[Typo3] Helping new users - was [menu item image gets cut offor truncated]

[Alex Heizer]

Hi Joey,

JoH wrote:

> Well - there might be a very good reason why nobody helped you with the
>
>static templates:
>People who are using the static templates were not able to and people who
>would have been able to (like me for example) are not using static
>templates.
>TYPO3 is a CMS that is used by many professionals and none of them would
>ever think about using a static template due to the fact that their clients
>want their own special CI look and feel plus additional functionality.
>Maybe there are some beginners who are not so advanced that they were able
>to produce their own and thus using the static templates, but these are
>surely not the candidates for helping other beginners.
>For example even  though I have been working as a professional with TYPO3
>for more than 3 years now I haven't even seen some documentation about the
>static templates due to the fact that I never used them for any site.
>  
>
If something is available for TYPO3, there needs to be a way to support 
it, regardless of the particulars. My question is: how do we support a 
new user asking a question about something that has been offered in 
TYPO3 for years? Is this a problem with streamlining the documentation? 
The information path for new users? Do we need a new support structure 
that attracts a larger number of experienced members to help out? Do we 
need to get rid of unsupportable stuff? Just something for us all to 
think about.

>And there is another reason: Having a community doesn't mean that you will
>always get help for each and every problem like from a professional hotline
>or helpdesk (and even these paid hotlines sometimes won't be of much help
>since there are just some callcenter agents without technical knowledge)
>Maybe there are people who can help, but they don't have the time.
>Maybe there are people who have the time, but simply don't know.
>And maybe there would have been people able to help, that would have given
>you some paid lessons.
>  
>
No, you won't always get help for each and every problem. But the more 
users you have in the community, the larger a base of experience you 
will also have. There are very few people on the mailing lists, compared 
to the number of people actually using TYPO3. Look at the number of 
estimated sites and installations that are listed on typo3.com/org and 
compare that to the dozen or so users who regularly post to the mailing 
list (and by that I mean the usernames that everyone can recognize as a 
result of the frequency of their posts.) With such a small community, I 
am amazed (but very appreciative, not critical) that very many questions 
actually do get answered. Again, how can we change the way we do things 
to help attract more users, both new and experienced, and keep them 
coming back for years in the future?

>And if it took you days to find these docs, maybe you should reconsider your
>searching techniques.
>Google gives you a few thousand hits for things like "TYPO3 template green",
>"TYPO3 template glueck" or "TYPO3 documentation start"
>  
>
How embarrassing that Google is TYPO3's primary support mechanism! If 
the main support avenue that everyone advocates for TYPO3 works so 
poorly that people who are providing support recommend finding better 
support through Google, we need to seriously re-think TYPO3's main 
support avenue. If a user can't find the information they need while on 
the typo3.com website, there is something wrong with how information is 
organized. If a Google search provides better results than the search 
box on typo3.com, there is something wrong with typo3.com.

>And BTW: In your thread about the problems with the template GREEN you
>didn't tell anybody that you were using this template except from the last
>post.
>What do you expect? Some fortunetellers with crystal spheres?
>
>I think the first thing you should try to learn is how to ask questions in a
>way, that will enable people to help you.
>Give them enough information and they will do what they can to solve the
>problem.
>  
>
Personally, if everyone is asking questions in a certain way, rather 
than suggest that they don't get answers because their questions aren't 
in our favored format, we need to be changing our own ways of thinking 
so that we can continue to meet their needs. If a dozen people are 
trying to answer 1000 people's questions, the logical course of action 
is to analyze how they are asking the questions, and respond 
accordingly. Hopefully, we'll be getting more and more thousands of 
questions as TYPO3 gains market share. We will never be able to change 
that many people's way of asking for help, it just doesn't make sense to 
try. If TYPO3 is ever to lose its reputation for having horrible 
support, the support people will need to start speaking the language of 
those requesting help, instead of saying that those requesting help 
aren't even requesting help correctly.

>Have a nice day and much succes with TYPO3
>  
>
Yes, have a nice day, all! :)

Alex