And great post, Olle!

Kong,

I agree, see item number two in my list above. ; )

Yes, thanks for mentioning this! In case the answer is not straightforward, this is also a chance to make sure that you really understood the answer. If it’s a grammar question, perhaps you can try writing a few sentences on your own, etc.

What you are describing is an ideal situation and naturally it would be best if there were sites with hordes of volunteers who would answer any question without complaining about that the question has been asked before or that the student has provided too little information to be able to provide meaningful answers. However, as far as I know, there are no such websites. Thus, this article is a guide to how it works in practice, not a description of how I want it to be. I also don’t think your analogy with Google is very good. The main difference is that Google earns money by providing good services. Most of the services I linked to here don’t have commercial interests, but even if they have, they people who actually help you with your language questions still don’t get paid at all. That’s why it will always be the case that the person asking the question has to adjust to those who can answer it or risk not finding an answer. This might be regrettably, but it’s definitely true.

Is it possible for everyone to just be a little more laid back, lighten up a bit, and not be in such a hurry to get upset? Everyone is so tense these days, and perhaps these same people are hosting websites to answer questions related to China and Chinese.

In concept a site to answer questions, should be far more willing to deal with anything and everything that comes its way.

Imagine Google blocking search results because someone already searched that…

If I have to read, understand and abide by a law book just to post a question, that really takes all the romance away.

Plus, stupid questions are not necessarily stupid just because the “admin” thinks so.

Are questions that have been asked before really that big a deal? How about just reply with a link to the answer you already wrote. That would take oh about ten seconds… help tremendously the person who asked the question. That would be like asking a local how to get somewhere or just look at the map yourself… sure you can look and search around the map yourself, but isn’t it so much nicer to have a local show you on the map exactly where you need to go??? Wouldn’t a kind, patient, helpful site admin essentially do the same when they quickly direct people to the content they’ve previously written… instead of insisting someone “searches” for it themselves?

Perhaps if all those admins of all those sites are so in a bunch about who/what/when/how/where people post… they are in the wrong business. Banks, attorney, and governments have openings waiting…

The idea of a real community is, it is safe to ask and safe to learn. Dare I ask the same question a hundred times, that’s what makes a great community and great teacher… patience, dedication and readiness to help, over and over again.

Well, I better stop typing or this post will be in clear violation of bullet number two above… perhaps it already is.

Today, on the way home saw yet another fight break out. Just more Chinese people fighting over absolutely nothing, or as it usually is, both of them being in the wrong, and neither admitting it. Regardless, fighting solves nothing, and yet everyone is so ready to be curt, aggressive and retaliate. Sigh… perhaps these folks day job is admin’ing websites…

In addition to the sites above, the sites I use routinely for Chinese/China are as follows, in no particular order and with a disclaimer included for any of those I’m invested in, however, I helped start and maintain these sites simply because I didn’t find other sites that did what I needed…

1) http://www.hackingchinese.com – yes, I read pretty much every post and have for years. It made sense all things considered to post it first here.
2) http://www.sinosplice.com – pretty much the same as the above.
3) http://www.mandarinposter.com – like their site, design work is great and the poster is a cool idea.
4) http://www.chinesepod.com – their blog has free podcasts and good info, not to mention their paid content is solid.
5) http://www.lawandborder.com – excellent site on China legal issues and visas.
6) http://www.skritter.com – highly invested in helping people learn to read and write Chinese, something near and dear to my heart.
7) http://www.nommoc.com – personally invested in, an app I use pretty much daily to learn how to write the most common Chinese characters, plus helps people who want to study Chinese in Tianjin.
8) http://www.commonchinesecharacters.com – an online database of the most common Chinese characters. I looked everywhere for a site like this, in the end just had it built myself.
9) http://www.mdbg.net – solid online dictionary, especially useful because it can query multiple character searches of completely unrelated characters at the same time, and will automatically group results based on characters that form words.
10) http://www.allsetlearning.com – I like it because of it obvious relation to John and it gives a real and honest access into doing business in China as a foreigner, plus content on it, is different than sinosplice.

That’s the top ten at current. Worked for Letterman.