[wp-forums] Highlighting great answers

[Josh Lobe]

Thank you, Mark.
Yes.. very emotional and messy at times.
But agreed... the discussion often does indeed help the non-techie.
And yes... I see a lot of non-techie users in my support with plugin 
development.

Okay.. I can see the differences now between Q&A and Support Forums.

Thanks everyone :)

*Josh Lobe*
WP Edit Pro <http://wpeditpro.com>
Personal Website <http://www.joshlobe.com>

On 5/27/2014 3:20 PM, Mark Ratledge wrote:
> WPSE and Stack Exchange sites are not forums in the traditional sense of form and function. They were designed to be a repository of the best answers to specific questions, as their mission says.
>
> People who come to wordpress.org need support many times in terms of simply help to find themselves questions they need to ask; it's tech help for the non-tech, who are many times confused on where to go, what they have, and are emotive about it at times. A back and forth forum discussion helps with those kinds of support, messy as it may be at times.
>
> Taking good responses and making them copy/pasta boilerplate (which is already done) will help people who (sometimes) take the time to search the forums; but flagging the best answer will send non-techlies down the wrong rabbit hole.
>
> -- songdogtech
>
>
> On May 27, 2014, at 1:05 PM, Josh Lobe wrote:
>
>> +1
>> Great point, Chip.
>>
>> (I know Chip has MUCHO experience with this type of system over at WPSE).
>>
>> But.. over at WPSE... I hardly ever/never see other people saying "I have a similar issue......".
>> All answers over there are... well... answers (albeit, some better than others).
>>
>> Chip,
>> How did WPSE get to this point where all topics are kept to the OP?
>>
>> *Josh Lobe*
>> WP Edit Pro <http://wpeditpro.com>
>> Personal Website <http://www.joshlobe.com>
>>
>> On 5/27/2014 2:44 PM, Chip Bennett wrote:
>>> But then, the "best answer" is from the perspective of the OP - and even
>>> with the WPORG support forums, topics are specific to the OP. Other people
>>> with similar/related issues are asked to start their own topic. So, I think
>>> it is fitting with such a model that the OP be able to identify a "best
>>> answer". Whether that's feasible to implement is another matter, of course.
>>>
>>>
>>> On Tue, May 27, 2014 at 1:27 PM, Josh Lobe <joshlobe at joshlobe.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> I do agree that models like "Stack Overflow" do help to find the best
>>>> suited answer (has saved me much time in the past).
>>>> However... I must also admit I've felt "not welcomed" when I post a
>>>> suggestion which does not help/work for the particular issue.
>>>>
>>>> I also think "best answer" might work for Joe... but it might not work for
>>>> Jane.
>>>> I think it places a higher burden on the person looking for an answer.
>>>> Jane might thing Joe's solution will work for her... but when it does
>>>> not... will Jane come back with attitude saying it doesn't work for her?
>>>>
>>>> I'm all for the idea... I LOVE IT :)
>>>> But... how will it affect the newcomers?
>>>>
>>>> Just my $0.02.
>>>>
>>>> *Josh Lobe*
>>>> WP Edit Pro <http://wpeditpro.com>
>>>> Personal Website <http://www.joshlobe.com>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On 5/27/2014 7:57 AM, Jan Dembowski wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> I think it's a good idea but tagging those posts might be better for the
>>>>> make/support P2 instead of the list or on the forums. Those answers as an
>>>>> example could be worked into Jerry's idea about updating the handbook for
>>>>> new contributors.
>>>>>
>>>>> http://make.wordpress.org/support/2014/05/troubleshooting-support-
>>>>> adding-troubleshooting-to-the-support-handbook/
>>>>>
>>>>> Mark want to chime in on that post? ;)
>>>>>
>>>>> It's not that anyone wants to discourage anyone from contributing to
>>>>> support but some answers do standout and should be highlighted. Sometimes
>>>>> members get enthusiastic and recommend a Not So Good™ solution over and
>>>>> over again. The "edit your theme's style.css file" reply is a good example
>>>>> of a not so good reply...
>>>>>
>>>>> Jan Dembowski
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> wp-forums mailing list
>>>>> wp-forums at lists.automattic.com
>>>>> http://lists.automattic.com/mailman/listinfo/wp-forums
>>>>>
>>>>>
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