RE: FLASH: The Evolution of this Mailing List

[Unger, Russell]

Bill...


We just went through this on the Direct-L list, and the consensus was pretty

much that some people, perhaps like yourself, and this is in NO WAY a flame,

get a bit frustrated at some of the basic functionality questions.  This, I

think, is going to be pretty much unavoidable.


We may all speak the same language (some on here don't at all), but we

certainly interpret it differently.  I am certain I've posted more than one

frantic little post requesting assistance b/c I'm unsure of an approach to a

problem...but that doesn't mean I'm not reading the manuals; it means that I

don't have the foggiest idea as to how to interpret what a manual writer

described.  I have to write user's guides constantly and I assure you that I

get all kinds of questions, as do most others regarding such.


Fact of the matter is, one of the easiest ways to learn a tool like Flash is

to do it "Trial by Fire" method.  Teach a man to fish...


I've personally learned more simply from reading the posts, even the ones

that could have been answered by following the manual, than I have from

going through the manual personally.  A lot of people enjoy sharing their

knowledge and are more than happy to help each other.


I, of course, could be seriously wrong in this department, however, I think

that there are a lot of people getting a lot from this list, and probably a

lot more lurkers who are waiting until they feel they have enough "list

maturity" to find the right way to post their question(s).


Just my opinion.


Russell E. Unger


Modern Business Technology

1300 E. Woodfield Road, Suite 302

Schaumburg, IL 60173-4984

tel: 847.605.1917 x256 (vm x411)

fax: 847.605.1905

rungermbtinc [dot] com

-----Original Message-----

From: Bill Wagner [

billpwrtst [dot] com (mailto:billpwrtst [dot] com)

]

Sent: Wednesday, November 04, 1998 12:31 PM

To:

flashershocker [dot] com

Subject: FLASH: The Evolution of this Mailing List



I've noticed a definite shift in the tone and content of the messages being

posted to this list recently and I don't find it very encouraging. I've read

a great number of postings that could have been avoided had the poster read

the manual included with Flash. As a technical writer, I can give my

endorsement to Macromedia's manual writing department. They have assembled

an above average manual and an excellent on-line help system. Most people

who pony up the $300 for Flash would do well to read it.

I thought the main purpose of this mailing list (or any other developer list

not labelled tech support) was for developers who are excited about this

emerging standard to get together and discuss ideas, review each other's

work and talk about the dissemination of this exciting new technology.

Don't get me wrong, I am all for helping each other out with tricky problems

on a conceptual level, but it just isn't fair to the readers of this list or

the people who always seem to be answering the tech support questions when

people post frantic messages about problems that are easily avoidable. Maybe

some of you shouldn't be making promises you can't keep to your clients and

then expecting the developers on this list to bail you out in the eleventh

hour. Everyone involved with this list would learn alot more if we could all

achieve at least some minimal baseline working knowledge of this wonderful

new tool. I am by no means at the level of, say, a John C. but I realize

this when I send out a quote or embark on a new project. If I run into a

sticky spot, I've found that I can usually figure it out myself if I step

back, analyze the problem critically and, if necessary, review the support

materials. I highly recommend this process to anyone who is having

consistent problems using Flash.


Bill Wagner

Media Coordinator

Power Test, Inc.



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