Please welcome all novices!
Ken Gracey
Posts: 7,401
Hey all,
Fairly often I receive messages from customers who are intimidated about posting in the Propeller forum. We've discussed on other threads about creating a "Beginner's Forum" or similar place where newbies would be comfortable. That's not going to happen until we've got the forum migration finished.
I see amazing efforts of support and I'm not faulting anybody on these forums. We're thankful and appreciative for the support that our forum members provide to everybody.
But on behalf of a particular customer, I'm simply making an additional request to welcome all new Propeller users. They're often intimidated, so let's make them right at home. It's very important to Parallax and our customers that we can easily accommodate new Propeller programmers.
Thanks,
Ken Gracey
Parallax Inc.
Fairly often I receive messages from customers who are intimidated about posting in the Propeller forum. We've discussed on other threads about creating a "Beginner's Forum" or similar place where newbies would be comfortable. That's not going to happen until we've got the forum migration finished.
I see amazing efforts of support and I'm not faulting anybody on these forums. We're thankful and appreciative for the support that our forum members provide to everybody.
But on behalf of a particular customer, I'm simply making an additional request to welcome all new Propeller users. They're often intimidated, so let's make them right at home. It's very important to Parallax and our customers that we can easily accommodate new Propeller programmers.
Thanks,
Ken Gracey
Parallax Inc.
Comments
Still, I will step up my efforts to answer any newcomers questions on those rare occasions when Mike Green has dosed off for a few minutes:)
I think the beginner’s forum would be a great addition. I have thought along these lines and I think a way to make the new forum even better is to have a group of dedicated forum members who would be willing to monitor it and help answer the questions. Yes, I know to do this would take a little bit of work on the monitor's part, but it what’s needed to help beginners get through the learning curve and to fall in love with a great hobby and maybe career. And what you learn on is what you usually stay with when you get older and I'm sure that would be good for sales in the future.
Finally, I would be willing(though not an expert) to be a monitor and help beginners on the new forum if you like the idea?
Thanks,
Tony
I was intimidated at first but was made extremely welcome - right here only just over 2 years ago
Been to a few since, but none like this
99.9% of everyone here is friendly and outgoing. Please feel comfortable in asking questions. I personally have asked a number of later seemingly obvious questions which were always politely responded to. I have and continue to learn from those who have shared much of their knowledge here.
I don't believe I've ever seen a message telling someone to flatly RTFM, or at least without offering a good bit of information, then kindly referring someone to the sources (many times freely offered online) for more information.
So jump in! Grab a cold beverage of your choosing and introduce yourself!
We love to get to know new people, and what they want to accomplish with the Propeller.
OBC
If there are any new people out there, just jump in. ( in a couple of hundred posts, you will be a senior member )
I have just noticed that it took less than half ab hour for a circle of the globe in comments. Thats another thing about this forum, it's fast on help too.
@SSteve,
I'm in envy of your stated location.. California 1 hour from Parallax HQ
OBC
And it's beautiful here, too!
It will probably be beautiful until the day that the ground opens up and swallows the bay area.
As SSteve mentioned, we do expect people to do some work. If the question is about something related to a homework assignment or class project, it's not proper for others (like us) to do the work without getting formal credit, but we're quite happy to help you to understand what you're doing or clear up misunderstandings. Sometimes the best way for a novice to understand something is indeed to "read the manual" because that's where there's a good explanation that someone has spent time and effort making and we'd just be quoting from the manual anyway. Sometimes the best way for a novice to understand something is to try it and just explaining it in text form here may actually be a poor way to get the idea across.
There are very few places where you (the novice) can get information from so many experienced engineers and programmers who are happy to help. Be patient ... sometimes we misunderstand what you want or need.
No, it'll be more beautiful because then we'll have ocean-front property. :-P (Of course, I'll miss my parents and sister who still live in the Bay Area where I grew up.)
That being said, do you have a list of things that are intimidating?
Are project postings intimidating and should they stop for a while?
Are there other specific behaviors that would promote good will?
--Steve
A nicely worded "Welcome to All Beginners" thread at the top of the stickies list would help to calm the new-user jitters and encourage novices to jump into the forum with both feet.
-Phil
Having said all that I can say without reservation that I have NEVER felt mistreated or talked down to by anyone on this forum. I am also an avid FlightSim pilot as well as a real world pilot (airplanes and rotor wing) and let me tell you that there is a world of difference between the folks on here and the folks on the FS fourms. You can get called a "donkey" in a real hurry over on the FS forums..
Coming from the Stamps to the Prop is a major culture shock for me as I have never been exposed to object style programming and it has taken a bit to get my head around the basic concepts. Because of the help of the guys on here I am now unafraid to think outside the box on my R/C submarine project.
So if you are also a newbie to this forum don't be afraid to ask as these are some of the best folks around that always seem to fire back an answer to your questions.
So, welcome to even "newer newbies" than myself.
Mike B.
Novice or not, it seems many enjoy getting down on others.
Experienced forum users also get heat on the forums... the net is full of dumb people hopefully learning how to not be dumb.
Its easy to be mean, but it takes creativity to be nice.
Many of the most knowledgable people here are trying to answer as many posts as they can, and may not be as "gentle" as some would like. This is compounded by the fact that we're dealing with the ascii character representation of our thoughts, and this can come accross very cold at times, even though the sender had no intention of being "cold".
John R.
-Phil
Phil is right about avatars. I mean... honestly, I'm not involved in trying to establish a New World Order. In fact, I have a hard time ordering Chinese take-out, never mind the world. I just got mine off the back of a one dollar bill.
So don't be afraid.
I wonder if anyone thinks an option to introduce yourself during registration would work?
It's the same sort of intimidation one feels when one enters any environment 'above one's station', the fear of embarrassment, sounding like a fool and the potential for ridicule. No different to the first time you have to speak up in a new place of work or a social gathering of unfamiliar people.
I was not familiar with Propeller features, didn't really understand it nor some of the terminology, and many of the posts I read went right over my head. It's in some ways the same now, coming back without having kept up with the forum 24/7; some threads and topics are so technical that, for those who don't understand, it's 'all gibberish', worrying that it seems there's a very steep hill to climb with everyone else already at the top.
Trust me ( or perhaps try it ); step away from the forum for a while and when you come back you will be amazed how great the divide can be between what one knows and where the forum and the leading-edge experts are at. I can understand why some people are a little afraid of stepping into the arena. I think most of us would feel some trepidation knocking on some world renowned expert's door no matter what it was we wanted to ask.
In some ways it suggest partitioning 'the clever stuff' from the basic and mundane but I'm not sure that will really work. It was seeing things 'beyond me' and slowly coming to understand it which took me forward, having the gurus treat me with respect and tolerance as a newcomer, being friendly and helpful. Will people bridge a gap if there is a gap ?
There's only one way forward - and that's to dumb-down the forum, stop being so darned clever and having such amazing ideas; it scares mere mortals :-)
Hi SSteve -- on a good day, (no chp, light traffic) I actually can get to Parallax in about 40 minutes. But then again I have been known to drive kind of fast from time to time.
BTW Howdy neighbor, did you ever get that project done you told me about?
Thanks Heater.
That is very good news coming as it is from a new member yourself.
I see you have 77 posts as of this writing.
It's good to be reminded.
Rich H
I find my self reading and re-reading even a simple post (sometimes even deleting a post/response entirely) for fear that it will come off as ignorant to individuals with far more experience/expertise. There are some threads that I might have otherwise contributed to that I never posted a response/opinion on merely because of either the participants or because the conversation started going in a direction that was too "deep" for my current level of Propeller experience.
--trodoss
Lol! Roger, Heater. is Heater from the old forum. His account got messed up in the transition. He really has almost 3500 posts.
Heh. Maybe we should have online newbie parties. Fire off a "come all 'ye lurkers" thread, and just rope 'em in, same as what happened with all of us.
(to the lurker / newbie reading this --please jump right in! The crowd is just great, and the chip is a ton of fun)
I agree with Phil and Kye. I am still very much a newbie. Been working with the Stamps for about 2yrs and just started learning the Prop. I think a "Welcome to All Beginners" sticky at the top would be a better choice than a new forum. I would rather mix in with all of the vet's in the forums and ask questions than have a forum just for newbies.
The first time I posted in the Stamps forum was very scary to me. Not because I thought I would be treated badly...but because I felt so small and not important enough to get an answer. But, I quickly found out that it doesn't matter your skill level in here. Everyone is eager to help and is very nice.
Looking at pics of UPENE and the folks in the forums is why I tried the Prop. I didn't think I was good enough to learn such an amazing chip. But, I love it now!!
A big thank you to everyone that has helped me in the past!!
The only stupid question is the one you didn't ask.