I'd like to give a feedback/review of a single section. I don't know if it's been done before, but Education Nation is a section I feel strongly about. In my own time, I'm a tutor, TA, and academic adviser. I also help extensively on many different websites, in many different areas. I guess you could say that a lot of my time is dedicated to helping others, so I have quite a bit of experience with this. Education Nation is a fairly new section, and a great one at that. However, it needs a bit of improvement in some areas. Hopefully this feedback will spark some interest in the section, and also bring about some change. I hope you enjoy.
Good:
Help Desks
I think that one of the best parts of the section is the help desks. I run one myself, and I've seen a few others (iNuke, Void+Infamous joint, Autopost, to name a few) here and there. They don't receive many replies, but I know I receive a ton of PMs from mine. Unfortunately, not everybody uses them. It'd be nice if they did, as we'd have fewer repeat topics. However, I'll quote Wolves's opinion on the matter, as it reflects my own:
I'd like to thank (and applaud) everybody who runs a help desk in the section, as it helps cut down on the flood of posts. It's great to see people take time out of their day to help others for free.
I'd also like to thank the people who post in them, or even PM the owners, as it reduces unnecessary posts in the section.
If anybody is interested in making a help desk, I highly recommend it, as they do a great service to the community.
Tutorials
Just like help desks, tutorials are an amazing resource to the community. It's amazing to see the effort that people dedicate into making some of them (I have two in process, and I'm already questioning how people find the time to make them so long and detailed). Given the time and effort, I understand why there are so few, but it would be great to see some more! "Education" provides such a broad category for topics (so many sciences, so many liberal arts, etc.), so the section has amazing potential for some great tutorials. If you feel like you have something worth sharing in the section, by all means, make a tutorial. They don't always receive a mass of replies, but they certainly don't go unnoticed.
Other
A few extra positive remarks about the section:
Bad:
Insults/Disrespect
The worst part of the subsection, as with many others, is the people who resort to insulting and/or disrespecting others. It doesn't happen as often as in other sections, but I still see it on occasion. Most commonly, it happens when a person requests help because they're falling behind or failing, or when an egotistical member feels that they're superior to another member because they found a course easier. I don't know if they actually mean it, or if they're just your typical troll, but in a section primarily dedicated to helping others, it's not a great thing to see. Thankfully, for every low quality member in the section, we have fifteen-fold trying to be helpful.
I'd like to remind those of you who do resort to this behaviour that:
a) Not everybody possesses the same ability level,
b) Not everybody has good teachers,
c) The person you're trying to troll is probably amazing at something that you're fucking terrible at, so shut the fuck up.
Repeat Topics
I guess this isn't a negative aspect of the section, so much as a personal pet peeve: I tend to see a lot of repetitive topics. For example, I know a lot of people are graduating high school this week. How do I know? Because I've seen at least three topics about it. Unfortunately, it doesn't really break any rules, so there isn't a lot we can do about it currently. I guess this applies to every section: We have a search function for a reason, so please use it. It's a shame to see help desks and legitimate questions being pushed to the pages people rarely check because 5 people post a topic asking how everybody's exams went over the past week.
Homework Requests
I'll keep this short and sweet: I don't like to see people asking for people to do their homework. I understand that people tend to be busy, but if you cheat on your homework, you'll suffer for it when finals come. It's okay to ask for help with a question you don't understand, but it's sad to see people just straight up ask for somebody to give them the answers to their homework.
Spoiler (Click to View)
Other
A few other negative remarks about the section:
Final Verdict:
A few tips for future users of the section:
Overall, the section serves a great purpose to the community. Before it existed, homework questions were scattered throughout the forums, but now we have an entire section dedicated to them, which cleans up other areas. It's also an excellent place to observe the community working together, as everybody helps everybody, regardless of their reputation, warning level, or upgrade status. It needs a few improvements here and there (mostly on behalf of the users, not the administration of the section), but it is still a fairly new section, and those improvements should come with time.
I have two shout outs:
One to all of the users who frequently help in the section. Keep doing what you're doing, as you're doing great, and the section would be worse off without you. I won't name any specifics, but you know who you are.
A second to the mods, for keeping the section clean.
Spoiler (Click to View)
Good:
Help Desks
I think that one of the best parts of the section is the help desks. I run one myself, and I've seen a few others (iNuke, Void+Infamous joint, Autopost, to name a few) here and there. They don't receive many replies, but I know I receive a ton of PMs from mine. Unfortunately, not everybody uses them. It'd be nice if they did, as we'd have fewer repeat topics. However, I'll quote Wolves's opinion on the matter, as it reflects my own:
Quote:As far as having specific threads for Algebra questions, etc, you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink.
You would still have lots of threads made about questions and then you would have people going, "Man, you are so stupid, post here man: (Links to thread)".
It can easily complicate the section even more.
I'd like to thank (and applaud) everybody who runs a help desk in the section, as it helps cut down on the flood of posts. It's great to see people take time out of their day to help others for free.
I'd also like to thank the people who post in them, or even PM the owners, as it reduces unnecessary posts in the section.
If anybody is interested in making a help desk, I highly recommend it, as they do a great service to the community.
Tutorials
Just like help desks, tutorials are an amazing resource to the community. It's amazing to see the effort that people dedicate into making some of them (I have two in process, and I'm already questioning how people find the time to make them so long and detailed). Given the time and effort, I understand why there are so few, but it would be great to see some more! "Education" provides such a broad category for topics (so many sciences, so many liberal arts, etc.), so the section has amazing potential for some great tutorials. If you feel like you have something worth sharing in the section, by all means, make a tutorial. They don't always receive a mass of replies, but they certainly don't go unnoticed.
Other
A few extra positive remarks about the section:
- When Omni first implemented the section, I was worried that people would only help those who were capable of giving them rep in return. However, it's excellent to see that within the section, we have everybody helping everybody, regardless of if they can receive rep from it.
- I was also worried that people would abuse the section and ask for answers to their homework. While this does happen from time to time (more on this later), it's nice to see people value their education, and are motivated to learn how the questions are answered.
- People are generally very pleasant. I've helped many people (I think I have the most posts in the section, actually), and all but a few PMed me afterwards to show their thanks. A little thanks goes a long way, and motivates us helpers to help more. I honestly think it' among the friendliest sections on the forums, aside from the group subforums.
Bad:
Insults/Disrespect
The worst part of the subsection, as with many others, is the people who resort to insulting and/or disrespecting others. It doesn't happen as often as in other sections, but I still see it on occasion. Most commonly, it happens when a person requests help because they're falling behind or failing, or when an egotistical member feels that they're superior to another member because they found a course easier. I don't know if they actually mean it, or if they're just your typical troll, but in a section primarily dedicated to helping others, it's not a great thing to see. Thankfully, for every low quality member in the section, we have fifteen-fold trying to be helpful.
I'd like to remind those of you who do resort to this behaviour that:
a) Not everybody possesses the same ability level,
b) Not everybody has good teachers,
c) The person you're trying to troll is probably amazing at something that you're fucking terrible at, so shut the fuck up.
Repeat Topics
I guess this isn't a negative aspect of the section, so much as a personal pet peeve: I tend to see a lot of repetitive topics. For example, I know a lot of people are graduating high school this week. How do I know? Because I've seen at least three topics about it. Unfortunately, it doesn't really break any rules, so there isn't a lot we can do about it currently. I guess this applies to every section: We have a search function for a reason, so please use it. It's a shame to see help desks and legitimate questions being pushed to the pages people rarely check because 5 people post a topic asking how everybody's exams went over the past week.
Homework Requests
I'll keep this short and sweet: I don't like to see people asking for people to do their homework. I understand that people tend to be busy, but if you cheat on your homework, you'll suffer for it when finals come. It's okay to ask for help with a question you don't understand, but it's sad to see people just straight up ask for somebody to give them the answers to their homework.
Spoiler (Click to View)
Other
A few other negative remarks about the section:
- If you're trying to help somebody, make sure you know what you're saying. It's nice to help out, but it's not nice to screw somebody over because you don't have a damn clue about what you're answering.
- Remember, people: Asking for free textbooks usually counts as warez. I know books can be expensive, but 9 times out of 10, the book you're asking for is copyrighted. Mods tends to do a good job staying on top of this. If you need specific questions, try Google Books, as they offer limited previews of some texts. If you just need information, ask other members.
Final Verdict:
A few tips for future users of the section:
- Check out some of the tutorials/help desks. The people who make them generally have plenty of information with their subject.
- If you need help, don't save it for the night before a major test/exam. The section goes through waves of activity, so you might not receive the help you need in time.
- If you need homework help, try it yourself first. If you resort to asking for help, you should try to ask for help understanding the material instead of just requesting answers.
- As with other sections, use the search function. Somebody may have answered a similar question in the past.
Overall, the section serves a great purpose to the community. Before it existed, homework questions were scattered throughout the forums, but now we have an entire section dedicated to them, which cleans up other areas. It's also an excellent place to observe the community working together, as everybody helps everybody, regardless of their reputation, warning level, or upgrade status. It needs a few improvements here and there (mostly on behalf of the users, not the administration of the section), but it is still a fairly new section, and those improvements should come with time.
I have two shout outs:
One to all of the users who frequently help in the section. Keep doing what you're doing, as you're doing great, and the section would be worse off without you. I won't name any specifics, but you know who you are.
A second to the mods, for keeping the section clean.
Spoiler (Click to View)
![[Image: S0DXCaW.png]](https://i.imgur.com/S0DXCaW.png)
![[Image: 12XdAdJ.gif]](https://i.imgur.com/12XdAdJ.gif)
