Nice news, I'd like to see that as soon as possible.
I agree with Wayne about phpBB but may it's better your own way.
Please go on and surprise us!

Thanks for your great job!
Looking forward for further news!

Ciao :-)

I have to say I prefer the general layout of LQ to AQ. If you can improve the underlying infrastructure without major negative impact on current usability I think that would be the way to go. I also fnd the colour scheme at AQ "uncomfortable". It is just sufficiently low contrast to make for "tedious" reading.

I think that AQ uses phpBB.

Also, don't post your email address. It's like asking for spam. And even if someone wanted to send you a message, they can use LQ's email or private message functionality.

I'm new to LQ but I have had a look at both and while I think that Android Questions has a fresher look and a less cluttered interface, I do agree with those who say that LQ is easier to read. The choice of colour is largely a matter of taste as long as there is sufficient contrast to ensure that the text is clear.

the Search Box in Android Questions is much more obvious than finding it among a long menu list. It took me a little time to find it first time I used Linux Questions.

I have to say I disagree very strongly with nBomr's first point. I ask if he has forgotten what it is like to be a newcomer and groping somewhat in the dark with a problem and is not sure exactly what it is. Until you have some experience, you don't always know what search terms to use to find if your question has been asked before. It is in the very nature of things that a Newbie's forum will have the same questions coming up over again. It's very much in the nature of things and it is well to remember that however trivial the problem might seem to you and however many times you may have seen it come up to the newcomer it is a new problem and a very real one and it deserves to be treated as such. As many Newbie forums say in some form or other, "There's no such thing as a stupid question". Of course a gently helping the poster along by putting in links to responses to similar questions is perfectly OK but vetting new members' questions; definitely not in my opinion. It is quite likely to put some people off and that's surely the last thing you want.

I don't see any harm in the social forums. Most forums have something similar and they serve the useful purpose of allowing forum members to let of steam.

nBomr's other two points are well made on the whole.

Then you missed the point. I'm not interested in trashing newbies. I'm interested in making it easier for them to find the answers themselves. A question that has been asked daily and has a standard answer will not be difficult to find, and find the answer. Improving LQ by making it easier for people to find answers is what I thought this thread was about. Sometimes people need to be shown that there is a way to find answers on their own, and sometimes the facility to do so needs to be improved.

I bet there is a more than sufficient existing database in LQ that could be mined and used to create a tool that allows everyone (not just newbies) to find heavily used keywords, and use those as a launching pad for a deeper search. That is a way to make LQ a better place. Since 'a Newbie's forum will have the same questions coming up over again', there should be an ample supply of similar questions and answers, and it should be made easy for the newcomer to find these. I know there is already a list of similar subject lines presented when a question is formulated. Maybe it can be made more prominent. Probably a metric could be calculated that would estimate the probability of the question having been already answered, and if it meets some threshold, one or more existing threads could be clearly pointed out as possible answers. Help the newbie find his/her way.

Fostering the attitude that it is easy to help yourself cannot be a bad thing. A little bit of research can yield a wealth of information; not just to the immediate question, but the next two or three or four questions that follow. Helping newcomers to form well crafted questions and subject lines is just as beneficial as spoon feeding them. If a question is poorly worded or a subject line is inappropriate, the poster is likely going to have to re-work it anyway. Why not let the system do that, instead of letting their question linger until someone takes the time to coax a useful question out of them?

I don't forget when I was a newbie, but the landscape was very different then. I would have killed to have access to a resource as rich as LQ provides. Maybe that's why I see it as something precious, and don't want to let it turn into one of the quagmires that its forerunners became. That's one of the reasons that I learned by doing my own research. On Usenet of the eighties and nineties, there was a lot less patience and no moderators to deflect the flamethrowers. And little or no alternative resource.
--- rod.

Wow Tootler, you're right! I went to read theNbomr's post and...wow!

As a teacher myself, Rod, while I can appreciate what you're trying to say, the way that you're communicating your points is hilarious (i.e. less than helpful). And I can't imagine anything worse than having a full-on techie deliver an email to a newbie slapping them upside the head for not knowing how to phrase a question correctly. Yep, if you want to send people scurrying back to Windows, there's no better way than to tell them how "stupid" their question is. You may not use that exact word, but people will know what you mean.

I have been in IT (as a techie) for more than 25 years and even I am dismayed by the kinds of answers that are given to newbies. You talk about questioners phrasing questions correctly, and that is laudable. But what about people giving answers actually explaining WHY they are suggesting a particular command? It cuts both ways. If people find nothing more than some cryptic commands, with no attendant explanation, then the next person WILL ask the question again. And again. And again. Until they get an explanation that makes sense.

So yes, phrase questions correctly. BUT, even more importantly, phrase the answers correctly too. This half of the equation is also sorely missing.

And, listen, you may be able to spend 25 hours a day sleeping, breathing, walking and talking tech, but that's NOT the case for 90% of newbies. They have day jobs, family responsibilities, social obligations. I may be answering Rod here but this is a general criticism of all the "super users" who've answered my and many other questions on this and other Linux fora.

If someone has taken the risk to move out of their comfort zone by trying something new, you don't criticise them. You don't tell them to read fifty pages of something. It's already a bewildering world for them in an area where they know very little. Windows does NOT foster critical user thinking (as we all well know) and one snarky little email from a tech guru on a Linux forum isn't going to either.

And women. (Oh no, she's bringing up women!) We have an even bigger workload than you have. I don't even know you, Rod, but I know I have. And there's nothing more off-putting than having some superior tech tell ME to go here and go there and read this and read that and THEN come back to the forum and ask my question again. I. Just. Don't. Have. The. Time. And, if I'm a newbie, all the extra stuff I'm reading is just going to confuse me and Not. Answer. My. Basic. Question. WHY am I rushing here and there? Don't know, I'm just told to. Yeah, thanks but no thanks. I've already got a page of To-Do tasks and the last thing I need is a sarcastic quip telling me to do more.

Jeremy, I prefer LQ to AQ. If you'd really like to make the forum rock, I would suggest investigating whether you can add more directed categories in the Search. For example, "Hardware:" will give a drop-down list of "Acer/Asus/HP/IBM/Lenovo/Toshiba/etc." And you could have a "Problem:" category, such as "Sound/Webcam/Networking/Wireless/etc."

I know this is a lot of hard work but it might help.

And I know that social fora are a punishment for people who don't sleep with motherboards every night, but I don't see them doing any harm. Who knows? Maybe, if some people pull their horns in, you may find Linux-minded teenagers populating the threads who'd like to make friends with other Linux-minded people. I'm trying to grow two such animals myself...but don't tell Rod.

Kaz!

My only issue is the way that notifications are handled! I find it frustrating to open up twenty emails and click on the links!

To disable email notifications, go to My LQ->Edit Options->Default Thread Subscription Mode.

Then, instead of email, use the list of recently updated subscribed threads on "My LQ" to see when your threads are replied to.

Thanks, but what I mean is, can't we put the daily notifications in one email?! :left:.

Jeremy,

I want to take this in a different direction...

1. I don't think for the most part that anyone in here has ran a successful website for as long as you have...

2. We as users have posted some brilliant info??? such as dd, apptitude vs apt-get etc...

3. To pull up the 33 pages of apptitude vs apt-get and get one liners to solve a persons problem becomes.. How much can I remember about something I may have posted over 5 years ago...

4. I can state the apparent I am pretty sure the revenue of this site is based off of number of posts.. I would suggest looking at site such as 3dgameman.com, littlewhitedog.com.. Asking how they have kept there sites up as long as they have???

Points that are valued:

I do agree with Sister Clamp to a small point people only want answers and we do have a steep learning curve ... On behalf of theNbomr I agree that we have answered 1,000's of posts on the same issue over and over and over again.... Is there ever going to be a way to please both of the groups... I don't know???

Sister Clamp, I would say that is a bit harsh what you said to theNbomr... Look there is not one person on plant earth that is not doing 5 to 6 peoples jobs do to greed of the multi rich... Sister Clamp I'm not sure if you are aware there are developers, beta testers, programers and users that intermingle with each other on every linux distro forum including this one...

I belong to a group called "Libmtp this is to resolve devices such as IPOD, Sansu disk player, Samsung Galaxy Tab to allow you to connect to Amarok, XMMS, Rythmbox, Banshee, SongBird to connect to these devices... Now with so many Tablets with Android available the group is having to work twice as hard to resolve problems with about 300 new tablets expected by Next January to be available. They are not trying disappoint mass crowd of windows users moving to Ubuntu and linux...


Furthermore,I think we should get back to the point at had how can we make LinuxQuestions.org a better site...

Jeremy, I would also look at sites that made it past the .com boom of the mid 90's such as:

1. LaTimes.com - this site seems to have tried many different cutting edge tech's such as flash, php, xml and seemed to have weathered the .com boom...

2. NYTimes.com - What more can you say... They have always been a keep it simple stupid approach to running a website...

3. Thewashingtonpost.com - Well it took them about 10 yrs to finally get decent computer tech's to setup there homepage finally it is getting better...


I think we should tip or hat off to Jeremy... Your website is running strong after better part of 11 almost 12 years... Think of all the .com busts or the web browsers that said goodbye... I can even see you out lasting FaceBook... Hmmmm I think the social hype will go away from FaceBook like it went away from AOL. LinuxQuestions.org e seems to get only bigger with newbies every day.... I would say you need to gain sponsorship....

Cut out some of the social aspect this is just a trend. I can even remember when Freshmeat.net had a forums similar to this and went belly up when hard drives went down in price ,but seem to have weathered the storm. I would take advice from there website in order to secure a good future...

Well I wish this website and Jeremy a great deal of luck in the future to keep alive... best of luck...


PS I will still be around to post.. lol ;P

I would like to thank TobiSGD for letting me rant and rav on about power consumption on a broken Laptop that had a dieing HardDrive in the UK... Was unaware that Europe uses far less power then the United States... When running computers... Thanks...

Definitely like the new layout of the AndroidQuestions.org website overall, but the colors may be a little harsh. Should probably go
with a mix of beige and blue(s) (or lavender). Easy on the eyes and easier to pick out items - which is especially important
for a question/response forum.

That stats and icon legend area is a nice touch.

I,m not as yet familiar with Android, I'll check it out and get back to you

I like LQ the way it is. Easy on the eyes and it's got an old-school quality :-)

To make this a better site. Excellent focus area. Newbies are both a "problem" and the future. Quite a conundrum. Here's the newbie problem as I see it (from a newb perspective). Please don't perceive this as a rant.
1. I have read the instruction manuals.
2. Something weird happens anyway (error, crash, lockup, "proceed or ignore", or NOTHING)
3. You go to LQ and want to ask an intelligent question, but there's a language gap. You're not sure what a "distro" is, or an "RPM", or a "Roll", where the primary partition is or what it looks like or how to look at it, or a Eth0 vs Eth1 vs Primary vs Secondary Eth (can you tell I'm fighting with a Rocks cluster?). I've been told to go read 100 pages of stuff and then post back (CentOS forums which I am not bashing because those guys really work hard!)... but Sysadmin is NOT my full-time job, nor did I want it to be. Newbs need answers and don't know the search terms. We can't read 100 pages only to find it was relevant to our problem or we don't understand the massive complexity of what we read. Period.

Suggested answer:
1. Have a "glossary" that incorporates as many of the redundant terms and error messages of the various Linux Distros (Distrubutions/Versions/"Flavors"/etc.) as possible. That would really help with newbie searching. Sort of a Pre-search term-search. Or a Wikipedia-like underlined term in manuals that pops up a window explaining the term with caveats depending on which Linux you are using.
2. I like the drop-down-menu idea... but indexing those menus would be critical (see "glossary"). Maybe start with "Which Linux are you using because we want to help, but there are lots of Linuxes that love to use different jargon and slightly different scripting, permissions, and structure".
3. Provide summarized solutions to specific errors. If I want to find out why the stupid compute node won't get an IP from a managed router I'll read up on that after the problem is fixed... I don't want it to happen again, but I need help... usually now... as I have other stuff to do too.
4. SCRIPTS! Zillions of pre-made scripts grouped by their Distros that newbies can run to trouble-shoot and repair (outputs in simple formats with explanations of what this or that might be telling me, without having to post back, except to say "thanks" of course). My computer-life would be so much easier if an organized hierarchy of troubleshooting scripts, for various Linuxes, with verbose outputs was available.

Finally... let the newbs help. Give them a place to post their improperly-worded solutions to problems. Then one of you Gurus can swoop in and re-word the solution, maybe provide an explanation or link as to WHY it worked, and encourage the newb to keep going ("next you want to...."). Suddenly, leaving Windows doesn't seem so bad after all.

LQ.org is GREAT! Really, I don't care if you change the forum interface. I can figure that out. It's not the hard part.

Based on what? Comments this terse with no additional information or feedback aren't really constructive.

--jeremy