"Please try to give solution for dis problem asap." writes a contributor to our Opentalk forum - where we answer technical / programming questions on the subjects that we teach (link to Opentalk).

Opentalk was set up as a service for our course delegates - I really want to know what questions commonly arise after courses so that I can add those topics in to courses, and I really want to stay in touch with delegates too. But is has grown into more than that - I'll also answer other questions that are asked as, very often, the questions are excellent and the questioner is helping me build up a resource of answers that encourages more traffic to our site. Building the presence, if you like.

I posted a follow up, commenting that I always follow up as soon as I can, but that can't be instant. And there was a further follow up from the question poster.

"I am Sorry for stressing you for the solution." Ah, but I'm not stressed. I just feel that the forum sometimes produces unrealistic expectations - people feel that they can ask a question and, because we're an electronic medium, have answers at electronic speed. And they're then disappointed that they don't get an answer within five minutes, and that the person answering doesn't have all the time in the world to come up with that answer. It's fun answering most of the questions, so I wish I DID have the time.

There's also another false expectation that can be raised by a forum - the expectation that a newcomer can post a series of questions about a subject and, through a series of question and answer steps, learn all about the subject. But I don't believe it can be done, practically, that way. If you've not got the basics of how to write a book, quoting a paragraph from someone else's book and asking how to update it to reflect your own needs isn't going to help you structure your whole book.

Why am I writing this? To help - I hope - to explain to people why I'm not going ahead and writing long answers to each and every question asked, but rather suggesting when they get beyond a certain point that they should consider reading a book or attending a course. It's my intent to help them make effective use of their time, but there's a tendency for them to think I'm being greedy and it's my prime goal to get them to pay for a course. And, OK, I admit it - I do sometimes feel cheesed off at giving free support, without thanks or payment.
(written 2008-02-14, updated 2008-02-16)

 G903 - Well House Consultants - Running and moderating forums and social media sites
  [22] Falling out over the silliest things - (2004-08-21)
  [29] Silence is Golden - (2004-08-26)
  [115] Expiration dates or times on web pages - (2004-11-12)
  [130] Spelling and grammar - (2004-11-25)
  [204] The confidence to allow public comments - (2005-02-06)
  [231] Feedback as lifeblood - (2005-02-28)
  [248] Use me, but use me effectively - (2005-03-16)
  [424] How not to run a forum - (2005-08-24)
  [516] Open source questions? Anyone can ask. - (2005-12-03)
  [651] Please Register with Opentalk - but just once! - (2006-03-19)
  [806] Check your user is human. Have him retype a word in a graphic - (2006-07-17)
  [828] Freedom of speech and freedom to post - (2006-08-10)
  [841] Forum help - a push in the right direction - (2006-08-21)
  [919] Freedom for X is denial of privacy for Y - (2006-11-09)
  [923] Why shouldn't I spam? - (2006-11-13)
  [948] Running an on line campaign - (2006-11-27)
  [1088] Why use BBC code not HTML? - (2007-02-21)
  [1190] Save the Forum - A regular clean sweep - (2007-05-17)
  [1362] No Thank You - (2007-09-23)
  [1472] The Horse goes on and on - (2007-12-15)
  [1485] Copyright and theft of images, bandwidth and members. - (2007-12-26)
  [1523] Ive just received an email from myself. Should I be worried? - (2008-01-29)
  [1532] Comment spam blocked. Please comment via Forums - (2008-02-05)
  [1563] Guidlines for posting on a forum - (2008-03-04)
  [1569] I dont care - goodbye - (2008-03-09)
  [1578] Please don't shout at me! - (2008-03-16)
  [1595] First Great Western Weekend - (2008-03-30)
  [1678] Software - changes and delays. But courses must run on time! - (2008-06-15)
  [1759] While the world sleeps ... - (2008-08-19)
  [1923] Making it all worthwhile - (2008-12-04)
  [1972] Pettifog and forum boards away from public view - (2009-01-03)
  [2103] Ask the Tutor - Open Source forum - (2009-03-25)
  [2116] Why do we delay new forum members through authorisation? - (2009-04-03)
  [2156] Stopping forum spam - control of the signup process - (2009-05-04)
  [2162] Admins thoughts on banning a member from a forum - (2009-05-09)
  [2177] Preventing forum spam - checks at sign up - (2009-05-12)
  [2254] Forum membership - a privilege not a right - (2009-06-22)
  [2386] Computing under the influence of alcohol - (2009-08-29)
  [2526] A reluctance to move from old shoes to new - (2009-12-05)
  [2527] Flying tonight - (2009-12-05)
  [2569] How to run a successful online poll / petition / survey / consultation - (2010-01-10)
  [2781] The 500 pound question to get you started - (2010-05-26)
  [2820] Netiquette for forum newcomers - (2010-06-20)
  [3479] Practical Extraction and Reporting - using Python and Extreme Programming - (2011-10-14)
  [3910] Identifying your real customers and keeping them well informed fast - (2012-11-02)
  [4017] Acceptable User Policy / vexatious interacter - (2013-02-24)
  [4025] Backups, Codebase, Strategy and more - dealing with forum incidents - (2013-03-03)
  [4065] Handling requests to a forum - the background process - (2013-04-17)
  [4234] Change to Libel and Defamation laws from 1st January 2014 - (2013-12-31)
  [4239] Facebook marketing - early experiences - (2014-01-19)
  [4283] Can a legitimate forum post become illegal a year later? - (2014-07-11)
  [4307] Identifying and clearing denial of service attacks on your Apache server - (2014-09-27)
  [4315] Welcoming genuine forum posters quickly - but turning away off topic advertisers - (2014-11-16)
  [4403] The unbalanced relationship between customer and provider - (2015-01-21)
  [4492] Almost so wrong, but perhaps it's right for some? - (2015-05-11)

Back to Teaching Object Oriented Java with Students and Ice Cream

Previous and next or Horse's mouth home

Forward to Chinese New Year

Learning Object Oriented Principles (and perhaps Java)
Are nasty programs looking for security holes on your server?
Colour, Composition or Content
Chinese New Year
A forum is not always the best vehicle
Teaching Object Oriented Java with Students and Ice Cream
To Wales - where theres still a toll on the bridge
A Weekend in Liverpool
OO PHP demonstration - comparing objects and more
Where in the world / country is my visitor from?