PureBasic Forums - English

1. May I suggest to place in EVERY forum one sticky called 'Read This First!!!' with something like...

BEFORE YOU POST A QUESTION please do the following:

1. Check the FAQ. It's here: http://www.purebasic.fr/english/viewtopic.php?t=4876

2. Do a SEARCH on the forum. The FAQ tells you how. http://www.purebasic.fr/english/viewtopic.php?t=4876

3. Check the PureBasic help function (F1).

4. Explain what you want to accomplish. Expect angry comments and little help if people suspect you're planning to write malware.

5. Confirm that you DID read the FAQ and that you DID do a forum search.

6. Stay polite. Stay polite. Stay polite.

7. And finally, have fun!

2. May I also suggest to add a few URL's to online resources at the start of the FAQ?

I think some of the old-timers are getting bored by the same newby questions... I never thought it would happen to me, but it's starting to...

We already have many stickies like that but the majority will still ignore it.

Fluid Byte wrote:the majority will still ignore it.

Too true. But there's no harm in trying.

If we want people to read it, it should be named 'NEVER READ THIS'

Actually, I'd even settle for that one

It's just a last ditch attempt to reduce some flak. Seriously, I think it would help. Even the smallest reduction in annoyance may do the forum some good. We've got so many good people in here... Perhaps it is time to split 'coding questions' up in to two sections again, 'beginners' and 'advanced'. Then we could ban the experst from the beginners section when they get verbal again

Hmm. I just edited the text. Read again...

blueznl wrote:I think some of the old-timers are getting bored by the same newby questions... I never thought it would happen to me, but it's starting to...

As a 'newby' to PB (but close to an 'old-timer' in other respects) the major issue I have is how to get useful results from the forum search, even using the info in the FAQ. This is not directly a Fantaisie Software problem but a phpBB limitation, and even phpBB 3 doesn't provide what I want. For example, if I want to search for "mouse button up" I enter those three words in 'Search for Keywords', and leave 'Search for all terms' selected (as per the FAQ). My search returns 483 matches covering 17 pages, and on looking thru the results I find postings containing those words but not that phrase or anything like it.

So what I would really like is a search for a phrase.

btw, there is a way I can do this and that is via Google, using a search like this:
"mouse button up" site:www.purebasic.fr

Still, it would be nicer to have the facility available within the Forum itself.

Mike

ozzie wrote:So what I would really like is a search for a phrase.

btw, there is a way I can do this and that is via Google, using a search like this:
"mouse button up" site:www.purebasic.fr

Still, it would be nicer to have the facility available within the Forum itself

This is possible e.g. by implementing the Google search directly in the forum.

Regards, Little John

google is your friend

I don't think there are any specific google mods for phpBB, but it's easy enough to toss in a google site search.

I find that being as specific as possible is key to getting good search results. Rather than

mouse button up (484 results)

I would try

right mouse button up *gadget (123 results).

If that yields too many results I would then get even more specific with

right mouse button up ListIconGadget (11 results.)

Being as clear and specific as possible will not only help with your searches, it will also help others who are trying to help you.

Btw. the official FAQ is here: http://www.purebasic.fr/english/faq.php

(You can go to there through the button left to the search button of this forum)

Why don't we just put it in there?

The search tips or the Read Me First?

Ohh sorry,

blueznl wrote:The search tips or the Read Me First?

I mean this:

1. Check the FAQ. It's here: http://www.purebasic.fr/english/viewtopic.php?t=4876

Why isn't this FAQ in the official FAQ?

Because thats the phpbb faq, and nobody ever reads that.

freak wrote:Because thats the phpbb faq, and nobody ever reads that.

Do you think anyone will ever read the PureBasic FAQ? And if you place this FAQ button in another way it would have more attention and the new ones would think this is a new function or something else.

freak wrote:If we want people to read it, it should be named 'NEVER READ THIS'

well, this is a fantastic idea. we should give it a try.

I'm serious.