I have been using Apples Communities are for quite a number of years and I can only say that the results have been quite mixed, mostly on the down side.

As Mr. Hernandez says some answers are brief, the helpers are inconsiderate and those seeking help have the most unhelpful way of expressing their problems.

For example, some will come up with the brightest question of all: I need help with the iMac.

Sheesh! Don’t we all? Why can’t people just say what the problem is and get a quicker answer? Are we the users all idiots?

Sometimes there are no answers. In some forums someone will come up and say it clearly: We have no answer for your question, we never faced such a problem.

When I got a Windows 7 Dell computer, to go with my iMac, my Apple Laptop, my iPod, etc., I had to seek help from forums galore to get 7 to behave. My favorite forum was one that specialized in Windows 7 ( http://www.sevenforums.com/ ) and every question was answered.

Yet, the Apple communities were really full of fluff. You notice that some questions have hundreds of views but few if any replies.

Don’t get me wrong. Some of those answering the questions are real workhorses and they will stay with you until the very end.

An example: OS4, a problem very real to owners of 2nd generation iTouch. Do a search and you’ll see how many problems are being faced by owners of 2nd generation iPods. A rush job, no doubt, by Apple. The battery drain is one of the most pressing issues yet there is no official response from Apple. The upgrade should not have been recommended because there is a very real possibility you will not be able to downgrade to a previous version of the OS. Believe me, I’ve tried and still can’t.

But, I digress. I’m a firm believer that Apple’s forums are just an inexpensive way for Apple to give those with problems room to weep and rant.

Whether Apple monitors such forums is a mystery to me.

Thanks for allowing me to rant.

Chuck

The problems start with the use of the English language for search, a really inadequate means of finding answers that exist. And because it is so awful at finding information, the second line of defense is to have legions of people willing to answer the same question over and over and over and over again. I guess someone figures that if you give them an avatar and “widgets” that direct traffic to them and points (strokes) for trying to help people will stick around.

But it will end up becoming like all other forums — good information unfindable, questioners still unable to give enough information for the helper to be truly helpful, unskilled but helpful people not being all that helpful because their answers are too brief or inconsiderate of the profile of the person asking the question, and a big pile of information that cannot be re-organized, or ever cleared of old and wrong information, or clear out the 70% “noise” that accumulates.

There is a better way.

Mark Hernandez
The Information Workshop