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ABC ~ All
'Bout Computers Linda's Soapbox OK, this is a REALLY good one. Sometimes I wonder why I even try. A couple weeks ago, I was up to my neck in work. The college where I teach was being inspected by the accreditation board so we were all inundated with paper work that had to be done immediately, if not sooner. Also, it was midterm week and I had to submit reports on all students who were having problems and meet with those students to discuss said problems. AND, remember I do take care of my mom and there was some stuff going on that I had to deal with. Not to mention the fact that I was totally rebuilding my entire website (read more about that here). So, in the midst of all this, I am getting tons of emails asking for personal free help with problems people are having. Now, if any of you have ever submitted a problem to me, you know most of the time I do try to help. See my testimonials page if you don't believe this. Well, this particular week, I got an email from a man telling me (not asking me) to help him with his large Word document which was not printing correctly. Now, anyone who knows anything about printing problems knows these can be a bugger to solve ... especially if the person is using a printer that you don't have installed. This type of problem is not one that is solved simply and quickly! And, Vic Ferri has a great printer troubleshooting page at my site which is easily found by using my search box. So, when I'm flat-out busy like this, I send people an email telling them I don't always have the time to answer EVERY plea for free help that I get and then I proceed to give them a list of alternative ways to get their question answered for FREE ... this list first tells them how to search my site to be sure the answer isn't there ... it also includes a link to subscribe to ABC for FREE so you can "Ask the Fleet"...it also includes links to many email groups, including my own, which all offer FREE help. So ... how does this "gentleman" reply to me?
Where does this guy come off? Where does he get the idea that HE is the most important thing in my life? Does he think I have nothing better to do than cater to his every whim for FREE? Does he think I'm a millionaire and have no need to earn a living? If I didn't have any Internet ethics, I would post his email address here for all the world to see. So ... for any of you who ever write to site owners asking for some kind of free help, here are some pointers: 1. Don't demand the help. ASK for it ... and remember to say something nice in your email. If nothing else, simply tell them you like their site. 2. Understand that free help is given on a voluntary basis, when people have the time to do it. Many site owners won't even reply to requests for free help, so if you get any reply at all, thank them for taking the time to reply, even if they couldn't help you at that time. 3. Do your homework BEFORE you ask for help. At least search the entire site before you send a question that is already answered there. Don't go to a site and spend two minutes there looking for an email link. SEARCH THE SITE. And let them know what you've tried and where you've looked. 4. Remember that support sites like mine are already giving you a lot for FREE ... don't expect more ... appreciate what you already get! 5. And if, by some chance, you actually DO find the answer to your problem at their site, THANK THEM. It's the least you can do ... and usually the only *payment* they expect. Oh ... and on a similar note ... if you do join an email support group, newsgroup, or forum, don't write to members of the group privately unless they invite you to. People join these groups to volunteer their help when they have time. The benefit of these groups is everyone gets to see the answers, so someone doesn't have to answer the same question a gazillion times. Writing to busy people privately may result in a nasty reply, or no reply at all. And, it does the other members of the group a disservice. They deserve to see the answers to all questions ... that's why it's called a "group". Does it sound like I need a vacation? I guess I do! LOL Linda Johnson is a college instructor of all of the Microsoft Office Programs, as well as Adobe PhotoShop and Windows. She also teaches online distance learning classes in Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Publisher, and Word at Eclectic Academy. She has worked helpdesk and teaches and lectures at many local businesses and tech schools in her area. Support this newsletter by checking out Linda's eBooks, MS Word MAGIC!, Book I: Fonts, Fun & Formats and Book II: Table Wizardry, How To Get Started As a Software Trainer, and her newest series of MSOffice eBook Tutorials and CD |
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