Thread: New article: Photographing razors

I have taken some content from http://straightrazorpalace.com/works...ng-razors.html and wikified it into Photographing Razors - Straight Razor Place Wiki

Fully attributed, and acknowledged. Hope you like it.

Wow! What a great Wiki entry! Thanks Robin

James.

No need to thank me. I just copied over (and cleaned up a bit) stuff from sicboater and 0o.Mark.o0. You have to thank them.

Thanx to all. The Wiki is a wonderful resource tho I think it's under used. Sure saves a lot of repeat answers on the fora.

I think a lot of new guys are reading it. There are many lurkers who do not post and many who are not even members yet, reading up and doing their homework. The wiki is another of their many great resources here on SRP.

Originally Posted by onimaru55

Thanx to all. The Wiki is a wonderful resource tho I think it's under used. Sure saves a lot of repeat answers on the fora.

That is true. But we shouldn't forget that it can be very difficult to find your way through the sea of information if you know diddly squat about razors, shaving or honing.
If you have to start from scratch, it is often much easier to ask a couple of basic questions to clear up the initial confusion.

So it is a fact of life that the newbie corner, and basic honing will have repeat questions, but that is ok imo. We all have to learn sometime, and we did the same back when we were new.

Originally Posted by Bruno

That is true. But we shouldn't forget that it can be very difficult to find your way through the sea of information if you know diddly squat about razors, shaving or honing.
If you have to start from scratch, it is often much easier to ask a couple of basic questions to clear up the initial confusion.

Right. Now then, here's the problem as I see it:

1. For some arcane reason, Joe Newuser ("JN") gets the idea that he should try straight razor shaving.
2. JN asks his search engine of choice, and finds SRP.
3. Here comes the interesting part, at least from the perspective of information flow:
   
   1. If he finds the front page first, there is little to none information available directed towards completely new users.
   2. If he finds a specific forum article first, there is little to none information pointing him towards e.g. the stickies.
   3. There is next to no chance of him finding the Chat first, which - in my very humble opinion - would actually be the best place to start, as there are real people in there who can help JN to quickly and efficiently find the relevant pieces of information.
   4. The Wiki appears to be mainly ignored by search engines, which is a shame.
4. From an SRP user perspective, this can lead to either of the following:
   
   1. JN stumbles into the forum and asks a stupid question. Now, I never attribute to malice what can be explained by mere cluelessness, but I wish we had a prominent notice to point JN in the direction of a version of How To Ask Questions The Smart Way that is tailored for SRP.
   2. On the up side, this forum is a beacon of light with respect to moderators, and discipline of users when choosing forums, alike. However, the recent influx of beginners (my basis of comparison being the last year as an active user, and a quick scan of the previous years) might lead to an amount of posts that make the forums difficult to read. Mind you, I am not saying that it will happen, only that it might.
5. Given that the number of posts that have been answered before rises further at the speed at which it currently does, what options does SRP have?
   
   1. Moderate the forums more actively. In my opinion the very worst option, because SRP would need more moderators, and sooner rather than later one JN will get seriously annoyed because his post has been moderated into oblivion.
   2. SRP could install a system by which JN is directed towards concise instructions how to use the site most efficiently and effectively. As much as I hate thiese things, a banner that appears when you are not logged in serves this purpose well. On the condition that the instructions themselves actually exist - which they do not at the moment.
   3. Push the Wiki, once it contains all relevant information for JN. I believe we are 2/3rds there. What is missing is a spiced up version of What Every Beginner Should Know - Straight Razor Place Wiki - this article has become a lot better than its original source, because it contains links to further information. This is where a Wiki really shines, because it gives you the opportunity to refine information gathered from the forums (where, typically, information is cluttered, and therefore virtually inaccessible to JN).
   4. Ignore BeBerlin aka The Cassandra from Germany, and live happily ever after.

Originally Posted by Bruno

So it is a fact of life that the newbie corner, and basic honing will have repeat questions, but that is ok imo. We all have to learn sometime, and we did the same back when we were new.

I do not think anyone has an issue with repeat questions in general. SRP's search engine isn't the greatest, and formulating smart questions is difficult if you do not know the terminology used to begin with.

However, I believe that we could do more to help JN to find his way around the topic more easily. I have been brooding over a useful way to optimise the "What every beginner should know" article for weeks. What we do not currently have, I believe, is an analysis of user behaviour, such as this one generated by web druid: Usage Statistics for sample.org - July 2003. If we ran such an analysis for sessions of users not logged in...

Right. Did I mention that otherwise I concur with your opinion wholeheartedly?

Thanks Robin. My simple mind is confused, but I'm sure I agree

Originally Posted by Bruno

That is true. But we shouldn't forget that it can be very difficult to find your way through the sea of information if you know diddly squat about razors, shaving or honing.
If you have to start from scratch, it is often much easier to ask a couple of basic questions to clear up the initial confusion.

So it is a fact of life that the newbie corner, and basic honing will have repeat questions, but that is ok imo. We all have to learn sometime, and we did the same back when we were new.

Absolutely true & I have no issue with repeat questions but as my typing speed is a joke I find that if I can give a brief answer with a link to a more in depth post or to the Wiki, that's a real time saver.