itsupport.grammable.me
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tech support troubleshooting
SHOW HN2016
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itsupport.grammable.me
Fun tool that cut my family and friends tech support time in half
itsupport.grammable.me#tech support#troubleshooting#family tech support#it support
How HN took it
6 positive, 18 neutral or asking, 2 mixed, 16 critical, out of 42 comments about the project. Thread score -0.23.
Design: 3 for, 7 againstIdea: 3 for, 6 againstPerformance: 0 for, 2 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Funny and fun to use
From 2 comments
I wasn't sure what to expect when it asked me to type my problem in: when that tab opened that gave me a good laugh haha. So true.
oliv__ on HNEqual parts tongue-in-cheek and time-saving.
rcdmd on HN
Objections
No 'I don't know' option for unclear answers
From 2 comments
I would add a "I don't know" option. Family members who need tech support from me are generally unable to answer things like: > Is your device up to date? First, they aren't…
Deestan on HNI think this needs a "I don't know" option that leads to links to support pages. I've certainly dealt with friends and family who don't know how to check if their software is up…
howderek on HN
Steps like 'is it up to date' are confusing for non-technical users
From 3 comments
I would add a "I don't know" option. Family members who need tech support from me are generally unable to answer things like: > Is your device up to date? First, they aren't…
Deestan on HNWell... usually the device works somehow and they are incapable of giving a good description of the problem. That's the real problem. I used the tool like my mother would and had…
anotheryou on HNI'm a software engineer, and I have no idea what "is your device up to date?" means. Does that mean do I have the latest iPhone, or do I have the latest device drivers (I think I…
grecy on HN
Opens Google in a new tab, which users can miss
From 1 comment
When you type in a problem, don't open google in a different window. I'm technical, and I didn't notice the new window (tab actually) till much later - I just thought the site…
ars on HN
Requests
Add an 'I don't know' option linking to support pages
From 2 comments
I would add a "I don't know" option. Family members who need tech support from me are generally unable to answer things like: > Is your device up to date? First, they aren't…
Deestan on HNI think this needs a "I don't know" option that leads to links to support pages. I've certainly dealt with friends and family who don't know how to check if their software is up…
howderek on HN
Summarise the best search result instead of linking to Google
From 1 comment
nice work. would be cool (albeit maybe difficult), to summarize the best result instead of taking them to Google directly. i suspect anyone using this page who gets to the Google…
catshirt on HN
Easy remote screenshare setup
From 1 comment
One thing I'd particularly like when dealing with my parents' issues is an _easy_ way to set up remote screenshare and access. It's one thing when the problem is that their…
panorama on HN
Questions
Could users add their own questions to build a support tree
From 1 comment
You should add an option to add questions. If you crowdsource it, you could end up with a giant support-question tree! Then it could be fun AND useful :) See [1] for a similar…
amelius on HN
Alternatives named
xkcd 627 Tech Support comic
From 2 comments
This reminds me of https://xkcd.com/627/. I think both both these 'tools' could be expanded a bit to be more useful (though maybe less humorous). Though one issue with less…
arikrak on HNObligatory XKCD: https://xkcd.com/627/
wyldfire on HN
Let's Google It (lmgtfy)
From 1 comment
The last step should be replaced by some sort of autogenerated https://lmgtfy.com link. :)
src3 on HN