The "Staple" Answer

[Audria]

I know I'm not that old here on this shard; but I have to say that I've noticed that people's "staple" answer to questions is to send them to the wiki. It's an okay wiki, not GREAT but.. it's got some decent information in it. My only issue is that instead of actually answering the question someone has, you send them straight to the wiki. Why don't people take a few moments to actually ANSWERthe question that was asked, and then at the end offer, "plus there's that and other really useful information on the wiki at....." Just seems like so many people refuse to actually answer the question asked and send people there straight away without a seconds thought. Well, that's my ramble. Thanks for listening.

[JimTheDM]

Audria,

I know I'm not on much during the week due to work, but feel free to PM me in game (Jamkul) and I would be more than happy to answer anything that I can for you. Alot of times I ignore world chat just because there are alot of irrelevant items flowing thru there that gets to the point of being anoying. But I will always take the time to help a new player.

Jim

[Larsa]

Hey Audria, welcome to the shard. You see... when players ask other players to check the wiki is because the answer doesn't fall into the yes/no or one simple short answer. Excelsior has lots of custom content that sometimes it's not possible to explain within a sentence or two. The other reason is because some players prefer to ask EVERYTHING and do not explore around.

I'll give you an example... Players will ask... what's the best gear in game? To start go with GOC armour then relayers. Same player will ask again... what is the GOC armour and how do I get it? Do the Mage Inquisition Quest. Where does it starts? Is it hard? What items do I need, yada yada yada... and that is not even asking about what a relayer is!!!

It's easier and better to check the wiki, since it's there in the first place and has lots of good information. I learn most of the custom content from the wiki and forums. And it does help you to get familiar with the shard, cause again there's a lot of custom content in here.

It is all depending on the questions that is asked at that moment in time and I have already refrained myself of telling people to check the wiki cause I want them to find it themselves. Have fun and good luck!

[Ilsanor]

One reason would be because people hate answering the same questions over and over. Another one - because some things are explained better on the wiki than anyone can do in the few lines of text. Try explaining, for example, the GoC quest thoroughly and see how much it takes. And yet another option, my personal favourite, if you cannot put in the time to read the wiki, then why would I put in the time to answer your question? I am glad to answer questions that are not covered on the wiki and I can also take a stab at clearing the things that are not understood. But I do not enjoy enabling other people's laziness. I tend to value other people's time and I expect that they do the same for me.

DISCLAIMER!: This reply is not meant to offend you Audria, or anyone reading it for that matter. As the nick next to this post suggests, that is my private opinion. Some people might share it, some might not.

[Melkor]

Anyone is welcome to pm me any questions they might have. I enjoy helping out new players, I don't have much that I NEED to do in game now anyways.

[pm Quasar

[anarchy]

better scenario guy asks..."how much taming do i need for a cu?" we answer a day or so the same guy will ask..."how much taming do i need for a noble?"....some answers, we can say in a sentence or two, but....there's always that follow up question, while all the information sits in wiki. so it's easier for me to say read the wiki. you also get to see what the shard is all about. bees, flower, custom house's. etc...

[Audria]

better scenario guy asks..."how much taming do i need for a cu?" we answer a day or so the same guy will ask..."how much taming do i need for a noble?"....some answers, we can say in a sentence or two, but....there's always that follow up question, while all the information sits in wiki. so it's easier for me to say read the wiki. you also get to see what the shard is all about. bees, flower, custom house's. etc...

yes, but see how easy that was? a one or two line answer, nothing huge or grandios! just a simple answer and and oh, by the way, if you read the wiki here..... you can find out all sorts of other neat things!

I'm not offended by what anyone wrote. I just happen to have spent the last 12 days (age of my account) seeing tons of people answered with "check the wiki" and no real answer given. I don't think it's enableing anyone's laziness to answer a question or two and then mention the wiki. It's how Walter got me turned onto the wiki in the first place. He actually took a few moments to answer a couple of my questions then sent me the wiki address.

Yes, people get tired of answering the saaaaaaame questions day in and day out and I totally get that and definately don't begrudge anyone who's been on this server for a year or so and had to answer the same question 3x a week for a year. It does add up to a substantial amount of times a person has answered the same question. I just think that maybe if we approached it differently it wouldn't make the new people who are just starting (like myself) feel so...what's the word I'm looking for... made to feel like they aren't even worth the couple sentances to answer the question in world chat if everyone just says "read the wiki". It was just my thoughts and as posted before.. it's just one crazy person's opinion

[Ilsanor]

Well you have to differentiate between types of questions. From what I've seen the ones that can be answered in a short sentence usually do get answered. Yes, as anarchy mentioned, there is a category of those that will still be sent off to wiki - either because the people online don't know the answer off the top of their heads (I have no idea how much taming is req'd for a Cu or what coloured BODs give a Clothing Bless Deed) and/or it would take the same amount of time for me to check as it would take the person asking. I have portal opened in the background whenever I play mostly for that reason - so I can check all the little questions myself and not ask global just because I don't want to open my browser.
It's like going to a physicist and asking him to explain,for example, nuclear physics to you in detail. You will undoubtedly be directed to read some books first so that you can have a basis for asking the questions. Expecting the physicist to answer all your questions if you haven't read anything and getting angry because he doesn't* want to answer would be considered inappropriate.

*He may answer the questions anyway just because he's nice. Good for you.

"In The United Meritocratic nation-states of the Internet, those who can do, rule. Those who wish to rule, learn. Everyone else watches from the stands."

I just think that maybe if we approached it differently

Any ideas? Because yes, the problem of noobies feeling brushed off with a "read wiki" answer is there. But answering each and every question in global thoroughly is not really feasible. Personally, I always feel the balance is in the point where everyone *tries* to get the knowledge that is there on their own and ask if it is obscure or not available.


And a closing thought - if everyone took the time to read the wiki when they start off (seriously - not that much to read, 2-3 hours tops), the "read wiki" questions/answers could be avoided almost entirely. Unfortunately many are unwilling to spend some time reading (gasp!). I have more than once witnessed such dialogues:
Noob: tell me about beekeeping/GoC/breeding/relayers/[insert broad subject here]!
Responder: Read the wiki guide on [apropriate subject]
Noob: i dont want to read the wiki, just tell me
Responder: (silence)

[Devlin]

I'd rather point to something I have already taken time/effort to put into a coherent format then sit there and attempt to reexplain something.

[Draconomicon]

[Nakkasu]

Here i'll say what they want to. It's not our job to answer every question. It's good to help as much as possible but like has been stated before. If you cant put forward the effort to read the wiki why should we take the effort to relay information that has already been made easily accessible? It's right there ready to be consumed but people dont look at it. If you have a tough time finding something then ask but dont ask silly questions that can be answered with a little research before you look unless you want to annoy someone.

Personally i ask my guildmates a lot of questions, a lot of times i do seek out answers first. Its only fair to them and yourself. Dont be lazy =c Unfortunate you cant handle someone trying to help you become more independent.

[Whitenight]

As described above I have run into that situation where a quick answer has turned into a stalker like spam of PMs when it comes to answering questions, I do like to help people but it is important for them to learn the resources of Q&A available on wiki and in the forums.