Hello!
I think moving away from real-time support is a good idea, for several reasons:
1. 95%-99% of users don't even know what the abbreviation IRC stands for, much less how to properly use it. Most 'old-schoolers' do, but still probably haven't used it in years.
2. Sometimes (most of the time), research must be done to answer some of the questions that pop up - whether those questions pop up on IRC, or in the forums. As you said, the forums provide a repository of useful information that relieves everyone of the need to constantly 're-invent the wheel' over IRC.
3. The LL development team provides support on a pro-bono basis, on top of earning a living and raising families. Additionally, spending time monitoring and answering IRC queries takes away from bug-swatting and making enhancements to the OS and software, which is far more important right now.
Despite all the efforts made to make using this OS as easy as possible, Linux and Windows are different, and always will be. There was a learning curve for everyone when Windows first hit the scene; likewise, there's going to be one for Linux as well.
For those who continue to struggle with various issues, HANG IN THERE. We truly are blessed that Canonical has pumped a lot of resources, financial and otherwise, into making Linux easier to work with over the last several years. Five years ago, getting certain hardware to work under Linux was a real challenge indeed, and often meant having to compile your own custom kernels to get a lot of the stuff out there to work.
If I've expressed this rant in the past, my apologies...
73 DE N4RPS
Rob
I think moving away from real-time support is a good idea, for several reasons:
1. 95%-99% of users don't even know what the abbreviation IRC stands for, much less how to properly use it. Most 'old-schoolers' do, but still probably haven't used it in years.
2. Sometimes (most of the time), research must be done to answer some of the questions that pop up - whether those questions pop up on IRC, or in the forums. As you said, the forums provide a repository of useful information that relieves everyone of the need to constantly 're-invent the wheel' over IRC.
3. The LL development team provides support on a pro-bono basis, on top of earning a living and raising families. Additionally, spending time monitoring and answering IRC queries takes away from bug-swatting and making enhancements to the OS and software, which is far more important right now.
Despite all the efforts made to make using this OS as easy as possible, Linux and Windows are different, and always will be. There was a learning curve for everyone when Windows first hit the scene; likewise, there's going to be one for Linux as well.
For those who continue to struggle with various issues, HANG IN THERE. We truly are blessed that Canonical has pumped a lot of resources, financial and otherwise, into making Linux easier to work with over the last several years. Five years ago, getting certain hardware to work under Linux was a real challenge indeed, and often meant having to compile your own custom kernels to get a lot of the stuff out there to work.
If I've expressed this rant in the past, my apologies...
73 DE N4RPS
Rob
![[Image: EtYqOrS.png%5D]](http://imgur.com/EtYqOrS.png%5D)
A gun in your hand is worth more than a whole police force on the phone.