Re: [GNC] FAQ (WAS: End of Year?)
I agree. I think part of this is UI design choices. It isn't that GnuCash made wrong ones, but rather that folks might be more familiar with other design patterns. These might also be the folks that don't like to read manuals. They are never going away, though some may eventually relent and crack the books, and there will always be a new crop of users in this category. It was these folks that I was alluding too with my comment about re-working the website to more prominently highlight the various help & documentation resources. Also, we don't know or hear from new users who *do* bother to read first and/or experiment and investigate on their own before asking questions. They might far outnumber the first crowd. Having first used computers in the very early 80s, by the time I found GnuCash, I was already quite used to apps with extensive menus and lots of functions and features. And I was already somewhat versed in double-entry and basic accounting with no illusions that it should be brain-dead easy, effortless, and simple. I also wasn't scared or timid with computers so much that I was paralyzed mentally from trying or testing anything with my financial data. I've crashed more apps and OSs and even fried more electronics than I can possibly list. (Losing a term paper you worked on for 12 hours straight because the system crashed when you tried to print it will teach you resilience like few other things can.) Thus, when I started using GnuCash, I had an entirely different perspective, expectation, and sense of adventure than likely anyone who is just now in 2023 wanting to 'get on a budget' and track their finances. I offer that little story as an illustration that we are all coming to the use of GnuCash from vastly different places. That will never change. What can change is how GnuCash and its resources appear to the various perspectives of its users. But it doesn't have to change. Regards, Adrien On 1/14/24 4:04 AM, David T. via gnucash-user wrote: On a side rant, the fact that every year there is a spate of new users asking the same set of questions that are covered extensively in some form of the documentation underscores a disconnect that the community hasn't worked out. For whatever reason, the disconnect between how Gnucash is viewed by the outside world and how it actually works seems to cause a significant range of new user difficulties. ___ gnucash-user mailing list gnucash-user@gnucash.org To update your subscription preferences or to unsubscribe: https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user - Please remember to CC this list on all your replies. You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.
Re: [GNC] FAQ (WAS: End of Year?)
For the record, I'm also against this popup, but for a different reason. The FAQ is an overwhelming never-shrinking aggregation of items that would be better placed in other documentation. Including it on a monthly basis would not really benefit a new user with a specific problem. When I go to the FAQ, I am usually forced to do a find in the page to locate anything. On a side rant, the fact that every year there is a spate of new users asking the same set of questions that are covered extensively in some form of the documentation underscores a disconnect that the community hasn't worked out. For whatever reason, the disconnect between how Gnucash is viewed by the outside world and how it actually works seems to cause a significant range of new user difficulties. David T. On Jan 14, 2024, 1:23 AM, at 1:23 AM, Adrien Monteleone wrote: >Sorry, I would not like to see an FAQ pop up in this list on any >periodic basis. > >What you are describing there is akin to a 'sticky' or 'pinned' post in > >a web forum. > >This is not a web forum. > >We have the Wiki, which has the FAQ section. We also have the Help >Manual, and the Tutorial & Concepts Guide. Those are better places for >standard, regular advice on how to use the software. This list serves a > >different purpose — to offer assistance that those sources don't (maybe > >yet) cover. > >Some redesign of the website pointing to the FAQ might be in order, but > >that would take some careful analysis, and of course, someone to code >the changes. > >Regards, >Adrien > >On 1/13/24 11:19 AM, R Losey wrote: >> But the larger issue is that I believe this email list could benefit >from a >> FAQ that is posted monthly or every other month to this group. The >wiki has >> some neat ideas about tracking year to year equity growth. > >___ >gnucash-user mailing list >gnucash-user@gnucash.org >To update your subscription preferences or to unsubscribe: >https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user >- >Please remember to CC this list on all your replies. >You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All. ___ gnucash-user mailing list gnucash-user@gnucash.org To update your subscription preferences or to unsubscribe: https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user - Please remember to CC this list on all your replies. You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.
