Milominderbinder2 said:
Thanks. It's just a start, but that's where everything begins.
Milominderbinder2 said:
D* has a number of other items in their troubleshooting broken down into these areas:
I'm sure that as the troubleshooting guide becomes more complex, I'll break it into sections like what DirecTV has done on their site.
But for now, I'm keeping it simple and focusing on
collecting problems and solutions.
Furthermore, if the official troubleshooting guide worked, there'd be no need for this guide. My intent isn't to mirror or duplicate what D* has provided, but to provide quick,
accurate answers to both common problems and to problems D* doesn't cover (or doesn't cover well or correctly).
For example, I haven't seen anyone having trouble with the remote really need to be told "check your batteries." Including such a "solution" (as D* does) would only needlessly bulk up the guide I'm trying to build.
I'm glad you posted the links, though, as it reminded me to include a link to D*'s official troubleshooting site. I've added that URL to the guide.
Milominderbinder2 said:
The problem is that D* desperately needs your technical writing skills.
I do not know how comprehensive you want to make this but I for one would like to see your guide be the one central resource. We could print this out and have it near the HR20 for times when I am gone and my family is having a problem.
Again, I intend to include answers to both frequently encountered problems and to problems D* doesn't cover well or correctly.
My plan is not to include every possible solution to every possible problem, nor is it my plan to include solutions to problems people don't encounter very frequently. If DBS suffers a wave of people whose remotes won't work because their batteries died, by all means I'll include that as a solution.
Milominderbinder2 said:
Also, D* has not figured out how to put links in pdf files but it would be easy to let a person click on an interactive menu and then as they aswer questions, move him to the solution or next question. I would be happy to help if you are interested.
Such an interactive menu requires a LOT of thought and is an incredible pain to maintain. I've built these types of systems before and even systems that have only 100 possible outcomes are surprisingly large.
I appreciate the offer to help. I'll take you up on it if I ever need the help.
Milominderbinder2 said:
Part of the reason that your document is so needed is that D*'s materials are so bad.
I agree they're bad. That's why I'm doing this, and that's why I'm not just including their troubleshooting library by default. I'm letting the market decide what should be included, basically.
Milominderbinder2 said:
Again, thanks. If you see a problem and solution discussed in a thread, please pass it on to me, either by posting in this thread here or via PM or email. I can't catch them all. If everyone pitches in, we can catch them all and everyone will benefit in the end.