Hardware Analysis Community Forums http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/topic/33124/ 2009-11-24T23:06:33-05:00 http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/topic/33124/ /images/halogo.gif text/html 2004-10-16T18:19:26-05:00 Michael A. http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/topic/33124/#194638 Newbies are welcome as long as their posts don't cause other newbies to do something incorrectly because the thought newbie #1 knew what he was talking about. text/html 2004-10-14T19:12:40-05:00 Rory Witham http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/topic/33124/#194072 Thanks for the team sprit guy N girls, ( we do have some girls?) <br /> <br /> I think everyone has the point, IF youve done it and its worked, or you know what your on about then by al means share, but pot lucking, has no place.<br /> <br /> HWA is world known for its great advice and clear simple answers, In fact I cant remember how many times Ive put jst Yes or No to a book long question.. (like the reply above this)<br /> <br /> I would agree that a points system as it stands isnt so hot, unless your shaming some one off here then anyone can post more or less anything.<br /> A voting system would be great. (Mike H)(Sanders)<br /> A simple check box with ( did this help?) would do a world of good, OK not everyone is going to vote even if it did work as there playing the fav game or what ever.<br /> <br /> I also think we should Cookie limit the views that people can see on the site to encorage people to register for the site. Its good advice and its free, what more do they want.. blood from a stone..<br /> <br /> Its also not about being certified, I have had some great un certified people work for me, being skilled is important, ( like I said to a certain person from HWA who asked for a job)<br /> <br /> I started on PCs when they had one called he Zx and the plus 4, left it for a few years, done engineering and then got back into PCs Ive got quite a few certs, but its boring getting more as they seam to repeat over and over. in fact im too qualfied to work in most businesses in any feild (unless its english) whihc i have 3 certs or 6 GCSE's)<br /> <br /> As long as we're not messing up doing guess work then your doing fine, I have an advantage of having to fix PCs so I can cut down on the questions as I have a fair guess at what the problems is from the start.. But remember SHUT up if you dont know, or I know that this ... but im not sure on this.. We dont mind that you dont know something...<br /> <br /> But if your in doubt, my rates are low, Post in for 3 day turn arounds, laptops about 2-4 weeks dep, builds 3-5 weeks dep/order info/specs. call out as well.. <a class="ext" href="/action/r/http://gtwcmt.tk" target="_blank">http://gtwcmt.tk</a> hardware not bad prces as well, still needs updating.. theres a website up date soon ish, there is going to be a shopping cart..WOOOO!<br /> Still not taking credit cards but will be soon doing direct debits on line..<br /> <br /> Please fee free to visit the site and find all the faults..<img src="/images/smilies/smile1.gif" width="14" height="14" border="0" alt=":)" title=":)"><br /> <br /> But I must draw you to this funny thing now.... Would you have this person fix your PC....<a class="ext" href="/action/r/http://profiles.yahoo.com/stuartfox" target="_blank">http://profiles.yahoo.com/stuartfox</a><br /> The person owns a company called &quot;Fast fix PC repairs&quot; I couldnt find any thing about him other than music related posts... <br /> <br /> <br /> text/html 2004-10-14T19:12:21-05:00 Duncan Bladen http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/topic/33124/#194071 agree on - dont post unless you are sure you can help , but also some people who work in it , and have &quot; the certificates &quot; can be just as ignorant , the fact is just cos you have a piece of paper saying qualified , only means you succeeded in passing an exam , on a certain day ! its the same in the motor industry where i work , you se people with &quot; certificates&quot; &amp; are&quot; qualified&quot; , that dont have a clue in the real world . in fact those who work in big companies , can easily hide their own deficiencies ! and this isnt directed at anyone in particular ! just cos we have worked with computers for years , doesnt mean that some gifted younger/older person doesnt have the know how to sort a problem . there seems to be a general lack of tolerance towards others , creeping into these forums , and to be frank , we dont need it , we are all interested in the same thing , otherwise this forum wouldnt exist , by the way , isnt a forum a voice for all ???? text/html 2004-10-14T12:56:29-05:00 Rhort http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/topic/33124/#193987 Taken as a generalisation, I’d have to agree that this is a fair comment, however, as I think Dasun’s “r u saying that newbies are not allowed” remark points out, you’re getting into a bit of a hairy area here, in terms of dissuading people from commenting at all, just in case they’re wide of the mark in any one instance, and then get harassed ad infinitum for being a dimwit.<br /> <br /> One thing that I did especially like was the way that “PLEASE If you are UNSURE or DONT KNOW an answer to a question, DONT REPLY” has been highlighted. I feel that the blame for posts of that nature can (in many cases, and perhaps even almost exclusively) be laid at the feet of the ‘Total Posts’ counter (Is it time to get rid of that? I don’t think it serves any purpose at all; quantity is most definitely no guarantee of quality). [I’m about to ramble on about my utopian view of what a good forum should be like, so you can skip to the next paragraph now, and get back to the point if you like <img src="/images/smilies/smile3.gif" width="14" height="14" border="0" alt=":D" title=":D">] I feel that you don’t have to look too far on this site to find a thread that’s got a perfectly valid, well-written question, followed by a dozen comments of complete drivel and then a viable solution. One thing I was wondering about is if we could have some sort of post voting system, where registered members can suppress the chaff that often appears in threads, by way of, when a post gets three or four “This is rubbish” votes, it is compressed into a single line, with some sort of hyperlink option to “Expand Post” (also, perhaps, there could be an “Expand All Posts” link, etc) just in case you’re interested in seeing what was written there (“Registered members have suppressed this post by John Smith because they felt it was irrelevant – CLICK HERE to expand the post and read it”) . I know that’s probably a lot of work, but I think (perhaps with some amendments anyone else might suggest) this would make many threads considerably more useful, especially to anyone just using the search facility on the site, browsing through threads on a certain subject trying to find a solution. The reverse of all this negativity that I’m spouting here would, as I’m sure many of you have already seen, be a “Good Post” voting system, which could be used to highlight posts that actually get to the point and offer something of tangible viability (with bold text, or some sort of ‘star’ system); *THIS* could then be used as the basis of the ‘Leader Board’, rather than the current system.<br /> <br /> I also liked Ecosse’s comments about the strategic use of “What I’d do”, or “What I’ve done”, and I think that a lot of people who’ve never actually carried out the procedures they’re talking about, for themselves, before, should consider highlighting that fact, with comments like “In my opinion…”, “I’ve heard of people trying to…”, etc, or perhaps, if the revised version of the Leader Board ‘score’ (highlighted in the drivel of the paragraph above) were implemented, and this ‘score’ shown in the header of each post, next to the poster’s name (like an <a href="/action/r/http://www.ebay.com/">eBay</a> ranking), then individuals could be left to actually decide for themselves if they want to follow the advice, or not (again, I appreciate that this won’t guarantee quality, however, I believe it would be a step in vaguely the right direction).<br /> <br /> Aside from that, I’d just have to stand on my ‘Free Speech’ soapbox (the Devil’s Advocate version <img src="/images/smilies/smile4.gif" width="14" height="14" border="0" alt=";)" title=";)">) for a minute and say that, everyone has a right to comment, and nobody forces anybody to follow advice that’s given on this forum, much of which, even from the pros amongst us, is opinion and speculation anyway (and aren’t they just posh ways of saying ‘guesswork’?) – the reason for this being, and you can ask any professional computer engineer about this and they’ll tell you, when it comes down to the nitty-gritty of computer support, once you get beyond those five minute fixes, it’s always easier to fix something if you can actually get your hands on it yourself, because someone else describing symptoms to you will invariable miss something important out, even if that person has more than half an idea of what they’re doing.<br /> <br /> Finally, Richard: “We were all noobs once and none of us know it all” &lt;&lt;&lt; Nail – Head – Contact! Can we have this added in large bold letters somewhere in all that blurb which now appears at the top of the page where you add a new post?;) text/html 2004-10-14T12:12:47-05:00 Gamerz http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/topic/33124/#193981 Too true Rory, too true. text/html 2004-10-14T11:26:52-05:00 Mohawk http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/topic/33124/#193967 nicely said again rory, ya keep coming up with these posts that make everyone stop and &quot;listen&quot; read for a little bit, im not certified either (wish i was, and trying to make it happen) but i have been fiddling with comps for about 8 years now, another thing that is a bit annoying is people trying to impose there knowledge and superority onto you. though to be fair we are all noobs in some fields, we all cant know everything about evertying thats how this site gets more questions lol. so well done rory and keep the good avice coming people <img src="/images/smilies/smile1.gif" width="14" height="14" border="0" alt=":)" title=":)"> text/html 2004-10-14T11:21:49-05:00 Richard http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/topic/33124/#193966 Yeah, it's importnat to rember that this is a forum, to learn and swap idears, not a place to show off and try and impress poeple by makeing yourself look clever.<br /> <br /> Though it is quite funny when some one makes out there a expert in something, then slips up a couple of posts latter and it becomes clear they know nothing. <br /> <br /> &quot;I'm a master Hacker.................... Whats C++?&quot;<br /> <br /> (This is just a example and is not intended to relate any real person or past threads) text/html 2004-10-14T10:55:21-05:00 Thermalfreak http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/topic/33124/#193961 yeh agreed noobs are great and we need more.....but not noobs who only post their so called &quot;advice&quot; to the noobs who want to learn.... text/html 2004-10-14T10:46:02-05:00 Richard http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/topic/33124/#193958 &quot;r u saying that newbies are not allowed&quot;<br /> <br /> I agree with what Ecosse said.<br /> <br /> We need more noobs, noobs are welcome in my view. We were all noobs once and none of us know it all, someone who knows a lot about one area may be a complete noob in another.<br /> <br /> My self I know nothing about graphics cards, so it's rare I'll ever post in a thread about graphics cards.<br /> <br /> text/html 2004-10-14T07:27:21-05:00 Ecosse http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/topic/33124/#193904 No that's not what is what is being said at all - anyone with the knowledge to aid another user on here should be in a position to impart with said knowledge - it's when someone &quot;thinks&quot; they know where we all hit a rut and it costs a user money unnecessarily.<br /> <br /> By my posts you will probably see &quot;What I'd do&quot; or &quot;What I've done&quot; simply because it isn't a wild guess but I have actually done it sometime back.<br /> <br /> I have to agree that there are some really knowledgable guys and gals here and they know who they are and there is no need to say that if someone joins HWA today that they will not be able to add to this &quot;Knowledge Base&quot; because that's what it is - if you want solutions that MIGHT work then go to a think tank, if you want 8 tried and tested solutions then come here - these guys and gals have pretty much seen and done it all where PC's are concerned and this rep will only be tarnished if the site gets a name for spitting out crap resolves for people.<br /> <br /> Again, well said Rory. text/html 2004-10-14T06:54:47-05:00 Blood Brother http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/topic/33124/#193873 r u saying that newbies are not allowed text/html 2004-10-14T06:49:17-05:00 Shadow_Ops_Airman1 http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/topic/33124/#193870 thats one thing ive been doing is fixing other &quot;PC Repairers&quot; f**k ups, and i hate doing that. text/html 2004-10-14T06:43:31-05:00 Michael A. http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/topic/33124/#193863 Good point, Rory. If you have questions those are okay to ask but only post replies if you know what you're talking about, as Rory so eloquently put it:<br /> <br /> &quot;Shut up, you don't know what you're talking about!&quot; text/html 2004-10-14T00:56:47-05:00 Wildwood http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/topic/33124/#193806 Gray does have a point. But that's why Rory said that if you're not sure, don't answer. I'm not certified. I dn't even work in the IT field. All I know is what I taught myself and what I learned from sites like this one, from guys like Rory. So if I don't have any clue, I don't answer. Then I go back and read what others post and learn from it (hopefully). Sometimes I see a post that goes unanswered for a long time, and I don't know the answer. So I spend some time and research it. Then I give the best answer I can.<br /> <br /> No one knows everything.<br /> <br /> text/html 2004-10-14T00:49:14-05:00 Gray Mole http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/topic/33124/#193799 Well said...<br /> <br /> Though it's funny, there have been times that I've taken some unlikely advise from here, from someone who didn't really have an answer, but it's been something I hadn't thought of and it's been right.<br /> <br /> Really, though, how many in here are actually certified? Certifiable maybe, but I personally haven't got a qualification other than some useless basic computing courses, and a whole bunch of dead hardware as it goes when you're learning how to do it, and I'd trust my own judgement over any PC World 'hello can I help you?' pseudo-technician any day.<br /> <br /> oops, better shut up. I really DON'T know what I'm talking about... <img src="/images/smilies/smile4.gif" width="14" height="14" border="0" alt=";)" title=";)"><br /> <br /> Gray