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1 2 Previous Next 18 Replies Last post: Oct 31, 2009 11:01 PM by RDellimmagine  

Place a text box to all VMTN forums suggest users to search "Google & VMTN" first before posting questions???? posted: Jul 31, 2009 11:11 AM

Click to view azn2kew's profile Champion
azn2kew
2,941 posts since
Jun 21, 2006
I'm sure everyone supporting the forums tend to be frustrated when users keep posting repeated questions that are easy to get through "Google" or VMTN search features. Can you recommend to place a text box on top of every VMTN forums so encourage them to do a quick search on "Google/VMTN" first before posting questions? Its a big wasted of forum resources and repetitive supports that I've found 60% of the questions can be answer via search. Or place a warning during user registration process, recommend to maximize search options before postings!!!

We would like to see more technical related questions that are informative and attract more discussions.

If you found this information useful, please consider awarding points for "Correct" or "Helpful". Thanks!!!

Regards,

Stefan Nguyen
VMware vExpert 2009
iGeek Systems Inc.
VMware, Citrix, Microsoft Consultant

Re: Place a text box to all VMTN forums suggest users to search "Google & VMTN" first before posting questions????

1. Jul 31, 2009 11:41 AM in response to: azn2kew
Click to view RDPetruska's profile Guru
RDPetruska
15,877 posts since
Jan 11, 2005

Stefan,

There are ALREADY a list of links to FAQs and other documents on many of the forums pages - there is a long list on the Fusion forum, for example. And yet plenty of users don't even attempt to read these announcements/documents pointed out for them. What makes you think they'd read anything else we put up there?

Re: Place a text box to all VMTN forums suggest users to search "Google & VMTN" first before posting questions????

2. Jul 31, 2009 12:03 PM in response to: azn2kew
Click to view prakashraj's profile Expert
prakashraj
326 posts since
Mar 27, 2009

Hi Stefan,

Good suggestion and searching solutions will be easier.

Prakash

Re: Place a text box to all VMTN forums suggest users to search "Google & VMTN" first before posting questions????

3. Jul 31, 2009 12:16 PM in response to: prakashraj
Click to view azn2kew's profile Champion
azn2kew
2,941 posts since
Jun 21, 2006
I'm sure those FAQs and links helps them a lot but no one seems to spend a minute google search and that's a bit paranoid when the answers can be found most of the time. Apparently, there are 750,000+ users in the forum and no one seems to streamline the posting process but throw anything I mean literally anything on the VMTN forums sometimes its not even related :(

I'm hoping this VMTN could be more efficient and technical so it will not turn into a dump questions forum type. How do we get people aware of "Google & VMTN" search features more affectively. The only thing I would suggest is when user registered, an auto respond email will specified these warnings in bolded text and that will help!

If you found this information useful, please consider awarding points for "Correct" or "Helpful". Thanks!!!

Regards,

Stefan Nguyen
VMware vExpert 2009
iGeek Systems Inc.
VMware, Citrix, Microsoft Consultant

Re: Place a text box to all VMTN forums suggest users to search "Google & VMTN" first before posting questions????

4. Jul 31, 2009 2:10 PM in response to: azn2kew
Click to view etung's profile Guru
etung
11,098 posts since
Oct 15, 2006
Reply to such questions with Let me google that for you links?

More seriously, though, I don't have a good answer. Searching on your own should really be troubleshooting 101 in any field. If people aren't doing that, I don't have high hopes of a text box changing their behavior. Perhaps if in order to post a question a search field were made more prominent, or making a mandatory checkbox "I already searched for this question", things might change, but I'm not sure this is a good user experience.

Also, to play devils advocate for a moment, too much searching by beginners results in the problem of people reviving years-old threads with issues that are only superficially the same (if even that).

Re: Place a text box to all VMTN forums suggest users to search "Google & VMTN" first before posting questions????

5. Jul 31, 2009 4:04 PM in response to: etung
Click to view azn2kew's profile Champion
azn2kew
2,941 posts since
Jun 21, 2006
That's funny with the linke "lmgtfy" users will be mad..but anyways yes "googling" is the first thing everyone should use first and that would make things easier and yes if we have a mandatory button that would be awesome but then user experience will be bad and they will not be happy with it as its inconvenience and accidentally distracted them from postings :( well, I guess we just have to continue supporting as much as we can for those don't know "Google" by now ;)

If you found this information useful, please consider awarding points for "Correct" or "Helpful". Thanks!!!

Regards,

Stefan Nguyen
VMware vExpert 2009
iGeek Systems Inc.
VMware, Citrix, Microsoft Consultant

Re: Place a text box to all VMTN forums suggest users to search "Google & VMTN" first before posting questions????

6. Aug 3, 2009 6:22 AM in response to: azn2kew
Click to view continuum's profile Guru
continuum
12,689 posts since
Dec 18, 2003
I doubt that a high number of users is able to effectively use the VMTN search.
Personally i gave up using it since the forum downgrade two years ago :-(

___________________________________

VMX-parameters- VMware-liveCD - VM-Sickbay

Re: Place a text box to all VMTN forums suggest users to search "Google & VMTN" first before posting questions????

7. Aug 3, 2009 9:25 AM in response to: continuum
Click to view azn2kew's profile Champion
azn2kew
2,941 posts since
Jun 21, 2006
I would agreed, google search is much more effective then VMTN search almost 99.999% of my searches though. How would VMTN search being optimize to better serve? I guess, depend on google for this matter saves time and resources :)

If you found this information useful, please consider awarding points for "Correct" or "Helpful". Thanks!!!

Regards,

Stefan Nguyen
VMware vExpert 2009
iGeek Systems Inc.
VMware, Citrix, Microsoft Consultant

Re: Place a text box to all VMTN forums suggest users to search "Google & VMTN" first before posting questions????

8. Aug 5, 2009 5:38 PM in response to: azn2kew
Click to view RDellimmagine's profile Virtuoso
RDellimmagine
1,678 posts since
Jul 19, 2004
Can you give me some examples of why you don't like VMware Communities search?

The only issue I am aware of is this: If you search in a specific community, it does not automatically search in the subcommunities. So if you search in vSphere, you get no results because all of the threads & documents are in vSphere's sub-communities. This is clearly an issue. But in my experience, when I search at the top level of VMware Communities, I get reasonable results across the site.

Since it seems at least two of you have a different impression, I'd like to know where you think VMware Communities search is lacking.

Thanks, Robert

P.S. I can update the create new discussion page to recommend searching before people post.

Robert Dell'Immagine, Director of VMware Communities

Re: Place a text box to all VMTN forums suggest users to search "Google & VMTN" first before posting questions????

9. Aug 5, 2009 5:52 PM in response to: RDellimmagine
Click to view K-MaC's profile Expert
K-MaC
480 posts since
Jun 16, 2008
Almost 25% of the time when I try to do a community search I get an entirely blank page as a result. I also find that a google search of 'your topic here site:communities.vmware.com' ranks the results better.

Cheers

Kevin

Re: Place a text box to all VMTN forums suggest users to search "Google & VMTN" first before posting questions????

10. Aug 6, 2009 5:10 AM in response to: K-MaC
Click to view continuum's profile Guru
continuum
12,689 posts since
Dec 18, 2003
Almost 25% of the time when I try to do a community search I get an entirely blank page as a result.

Only 25 % ? - you must know some secret searching tips that I am not aware of

Ulli

___________________________________

VMX-parameters- VMware-liveCD - VM-Sickbay

Re: Place a text box to all VMTN forums suggest users to search "Google & VMTN" first before posting questions????

11. Aug 6, 2009 2:15 PM in response to: K-MaC
Click to view RDellimmagine's profile Virtuoso
RDellimmagine
1,678 posts since
Jul 19, 2004
Can you give me a sample URL that generates a blank page and let me know what browser you are using when you see it? I'm currently not able to reproduce the problem, so that will be very helpful to me. Thanks, Robert

Robert Dell'Immagine, Director of VMware Communities

Re: Place a text box to all VMTN forums suggest users to search "Google & VMTN" first before posting questions????

12. Aug 7, 2009 4:22 AM in response to: RDellimmagine
Click to view etung's profile Guru
etung
11,098 posts since
Oct 15, 2006
Can you give me some examples of why you don't like VMware Communities search?

Perhaps it's changed recently, but the Communities search has failed to turn up posts I knew existed. Instead, I prefer a combination of Google with site:communities.vmware.com and being a packrat with email notifications and using my mail client's search feature. I don't have an example search at the moment, but will keep an eye out.

Re: Place a text box to all VMTN forums suggest users to search "Google & VMTN" first before posting questions????

13. Aug 7, 2009 3:06 PM in response to: etung
Click to view azn2kew's profile Champion
azn2kew
2,941 posts since
Jun 21, 2006
Yes, for some reasons when I've tried to search from the top level down on certain topics or questions I couldn't get the results I wanted on VMTN search, but threw it with google seems like it has better index/crawlings out there and gives you right back to the vmware.com/vmtn posts which is always useful. The other advantages is that there are so many articles/blogs and documents besides VMTN repositories so my own opinion I had a lot more results wanted then just VMTN. From a search perspective, VMTN is doing fine and fast though but not always result to what I'm searching so I had the habit to use "google" as everyone does here.

If you found this information useful, please consider awarding points for "Correct" or "Helpful". Thanks!!!

Regards,

Stefan Nguyen
VMware vExpert 2009
iGeek Systems Inc.
VMware, Citrix, Microsoft Consultant

Re: Place a text box to all VMTN forums suggest users to search "Google & VMTN" first before posting questions????

14. Aug 10, 2009 7:59 PM in response to: RDellimmagine
Click to view K-MaC's profile Expert
K-MaC
480 posts since
Jun 16, 2008
Hey Robert, I came across the error today. I tried to search for the word 'lounge' from the following page 'http://communities.vmware.com/community/vmtn?start=0'

I am running IE8 version 8.0.6001.18702. Japanese version and the pc is is XP Pro SP3 with all patches also Japanese version.

The following is the page that I am directed to. Which in turn generates a white page.

http://communities.vmware.com/search.jspa?resultTypes=BLOG_POST&resultTypes=DOCUMENT&resultTypes=MESSAGE&resultTypes=BLOG&resultTypes=COMMUNITY&peopleEnabled=true&communityID=2428&communityID=2000&communityID=2003&communityID=2629&communityID=2427&communityID=2004&communityID=2007&communityID=2487&communityID=2871&communityID=2876&communityID=2542&communityID=2806&communityID=2805&communityID=2804&communityID=3064&communityID=2412&communityID=3085&communityID=2409&communityID=2921&communityID=2922&communityID=3068&communityID=2936&communityID=3033&communityID=3039&communityID=2942&communityID=3036&communityID=3049&communityID=3066&communityID=2407&communityID=2632&communityID=2411&communityID=2410&communityID=2408&communityID=2423&communityID=2413&communityID=3052&communityID=3060&communityID=3048&communityID=2425&communityID=2426&communityID=2747&communityID=3055&communityID=2746&communityID=2686&communityID=2958&communityID=2833&communityID=2834&communityID=2837&communityID=2835&communityID=2836&communityID=2838&communityID=2839&communityID=2424&communityID=2745&communityID=2347&communityID=2666&communityID=2597&communityID=2667&communityID=2668&communityID=2669&communityID=2345&communityID=2343&communityID=2344&communityID=2348&communityID=2671&communityID=2346&communityID=2349&communityID=2350&communityID=2351&communityID=2353&communityID=2599&communityID=2600&communityID=2601&communityID=2830&communityID=2603&communityID=2842&communityID=2815&communityID=2352&communityID=2192&communityID=2437&communityID=2193&communityID=2194&communityID=2195&communityID=2537&communityID=2297&communityID=2322&communityID=2326&communityID=2327&communityID=2328&communityID=2323&communityID=2325&communityID=2329&communityID=2324&communityID=2006&communityID=2298&communityID=2300&communityID=2301&communityID=2302&communityID=2303&communityID=2304&communityID=2299&communityID=2330&communityID=2331&communityID=2332&communityID=2333&communityID=2334&communityID=2335&communityID=2336&communityID=2337&communityID=2338&communityID=2339&co

Cheers

Kevin

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