I agree with almost all the posts here. I've never been one to tell someone to search it, or ask on another site, etc. Even when someone would ask how to do something in particular at vb.com and they were directed to vb.org for the answer, if I knew it, I'd tell them anyway. Got in trouble for it too, but eh, that's just good customer service.
When trying to help someone, I have 3 rules that I, personally, try to adhere to:
- Remember back to when you were new to the forum scene, or to a particular forum software. Then...
- Give the kind of answer that you, yourself, would find helpful. Which means...
- Details, details, details. Vague answers are crap answers, imo. If someone needs to know how to get to find something, and I know it's in the profile, would a new member find it helpful if I gave an answer like "you'll find that in your profile"? NO! The correct answer would be to say "Go to your profile, and click on *****, then click on ****, then look in ****. Details are always helpful, and always appreciated. Of course if a question has been answered in another thread, a link is acceptable, but a link coupled with a kind remark is better.
This kind of customer service is what makes a good reputation for a site/business, and what keeps new (and potentially new) members/customers coming back.
