This Website =HelpDesk?

What's up with all of the Bug Reports in this Forum?

It's something of an alternative.

Catch my drift.

I'm locking all threads that should be in the HelpDesk now.

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This does not belong in the Helpdesk, and it's a topic with room for ample deliberation.

Catch my drift.

The distinguished Limxzero spake:

This does not belong in the Helpdesk, and it's a topic with room for ample deliberation.

If it becomes a pointless topic, it will be locked again.If you notice.. some threads are serious the first couple of days.. then members decide to post silly things in the end. Let's see how that goes.

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The distinguished TacoRocco spake:

What's up with all of the Bug Reports in this Forum?

Just another place to get answers, except from more users that may have alternative or better answers to their question.

Don't argue with idiots because they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.

Bugs can be discussed by normal users who would otherwise not be able to help if it was a helpdesk question.

'The Real Problem with Real Life is There's No BGM'

The distinguished GuitarGodAnth spake:

Bugs can be discussed by normal users who would otherwise not be able to help if it was a helpdesk question.

But then it kind of deletes the purpose of the HelpDesk. This topic is getting old. I request a lock.

You own this thread Taco, so you can lock it whenever you feel it should be locked.

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Report it Moulder... That's a good bug report for the HelpDesk.

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The distinguished Tayler spake:

I'm guessing you want more HelpDesk questions to answer?

There's plenty to answer.

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When a question like this is asked, there are a lot of assumptions made involving the purposes of both areas.

The following are my suppositions:
HelpDesk
The concept originally revolved around new users not getting help they needed, because "/help" was not very useful and just the lack of a definitive FAQ/guide to the website. This led to the idea of a question-answer forum, whereupon a separate helpdesk was finally suggested. HullBreach chose to add the feature in part for this, but also because he needed some relief from his bugreport/question/suggestion/complaint/etc-swarmed inbox. Capable admins would assist him in answering people's queries. So the Helpdesk's primary purpose is to provide a means of staff feedback to any and all users.

My view: Its specific uses are not limited to itself. Both mail to HullBreach and this board are eligible for use, depending on the topic of course, but somewhat less so than pre-Helpdesk. Now on what gets submitted. Bug reports are the most common, with new features coming in second. The other two are rarely used (properly). The feedback for both is limited, but not necessarily good. However, to be dreadfully honest, the way the Helpdesk is run disappoints me more often than not. Queries are answered improperly, incorrectly, not at all, closed without confirmation, and so on--to the point of users choosing to ignore it. It's unfortunate, and I do not mean to bash our Secretaries, but the Helpdesk has almost become a joke. The staff absolutely must turn a new leaf and get things done professionally.

Forum section: This Website
It's what's been here since the Bulletin Boards' very beginning. A place for public discussion dealing with the website in general. Near anything from how things work to what things do. In the following months, obviously use of it was slightly narrowed for discretion and reasonability, more notably so with this board than the others.

My view: This board is lock central. Not so much because users are off-topic, but because of users being told to go to the Helpdesk. (Plenty of closed threads all around are debatable in my mind, but that's something else.) The Helpdesk has the advantage of HullBreach checking and using it more. This board has the advantage of anyone being able to provide a reply. The disadvantages should be very apparent. I feel that bug reports and website suggestions are a huge part of what this board is for, and so they alone are perfectly acceptable.


In short, I emphasise what I said before. 'This Website' is generally an acceptable alternative to the Helpdesk. And in fact, if a user has a feasible problem, I encourage him or her to post it both on the Helpdesk and on here, as it would promote the most complete answer or solution as possible.

Catch my drift.