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Can we have a general stupid questions thread?

arthwollipot said:
I am utterly convinced that the only stupid questions are the ones that you don't ask.
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I agree in principle. However, I am utterly convinced that it's stupid to waste people's time with questions that could have been answered by a simple Internet search.

Ironically not a problem this thread has had so far.

So yes, by all means, ask those questions. Satisfy your curiosity. But if you come on the Internet to ask me the diameter of the moon, I'll tell you to your face it's a stupid question, and that you should already know the answer from Google.
 
I want to use the search function on my iPad (9.3.5)

I am told to swipe down and enter search terms. When I swipe down I see a schedule and announcements about apps. I do not see a search field or a search icon or anything related to searching.


ETA
User error.

I had no idea how to downward swipe.
To me, swipe meant put finger at top of page and drag downward.

The fourth webpage that I looked at explained proper swiping.
 
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arthwollipot said:
I am utterly convinced that the only stupid questions are the ones that you don't ask.
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I've known since I was a kid that this is nowhere near true. In fact, despite my well-earned cynicism, I still occasionally hear one that I am amazed anyone who was smart enough to learn how to (more or less) speak English ask (this of course goes way beyond computer stuff, but that too).

PS: That said, I'm the idiot who bought a laptop with Win 10. Pardon while I get a bag to put over my head.
 
I'm back.

And I can easily admit and accept a diagnosis of user error if that turns out to be the case.

I am Using my iPad and am viewing a page. In the middle of the page is a scroll box showing 4 names. The border says there are 9 names on the list. Whenever I try scrolling on the list, the entire page moves instead. About once every 15 swipes, the names list moves. I then try to repeat that exact swipe (speed, pressure) and the whole page moves instead of the list. I try 12-18 more times and end up moving the entire page, then I get the name list to scroll. And I am back to once every ~15 tries.

What am I doing wrong?
 
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Ladewig said:
I'm back.

And I can easily admit and accept a diagnosis of user error if that turns out to be the case.

I am Using my iPad and am viewing a page. In the middle of the page is a scroll box showing 4 names. The border says there are 9 names on the list. Whenever I try scrolling on the list, the entire page moves instead. About once every 15 swipes, the names list moves. I then try to repeat that exact swipe (speed, pressure) and the whole page moves instead of the list. I try 12-18 more times and end up moving the entire page, then I get the name list to scroll. And I am back to once every ~15 tries.

What am I doing wrong?
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You need to ensure that the list box has the focus so that it receives the scroll command instead of the page. Try pressing and holding the scroll bar and moving it rather than using the iPad scroll gesture. Alternatively tap inside the box, or even better select text in the box, before using the scroll gesture.

That's a classic example of poor design, having a scroll-able item within another scroll-able item, even with a mouse it can be tricky to operate. It easiest to navigate with a keyboard, put the focus on page and the arrow/page keys scroll the page, place the focus in the list box and the arrow/page keys scroll the list.
 
paulhutch said:
You need to ensure that the list box has the focus so that it receives the scroll command instead of the page. Try pressing and holding the scroll bar and moving it rather than using the iPad scroll gesture. Alternatively tap inside the box, or even better select text in the box, before using the scroll gesture.
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Thanks. There was no scroll bar visible. The only way I knew the box was scrollable was that the search filters said there were more results than were visible.

I'll try the select approach, but I wonder if selecting an item would take me to the next screen.
 
xterra said:
Having lived in both New Mexico (Las Cruces) and Arizona (Casa Grande and Tucson, I must respectfully disagree.

Worse than even Phoenix or Albuquerque is ... Los Angeles.
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Speaking as someone who grew up in and around the greater LA area I heartily agree.
 
rjh01 said:
The answer was not New Mexico, it was nm, which is lower case. The stupid question was "if the alphabet is written backwards, what are the two letters that come after the letter o?"
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At least you had a smart answer. Good job!
 
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