In five years of experience as a message board coordinator on America Online,
I can assure folks that many Americans don't what to read something when it is
easy enough to just ask first. Now that AOL has gone International, it
appears that some cultures are even more prone to this tendency (!not to name
any names!). But, when told the URL to go to with the answer, that suits them
just fine.
There is a natural tendency for the old timers to let new regulars handle the
chore of answering the redundant questions. That gives the old timers a break
and gives the new regulars (as opposed to even newer "newbies") a sense of
participation.
IMHO, a link to the FAQ on the WWW pages when they subscribe to the OM List is
enough. Most of us have come to know what an FAQ is. Folks new to the
Internet still have to learn. So even if they see a FAQ link, they might not
comprehend the meaning of that link, much less be willing to read it before
asking something.
Asking a simple question is often a litmus test for a new subscriber. How
they are treated on that first question has a stong correlation to their
further participation on the List.
Gary Reese
Las Vegas, NV
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