what does "follow" mean?

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Level 1

14 points

what does "follow" mean?

I looked at the page Learn how to use Manage Subscriptions and use My Subscriptions. It was quite helpful, but didn't explain the basic term "follow". What happens when I "follow" something?

Also, I couldn't work out which community to post to - none of the ones in the list seemed appropriate. And there didn't seem to be any "Reply" option at the above link (though other people had replied). So I've used the "Category" (whatever that is!) of "Feedback about Discussions".

iPad Mini, iOS 9.3.1

Posted on May 3, 2016 11:13 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

ManSinha

Level 6

12,171 points

May 3, 2016 11:52 PM in response to Mike JD

Follow means to keep track of that discussion or poster(s) - similar to following someone or topic on other social media 🙂

If you check to where you want to be sent email updates - posts from the threads you follow will appear in your email inbox

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Answer 2

Mike JD Author

Level 1

14 points

May 3, 2016 11:57 PM in response to ManSinha

Thanks! My problem is I don't use social media :-). I got the notification of your response in my email, so that in itself answered my question.

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Answer 3

ManSinha

Level 6

12,171 points

May 4, 2016 12:02 AM in response to Mike JD

You are most welcome

Please let us know of any questions

(1263)

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Answer 4

Mike JD Author

Level 1

14 points

May 4, 2016 12:15 AM in response to ManSinha

It just occurred to me that a glossary of terms might be useful. I often find that I need a short definition of what something is, rather than a detailed explanation of how to use it. A search for "glossary" seems to find things relating to glossaries within ebooks, rather than a general glossary of Apple terminology. Of course, the glossary could also contain links to more detailed explanations.

An ordinary search for a term often doesn't work well. My original question is a case in point. All the things it found were along the lines of "as shown in the following example".

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Answer 5

ChitlinsCC

Level 7

20,924 points

May 4, 2016 7:56 AM in response to Mike JD

Using JiveSoftware > https://docs.jivesoftware.com/cloud_int/end_user/jive.help.core/

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Answer 6

Mike JD Author

Level 1

14 points

May 4, 2016 5:27 PM in response to ChitlinsCC

This seems to be a social network - exactly what I don't want 🙂. I like well written documentation as a starting point. Afterwards, I can ask for support on things that are still unclear, and/or suggest improvements, e.g. a term that should be added to a glossary.

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Answer 7

ChitlinsCC

Level 7

20,924 points

May 4, 2016 5:58 PM in response to Mike JD

Apple picked the platform of "collaborative community" = there is a vast library of Apple tech articles that resides in the "support.apple.com" subdomain = only reachable by search. I use GoogleSiteSearch

terms site:support:apple.com

Apple & AppleJiveWare search leaves much to be desired, sadly

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Answer 8

ManSinha

Level 6

12,171 points

May 4, 2016 5:35 PM in response to Mike JD

I have always found that typing things directly into Safari and then putting in a couple spaces and adding "Apple support" serves me well when looking for something specific

For example - I just did this

glossary of apple terminology

Also I was going to mention Macrumors, OS X daily, and iMore as the sites where IMHO there is a wealth of information about all things Apple - i have frequently found myself at one of those reading about something new or looking up troubleshooting

Now that you have had an official mayoral welcome from ChitlinsCC - you can always return here and seek one of us out - should you feel like it 🙂

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Answer 9

turingtest2

Level 10

272,881 points

May 4, 2016 6:06 PM in response to Mike JD

Have you had a look at the Tutorials?

Perhaps if there are a few more terms that need defining it would worth creating an ASC Glossary user tip.

tt2

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Answer 10

Mike JD Author

Level 1

14 points

May 4, 2016 6:26 PM in response to ChitlinsCC

Thanks for that hint. I use Google site search a lot - it usually works much better than searches built into sites.

However, there's a typo in the URL - a colon instead of a period. site:support:apple.com

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Answer 11

Mike JD Author

Level 1

14 points

May 4, 2016 6:31 PM in response to ManSinha

ManSinha wrote:

For example - I just did this

glossary of apple terminology

Thanks. Several useful glossaries came up. I've made a note of them for future reference. I didn't find "follow", though. It's probably considered too elementary - which it is once you know the answer 🙂.

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Answer 12

ChitlinsCC

Level 7

20,924 points

May 4, 2016 6:46 PM in response to Mike JD

YIKES! (pesky typos)

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Answer 13

Mike JD Author

Level 1

14 points

May 4, 2016 6:57 PM in response to turingtest2

turingtest2 wrote:

Have you had a look at the Tutorials?

Thanks. I found the page a bit strange. I would have expected a list of tutorials, but there seems to be only one: "Find answers and ask new questions". However, that one was useful - it contained a (slightly oblique) answer to my original question: "To help you track responses, you're automatically subscribed to email notifications for any question you ask or respond to. " I.e., "follow" means "subscribe to email notifications of responses".

As usual, when finding an answer, one or two additional questions pop up. I couldn't mark some responses as "helpful". I did find an answer: "One 'Solved' and 2 'helpfuls' is all you get"; but only 1 'helpful' is showing.

I call this "Murphy's Zeroth Law" (though this isn't the accepted terminology): whatever you need to do, something else has to be done first. 🙂

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Answer 14

turingtest2

Level 10

272,881 points

May 4, 2016 7:16 PM in response to Mike JD

Following has an effect even if you don't allow email notifications. Click Content near the top of the page, then Following part way down the left, then Discussions over to the right and up a bit. If that seems a little clumsy use these ready made links.

Authored Discussions

Participated Discussions

Following Discussions

Recently Viewed Discussions

The first three show new activity in threads you've started, contributed to or are following. You'll automatically follow any thread you start or add to, but you can choose to stop following (useful if you realise you've joined a rant thread and now want to stop hearing from it) or start following a thread that seems interesting, even if you don't have anything to add to it right now. Following Discussions is probably the most useful way to tell if any thread that you're involved with has had an update.

Only the OP gets to award helpful and solveds. OP is short for Original Poster, whoever started the thread. Look, there's another one for the user tip. 🙂 You marked ManSinha's first reply as helpful, and then later upgraded it to solved. That's why you cannot award another helpful in this thread.

tt2

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Answer 15

babowa

Level 9

78,115 points

May 4, 2016 7:36 PM in response to Mike JD

Thanks! My problem is I don't use social media

Good for you! As far as I'm concerned, that is not a problem, LOL. I don't either - you can simply ignore a lot of the social gamification here. You will find an amazing depth of technical knowledge here, especially among the "seasoned" members as well as some amazing newer members.

So, once you figure out which forum you'd like to post to, simply ask a question and you should be able to get one or more answers. Most of us do remember that these are technical forums (which is why I joined here in the first place). You may want to start here and click on the forum you want to visit:

https://discussions.apple.com/welcome

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