jlb0001 wrote:


I'd like to see more community interaction.  If you look at the PHP's help system on php.net/manual/, there's a LOT of community comments that really help explain things that some users don't quite understand.

Perhaps paying MVPs and authors to associate articles or comments or downloadable / working examples to various help entries would be also nice.

I'd also like to be able to place bounties on getting help that would then be added back to the community.  So, if I want to see an example for a class or method, I would like to place a "Help Wanted" sign on the class or method.  If it's really critical, I like to be able to pay for support on-demand (perhaps at $25 increments) that might be answered by either Microsoft or someone in the community.

I second the idea of better searchability and integration with existing content such as webcasts or other (possibly non-MS) online resources.



This is one of the reasons I continue to program in PHP. There are tons of examples and gotchas posted by the community that would otherwise take you hours to figure out on your own.

I'm still learning how to program in C#, but the only useful resource I have found has not been found on a single Microsoft run website. But other sites like codeproject.com. I take that back, there was one...

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/d3877932.aspx

Another item I dislike about MS help is that there are 5 languages that are documented and various .NET versions. An awesome addition to the current site would be to have an option to hide the languages I don't know yet and the .NET versions I will never write code for. There will probably besome sections in the TreeView on the right disappear, but that's fine, because thats all that should be relevant to me.

If Microsoft is wanting to expand their market share and get more people to use their products, they've got to realize that leaving out this kind of information to sell Microsoft Press books or Certified Training classes is going to continue to hurt them. Those resources are still an option and are still viable avenues, but not every one learns the same way and finds them useful (or affordable).