topic Re: RE: A Concern.....or Not? in Forum Feedback

RE: A Concern.....or Not?

delphinium — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 22:28:00 GMT

This is something that recurs every once in a while, and there may be no real answer for it. I am noticing more posts with a request to the OP to click solution. (I am NOT pointing fingers) There is a need to have the solutions marked, if tastefully possible, so that the solution shows in a search.

Having said that, when I do a search, knowing that not all solutions are clicked, I read them all that pertain to the problem I am researching. Often the answer is in an unclicked post. So, I have to ask myself how important clicking solution is in the general scheme of things.

If all threads were solved, it also serves little purpose as, often as not, the OP clicks his/her own post whether it was the solution or not, or later says that it didn't work after all.

Another problem is that if four helpers are all posting on a thread and asking for the solution, how does that look to the OP? Since the kudo count and the solutions count are included in the ranking stats it does tend to encourage "fishing for compliments."

What I found slightly more tasteful (and again, I just may be old school) was for some other unrelated person to view the posts and if called for, recommend that the OP choose the post most helpful and click solution.

Any thoghts on the matter?

Re: RE: A Concern.....or Not?

dickevans — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 22:38:39 GMT

delphinium wrote:
This is something that recurs every once in a while, and there may be no real answer for it. I am noticing more posts with a request to the OP to click solution. (I am NOT pointing fingers) There is a need to have the solutions marked, if tastefully possible, so that the solution shows in a search.

Having said that, when I do a search, knowing that not all solutions are clicked, I read them all that pertain to the problem I am researching. Often the answer is in an unclicked post. So, I have to ask myself how important clicking solution is in the general scheme of things.

If all threads were solved, it also serves little purpose as, often as not, the OP clicks his/her own post whether it was the solution or not, or later says that it didn't work after all.

Another problem is that if four helpers are all posting on a thread and asking for the solution, how does that look to the OP? Since the kudo count and the solutions count are included in the ranking stats it does tend to encourage "fishing for compliments."

What I found slightly more tasteful (and again, I just may be old school) was for some other unrelated person to view the posts and if called for, recommend that the OP choose the post most helpful and click solution.

Any thoghts on the matter?

Thoughts,

It would be very nice if there were some way to identify the solution - regardless of what the thread author clicks. It would make searches for answers much easier.

I try not to fish. I would also find it useful to know if another person - regardless of rank is currently responding to a message. It happens often enough that we seem to be stepping on each other.

I'm guilty of reading through a thread and seeing that the problem is solved and posting to request that the author select the solution message and mark the problem solved. I'm not sure how to get a better percentage of threads marked. Getting them marked is very helpful to me. In many cases I suspect that the author does not know that he/she is the only person who sees the button and can click on it. Might be something that can be added somewhere as a polite 'nag'.

Turkey time - bye for now:smileyhappy:

Re: RE: A Concern.....or Not?

Andmike — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 08:34:41 GMT

My assumption had been that there are so many posts in some forums that it was helpful to those trying to help, to know which ones no longer needed their attention. Therefore encouraging people to mark "solved" was a good idea. It might have also helped others to find a solution. However as delphinium and others obviously are adept speed readers (and thinkers) and many solved posts are never marked, she has a point.

As for fishing for points..I thought the discussions in another thread had shown that no one knows what real effect solutions have on titles (and what are titles apart from an interesting insight into the mind of their creator) and something more seems to be needed in the creation of Gurus.

So I don't see it as a concern.

Re: RE: A Concern.....or Not?

yank — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 15:49:13 GMT

I very seldom search for "solved posts".

WHY??

- I find it a waste of my time as most are incorrectly marked with the solution (OP marks their -"that worked - thanks" post as the solution).

- There are also many posts where the OP never comes back, but three other people have had problems, asked for help and were in fact solved in the thread and it never gets marked as solved.

- I often find posts marked as "solutions" that are not solutions. I actually think it was on some of Dick's requests for folks to "tidy up the board by marking something solved" and the OP flagged his request as the solution. :smileysurprised:

- I also find folks who have apparently searched for solutions, referenced them and in fact the solution was not for the "exact same problem" - but folks searching for the the prestiage (??) of having a post marked as a solution are copying, posting and hoping it will solve the "other problem".

- Perhaps my favorite complaint about "solutions" is when a user posts an answer, and the exact same answer is followed up by a Guru, or Norton empoyee and the OP marks the followup as the answer, rather than the user's answer. :smileytongue:

Now delphinium mark my post as the solution, as I feel I need another soloution credited to me in my quest to being the biggest (no you can not use that word says the nanny filter) on the forums. OK, PLEASE!!! (gotta be nice)

Re: RE: A Concern.....or Not?

Dave_Coleman — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 16:43:32 GMT

If any of you find a thread where the wrong post is marked as the Solution, click on the Report Inappropriate Content link and let us know. Moderators can move the marked Solution to the correct post.

Ideally we'd like all of the posts marked solved to include the relevent information that would help another customer with the same problem fix their situation. But of course we realize that's not always possible.

Cheers,

Dave

Re: RE: A Concern.....or Not?

dickevans — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 19:56:21 GMT

Thanks Dave

Re: RE: A Concern.....or Not?

delphinium — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 05:40:59 GMT

I recall one thread where Quads laboured day and night for about three days to help a user with multiple infections and at the end of it all, clicked her own post that said "Thank you for all your help."

Yank, as always, makes very good points and what I have seen as well on the forum. It would be nice, in a perfect world, to have all of the correct posts marked as solutions, but we can't even get users to post on the correct forum. :smileyvery-happy: None of us have signatures or macros that say "Did you post in the right place?"

I never cared about kudos or solutions so perhaps that is why I find it a bit tacky. JMHO.

@Andmike:

Gurus and the ranking mechanism have nothing to do with each other. You can be a guru of low rank or a non-guru of high rank.

Solutions

Krusty13 — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 07:30:39 GMT

Hello Norton Community,

I, for one, would appreciate anyone who has asked a question and found an answer, to apply the solution button to the post that helped the most, not for fame or fortune, but simply because I find it narrows my search if the answer is in the solved threads.

Thank You, :smileywink:

Dave.

Any thoughts?

Re: Solutions

Andmike — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 09:57:36 GMT

Hi Krusty13,

Was you post meant to start a thread or be a response to delphinium's thread on a very similar topic, at:

http://community.norton.com/t5/Forum-Feedback/RE-A-Concern-or-Not/td-p/595254

Re: Solutions

Krusty13 — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 10:40:01 GMT

Andmike wrote:
Hi Krusty13,

Was you post meant to start a thread or be a response to delphinium's thread on a very similar topic, at:

http://community.norton.com/t5/Forum-Feedback/RE-A-Concern-or-Not/td-p/595254

?

I wasn't sure if delphinium was pro or against , so I didn't know how to respond.... If a moderator would like to move this post across then that would be fine. :smileyindifferent:

Re: Solutions

delphinium — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 17:56:08 GMT

Krusty13:

I certainly don't mind if you are pro or against. It is a discussion, after all. :smileyhappy: Everybody is entitled to an opinion. It's just better to have your opinion attached to the question.

Re: Solutions

Krusty13 — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 19:19:11 GMT

delphinium wrote:
Krusty13:

I certainly don't mind if you are pro or against. It is a discussion, after all. :smileyhappy: Everybody is entitled to an opinion. It's just better to have your opinion attached to the question.

Hi delphinium,

How can I get this thread moved to yours?

Thanks.

Re: RE: A Concern.....or Not?

Andmike — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 21:36:16 GMT

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

delphinium wrote

@Andmike:

Gurus and the ranking mechanism have nothing to do with each other. You can be a guru of low rank or a non-guru of high rank.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

I was aware of that. The point I was trying to make was that getting extra points from solutions should presumably have no impact on whether you become a guru or not. And rankings are rankings and what is that in the real world? At best rankings give readers some idea how much credence to put against a posted comment. A guru label may possibly be better guidance for the initiated. So for those who want to play the point scoring game, let them. For the rest of us, let us get on with helping people in trouble and trying to make the forum clearer. If it helps to mark a post as a solution then let us do it (and I am delighted to have seen delphinium encourage such an action today) otherwise let us not worry to much.

I have gone on too much. Again. :-(

Re: RE: A Concern.....or Not?

delphinium — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 07:42:35 GMT

I did mention that frequently users not directly associated with the thread recommended the user click the solution. That has been a common method of dealing with the situation. It just makes me uncomfortable to see four helpers offer four suggestions, all of whom have a notice to click the solution.

There are two points to the discussion. How to get the correct solution marked. and the separate question of how to do it tastefully.

Maybe all the gurus should have a notice requesting that the user click solution, or all of the Symantec employees have the notice. If everybody does it is going to look pretty silly.

For Instance:

User:

I need help

Helper:

What seems to be the problem. Please click the solution when done.

User:

My computer won't turn on

Helper:

Did you happen to push on the power button? Please click the solution button when done.

User:

Yes, i did

New helper:

Did you check to see if the cord was plugged in? Please click the solution button when done.

There should be a better way, but if you folks are all happy with it then what the heck, it's not my shop.

Re: RE: A Concern.....or Not?

Krusty13 — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 08:29:57 GMT

I agree, this makes sense to me, but what do I know, I am still new here :smileywink:

Since I haven't been offered a way to move my thread, I guess I will do it this way.

Re: Solutions

Krusty13 — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 08:34:49 GMT

Re; here

Re: RE: A Concern.....or Not?

floplot — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 08:48:57 GMT

Hello

Let's not forget that there is a sticky on top of this page about Kudos and marking posts as solved. written by Phil.

http://community.norton.com/t5/Forum-Feedback/Forum-Tip-Kudos-and-Accepted-Solutions/m-p/254475#M6106

After Phil had written this sticky, I remember that Phil and I had a reminder as our signature for a short while reminding people about Kudos and marking threads as solved. It was only for a short while and then we took it off because it sort of looked like we were asking for the Kudos and the acceptance of our posts as the solutions.

I remember when I first started posting in the Forum, I did go around to different threads which looked like they were solved and did ask the o/p to mark the post that gave them the solution so that others would know it was solved and those looking for a solution to their problem would be able to find the solution more quickly.

Re: RE: A Concern.....or Not?

Krusty13 — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 09:04:18 GMT

Re: RE: A Concern.....or Not?

yank — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 15:38:22 GMT

Any thoughts on something like this? (be gentle please)

I know it would require modifying the reply screen, but that is wasted space anyway??

I know it is hard to read - this is what it says and probably can be collectively reworded:

Solutions

If you are the Originl Poster (OP) and your situation has been solved, please take the time to select the post you feel provided the answer. You as the OP are the only one that can mark your thread as Solved.

Re: Solutions

yank — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 15:46:43 GMT

Krusty13 wrote:
delphinium wrote:
Krusty13:

I certainly don't mind if you are pro or against. It is a discussion, after all. :smileyhappy: Everybody is entitled to an opinion. It's just better to have your opinion attached to the question.
Hi delphinium,
How can I get this thread moved to yours?
Thanks.

Simply click on the Report Inappropriate Content link on the original post in your thread and on the resulting page, type in your request. In this case I would do somethng like:

Please merge this thread with the already exsisting thread of the same subject located here: http://community.norton.com/t5/Forum-Feedback/RE-A-Concern-or-Not/td-p/595254