- Problem- New Machine DIY Build Video
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I think it has more to do with your topic heading than anything. Topics that deal with specific questions will attract more attention. I wouldn't even read a topic with the title "pointing in the right direction please". There are about a hundred new topics started on this site every day, if the topic title doesn't catch my interest or look as though it will educate me, I ignore it. I simply don't have time to read every new thread that comes up to see if it is interesting.
People get tired of answering the same questions time and time again. If someone asks a question like "what is the best stepper motor" or the question is unclear (look at the question you asked in your first thread, I can't figure out what you are asking, and the question is hidden in the middle of a bunch of other stuff) they probably won't get a lot of replies. Likewise if it is clear someone hasn't even bothered to do a forum search.
What makes this site such a wonderful resource ironically makes it a bit tougher for newbies. See, no matter how unique you think your questions are, all the "clueless newbie" questions have been asked and answered many many times. The people who have been here a while and are best equipped with the knowledge to reply have done so multiple times already and prefer to move on to more interesting questions. This is less of an issue on smaller forums since there is less chance that 'clueless newbie question' fatigue has set in. For example, this site has over 130,000 unique threads. Compare that to mycncuk.com (a wonderful site by all accounts) which has a bit over 3000.
We have all been newbies, when I started I didn't even know enough to formulate an intelligent question. So what is a newbie to do?
1) Find a forum/sub forum that approximates what you think you want to do (that isn't always clear). Read a bunch of threads there and get used to the terminology this will help you to:
2) Use the search feature. Once you know a bit of terminology, you can use the search feature to narrow down what your are looking for. If you are lucky you will find your answer or you will clarify your thinking so you can better formulate your question.
3) If you find an existing active thread that deals with your interests and partially answers your question, by all means reply there and ask for clarification. The previous posters have already invested in that thread and are more likely to expand upon what they have written. Of course it has to be clear that you have read the thread, few things are more annoying than having answered a question and being asked the same thing 20 replies later.
4) If, after you have read a few hundred threads and done a bunch of searches, you can't find the information you are looking for, by all means start your own thread. Explain what you are doing as clearly and concisely as you can. Then ask your questions making sure you have provided enough information for people to work with (though that can be hard at first since you might not know enough to know what is relevant).
Try not to mix your questions into a big blob of text, that is unclear. Avoid asking a dozen questions at a time in one post, ask a few then as you get replies keep asking.
Make sure that your topic title reflects what you are asking or sharing. If I see a title that asks about something I know or want to know, I am all over it.
There is an incredible amount of knowledge on a wide variety of topics on this site. Use the tools provided to find that information. By all means ask questions but do so in a way that respects the reader's time. i.e. be clear, be specific and avoid asking questions in ways that need endless clarification before they can be answered (whenever possible). And if your thread looks like it will educate, people will respond.
bob
- Problem- New Machine DIY Build Video
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