Suggestions for more DVinfo guides....

[Aaron Koolen]

More directed to Chris as it's his site, but I think it'd be good if the site had some more guides that covered a lot of the multiply repeated questions that people ask over and over and over again - especially the newbies. For instance, how many trimes have we seen topics like

"Which speakers to buy?"

"Which cam to buy?"

"What light kit to buy?"

"What is DoF?" - DVInfo has a skinny on that now which is excellent!

Maybe some of the pros on here could gather information together, offer some sound advice and starting points for beginners, that we can all point them to when they ask these questions (Maybe reading them is part of the conditions of membership or something). When I started getting into video I was asking all the questions about DoF, resolution, chip sizes etc etc. As I progressed I then asked about speakers, mics, production video monitors etc. If there were beginners guides on here it would be great and I could have saved myself and alot of others some time.

Just an idea anyway. I'd look at doing the work myself but I really don't know enough about anything compared to others on here.

Has this been thought about Chris?

Aaron

[Rob Lohman]

I can tell you that a lot of these things is being thought about
and are even discussed from time to time. As you can imagine
it is sometimes hard to find the time and people to write a good
piece on such crucial informat. You wouldn't want to send the
wrong stuff to the beginners.

Although the guides are invaluable and very good most of the
time not everybody actually takes the time to read. It happens
quite frequent that people must be pointed to the search
feature or to specific articles on the site. This might also be
because we perhaps do not promote such features enough?

Anyway, I'll leave an official response to your question to Chris
but wanted to let you know such things are talked about
frequently.

Thanks for asking!

[Michael Wisniewski]

What about adding a link at the top of the forum page to remind people that there is a website?

I hadn't visited the actual website for nearly 6 months, until a few weeks ago, and didn't realize how much useful info had been added.

[Ken Tanaka]

Aaron,
Yes indeed, we have discussed, and continue to discuss, similar matters. We feature product reviews and articles over on the informational side of this site. You will see many more of these articles in the coming months. Our main challenge, and one we're beginning to revisit, is one of guiding people to those resources.

Passive service of frequent questions is really a separate and far more complex matter entirely. We have considered numerous approaches to address the "FAQ" matter. Hopefully we will be able to implement one of these methods in the coming months. But in the end the fact remains that new members will walk in here and ask, "Is the XYZCam really crappy in low light?", or "Why can't I keep aunt Millie in focus?" no matter what measures we provide.

Viewed objectively, that's really not a bad thing. It actually represents a rejuvenating cycle. Such questions are often answered by relative newcomers. The relative newcomers soon become old-timers and so on.

That's a tiny glimpse, perhaps more than you wanted, into the kinds of behind-the-scenes conversations that we have here. Just to let you know that we really are not ignoring these matters.

[Aaron Koolen]

Thanks for the reply guys. I know there must be a hell of a lot of things to consider regarding these sorts of subjects. I know what you mean Ken about the "rejuvinating cycle'. We've all probably been through it at some point. What would make information like "beginners guides" good, is that it would give people the very basics so if they're new they'll read that, then pose there "newbie" questions maybe with a little more thought than before and more than anything, with a bit more knowledge under there belt.

That said, a lot of things can't be told or taught. It wasn't until I got a cam, got some mics and played that I really understood was was going on and could use that information to guide future purchases and decisions without having to ask as many questions as I would have had I not known anything about cameras or mics.

Cheers
Aaron

[Chris Hurd]

Hi Aaron,

Just a note to let you know that this topic is indeed frequently discussed "behind the scenes," as the other guys have pointed out. In the coming months, you can expect to see some changes as we work to integrate the main site at www.dvinfo.net a little tighter with the message boards. Part of that process includes developing FAQ's for the various forums, or something equivalent to a FAQ (a wiki, perhaps). As always, the input of our members is highly valued and always welcome. Many thanks,

[Aaron Koolen]

Hey Chris, thanks for the reply. Never meant to sound greedy or impatient so hope I didn't come across that way. I think the board is an amazing place - I would not have half the knowledge I have today without it, I know that for a fact. And my appreciation of the site is why I suggested something - to simply try and make the site even better. A lot of sites I wouldn't have even wanted to waste my breath on suggesting anything :)

Sounds like there's some things on the horizon, so can't wait to see the changes.

Thanks again
Aaron