I've not used the site for very long. I got involved to answer a question someone posted on a social network, rather than coming to have a question answered. As a result I don't know how expectations are set in that avenue with regard to AskUbuntu and the other StackExchange sites.
Ideally, as I understand it, the idea is that questions representing the concerns of current and future Ubuntu users are paired with good. ranked answers one time, and then the experts, as you call them, move on to other questions. If there's a concentration on technical questions or newbie questions I don't know that yet. It's not always clear, as I think you said, to determine what's a misunderstanding or lack of a fact, and what represents someone running into a bug.
I'd like to say, in defense of the folks trying to answer questions here, that it can be very difficult to determine at what technical level of the person on the other side of the question. I've had people ask pretty detailed questions, but then they ask me to give them diagnostic procedures step by step--and I try to do that. If you talk over someone's head they get frustrated, if you talk down to them they get angry. That's human nature. It's much easier to manage this in person where you can see the other person's face and mannerisms. (It still can be hard to get tech. people to slow down, believe me).
Nevertheless, a good answer should help anyone, so your point still stands and I'm sorry you have had that experience with AskUbuntu.
Besides the jargon issue, it's difficult for a user to know what an expert needs to know to solve a problem, and it's difficult for the remote answerer to really understand what the questioner is seeing. Distance is an enemy of effective problem solving.
I do think that people do try to sneak bug reports into AskUbuntu because it takes quite a long time for most bugs posted to Launchpad to be fixed and they get frustrated. All we have to offer are, maybe, some ideas on how to circumvent the problem. (I hesitate to say "we" because I'm so new here). It takes a long time to get bugs fixed on any system, by the way, open or proprietary and many never are.
You closed your question with the "bottom line". What value is AskUbuntu? The value I have been finding, primarily on the StackOverflow sister site, has been having good questions and answers returned, answers I could use right away. That, more than helping individual users asking questions, is what I think the site is about. Getting to these question/answer pairs often helps the individual question posters, but certainly not always, and that's not actually the promise of the site.
But that leaves the most basic question "Something came up, I don't know what to do, I don't know if it is a bug or a normal occurence or something I did wrong, how can I get help?"
My answers:
Look here for answers from those who have had the problem before. Use general search engines as well, Google often provides me with answers from AskUbuntu and other sites I find useful. If nothing turns up, I hope you will continue to try to ask questions.
ubuntuforums.org is another forum to find help. Their approach is different than the approach here and therefore you may sometimes find them more effective in assisting you.
Ask on the irc channels in the #ubuntu family. The trouble is you may hear jargon there, too. It also takes patience to match up your question with the occasion that someone is listening with knowledge and a little time.
Use launchpad if you think you have a bug. If it is a question instead they will convert it to a Launchpad question or refer you here or to the irc channels. No big deal if they do.
Don't be afraid that someone will say your bug isn't one or your question isn't one. On askUbuntu you can edit your question and have it reopened, or reword it to show you are looking for information and try again.
Most important, get to know the people in your area in the Ubuntu Loco, the local Ubuntu users group. There may also be groups of people who are Unix users but not Ubuntu users, who can help nevertheless. People you get to know and who can see your face, or at least hear your voice, are more likely to give you an answer tailored to you. Frankly they may be more thoughtful, too.
You mention people looking to get badges and reputation points, and not being helpful. Excessive speed in answering question can exacerbate the already tough problem of communicating without jargon. Nevertheless I see that stackexchange does try to stop people from getting too caught up in a race for points. If you get an answer that has too much jargon, please vote it down. That's a way for you to exert feedback on the individual and the community.
It's tempting to compare the Ubuntu alternatives to those of Microsoft or someone else, but I think I'll pass on that. As a newbie I'll just wait for your response, if you decide to post one, and to be corrected by the many more experienced hands about AskUbuntu.
