I see this happen lots of the time. Someone will pop into any of the venues I monitor and ask what I feel is a totally odd question about RoboHelp or Captivate. The question normally goes a lot like this.
Can RoboHelp (or Captivate) do this? (followed by a brief explanation of what they are wondering about)
Here’s why I fiind the behavior is so odd. Probably in less time than it took to open the browser or E-Mail client, locate the venue or type the E-Mail address out and type the question, they could have just as easily tested their theory or wondering themselves. They would have been richer for the experience.
Do you fall into this category? If so, I invite you to leave a comment explaining why you operate that way. I suppose maybe you don’t know. But if you do it would be cool to see why.
Note that I never mind answering forum posts or E-Mail messages to help out if I can. Actually, in many cases it has taught me something new about the product along the way. I love that.
Until next time…
March 31, 2009 at 8:22 AM |
I’ll often check forums and ask moderators before I’ll bumble around trying to hack something out myself. Some folks just aren’t discovery learners. I’ve found this especially true with large/complex applications like RoboHelp and Captivate that have enormous feature sets and copious nooks and crannies for folks to get lost in. They figure it’s easier to ask someone and focus on the 60% of the app they use all the time. Some folks just don’t have that kind of curiosity or drive.
For me, I treat it as part of my learning/research to ask questions of experts like you. I like to read/devour everything I can find online before I attempt a solution so that I can execute as well-thought out and planned a solution as possible the first time.
March 31, 2009 at 12:07 PM |
Thanks for the reply Heath!
It is helpful to understand things from a different perspective.
April 2, 2009 at 10:13 AM |
Years ago, I read an article in a training magazine how how you could tell whether people picked up subject matter by how they asked questions. What it pointed out was how to use appropriate phrases to explain things in your answer. For example, “I hear what you are saying but..” meant that the student responded to audio and was less likely to pick up an answer from a powerpoint or screen. The converse was true for “I see what you are saying but..”
I guess it just highlights the fact that we all learn differently. Not sure where this all leaves us if you are (like me) solely responsible for producing online help😉
April 13, 2009 at 9:04 PM |
Depending on the problem, I might post a question on the forum… but still continue trying to solve the problem for myself.
Either I’ll work it out or (in the case of Captivate) I’ll quickly find an answer from yourself on the forums
🙂
Its a beautiful thing.
Plus I’ve learnt a lot from reading all the replies to other peoples problems.