Support options

users
#1

All,

I'm more than a little frustrated/angry at the support options for LO.
The choice seems to be between:

* A web interface that requires a log on to yet another service I don't
have or want to have.

* A Nabble interface that requires registration and one of those damn
captia codes that NEVER work.

* An e-mail interface that clogs my reader.

Can't we find a way to offer support that is easy and convenient? I get
that new groups are considered old fashioned, but they work very well,
and are easy to use (even by kids on cell phones). Open to suggestions,
but I don't think moving to the next hot thing is the answer unless it
is easy to use. My 2 cents anyway.

Dave,

#2

There's a twitter account.
https://twitter.com/libreofficehelp

Most people under the age of thirty don't know what newsgroups are, or
how to access them.
IMHO there's no point in using obsolete media.
You can subscribe to a daily digest instead of individual emails....

#3

Am 14.01.2015 um 22:49 schrieb dave boland:

Can't we find a way to offer support that is easy and convenient? I get
that new groups are considered old fashioned, but they work very well,

news://news.gmane.org:119/gmane.comp.documentfoundation.libreoffice.user

#4

Dave, I think "easy and convenient" is pretty much "in the eye of the
beholder".

Can you say what you feel meets that criteria?

I use the mail list and find it quite satisfactory. Only use the mail list
interactively from my pc. I do browse it on my smartphone and will do
deletions there. Replies are always on the pc.

#5

Can't we find a way to offer support that is easy and convenient?

What do you consider to be _easy_ and _convenient_?

that new groups are considered old fashioned, but they work very well,

If "new groups" is a typo for newsgroups, then gmane.org is what you are
looking for.

If "new groups" means something else, then clarify what is meant.

jonathon

#6

Hi,

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

> Can't we find a way to offer support that is easy and convenient?

What do you consider to be _easy_ and _convenient_?

> that new groups are considered old fashioned, but they work very
> well,

If "new groups" is a typo for newsgroups, then gmane.org is what you
are looking for.

If "new groups" means something else, then clarify what is meant.

Just to be abundantly clear: this list alongside other lists of
LibreOffice.org are available as newsgroups on gmane.org

Best,

- --
Charles-H. Schulz
Co-founder, The Document Foundation,
Kurfürstendamm 188, 10707 Berlin
Gemeinnützige rechtsfähige Stiftung des bürgerlichen Rechts
Legal details: http://www.documentfoundation.org/imprint
Mobile Number: +33 (0)6 98 65 54 24.

#7

The problem with gmane.org is that I can't seem to append to a thread.
I can follow the thread, so it is somewhat helpful.

What is easy and convenient? I thought I answered that. Quick to do,
no reistration, no passwords, able to see the appends in a thred like
newsgroups do, the abbility to append to a thread. I have lost track of
all the user id's and passwords for support web sites. I just won't use
them any longer.

So if the LO team can make facebook easy to find relevant info, quick to
use, intuitive, no passwords or registration, then go for it. If on the
other hand they are just following the latest thing, then forget it. In
the end, the support solution needs to fit the users needs, not just be
cool.

Dave,

#8

Please keep the 'old' stuff also. I am worried about privacy and therefore I do not have a facebook account (and in fact I almost don't have any accounts on more or less public things like that).

So, fully changing to whatever new things is in my opinion not a good idea.

Any system which requires information that has nothing to do with the service they provide (e.g. birth date, place of birth, address, etc.) is a privacy hazard..

#9

The problem with gmane.org is that I can't seem to append to a thread.
I can follow the thread, so it is somewhat helpful.

What are you using to access gmane? It probably relates more to what you are using to access gmane than gmane itself.

I use Thunderbird. Once I subscribe to a group on gmane it asks me how many messages to download and marks the remaining as read. Once downloaded I can choose what I want to view, all msgs, just unread msgs or threads with unread msgs, plus some others I don't use. If I want to respond to a msg I can choose "followup" which sends the reply to the group or "replY" which sends it to the message's author.

What is easy and convenient? I thought I answered that. Quick to do,
no reistration, no passwords, able to see the appends in a thred like
newsgroups do, the abbility to append to a thread. I have lost track of
all the user id's and passwords for support web sites. I just won't use
them any longer.

I think gmane with the right reader will do all of these.

So if the LO team can make facebook easy to find relevant info, quick to
use, intuitive, no passwords or registration, then go for it. If on the
other hand they are just following the latest thing, then forget it. In
the end, the support solution needs to fit the users needs, not just be
cool.

I agree. If facebook and twitter where the only options I would be far out of date with what is happening with LO.

Regards, Jim

#10

hello Rob,

we are expanding our suppprt options, not changing them in any way. As always it is important to remind everyone that all this is only possible through the help of volunteers. If you are interested please let us know.

Thanks,

Charles.

#11

Yep, same here. Gmane threads show up just fine in Thunderbird.

Alex

#12

Hi :slight_smile:
When websites ask for my DoB i use a fake one. I try to use the same
fake one for all websites to make it easier to remember. Similarly
with other bits of private information.
Regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

#13

So you mean that you give them the information that you are prepared to be dishonest? I should have thought that you would want to keep that information even more private!

;^)

Brian Barker

#14

Yes, you did say that before. I'm not familiar with a forum like that (esp
the "no registration, no passwords" part). The description seemed like a
requirements spec for a product design. I thought you may have specific
forum in mind or examples.

#15

The problem with gmane.org is that I can't seem to append to a thread.
I can follow the thread, so it is somewhat helpful.

In this aera of spam and fraud you need to subscribe to a mailing list
in order to send messages. There is a switch ("nomail" or something)
which excludes you from the mail distribution so you can view this list
via gmane and send your messages using the same mail account you used
for registration.

So if the LO team can make facebook easy to find relevant info, quick to
use, intuitive, no passwords or registration, then go for it. If on the
other hand they are just following the latest thing, then forget it. In
the end, the support solution needs to fit the users needs, not just be
cool.

As far as content matters,

https://forum.openoffice.org/en/forum/index.php

is the major resource of user knowledge for both OpenOffice and
LibreOffice users. This mailing list is somewhat disappointing.

#16

"jonathon":

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----

Please do not add massive amounts of useless text in your list messages.

#17

@Urmas, *

Don't know that I'd call signature useless--and there are instances where
they are legally required.
But probably not necessary here. But hey, to each their own.

Just need to recognize them for what they are, and ignore them otherwise.

Stuart

#18

As far as content matters,

https://forum.openoffice.org/en/forum/index.php

is the major resource of user knowledge for both OpenOffice and
LibreOffice users. This mailing list is somewhat disappointing.

More specificly:

A considerable amount of all postings, including this thread, is about
how to access this f****g mailing list. Most of the rest is Tom
apologising that nobody could answer some question.

https://forum.openoffice.org/en/forum/index.php

is searchable without registration, has a section for each component and
tons of tutorials, documents and extensions for each component. It
allows to upload screen shots as well as documents, lets you specify
your technical specs (OS, version etc) for all your postings, is
availlable on all platforms with a browser, The core group of volunteers
are very experienced users who can answer conctrete questions about the
API, macro languages and databases.
The average rate of topics is 30 per week, the vast majority of them
being answered.
Hope this helps,
Andreas Säger
(known as "Villeroy" on forum.openoffice.org)

#19

hello Andreas,

As far as content matters,

https://forum.openoffice.org/en/forum/index.php

is the major resource of user knowledge for both OpenOffice and
LibreOffice users. This mailing list is somewhat disappointing.

More specificly:

A considerable amount of all postings, including this thread, is about
how to access this f****g mailing list. Most of the rest is Tom
apologising that nobody could answer some question.

https://forum.openoffice.org/en/forum/index.php

is searchable without registration, has a section for each component
and
tons of tutorials, documents and extensions for each component. It
allows to upload screen shots as well as documents, lets you specify
your technical specs (OS, version etc) for all your postings, is
availlable on all platforms with a browser, The core group of
volunteers
are very experienced users who can answer conctrete questions about the
API, macro languages and databases.
The average rate of topics is 30 per week, the vast majority of them
being answered.
Hope this helps,
Andreas Säger
(known as "Villeroy" on forum.openoffice.org)

I am curious why you are pushing the OpenOffice forum rather than the LibreOffice Forum (access via Nabble or the other forum, http:// www.libreofficeforum.org ; or Ask.libreoffice.org ). Obviously you are a volunteer there but please remember we (TDF, the LibreOffice project) don't advocate in any way that users subscribe to the OpenOffice forum hostee on OpenOffice. org

thanks,

Charles.

#20

Some sites that request that information, have a note buried somewhere
that they _expect_ people to give inaccurate answers.

jonathon