Friday, November 7, 2008
EndUserSharePoint.com: Why we don’t answer server administration questions
On my way to teach in New Hampshire this week, I stopped in Hartford to have lunch with Paul Genier, moderator of Stump the Panel. While talking, I realized the questions I asked Paul were probably of interest to the people participating in the forum. I whipped out my CoolPix camera and did some impromptu recordings
What you see here was recorded at a very loud and business restaurant. Once you get past the noise in the background, what he has to say is clarifying.
So, Paul, why don’t we answer server administration questions on Stump the Panel?
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on
I understand your position, but let me put out a plea. I feel a closer affinity for this site than any other MOSS site because my skill level is still at “newbie”. Unfortunately, I have yet to find a place that can (or will) provide help/assistance/comments for the questions that come up.
I first heard of SharePoint/MOSS in June 2007 and quickly jumped on the bandwagon – bought the software, a server to run it on, and event went to a week’s training by the SharePoint BootCamp folks.
Due to various problems I had over the last year, I am just now at the point where I have a good install and am ready to engage our users. However, I feel guys like me (single-man shop, small business (< 25 people)) have been left behind. A couple years ago it was new to everyone and there was (and still is) a lot of people moving to MOSS. They were all at around the same skill level and, as a group, learned and expanded their skills to the point where I feel like I’ve been lapped twice in a 4-lap race. I can’t catch up as my peers are too far ahead.
Looking around, I don’t see places that others like me (surely there must be some) can go to learn, get help, etc. I’ve tried asking questions on several MS newsgroups, 5 different MOSS on-line forums – with the exception of Stump The Panel and a MSDN MOSS forum, my posts have been ignored. It’s like my questions are too basic to be worth anyone’s time. I dunno, maybe I’m just taking it hard, but it IS hard to get help.
I work for a small non-profit org. so money’s an issue. Can’t afford a test environment, and – despite the 6 MOSS books I bought, there’s something to be said for talking things over with your community peers.
Guess I got spoiled by my initial experience with NG’s 5 years ago – I moved our org. from a P2P dial-up network to Small Business Server (SBS) with a T1. the microsoft.public.windows.server.sbs newsgroup has been wonderful in that the “old hands” are great about lending advice mand being supportive. I frankly don’t find that on the MOSS/SP NG’s.
I get a lot of info from the blogs, but those are one-way.
Anyway, thanks for this site and forum! I visit them every day, and will continue to do so. And I will restrict my questions to those an end-user will ask in the future.
Mike,
First, a sincere thanks for your comment and support. It always helps to know we have an audience that really uses what we’re talking about.
Regarding your need for admin help, the SharePointU.com forums were the reason I started Stump the Panel. Dustin is running a very exciting site from the admin perspective, but I thought the End User was getting the short end of the stick, being buried among the developer and admin panic requests.
We have found a very appreciative audience, such as yourself, when it comes to providing End User content. I want to stay laser focused on our subject, to the point that I will often refer Stump the Panel questions over to the SharePointU.com forums so that EndUserSharePoint.com content does not get overrun with dev and admin material.
That’s the logic behind the decision, and I think Paul gives a very personal perspective in the video. Thanks for staying with us.
Regards,
Mark Miller, Founder and Editor
EndUserSharePoint.com
Thanks for the quick reply. I HAD tried SharePointU several months ago, but had had no response to my posts, so I quit asking. I’ll give them another try.
Thanks again for your support of this segment of the SharePoint community!
Mike