The defining characteristic of the internet-era institution of “frequently asked questions” is that they rarely resemble questions many would actually ask. They’re always “questions we anticipate you might ask, the subset thereof we deign to answer.” Virgin Mobile is shaking up this tradition with its revolutionary Honest FAQ.
“How do I make my own ringtones?” for example, is replied to with a blunt “Dunno.”
The FAQ also leaks the names of three new handsets presumably forthcoming from Virgin Mobile: The X, Y, and Z.
This Virgin Mobile FAQ Is Honest, But Not Very Helpful [Consumerist]
I object to this post being in the “fuck up” category. IMHO this style of FAQ is a refreshing step in the right direction.
Of course a helpful link to a relevant how to page would have been nice, but it’s a start..
I humbly submit an addendum to the “questions we anticipate you might ask, the subset thereof we deign to answer” syndrome of FAQs: “Questions no one asked, but which PR suggested so that we could tout a product or service feature.”
kinda silly. I do pages like this all the freakin time, I just guess at a few questions and answers and throw them on there, send them over for a business unit to OK the basic layout, they provide the updated text, and it goes live.
From the article, it sounds like someone guessed at the address of this page based on other help pages and it wasn’t actually linked from anywhere. So boo to virgin for not using good source control or whatever and putting unfinished content into production, but hardly an issue worthy of note.