Basic Questions Post

Kiwi-family · May 19, 2017

I just took a look at a thread that was closed - I confess, simply to see what the hoo-ha might be about!
I further confess I did not get to the end of the thread. Just couldn't get excited about it.
However, I did notice the suggestion that putting together a document with Frequently Asked Questions might be useful.

The original suggestions are as follows:

Would be in this FAQ:
1. How do I get to SJPP or Roncesvalles
2. How do I get a credencial
3. 100km walking with 1 or 2 stamps a day
4. How do I get out of Porto
5. A summer and a winter packing list
6. Using a SIM card

And then a list of questions not to ask :
1. What will the weather be like on April 31st 2019?
2. How busy will it be on April 31st 2020?
3. What SIM card should I buy?
4. Will I need a sleeping bag?
5. Will I need to book a bed ahead?
6. What is the best albergue in this town?
7. Can I do illegal things when I know they are illegal?

What else do we need?

C clearly · May 19, 2017

Should I wear boots or shoes? How many sizes "too big"?
Will people disdain me because I'm only walking XXX km?
Will I encounter bedbugs?

Having said that, we do still need information on those topics.

Kiwi-family · May 19, 2017

C clearly said:
Having said that, we do still need information on those topics.

My vision is that someone might write an answer to each question and they would all be collated in one place and people could be pointed to that particular thread when "one of those" questions arises. Of course all past discussions will remain available for anyone who wishes to search for them.

My only sadness is that we can't call it "All of Those Questions You're Too Scared to Ask About the Camino" because that would be a great title;-)

C clearly · May 19, 2017

Kiwi-family said:
we can't call it "All of Those Questions You're Too Scared to Ask

Why not?

Kiwi-family · May 19, 2017

C clearly said:
Why not?

Because they're all questions that people HAVE asked!

C clearly · May 19, 2017

OK. Take the "too" out.

Robo · May 19, 2017

Another thread could be called.

The Questions You SHOULD be Asking

Anemone del Camino · May 19, 2017

Robo said:
Another thread could be called.

The Questions You SHOULD be Asking

As in "what size rice cooker should I bring?"

C clearly · May 19, 2017

Anemone del Camino said:
As in "what size rice cooker should I bring?"

In fact, that is exactly the type of question people should ask - something original.

Robo · May 19, 2017

Anemone del Camino said:
As in "what size rice cooker should I bring?"

Spot on! A vital question to ask

C clearly · May 19, 2017

It would be fun to have a list of the most interesting or unusual questions.

Anemone del Camino · May 19, 2017

And what about a list of sources for people to consult before asking what the weather will,be like on April 31st, such as Gronze, Ersoki, Alsa, Rometorio, renfe, with a special shout out to our friend Google, not forgetting all of the wonderful paper guidebooks thay exist, as well as in app format.

And invite people to wonder: "if others will have to google to answer my question, why don't I just google?".

C clearly · May 19, 2017

True, but to be kind, sometimes one needs to just ask a question (any question) or make a silly first post, to get into the discussion. For many people, this is the first internet forum they have joined. Sort of a conversational gambit is needed.

[I hate to admit this, but I am beginning to sound like my mother!]

Anemone del Camino · May 19, 2017

C clearly said:
True, but to be kind, sometimes one needs to just ask a question (any question) or make a silly first post, to get into the discussion. For many people, this is the first internet forum they have joined. Sort of a conversational gambit is needed.

[I hate to admit this, but I am beginning to sound like my mother!]

Oh, but I think there should be a two week delay between the time you sign up and the time you can ask a question so that you can have plenty of time to do your research with the wonderful tools we are pointing you towards.

domigee · May 19, 2017

Kiwi-family said:
My vision is that someone might write an answer to each question and they would all be collated in one place and people could be pointed to that particular thread when "one of those" questions arises. Of course all past discussions will remain available for anyone who wishes to search for them.

My only sadness is that we can't call it "All of Those Questions You're Too Scared to Ask About the Camino" because that would be a great title;-)

Great idea!

I also think people ask those questions because they are scared (of the unknown?) and it is nice to have someone replying, rather than just a Faqs sheet... Human contact, even though it's just through a Forum... We all need it.

I remember my many fears before I started my first camino even though it was in Europe (where I live) and I spoke the language ... Ok, I did my own research but then I'm a loner, not everyone is

nycwalking · May 19, 2017

To question or not to question, that is the question.

domigee · May 19, 2017

nycwalking said:
To question or not to question, that is the question.

domigee · May 19, 2017

Robo said:
Another thread could be called.

The Questions You SHOULD be Asking

Like :why a Macabi skirt doesn't have shorts sewn in ...
How real is the real silk used in a 4 euros sleepsack....

Robo · May 19, 2017

I think some kind of FAQ section, with questions and answers in a logical grouping would be a great service for new members.

It's not actually that easy at times to find things using the search function. Whilst it is a marvellous feature, you can end up with 20+ threads to look through seeking an answer.

wayfarer · May 19, 2017

Like this.
https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/forums/frequently-asked-questions.16/

I still think too big a deal is being made of new members asking questions that have been answered many times before by some "veteran" members who have forgotten what it was like to be a newbie.

Kiwi-family · May 19, 2017

wayfarer said:
Like this.
https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/forums/frequently-asked-questions.16/

I still think too big a deal is being made of new members asking questions that have been answered many times before by some "veteran" members who have forgotten what it was like to be a newbie.

View attachment 33950

@wayfarer I kind of agree with you but at the same time I am aware I am shying away from some clearly newbie threads because I can't be bothered saying the same thing again but if there were an easy way to answer I'd be happy to point someone in the right direction. Hadn't even discovered the FAQs bit so I must have a look - maybe the answer is already there!

wayfarer · May 19, 2017

Kiwi-family said:
@wayfarer I kind of agree with you but at the same time I am aware I am shying away from some clearly newbie threads because I can't be bothered saying the same thing again

Truth be told we all do this from time to time and hope someone else answers the question, this is not the problem for me, its when a newbie asks a much asked question and a veteran poster's answer is rude and unwelcoming, short memories, we were all newbies at some point.
Maybe @ivar can put a link button to the FAQ's section like the Rules button.

William Marques · May 19, 2017

wayfarer said:
Truth be told we all do this from time to time and hope someone else answers the question, this is not the problem for me, its when a newbie asks a much asked question and a veteran poster's answer is rude and unwelcoming, short memories, we were all newbies at some point.
Maybe @ivar can put a link button to the FAQ's section like the Rules button.

I agree, the "Use the search button" reply is unhelpful and I think rude. If you do not want to reply you do not have to.

Deleted member 36903 · May 19, 2017

Announcing nominations for the Camino de Santiago Forum Members Gold Medal winners (apologies to all others who deserve to share this award, but I am only on my second cup of coffee and haven't the energy to trawl through all the past posts): @mspath and @whariwharangi who never fail to answer a newbie's question if it is within their area of expertise. @Peter Fransiscus who always welcomes those who have just joined the forum and wishes those walking for the first time a "Buen Camino!"

Deleted member 36903 · May 19, 2017

Oh, and @David for his wry humour and wonderful cartoons, @Rebekah Scott for info, passion and commitment to all things Camino-related. and so on and so on, you get the picture feel free to join in

Anemone del Camino · May 19, 2017

wayfarer said:
I still think too big a deal is being made of new members asking questions that have been answered many times before by some "veteran" members who have forgotten what it was like to be a newbie.

View attachment 33950

Maybe we have not forgotten, but actually bought guidebooks to find out about the Camino. By choice, or because we walked pre everything internet, or even knowing the Forum existed.

When I was getting ready for my first Camino 1o years ago I bought a guidebook and that was it. Went to my local library and got supplemental reading. It had never occured to me there would be a Forum. Didn't have a FB account back then (got it on my way back to see paintings by a person I had walked with and who had them on her FB account).

Ironically, the Internet has given us so many new tools and sources of information but we seem to have become lazier and greadier, not wanting to do our own research or pay for a guidebook to get those answers.

Anemone del Camino · May 19, 2017

wayfarer said:
Maybe @ivar can put a link button to the FAQ's section like the Rules button.

That's what I suggest is the thread that was closed, but above and beyond a button, I think the FAQ should be mentioned, and sent, in a welcome email when a new person signs up to the Forum.

CaminoDebrita · May 19, 2017

There are so many great forum members here that it's hard to know who to nominate for greatness.... @C clearly for doing so many Camino's and answering my call in the late evening, when I was in a pension with bedbugs....and for being so knowledgable. @peregrina2000 for returning as a brilliant moderator, along with @Kanga when there was a need. @wayfarer and @ William Marques for their commitment and attention to the forum. @William Garza for poetry, @Coleen Clark for having our backs (Nana's got your back!), @Viranani for good writing and friendship, @SabineP for friendship, @dougfitz for acerbic but extremely accurate commentary (and gets right to it fast) and for his support of walking sticks, @Anemone del Camino for her knowledge and willingness to answer the questions, @JohnnieWalker for so much experience and information, @gerardcarey for everything, so many really brilliant people...@ SEB..and everyone mentioned. Some truly great people, and it may surprise many of you, but I have not always figured out all of their nationalities, although if I think quietly I do recall who is from where, who lives in Spain now, who has the Aussie curtness, the one quietly tucked into an English flat, etc.

Deleted member 36903 · May 19, 2017

Anemone del Camino said:
... I think the FAQ should be mentioned, and sent, in a welcome email when a new person signs up to the Forum.

This is an excellent idea. Thank you @Anemone del Camino.

notion900 · May 19, 2017

I think the look of the home page should be changed a bit.

The Resources tab is not nearly prominent enough. If you compare a site like Gronze, which includes a Spanish language Forum, the Resources area of it is the most prominent thing, you see it first. Your natural instinct is to start browsing the resources rather than asking questions before looking at anything.

The Most Recent Posts list and the Most Viewed Threads list are too long on the page, it means people concentrate on them rather than searching thematically through the main areas of the Forum. (I seem to remember that this was not always the case) If people spent more time in the thematic area, they would start to see that the same things get asked again and again. As it is, people see the Recent Posts list and if their question isn't there, they ask it.

I posted a while back about the poor searchability due to the lack of tags being used. Perhaps the moderators could hand-tag some particularly useful or classic threads to ensure they turn up in searches. This would be better than the current system of pinning all kinds of stuff at the top of each theme board.

CaminoDebrita · May 19, 2017

I think it would be a show of respect to Ivar--who, after all, owns this great site--if the suggestions about any improvements bear in mind that he and his wife are very busy with a new infant.

I know that when I am dealing with life changes, I don't always feel positive or grateful when colleagues approach me with suggestions and improvements. Timing is a consideration, right?

Just a sidenote.

JulieandPeter · May 20, 2017

This probably won't surprise anybody, but I like it just the way it is.

Kiwi-family · May 20, 2017

CaminoDebrita said:
I think it would be a show of respect to Ivar--who, after all, owns this great site--if the suggestions about any improvements bear in mind that he and his wife are very busy with a new infant.

I know that when I am dealing with life changes, I don't always feel positive or grateful when colleagues approach me with suggestions and improvements. Timing is a consideration, right?

Just a sidenote.

Agree. This is why I thought I could start the ball rolling with collating some questions....and then maybe some pilgrim might either search the forum for answers or write some simple answers.....but it would seem this has already been done in the FAQs section.

notion900 · May 20, 2017

The problem is that people don't look at the FAQs or the Resources.

Jeff Crawley · May 20, 2017

Anemone del Camino said:
As in "what size rice cooker should I bring?"

Oh the Zojirushi NP-NVC18 every time, a bit heavy and, at $500, a bit pricey but it'll make nearly 2 litres fabulous rice if you don't happen to have a bag of Uncle Ben's Express rice to hand . . .

Jeff Crawley · May 20, 2017

My take on it is . . . There's far too much information available on the Camino now.
When I started in 2001 I knew nothing about the Camino apart from a single newspaper article which told me how to get to SJPP.
Arrived at SJPP, bought a credential, was given an A4 sheet of refugios and started walking the next day.
Had no idea what lay ahead from day to day. Nobody warned me about O'Ceb or the Alto de Poio. didn't find out about the CSJ guide or Lozano until Burgos. It was brilliant.
But now we fret over footwear and socks and pack sizes, whether we can buy quinoa in some tiny pueblo on the Mesata, is my carbon fibre hiking pole going to be too heavy, will I be able to tweet about every bowel movement and instagram every selfie across the universe . . .
Quite honestly I read some of the "newbie" questions and think "just get to St Jean and start bloody walking"
And yes, I am ranting. My hay fever is dreadful this year and I can't go out to play with my friends but honestly Newbies, where's your sense of adventure?
More to the point where's my Loratadine?

Jeff Crawley · May 20, 2017

C clearly said:
Why not?

Why not call it "Ask Tom Avery"?

CaminoDebrita · May 20, 2017

JulieandPeter said:
This probably won't surprise anybody, but I like it just the way it is.

I must agree. I do too. Also, I think that if forum members stopped answering the inane questions (if they felt annoyed or bothered) and left the answers for another forum member or a staff member, it would solve a few issues:

1. Unhappy people responding to "how do I get a credential?" questions could attend to threads they enjoy.

2. Other members wouldn't be subjected to reading the complaints that the "unhappy people" make about answering the basic questions.

In essence, I would rather read--for example-- @Viranani 's response to a basic question than read @ X person's response, knowing that X is resentful and will later complain.

Also, while unhappy person may be incredibly tech savvy and have the literacy of a ph.d., people come in all shapes and sizes--intellectually.

Older, less savvy, less gifted people get to walk the camino, and ask questions, just as younger, tech-savvy, brilliant members do. I hope this all makes sense [edited: many of the older members are the most brilliant and tech. savvy people; I don't mean to imply that it's just the young who are!].

Buen Camino, and I hope this is taken in the spirit I've written it. Online communication is so open to interpretation. I'm trying to be honest here, not snotty, not mean, not finger-pointing.

natefaith · May 20, 2017

CaminoDebrita said:
I must agree. I do too. Also, I think that if forum members stopped answering the inane questions (if they felt annoyed or bothered) and left the answers for another forum member or a staff member, it would solve a few issues:

1. Unhappy people responding to "how do I get a credential?" questions could attend to threads they enjoy.

2. Other members wouldn't be subjected to reading the complaints that the "unhappy people" make about answering the basic questions.

In essence, I would rather read--for example-- @Viranani 's response to a basic question than read @ X person's response, knowing that X is resentful and will later complain.

Also, while unhappy person may be incredibly tech savvy and have the literacy of a ph.d., people come in all shapes and sizes--intellectually.

Older, less savvy, less gifted people get to walk the camino, and ask questions, just as younger, tech-savvy, brilliant members do. I hope this all makes sense [edited: many of the older members are the most brilliant and tech. savvy people; I don't mean to imply that it's just the young who are!].

Buen Camino, and I hope this is taken in the spirit I've written it. Online communication is so open to interpretation. I'm trying to be honest here, not snotty, not mean, not finger-pointing.

Thanks, Deb. You state your thoughts clearly, and I think many of us would agree with you that it's time to lay to rest all the complaining about newbies, as well as stop the recent trend of mocking their questions.

Michelle Rosalie · May 21, 2017

domigee said:
Like :why a Macabi skirt doesn't have shorts sewn in ...
How real is the real silk used in a 4 euros sleepsack....

Thanks for the reminder, I need shorts for my macabi skirt

Anemone del Camino · May 21, 2017

Kiwi-family said:
What else do we need?

A. Cost of a Spanish Camino per day
B. How much cash to bring and how to get some more
C. Flying with poles from Santiago
D. Gluten free/vegetarian diets
E. Prescription med renewals
F. A section on Albergue etiquette
G. Getting up in the middle of the night to start walking in summer

Anemone del Camino · May 23, 2017

H. When does the botafueiro swing.

CaminoDebrita · May 23, 2017

Anemone del Camino said:
H. When does the botafueiro swing.

I. (where can I pee?)

I couldn't help myself (laughing).

Anemone del Camino · May 24, 2017

CaminoDebrita said:
I. (where can I pee?)

I couldn't help myself (laughing).

An important topic as it brings the discussion to tp left behind along with other trash. On to the list it goes.

Oh, and did you hear the one asking if Euros are needed in both France and Spain? @SabineP let me know about that one. Apparently some people have heard the Camino is so inexpensive in Spainthat money is not needed .

CaminoDebrita · May 24, 2017

@Anemone del Camino --my ex used to say, "if you have to ask how much it costs, you probably can't afford it."

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