Help for new users
Getting started
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Mandriva Expert is not just another Web site where people help others with their computer problems in exchange for up-front fees, payable regardless of the quality of the service received. It offers a new experience based on trust.
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For the time being, Mandriva Expert is based on the Mandriva Linux distribution.
You can view the areas of expertise covered under Step 2 "Help Me" tab. People can choose to become Experts, thereby giving them the ability to answer questions, by profiling themselves to sub-categories of expertise. This information can then be viewed by Users under Step 3, enabling you to select those Expert who are best-placed to answer your questions, based on their expertise. All you have to do is ask a question in the Step 1 "Help Me" tab and you're off.
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Anyone can ask a question and receive an answer for free!
Optional: if you wish, you can choose to pay for support, in which case, we guarantee a response in a given timeframe. See 'Payment system' below for more details.
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Mandriva Expert is usable on about any system. If your browser supports it (and most browsers do), then Mandriva Expert actually compresses the pages before sending them to you - network traffic is minimal. Anything faster than a 28.8K is recommended.
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Don't panic! All you have to do is click on "Forgot your Password" and the rest is easy! (provided you entered your email address in your profile).
Choosing an Expert
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Enter the characteristics of your question, and then decide whether you wish for it to be a public or a private question.
Public questions are viewable by all experts - private ones are viewable only by those experts you select.
If you select to make an incident private, then the system will present you with a list of experts who have said that they have knowledge in the category you specifyied for your incident. Select those experts that interest you, using the checkbox next to their name (if you do not check any experts, then the system will default to making the incident public).
Once you have opened your incident, you can follow its progress through your 'Support' page (visible once you are logged-in).
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There are two ways to view an expert's profile:
- click on the 'Experts' tab at the top of the page, bringing you to a list of all experts; clicking on an expert's name will show you their profile;
- if you open an incident and decide to make it private, then you will be presented with a list of experts; clicking on their name will show you their profile.
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Ask the Expert for their phone number as a question, If he/she takes phone calls, they will let you know.
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Try asking more than one Expert if you only submitted your question to a single Expert initially.
Or, maybe your Question was not clear, in which case try re-writing it.
The final possibility is that Experts are too busy, in which case your best bet is to choose to pay for your incident (see 'Payment system', below).
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If you have any questions/comments about the Mandriva Expert system, you can send an email to .
We will reply as soon as possible.
Becoming an Expert
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From the "Customer Area" click on the "Expert Area" on the right-hand vertical bar. From there it is self-explanatory.
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There are many reasons why someone might want to become an Expert.
A good enough reason is that helping others to become proficient in Linux and in Open-Source software benefits the Open-Source community as a whole.
Another good reason is that answering questions is a great way to enhance your own knowledge.
Subscription
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With the Mandriva Expert subscription system, you can subscribe to Mandriva Expert, and hence receive a reduction in the price of all support incidents you buy.
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You can see our incident pricing at Mandriva Store.
With the introduction of Mandriva Expert V2, you now have the option of paying for a support incident, and with it, receiving a guara ntee of response, from Mandriva, or its affiliate Experts, within a defined timeframe.
If you pay for a support incident, Mandriva or its affiliate Experts will take your incident, and respond within 72 hours.
Since not all incidents can be handled by the Mandriva internal support team, we invite community Experts who have proved their knowledge of Mandriva Linux to participate in the paid support system.
Any expert who is placed in the top 5 of a given month's 'free' support Experts is automatically invited to the paid support system.
About Mandriva Expert
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Mandriva Expert is designed and operated by the e-services department of Mandriva, s.a. Mandriva is the editor of Mandriva Linux.
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