From Forum Jerk to Patient Member

When I First Started With DotNetNuke

When I started into the DotNetNuke universe, I had hearsay knowledge of the product and the ideas behind it.  This was now a few years ago, and I think I finally want to say something about it.  Maybe I wasn't actually a jerk, but I definitely came off like a jerk in some of my posts.  Most of the time, my frustration in some of my posts came from a real world frustrating event that I was unsure how to solve.  Newbies face certain issues over and over and over again.  Many are turned off by the challenge presented in learning a new technology.  I had never used anything besides FrontPage in order to manage my websites in the past!

Here's a few "Noob Challenges" that are common when first stepping into the deep DNN waters:

1. Installation -- Phew!  How many posts have been entered here in these very forums about installation?  I mean, there's an entire forum for that!  Maybe someone from DNN could actually tell us how many separate threads have been created on install alone.  When you are first learning something that involves technology of any kind, there's a learning curve.  We're so used to the "Microwave Mentality" that we are more easily angered than ever when something doesn't go our way.
2. Configuration -- Login issues, installing modules (PA vs. source).
3. Upgrading -- This could be part of #1, but I know in the earlier days, upgrading was not nearly as easy as it is now.  Today, it's fairly a *SNAP* once you're above a certain version.  But still, problems occur during upgrade, especially if your site is growing in complexity over the years.

Those are just a few of the issues Noobs face.  And I remember posting various frustrations and directing my turmoil AT DNN people.  The core team, module managers, 3rd party developers.  Unreal.  I can't believe, as I look back on things I've said in forums (not majorly nasty, just unnecessarily demanding, you know the type...) when I needed help and should simply have said "Please."

Why Users Are Easily Frustated

I think users are frustrated for a variety of reasons, but I think there are some common threads.  These ideas are not limited to the DNN Framework, but perhaps apply to a lot of other areas in life.  Once you step back from the situation, you might take a breath, re-read that email or forum post, edit, and THEN press "Send" or "Submit."  Here's my list of common reasons people are Forum Jerks when they start out.

1. Laziness -- This really should come first, and I'm probably guilty of this at times even today.  People just don't want to take the time to do fundamental troubleshooting.  It takes time, energy, focus, discipline to troubleshoot.  Code problems can take hours, even days to figure out.  That's not something people are really willing to undertake.  The first question I ask people internally now, as an I/T Manager, is "What troubleshooting have you already done at this point to solve the problem?"  This question catches people off guard, because they know they should have a better answer than "Nothing."
2. Microwave Mentatlity -- Seriously, a full dinner ready in 2 minutes, 30 seconds?  Culturally, we've gotten used to having things fast.  If it doesn't happen fast, as in REAL FAST, we're upset.  We start getting upset internally, then that festers and leads to angry emails and stupid forum posts.  That's because we have:
3. Unrealistic Expectations -- This taps into #2, but really it's all about managing your own expectations.  If you expect the Microwave fix to your problem, and all of the sudden that doesn't work, you might need to learn how to fish.  Big difference between the two.  Maybe you don't have to learn how to fish "en masse" and sell your product to the world, but you at least have to learn how to bait the hook and catch a Sunny.  Many aren't willing to do even the smallest bit of troubleshooting, which points to #1, because they expect YOU will do it for them.  Worse than that, they expect that you SHOULD do it for them.

A Growing Perspective

I haven't arrived at any special place here that puts me in a league of my own, but I definitely have a growing appreciation for Open-source communities and development.  One of the reasons I have this perspective is because I have been in the business in the past 3 years of providing solutions for "internal" customers.  When you're outside of the community and aren't familiar with the basic principles of the system, it's easy to criticize.  When you're part of the community, things change and you become seasoned in the way you take on problems, troubleshoot, relate to customers and colleagues.

Share Your Thoughts...

I'm interested to know what other community users, developers, noobs, core team folks, anyone thinks about these ideas.

On a SUBnote... this post itself I had to create w/a new user account at DNN, because of a Bug in the system that won't allow me to post new threads using my existing account.  in the past, i would have pitched a fit, like a child... now, no biggie, I'll just wait until it's fixed, and in the meantime I'll use this account to post.  Enjoy!

WOW---another subnote...I've learned to copy my forum posts to my clipboard often... and this session timed out, so I WOULD have lost the entire post (easily my longest ever), if I hadn't copied it... :-) Here's to learning the system!