I would suggest to remove " support and help " category or rename it to something else. Also deleting the existing support requests. Google will take this as a support forum ( because of the existing content and category name ) and will bring more support requests here.
Removing âCommunityâ from the name would help too - IMO Most users acquaint Ubuntuâs Community as a general help forum. Naming it something else might help remove any confusion.
Yes indeed! Maybe something like âDeveloper Communityâ or⌠âTechnical Communityâ I am not good with names
Well, there are other valid non-technical communities and subjects that are valid here: LoCos, Documentation, etc.
Since thereâs already a giant banner that specifically refers support querants to appropriate help venues, I suspect changing the name wonât have a big effect redirecting them. Indeed, names like âTechnical Communityâ and the like may attract more of them.
Quick Google Test of âUbuntu helpâ and âUbuntu supportâ using an Incognito Window: discourse.ubuntu.com is not on the first page of english-language results for either term.
Iâm NOT rejecting the idea of changing category name, deleting closed threads, renaming the entire discourse site, etc. Iâm simply saying that we need to clearly identify the problem(s) that weâre trying to solve before generating solutions.
We want new folks to drop by and poke around, and share ideas. The occasional foolish question or drive-by feature request is one of the prices we pay for our openness. One answer: Feel free to be more generous with your flaggingâŚand with your âlikeâ button. A friendly community attracts more collaborators and contributors.
We donât want to make people go disappointed from this site. When someone has an issue with their OS, they will be desperate. They wonât notice anything when they see Ubuntu colours all around. No matter how politely we say that this is not the place, we will end up hurting them.
I mentioned about removing closed threads and renaming category because those are established SEO tricks with Google.
What good is that if theyâre turned away? They wonât revisit! Itâs a very confusing message marketing wise.
Community across the entire Ubuntu brand screams GET HELP HERE as your support forums are all marked âCommunityâ, to the best of my knowledge. If Iâm wrong, I donât mind being corrected.
I have a feeling that there is no more wise marketing in Ubuntu.
Old users would tinker around, or ask, and they know where to ask, and that some times a solution wonât come through. The new triers would be quite unhappy, if their question is not answered and the post is closed. Allright, we say ask somewhere else and give them the links, but the question that arises on the new trierâs mind is why canât I get an answer from those, who create the distro.
We are telling them to go to other fora to ask the users. How can we be sure that other users can give a right solution? Anyway, support and help category doesnât either support, nor help. So, why keep one?
I have another oneâŚ
What about âContributor Communityâ ?
Nearly all posts last few days (weeks) are only asking for help, and which get closed eventually. Shouldnât this category be closed permanently?
People rarely post in this category.
What happens is that when we close something, because people apparently canât read, this is where we put them - other options are 1 - delete them (donât like that idea) 2 - leave them where they are cluttering up usable categories.
As far as Iâm concerned - no it shouldnât be closed permanently.
Under which section should we flag support posts? They are not spam nor inappropriate. And they are not irrelevant to the title and first postâŚ
Shouldnât we add another option in the flag dialogue for support posts?
And maybe someone could create a discourse bot to automatically close and move themâŚ
Flag it as off-topic.
Donât expend effort flagging obvious new threads that we will immediately discover anyway.
Iâm not sure a bot is appropriate. We try to send querants gently toward a useful resolution, and sometimes that means personalizing the message so they know a real human listened to them and gave them specific advice for their problemâŚ