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Works with Firefox, why not TR?

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7 replies

by oz_media

Closed to new repliesThis discussion is closed. It stays readable, but it takes no new replies.

It seems that Firefox has found a way to stop people posting technical questions in their talkback forum.

A simple comment when opening the TalkBack forum page;

[b]"This talk page is not for support questions. If you have a question or an issue with any of the Mozilla products, [u]use the forums[/u] [/b]

...use the forums, is a direct link to their techincal forums.

Is it really brian surgery or a 5 minute fix?

7 replies

by house

Mozilla is trying to avoid an overflow of misplaced posts. That is very understandable. Unlike TR, it is a support forum, not a commercial site.

TR does not want to do anything to hamper the steady traffic that is coming through - an extra step or warning may actually reduce the amount of traffic. Then again, it may also promote the quality of the site in the long run. It is a difficult decision for a commercial site to make. The solution may seem obvious to us, but there are more factors involved than simply keeping the regulars happy.

by oz_media

How would a simple sentence and, a LINK to the correct page, reduce the number of site users?

Once the word gets out that peopleposting on TR don't get replies it would be more detrimental wouldn't it?

I know people have complained abut it before. To paraphrase similar comments, 'This is supposed to be a tech support site, but my question didn't get ANY ansers but a political discussion got HUNDREDS.'

It has been said.

SO wouldn't it be SMARTER to place a single sentence and a direct link to the correct forum on the page where you select a topic and post your question/disussion?

How is such a simple and unobtrusive system seen as detrimental ?!?!? NO extra steps, no 'warning' just information to help people better navigate the site and get beter response from their posts.

A navigation IMPROVEMENT is NEVER a bad thing for a website, no matter what your product, service or intent is. Unless the intent is to make it harder for people to navigate and then they get pissed off at people telling them where ot post.

Here's a recent reply from someone who got pissed off for no reason, I had offered him some input and then suggested posting in Tech Q&A. THer was then a SIDE thread about people sending me peer mail with questions (not with the original poster involved at all) and he got all pissed off about it. SO when I rudely corrected him and met his flames with the same, even then I still explained WHY this was an issue, he offered he following reply.

" [b]Uhuh ...[/b]
In order to DISCUSS, you must first QUESTION. So therefore, if I was in "the wrong place" with my QUESTION,[b] then TR would direct me.[/b][i]No they wouldn't[/i] Patrons of TR don't need ignorance in their quidance. (which seems to be the flow in a lot of responses) Instead of "reaming us out" for posting in the wrong place, why don't you suggest to TR to put a "helpful hint" at the start of the discussions and tech q&a pages that states what they are intended for. Instead of just posting to people's questions with condecending commentary. I think that would be just a tad more productive in the "not pissing people off" category."

SO I guess it's not such a bad idea afterall. People who post here and didn't know abotu the differences in the forums are also getting pissed of at a LACK OF NAVIGATION!!!!

[b]"why don't you suggest to TR to put a "helpful hint" at the start of the discussions and tech q&a pages that states what they are intended for"[/b]

I know there's nothing YOU can do about it, and the TR boys seem to be preoccupied, and THAT's why nothing has ever been done about the SIMPLEST issue to resolve on TR, andone of the most annoying too. I have downloaded their CSS pages and added the comment in about 3 minutes, I REALLY don't see what the problem is with this stupid little issue that seems so daunting.

It is REALLY starting to piss me off. I couldn't give two sh*ts about avatars, lets fix the damn site first!

It's time we pushed for improvement,not bells and whistles. TR wants to draw mroe people it seems, but have little interest in fixing existing issues wih the simplest of solutions.

by house

I agree.

This is not a tech-support site though. This is a tech resource site, with the added functionality of the discussion forums and the Q&A. Although we spread through the forums like the plague, there is so much more to TR than a simple slug fest.

Either way... I do not see an issue with the extra link.

by hal 9000

Of some of the curt responses that are posted to questions in the discussion forums as well. To me this is far more off putting that having a simple link to the right site for a question.

I wonder just how many people get put off when they get response like "This is a Discussion forum post this question to the T Q & A section."

While I('m not apposed to answering a few questions in the discussion forums I always advise the people involved of the advantages of posting questions in the proper section but I've seen a few peers here who are not quite as accommodating to new members.

Col

by Jay Garmon

[Looking over shoulder in case boss is watching]

Hey guys. First, I thought I'd let you know that you've won a certain small victory. The notion of merging Discussions and Tech Q&A has been more or less dismissed. The features will stay separate, though a mingling of feeds from both areas will appear in certain places (people who put, say, BFilmFan in their contacts will be able to get a condensed stream of his posts in both Tech Q&A and Discussions, rather than an either/or choice from each forum).

What we're looking at now, besides some miraculous means of ripping out our failed TechPoints scoring system from the heart of the Tech Q&A architecture, is probably a merged form interface. There will be one "start a thread" form, with a toggle for submitting either to Tech Q&A or Discussions. The form will include a brief bit of copy explaining the distinction. You won't be able to start a thread without confronting this choice.

Now, all we need is permission to build it.

[Looking over shoulder a second time, in case boss is watching]

It's not going to be soon, folks. As much as we'd like to fix what's wrong at TR (Tech Q&A, on-site search, user-moderation), the top brass are screaming for more bells and whistles first. We've been told in no uncertain terms that our top two priorities right now are "driving profile completion" and "implementing some kind of tagging functionality."

So long as the guys signing the paychecks want that, we're stuck. The sooner we cross this stuff off the list, the better.

In the meantime, does our notion of how to fix Tech Q&A sound workable? We'd like to have a clear, clean idea that we can implement quickly once we get a window of opportunity.

1) A single form, with a choice of Tech Q&A or Discussions as your destination, and a description of the difference.

2) We abandon TechPoints, but we we monitor ratings/closings/responses from those who ask questions, and factor good/bad behavior into their meter and badges. Never close a question? You'll be stamped as a "taker" and everyone will know it.

3) We limit the number of open questions you can have at one time. Have too many open, unrated questions? Well, you can't start another one until you've closed an old one. Close an old one without rating/responding, and your meter will suffer.

4) We surface questions on your signature. That little box with your rating meter that follows you around? We add a "Help this user" link that takes you to that person's open questions. If somebody helps you, you now have a quick and easy way of returning the favor. We may even give extra meter bumps to people who answers questions through this link path.

There, that's the plan. Now sound off.

--Jay

by hal 9000

Bloody marvelous to me.

I really like the idea of not being able to post Questions in the Discussion side of things and vise versa although so far that hasn't been much of a problem.

The main problem that I've found on the T Q & A side of things is that a lot of people don't know what or how to ask a question and go about it all wrong so they do not get the help that they want and maybe are even given the wrong answers to what they want and not what they have asked for. Maybe some form of search engine before they can post a question might save a lot of their and our time as well.

Yes I know I'm dreaming aren't I? :(

As far as the powers that be are concerned try dropping a bit of Bromide in their Dedicated Coffee machines that will keep them off your backs for a while at least and help make them frustrated without knowing it. If you put enough in they will just sit at their desks looking blankly into space. Now depending on what they actually like you could use the sugar or other non fat sweetener to administer the drug and they would never know. :)

One day I'll tell you what made me think of that one but you will not want any tea or coffee around at the time.

Col ]:)

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