@Richie C. posted:Although there may be times when the answers to a question go on ad nauseum, IMHO we should err on the side of providing too much, rather than too little, information.
Sorry for the long response.
I can't agree. Too much detail will easily spin the head of a newbie and scare them away.
They need to know a little of the "how" of things, and one level of the the "why" of things, but not multiple levels of or technical details or history -- unless of course they specifically ask for it.
It's a good thing that there are many of us on this forum that would like to know all the details, and the newbies' questions are frequently thought starters leading to these details. But it's a bad thing if we jump right into the details without first answering their questions simply, accurately, and precisely.
Find the root cause of their problem quickly, suggest a solution that is as simple as possible, also quickly, and then lead us to the finer details that so many of are interested in hearing and discussing, but only after that.
Mike
