I know this has been posted about in the past but I wanted to highlight this issue again with this thread.
Currently there is only one rank structure which covers all forums and I don't think this is granular enough. When users come on to the various forums seeking help with a problem I think there needs to be a rank structure which really lets users know what area a person has the most expertise in.
Currently the rank structure is geared toward virus/malware related titles. If a user is seeking help in the NIS/AV forum this probably suffices but what does it really mean if the problem is with Norton Ghost for example?
What I am suggesting is different rank structures for each major software category as follows:
NIS/AV forum
Other products forum
N360 forum
Others I may not be thinking of
I think the Forum feedback forum does not need its own rank structure since this is a generic forum.
Ranks can either be displayed based on which forum is being viewed or simply list each rank a person holds regardless of which forum is being viewed. I think either choice is OK.
For example my rank in NIS/AV forum could be Super Phishing Phryer but perhaps in Other products it could be Ghost Expert or some such. I'm not good with making up names here but only trying to illustrate that having a rank structure which really defines someone's area of expertise will certainly help the end user who is seeking help.
So you would want someone to only post in one Forum? Would that not limit the exposure of knowledge through out the Forum? (Believe this is why this has never been instigated before.)
Also, who is to say who (or is it whom?) is better at one product or system than someone else?
As far as the average users looking for help, most do not understand the ranking system at all except to see a added symbol by some names. I know when I first came to get help here, the last thing in my mind was "First I need to read about ranks to see who to listen to; then go ask for help and then disregard everything except ones in RED or with stars."
Just curious to have you carry out your reasoning here.
Message Edited by dbrisendine on 12-26-2009 05:16 PM
No, absoulutely I am not saying that someone should post in only one forum. Most of us certainly have expertise in multiple areas. I'm only suggesting that it might help the end user if the rank structure is a little less generic and catered a bit more to the product area.
Obviously right now there are multiple criteria for attaining any given rank with probably the most obvious one being how many solutions we have authored. As we author more solutions in any given area we would advance in rank for that area. If we are expert in multiple areas then of course we would advance in rank in each of those areas.
My intent is only to help the end user with a bit more intuitive structure.
I kind of put myself in the end user's shoes for a moment. Let's say I seek help in the NIS forum for some virus. If someone were assisting me whose rank is Virus Trouncer it would be obvious to me that this person has a lot of experience with my issue. On the other hand if I was seeking help for a Ghost issue, as an end user I might not be quite so certain.
I realize there are drawbacks to this approach as well. Because this same person offering advice for my issue might well be just as qualified, or even more so than someone else and I would certainly not want to see sound advice ignored because of a perception based on someone's rank.
I don't pretend to know what the right answer is but only opening this up for discussion.
I understand what you are saying and just wanted to hear your full side of the idea.
Problem is that none of the ranks actually mean what they say; they are just levels that sound cool. Kind of what I was getting at in the first post; unless you know the order of ranks, one would think that a Keylogger Crusher would know more about identity security than say a Bot Obliterator when in actuality neither one could know more than the poster does.
By the way, solutions help but are not the only (or main) criteria to advancement.
I understand what you are saying and just wanted to hear your full side of the idea.
Problem is that none of the ranks actually mean what they say; they are just levels that sound cool. Kind of what I was getting at in the first post; unless you know the order of ranks, one would think that a Keylogger Crusher would know more about identity security than say a Bot Obliterator when in actuality neither one could know more than the poster does.
>> This was exactly the point of where I was coming from. Counter-intuitive for the user.
By the way, solutions help but are not the only (or main) criteria to advancement.
>> Oh yes, don't I know this! I just mentioned it was the obvious one most people would think of right off the bat. In some fashion or another pretty much everything shown on your profile (plus a couple of invisible ones I'll venture to say) counts toward advancement.
Yes I know, there is no easy answer to this. Perhaps, all things considered it is about as good as we can achieve. But at least this fosters discussion.
This is why I suggested Listing the Forum Ranks on the Main Forum Page, a kind-of U.I., so that Users will know how experienced and how far up the Rank and trust-worthy the user can be. I mean, for all a New User could know, Virus Trouncer could be the Fourth Rank, which it clearly is not...
I know this has been posted about in the past but I wanted to highlight this issue again with this thread.
Currently there is only one rank structure which covers all forums and I don't think this is granular enough. When users come on to the various forums seeking help with a problem I think there needs to be a rank structure which really lets users know what area a person has the most expertise in.
Currently the rank structure is geared toward virus/malware related titles. If a user is seeking help in the NIS/AV forum this probably suffices but what does it really mean if the problem is with Norton Ghost for example?
What I am suggesting is different rank structures for each major software category as follows:
NIS/AV forum
Other products forum
N360 forum
Others I may not be thinking of
I think the Forum feedback forum does not need its own rank structure since this is a generic forum.
Ranks can either be displayed based on which forum is being viewed or simply list each rank a person holds regardless of which forum is being viewed. I think either choice is OK.
For example my rank in NIS/AV forum could be Super Phishing Phryer but perhaps in Other products it could be Ghost Expert or some such. I'm not good with making up names here but only trying to illustrate that having a rank structure which really defines someone's area of expertise will certainly help the end user who is seeking help.
