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How to respond to people asking where to get their device fixed.

Hey guys! Recently I had one of my answers marked as spam. Here is the link to the question along with my answer.

If my answer was spam please let me know a better way to answer a question like that.

In my opinion if someone is specifically saying "Happy to pay to have it fixed..." it seems to me that they are looking for a place to get it fixed. My answer addressed common things that they could try themselves (which they had already tried so the only other good option was to have an expert fix it for them) then told them how to get ahold of businesses here on ifixit. I did not link to my website or anything else and I specifically said that there were multiple businesses here on ifixit who could help and I told them how to contact them.

What is the best way to answer a question like this?

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Yes, i marked it as SPAM. You addressed only replacing the disk drive and gave no other solutions except to send it to you. It reeked of SPAM. Try giving some actual solutions. Only @oldturkey03 has given you more up votes that I have.

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They had already tried all of the common DIY repairs except for one which I mentioned: "I'm assuming that you've made sure there is nothing on top of or around the console?" so I'm not sure how I only addressed replacing the disc drive.

In this case the actual solution (since all of the common diy fixes had already been tried) was to have it fixed by a professional (which the user said they were happy to pay to have it fixed).

I would think reeking of SPAM would look like this: "You need to have the disc drive replaced. You can send it to me: link to my business".

How would you write an answer to that question?

BTW, I very much appreciate you Mayer and the value you bring to ifixit. I thank you for all the upvotes and really appreciate it. Please don't think that I have any sort of problem with you, I'm just trying to understand how this sort of answer is spam. IMO, sometimes then best thing a user can do is find an expert to repair their device for them and this was one of those cases.

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I did not see that much of an effort to help them repair it themselves here, (which is what this site is all about) like a link on how to do it: https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/PlayStation... or a link to the part: https://www.ifixit.com/Store/Game-Consol...

If you had given those I would not have marked it as SPAM. It's a judgement call, and that's what a moderator is supposed to do. Now if you do that and tell them how to fix it first, I have no problem , as a last resort , mentioning that you do this professionally and refer them to your profile for contact information.

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OK...that makes sense. I'll do my best to remember to do that. Sometimes I shy away from putting links in because of the time it takes, but it's something I'll try to do more as it adds value for the user.

Thanks for the explanation.

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Just add the links to the question and I'll be happy to remove the SPAM call. The job of moderator, is a judgement one. Nobody hugs the umpire except @kaykay ;-)

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I think you did a good job of addressing DIY possibilities (especially considering this person has done some digging themselves). And since the user did specifically ask for repair shop options, that's an invitation to offer solutions for that question as well. If other users have other DIY solutions (or other shops) they're welcome to add another answer to the post.

But if the community has other hints or arguments, I'd love to hear about those, too!

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Thank you...I really think this was the best answer to this specific question but I'm also open to other ways of answering.

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OK, I made a judgement call. Which after discussion, TronicsFix now agrees with. Most calls are very easy to make, some are close calls. To my knowledge, as of this date, none have of mine have been over turned. It would have been much easier and much less stressful to just let this one side. Nobody want's to get criticized. I certainly don't. I didn't ask for this job, but I'm trying to do it to best of my ability. I want this site to be the best it can be. My vision is for to to quality and not quantity . A very good answer does the job for years not just the day. We are starting to get far to many repeat questions. The sheer volume of question and range of questions has expanded tremendously, but my time is finite. I also want the site to be a place you are not afraid to send your mother to. I also want it to be a place where fledglings can grow and become the answer providers of tomorrow. Learning how to answer questions well is a learning process just like everything else in life.

There are new devices out there. New innovation. Where's the expert on Apples new touch bars? Where's the expert on repairing retina displays? Where are the guides? The newbies can pick one and become the worlds top expert on repairing it, but that takes work, research and time and dedication to helping others for no reward except maybe the recognition of your peers and the camaraderie found here.

So here's your chance to be critical of the moderators. Tell us how we can do the job better. How can I do my job better? What's your vision?

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TronicsFix will be eternally grateful.