Dear WordPress “Helpers” on Facebook,
I say “Helpers” instead of support because this refers to people helping out in forums on Facebook. You’re starting to not be of any real help. I think a lot of people are getting too big for their own britches when it comes to offering WordPress help. There’s just a lot of snarkiness, poor attitude, and trolling behavior.
Sure, I have my days when I look at a question and think “Oh, I’ve seen this hundreds of times” and then I do an eyeroll. I may even want to say “LMGTFY.” (LMGTFY = Let me Google that for you.) Sometimes I’ll joke with close friends.
However, I keep it out of the forums. It has no place. There are people that are discovering WordPress AT THIS VERY MOMENT! Their Internet foo/ Google foo may not be that great. They may have good Google foo, but not the right words to think of, when searching for what they need. Also, they’re not certain how support is handled, but appreciate a lead in the right direction, even if one of them is a kind nudge to a designer or developer or website coach or video tutorial, or whatever is needed.
Our WordPress newbies don’t need the belittlement. They need our help. I remember the days when we didn’t have that much information to go with, except for the WordPress Codex, and a few tutorials generously written by individuals who wanted to share what they knew. Those people are still as generous with their time, and still as humble. Sure, they also joke behind the scenes, but it’s done with class.
Next time you answer a question, put yourself in their shoes. Some of them are desperately looking for the answer and just need a nudge in the right direction. Of course there are those who act like they are entitled to the “all things should be free movement”, but this is not the direction of this thread. This is solely about my observations of some of the groups on Facebook that have opened the door to helping people get their WordPress questions answered.
Let’s stay classy and humble when helping people… or just not help at all, especially if you can’t keep the dark side from ruining another person’s perception of our WordPress Community that is intended to be warm, welcoming, and include all.
Kind Regards,
Nile Flores
Great post Niles. Yes, it’s all about empathy and remembering we were all there 🙂 Cheers!
Exactly! Thanks for stopping in, Bob. I know you’re one of the people that helps in our community and allows newbies to learn under the friendly terms our community really tries to share.
As always, Nile…classy, appropriate comments. As one of those ‘newbies’ I can testify to how much we appreciate the WP community…and its willingness to be helpful.
I try my best Laurie. You all keep me on my toes and I appreciate it, because I’m always learning a new way to approach a situation. 🙂
You brought up a great point about some people not knowing the proper terminology when Googling something. I have to remind myself that even I was once a beginner. We all have to start from somewhere right? Always being mindful of this helps me to be more understanding towards beginners.
Hi Tiffany!
I have to admit that I’m constantly telling myself, no matter how I feel about a question, that I’ve got to approach it from a few dozen ways to make sure I can educate any level. It’s tough, but with an open mind and caring heart, it’s possible to keep the snark hidden when helping. lol
Definitely needed someone to write this. Seen a lot of helpers on the facebook groups going toxic. Instead of helping they would say it has been asked a million times.
I would say look at the joining date of that member, most people don’t use the FB search and only join groups if they need any help. If the first response is rude people will stay away from that group.
Most people have gone inactive in the groups because of such rude replies.
I agree, you don’t have to provide help. If you chose to, do so kindly.
There is possibly an issue with people that clog up the forum with basic questions that annoy more experienced people. That is normally an issue with the administration. Normally, I say, because if the setup is well done and the simple question is posted in an area not for those questions then it is a different matter.
But even in those cases being rude isn’t useful. People providing helpful advice has been on of the great advantages of the internet for me. Especially around things like php syntax etc.. I try to help people to pay back the help I have received.
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I am agree to this point. But there are few cases when people ask the questions asked many times in the group. IN few cases, they repeat the same question within few hours. It shows that they are not looking into other conversations in group. Its ok if they are not looking, but sometimes they ask too simple questions. I know taking help is not wrong, but taking help in every single step makes a man lazy and habitual to get everything without efforts.
Great post Nile, we should always looks behind for our experiences either it was good or it was bad.
Niles,
What a breath of fresh air to hear. I agree 100% with you. It bothers me to no end that people are starting to succumb to mockery on WordPress Help. With posts like this, we can educate more people and remind them of when they first began. A dose of humility could do the trick. What do you think?
Hi Alex! We all, including myself always need a dose of reality check. It’s tough to accept, but in taking in and realizing the fact that we need to realize how many thousands of new users are starting WordPress, how many thousands aren’t code savvy, and thousands more that lack the knowledge of WordPress lingo, that we need to remember them.
And the simplicity in rendering those support should be at the barest minimum; simple enough to be understood by one who is just starting up.
This is in respect to how newbies were like the pros. Not minding the fact that they don’t even know much really. If you must offer a helping hand to any queries on the forum, that is supposed to be done wholeheartedly.. Thanks for this great post.
Great post Niles. You brought up a great point about some people not knowing the proper terminology when Googling something. I would say look at the joining date of that member, most people don’t use the FB search and only join groups if they need any help. Thanks for sharing this useful information