Lawrence I. Charters
Washington Apple Pi Journal, Vol. 17, no. 5, September-October 1995, pp. 18-21.
Washington Apple Pi is the oldest personal computer user group in the world. Founded shortly after the incorporation of Apple, the oldest personal computer company, the Pi has two goals surpassing all others: 1) help people learn how to use their computers and 2) help people have fun with their computers.
In the early years, this was easy. The computers were simple, did very little, no commercial software was available, and not much was expected of the machines. Personal computer pioneers were usually technically skilled, and the problems mundane: how do you connect an Apple II to a TV set? Why won’t my cassette recorder load the BASIC program Josephine wrote? Help was also easy: “Hey, Josephine, how do I load your game? And what’s wrong with my TV?”
As we near the 20th anniversary of the personal computer, the world has grown both easier and more complex. A Power Macintosh is set to run right out of the box, and you don’t need to fiddle with a TV set to see what it is doing. On the other hand, a Power Mac is also far more complex, and the tasks that people routinely perform on their computers today would have been seen as “visionary” or even “impossible” a decade ago, much less two decades ago. People have also forgotten how to ask for help. Early user group meetings were extremely informal, and all attendees recognized three guiding principles:
1) Everyone can help, as everyone has some experience not shared by others.
2) All members volunteer their time, help and expertise.
3) There are no dumb questions, so it is pretty dumb not to ask if you have a question.
These three guiding principles seem to have been replaced by three guiding sins:
1) I don’t know enough to help, so I won’t.
2) You owe me an answer.
3) Let somebody else ask; I’m too important to look foolish.
Miss Manners would undoubtedly have a gentle, tactful response to these three sins, but occasionally she surprises me with a nice, unequivocal statement such as — wrong!
How To #1: Everyone can help
Even the very newest computer user can contribute to the total sum of computer knowledge. Most obviously, a new user probably has a new machine, while most veteran computer users have, shall we say, veteran machines? When you ask for help with your new computer, offer your thoughts on how it works and the features available. While you are busy envying the veteran’s know ledge and experience, the veteran can envy your computer; it makes for a nice trade.
When you go to a user group event, be it a meeting, a demonstration, a tutorial or whatever, offer to help. If you don’t know how to do technical things, you can at least help tidy up the room, greet people at the door, show people where the restrooms are, and generally free up the veterans to do things that only veterans can do.
HowTo#2: Be nice
Remember that user group members are volunteers. They pay yearly dues just like you do, and they get the same benefits you do. If you need help, ask for it, politely. Don’t demand it, don’t act as if they owe you an answer, and be gracious even if the help doesn’t quite measure up to your needs.
Some of the answers you get will be wrong; offer your thanks. If you happen to know the answer is wrong, inform them of that, politely; they’re in the user group to learn, too. If the answer you get is incomplete, assume you need to offer more detail, not that they are being twits. If they are being twits, ask someone else. The Pi has thousands of members.
How to #3: Be sure and ask
Last year a Pi member casually mentioned that they were going to quit the Pi and get rid of their computer. Why? “Nobody ever asks the kind of questions I need at the General Meetings, I don’t understand the articles in the Journal, and my computer doesn’t work right.” Did you ever ask any questions at a meeting? “Well, no.” Do you actually read articles in the Journal? “Well, I guess I never have actually read any of them.” Did you ever ask anyone to look at your computer? “Well, no.”
Fortunately for this user, at this point they did ask questions, lots of them. They also brought their entire computer system into the Pi office for someone to look at, and were genuinely shocked at the admiring “oohs” and “aahs,” and understandably much more interested in their computer – as they put it, “if everyone else thinks it’s great, I’m going to find out why!” A few weeks ago this same user mentioned they’d just talked their boss into buying a dozen Macs for use at work. “I was going through withdrawal every time I left home for the office! But now I don’t have to, and everyone thinks I’m a computer guru!” By just asking a few questions, this person went from being depressed to being an enthusiast who ends every sentence with an exclamation mark!
Asking questions also extends to companies. Every new Apple computer ships with a card containing a phone number: 1-800-SOS-APPL. If you have questions, call that number, and Apple will try and answer. Yes, the number is often busy and you might be on hold a while, but you aren’t paying for the call.
How to #4: Help the helper
If you need help, the first thing you’ll be asked is to describe your machine. What follows is an all-too-typical dialogue:
Helper: “What kind of Mac do you have?”
Helpee: “Gee, I don’t know. It’s kinda gray/tan/white, I guess.”
How to #4a: Read the name on the front of the machine
Every Macintosh has a model number printed right on the front. The one sitting in front of me says “Macintosh II.” Knowing what kind of Macintosh you have is absolutely essential if you expect to get relevant help.
How to #4b: Know what version of the operating system your Mac has
Many, maybe most, Macintosh users don’t even know their machines have an operating system, or what an operating system does. Simply put, an operating system is a set of programs that make your computer a Macintosh. Without that operating system, the electronic parts in your computer could be assembled in a different way and turned into, say, an automated landing system for an airport, or an environmental control system for a skyscraper.
If someone asks, “What version of the System do you have?” or”What version of the Finder?” or “What version of the MacOS?” or some variation of these, do the following:
- Tum your computer on.
- Go to the Apple menu.
- Select the very first menu item, which will probably be labeled “About This Macintosh.”
- Read and write down everything you find in the window that pops up.
Illustration:
How to #4c: Know how much memory your Mac has
Follow the steps in #4b, above, and as a bonus, you’ll discover how much memory your computer has installed.
How to #4d: Know the size of your Mac’s hard disk
- With no programs running, open the icon that represents your hard disk.
- Then go to the View menu and select View By Icon if it isn’t already selected.
- In the window for your hard disk, you’ll see two numbers in the border at the top, one for “MB in disk” and one for “MB available.” Add the two numbers up, and round up to the nearest 10 MB. (MB means “megabytes,” with one megabyte being the amount of storage necessary to store one million characters of information.) This is the size of your hard disk.
- It is possible you may have more than one hard disk. If so, the important one is usually the one in the upper right-hand comer of your screen. This is known as the “startup disk.”
How to #5: Be specific
If you are having problems with your word processor, state exactly the name and version number of your word processor, and exactly how the problem rears its ugly head. Solving a formatting problem in Microsloth Wordmangler 5 probably bears no relation to solving the same problem with Micro sloth Wordmangler 6, or Macrospeed’s Wordwarper 2.
Describing your environment is also helpful. If your computer is in an office environment, on a network with a mixture of Macs, Windows and UNIX machines, your problems – and solutions – will be different from ones that you experience with a Power Book you use while propped up in bed. If nothing else, the different environments will have different implications for your love life.
How to #6: Pick up the tab
I, personally, get between 15 and 50 calls a week from people wanting help with their computers. A great many of these come in while I am away, and are handled by an answering machine. The recorded messages often have some fairly serious flaws, such as requests to “Call me” without giving a phone number, or offering a phone number, but neglecting to add an area code.
As a general rule, I don’t return calls if they are long distance – unless the caller invites me to call collect. So far this month (June 1995), I’ve received “Help Me!” calls from the following area codes: 410, 301, 202, 703, 717, 610, 302, 804, 212, 619, 408, 415 and 360, plus one from Japan. I’d go bankrupt if I returned all these calls, so if you really want someone to help you, have them call you collect. About the only long-distance calls I return unconditionally are from my mother in area code 360…
If someone comes over to help, offer to pay for their Metro fare, or pay for their gas – without being asked. A classic recent example was a very talented Pi member without a car, and another Pi member with a serious computer problem. For the cost of a Metro ticket and a nice meal (the talented Pi member has no talent for cooking), the serious problem was overcome and new friendships were made. It also sounds like love might be in the air.
How to #7: Don’t ask for anything illegal
It is a violation of federal law and international treaties to ignore copyright restrictions on software. So don’t even ask for someone to make an illegal copy of software.
Don’t ask for help on breaking into computers, or avoiding phone charges, or other illegal actions, either. Among other things, keep in mind that the Washington-Baltimore area has more lawyers, judges and police officers than any other place on the planet.
How to #8: Help yourself
It is very hard to help someone that doesn’t know the difference between a single click, a double-click, a click-drag, a file, a folder, an icon and other Mac-specific terms. All of these terms are covered in the “Getting Started” manual that came with your computer, and the tutorial files pre-loaded on your hard disk. Flipping through the manual and doing the tutorial takes very little time, and it is a richly rewarding investment.
Other highly, highly recommended references:
The Little Mac Book, 4th ed., by Robin Williams (Peachpit Press): latest edition of the best Macintosh book ever written.
The Mac Is Not A Typewriter, by Robin Williams (Peachpit Press): how to easily make what you write on your Mac look like it was written on something besides a 50 year old typewriter.
The Non-Designers Design Book, by Robin Williams (Peachpit Press): in less than 150 pages, Ms. Williams outlines some simple, easy steps you can take to make your work look like it was planned, rather than the result of a tragic accident.
Guide to Macintosh System 7.5, by Don Crabb (Hayden): detailed information on how your Mac works, with a great index so you don’t have to read it all.
How to #9: Don’t call during first run episodes of Star Trek: Voyager and Babylon-5
Actually, this is admittedly a personal quirk, but it is shared by a huge percentage of user group members.
How to #10: Learn to use a modem
Using your modem to connect to bulletin boards, other users and the Internet is the cheapest, easiest, most convenient way to get help. Virtually every major hardware and software vendor maintains a bulletin board with updates, fixes, patches, hints, tidbits and other useful information. An even larger number can also be contacted via Email (electronic mail), allowing you to write highly detailed questions and get responses via the same route.
The Washington Apple Pi bulletin board, TCS (short for “Telecommunications System”), has been a popular method of exchanging information for a decade. Last year, it logged 100,000 calls, and users posted somewhere between a quarter and a half million messages. One nice feature is that the TCS is always “open,” operating 24 hours a day, which means that you can get help at 3 a.m. if you wish.
For beginners, mastering a modem seems a steep task, but the rewards are virtually unlimited. There really aren’t that many things you have to do to get set up properly and, once you are set up, you can ignore all the details; reaching out to a bulletin board is even easier than dialing your neighbor, since you don’t even have to dial the phone or remember the number.
Many veterans prefer to answer questions via a bulletin board. On a bulletin board, a single question and answer can be seen by thousands, and can be stored in case someone asks it again. Instructions can be written out in detail. This isn’t possible if you call someone on the phone, or talk to them in person.
Be generous with your questions, and with your answers. Be courteous and gracious. And remember that the only bad questions are the ones no one asked.