Confusion between WP.com and WP.org

  • drmike · Member ·

    Greets:

    Recently I published an email address here in an attempt to help a user with a problem that they are having with a blog hosted here at WP.com. (If you’re reading this, I got your email but am currently behind. Please bare with me.)

    I also got 23 other emails from other people looking for help.

    What is concerning me is out of those 24 total emails, 18 of them are for blogs hosted elsewhere not within WP.com space.

    If you’re not aware, I do offer paid hosting and my clients there do come first. It kind of bothers me that these people are requesting assistance when they should be getting it from their own hosts or over at the other forums.

    Maybe we been a banner or line across the top of the forums here saying “These forums are for those who have blogs hosted at WP.com. If you are hosted elsewhere, please direct your concerns over here.”

    I know we’re still getting a couple posters a day looking for help here as well when they should be over at the forums. One recently was rather rude about being forwarded over there as well even after being explained to that his question didn’t pretain to what was being hosted here.

    I know staff didn’t listen to me when I suggested the search bar but did when someone else suggested it. I’m hoping that maybe this time they well.

    Thank for listening,
    -drmike

  • podz · Member ·

    I get mails daily with the same range.

    I said somewhere else on the forum that if here or at wp.org we had 48pt red blinking SEARCH all over the place you would still get people saying “How do I edit my template?” type questions.

    I figure:
    1 – some people don’t want to be seen to have asked in forums.
    2 – some people judge their time to be of more value
    3 – “it’s only one question….”

    My take is that answers are best where others can see them. I now routinely paste in “I will answer in the forums only”. Seems to do the trick.

  • drmike · Member ·

    Maybe we should bump that one up to the first on in the FAQ? A “I have a blog hosted elsewhere….”

    What interests me is that people are somehow winding up here. I know that Google lists the WP.org first before the *.com, the links on 2.0.3 point to the support forum on *.org, and all the themes I have seen do as well.

  • martinfitzp · Member ·

    I think sticking .com on the end of an address is most peoples default behaviour unfortunately.

    Some browsers auto-complete whatever you write in the address bar with .com also (although I just checked and Firefox appears to google-search I-Feel-Lucky it, while IE does a standard search).

    I think your idea is a good one drmike. While most people might not read some will & that can’t hurt.

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