search which are very old and irrelevant now.

hmmm, I agree with Harishankar so often its scary so time to change, heh heh

the fixation on zero posts, its just a darn stupid number, and yep I am now aware that the so called original poster can click on ANSWERED button.......but we often hijack a thread with the right title seeking help on the same theme and that is supposed to be good.

whats my point? Well the OP can click answered but that leaves the other poster hanging out in the wind.
Point 2 a post may have 6 replies including one from me and all of no help to the OP.

A bit like a 78 record (non digital mp3?) I therefore come back to my pet theme.......some posts like howtos or gossip or good info etc do not need a reply but under the new scheme, are getting a reply so its not a hit with the new search
So something in the title meaning NO REPLY may still help

I am not sure cos my brain hurts how we help the non-zero posts but maybe the OP may just have to bump it.

On a related note, I've noticed that some people reply to their own posts to add a bit of information they forgot about initially - so even tho nobody's replied to them yet, they won't show up in the "Zero replies" lists.

Perhaps the "edit" button should be made bigger?

here here.

I know I'm guilty of this... but I realize how annoying it can be. I guess we're kicking ourselves for leaving all those dumb one post threads without a reply.

The other problem with this is there is a temptation to say "I don't know the answer here, but I'm answering to kill a zero-reply." the zero reply function is there not to provide a challenge for us to wipe them out but to draw attention to un answered questions.

titanium_geek

well I am guilty of sometimes, not a lot, of replying to zero replies with
"until you get a better reply try X" theme.

It works because sometimes humans on the other side of the post want to be cherished and a reply is better than zero......except for the keen striving to cut that list..........and I generally waited a couple of days as I am sure others like me are also waiting.

As we all know sometimes asking questions is actually better as it helps elinimate some issues and widen others.

I just noticed that if you go to LAST there are posts going back a long time. Some of these are surveys others are articles that do not require a reply. Would it be possible to have posts that do not require a reply marked.

There are also some such as getting rp-ppoe, 2.2 kernel and ameritech working that may no longer be relevant.

The goal is not to get the 0 posts count down to 0 of course... though for SOME of those, it might be a good idea to post something like:

"Newer kernels have built-in support for <some feature>." This way, anyone who stumbles across these posts in a search can still get relevant and useful information from them.

As Matir and others have stated the purpose of the "zero reply" effort is not to try to eliminate all zero posts but rather to try to minimize the number of new zero posts that get created. All LQ'ers are encouraged to try to take a swing at knocking down a few zero posts, but those efforts should be concentrated on the new, recent zero posts rather than on digging up ancient, obsolete issues from past years. In other words, please focus on the present rather than on very old issues from the past. (Realistically, there's just no real benefit or point in replying to a 4 year old zero post just for the sake of decreasing the total zero post count by one, particularly when you consider that the conditions that existed at that time almost certainly don't exist today. To illustrate, suppose there was a question from 2002 about "package-0.1.4" but the current release is now "package-2.18.3" - it would just be silly to assume that the original poster has been sitting around doing nothing for 3+ years while waiting for a reply, and instead, it's safe to assume that the original poster today is using a more modern version of the package (along with a newer kernel, newer distro, and maybe even a newer PC)

Overall, recent questions will reflect current conditions, and therefore will be relevant to many more people than ancient ones. Thus it's a better bang for the buck to tackle a zero post question that's one week old than it is to tackle one that's 3 or 4 years old. Just my 2 cents -- J.W.

It would be interesting if they could limit the zero posts search to posts made in the last, say, year. I would think this would reduce the load on the server during the search (maybe) but certainly bring down the count of completely irrelevant posts. Like you said, nobody's been sitting around waiting for a reply.

Seconded.

True, but having thousands of unanswered questions lends support to the FUD that there is no user support for linux. I was directed here from a thread on Groklaw proposing a TUXHELP line. Experienced linux users are accustomed to using a mailing lists, irc, and google to get answers, many others call a local computer shop or a vendor help desk when they have a question. If they do not get an answer in time (under 30minutes) they go elsewhere.

30 min? ha! ithis is not a 'live' medium like chat. I don't know how to change the problem perception, but I know that people have lives, and are not here to be 24/7 support. The time difference thing is also something to be considered... do you really expect me to be on at four in the morning my time just cause it's 6 pm your time?

30 min is way too short. If they are that concerned about speed they should be googling themselves.

titanium_geek