# Suggestion: FAQ Forum



## Outsider

I found another forum just about English that seems good. One of the nice features it has is a Frequently Asked Questions subforum, for those questions that keep popping up. I thought this might be a good idea for the Word Reference Forums, too. 


_EDIT by Zebedee: If you're interested in that forum's address please send a PM to Outsider. _
_Outsider, I've taken away your links advertising that forum. Did you really think advertisement for a rival forum was going to last long? Please read the Forum rules again. Thanks._


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## VenusEnvy

Out: I second your idea. For some reason, I was under the impression that we already had a FAQ page.

Wait, we have a small FAQ page. It includes a search feature as well. So, how does a FAQ page differ from a comments/suggestions page?

Would the FAQ forum consist of questions about languages, or about the forum itself?


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## Outsider

Zebedee said:
			
		

> Did you really think advertisement for a rival forum was going to last long?


No, I thought:
1) That I wasn't trying to advertise anything.
2) That the other forum is devoted to English only, and this one is devoted mainly to Spanish and Spanish-speakers learning English, so there was no reason for rivalry.

I'm not going to argue with your criteria about what is allowed in the forum, obviously, but, in the future, please refrain from second-guessing my motives. Thank you.


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## Outsider

VenusEnvy said:
			
		

> Would the FAQ forum consist of questions about languages, or about the forum itself?


About languages. Those questions that keep being asked over and over, and newcomers often don't bother to search the forum before asking, although they should.


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## VenusEnvy

Outsider said:
			
		

> About languages. Those questions that keep being asked over and over, and newcomers often don't bother to search the forum before asking, although they should.


So, there would be a FAQ for each language forum?

Although these are questions are frequently asked, there are so many of them! Are we talking about a English FAQ with threads about, for example, plurals, the subjuntive, superlative, BE and AE difference, etc.? It would be easier to direct wayward foreros to this forum. But, why don't they simply search it?

My point is, either we direct them to the search feature, or direct them to this FAQ forum. Either way, we have to be directing, right?

I guess I'd just like for you to elaborate on this idea.


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## zebedee

Outsider said:
			
		

> No, I thought:
> 1) That I wasn't trying to advertise anything.
> 2) That the other forum is devoted to English only, and this one is devoted mainly to Spanish and Spanish-speakers learning English, so there was no reason for rivalry.


 
WR actually has 10 forums, only 2 of which are devoted to Spanish and only 1 to Spanish-speakers learning English, the other is for Spanish-French. I agree that the majority of traffic is in the Spanish-English forum and that's why it's been divided into 2 subforums. But we also have a very active *English Only* forum. If you've never visited it, I recommend it. With more than 2600 threads it's the 4th most active forum we have.



			
				Outsider said:
			
		

> I'm not going to argue with your criteria about what is allowed in the forum, obviously, but, in the future, please refrain from second-guessing my motives. Thank you.


 
It's not a question of me second-guessing motives or using my own criteria, the WR Rules are quite clear and are the same for everyone.

http://forum.wordreference.com/faq.php?faq=faq_forum_rules_header#faq_rules_faq

I'm including the FAQ link so you can read the WR rules again - especially nºs 26-33 which talk about promotional links. 

If you'd like to continue this topic with me or with any other Moderator you trust please don't hesitate to send any of us a Private Message.

Thanks for your cooperation.

zebedee


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## fenixpollo

Outsider said:
			
		

> About languages. Those questions that keep being asked over and over, and newcomers often don't bother to search the forum before asking, although they should.


If I may be so bold, I I'd like to join this discussion with a suggestion.  Like Venus, I think that a FAQ of commonly-asked language questions would be too large a project.  

Instead, guidelines for searching could be added to the Rules for Posting or to a new thread that might outline the best searching practices.  This "Search Tips" thread could detail the various resources people could turn to prior to posting (WR dictionary, Forum Search, Google).

Based on my observations and PMs I've received, there are many out there who don't understand what it means to "google" something and may not know how to navigate the forum.  If they had help by way of a "Tutorial for Posting", this might address some of Outsider's concerns.


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## cuchuflete

Hi Fenixpollo,

Thanks for the good suggestions, and thanks also to Outsider for considering ways to deal with repeated questions. I'll share a frustration that I've had for a while, and ask for your further suggestions to try to remove its source. We have stickies all over the place, and forum guidelines, and the forum software's FAQ on how to use/navigate....
and it seems that a large number of new, and not so new, foreros just don't read them.

That's why we have people posting questions without context, and repeating the same questions over and over, without using the Search function. If you can think of a way to get beginners to read the instructions, please tell me. We will be happy to try anything sensible to improve things. 

Many thanks,
Cuchuflete

PS- Sometimes I'm tempted to yell "RTFM", but the other mods restrain me.


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## Outsider

Newcomers definitely should search the forum more before posting, and, although this is stated in various places here, some people don't seem to follow the advice. That's a shame, because the older threads can have very thorough explanations. On the other hand, sometimes the keyword you're looking for was not the one used in the previous threads about the same topic, but I'm not sure how that problem can be solved.
Since the WRF already have many forums, and deal with many languages, having forums for recurring questions may not be as practical as I had initially thought.


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## fenixpollo

After looking at the FAQ, I see that "rules" for posting 





> _12. Do not pretend to be someone you are not. This includes gender and nationality. Who you are and where you are from is very important to understanding any translations or other language information that you provide._


 
are mixed with "best practices" for posting. 





> _11. Any information, translations and definitions posted in these forums must be accompanied by a reasonable attempt to verify accuracy. Give sources for extensive quotations. If you are unsure of the accuracy of your information or translation, please say so._


 
I think that one possible problem is that people may not read the 50 rules in the FAQ very closely -- and all these rules may not have been translated into every native language.

In order to make the "best practices" stand out, I suggest consolidating these "best practices" into their own sticky, which could even be bullet points. For example:

*Before you post:*

*check the WR dictionary (instructions/how to)*
*search the forum (instructions/how to)*
*use an internet search engine, such as Google (instructions/how to)*
*When you post:*

*Use appropriate language*
*Be specific, etc.*
If possible, every user needs to view this before continuing to use the forum. Perhaps every user could be redirected to this sticky/feature on their first login after its release, or it could have a more prominent position within the user agreement that new users click on as well as a place at the top of each forum.

If you labeled the stickies clearly, one could say "Rules for Posting: Read First" and the other could say "How To Post: Read First." I believe that this would increase understanding of good posting practices, and reduce Cuchu's urge to shout "RTFM!"  If you released these revised Rules/How To posts at the same time in every forum, already translated by moderators into each of the forum's languages, you could also address the "mishmash" appearance of the rules. It would also reduce the number of bullets/items in each FAQ/sticky, making them more reader-friendly.

As an aside, cuchu, I don't think it's a bad thing to repeat the rules in many places -- it can increase people's understanding if they see it in many places.


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