I’ve been using several threads today to resolve an issue.
The sum total gave me both the immediate answer and made me think about what I was actually trying to achieve with the data (and the impossibility of one avenue I was pursuing).
All the threads were from a few years ago. I know this site recommends to check existing threads before posting; after all, why ask how to invent the wheel if the instructions are already posted.
But how to express thanks afterwards? I have sometimes posted to older threads but it seems a little inappropriate just to raise a “thank you” post for a thread inactive for years.
I wonder whether there could be a voting button along the lines of “was this thread useful to you”. Useful both to express gratitude and to monitor the continued utility of these older threads.
We really need to figure out a way to publicize this feature because it drives a number of things. First, as you say, we’re sitting on a gold mine of user-supplied and very useful information. We really do encourage folks to search and make use of the older information, in many cases it’s still very valid. Clicking the star icon (which by the way appears at the top and bottom of every topic) is how you can “vote up” the topic. There is another icon that lets you bookmark the topic for easy reference later on.
Adding a star point to a topic not only flags the topic as being helpful, it moves the topic to the front of the search results.
But to date only a small percentage of our topics have been marked, and only a very small percentage of folks appear to be using the feature. How can we change that? What can we do to help people know about this feature and start using it?
For users with less than 10 / 50 / 100 posts, say, you could display a message the first time they submit a reply to a particular thread along the lines of “was this thread of use to you if so click here to allocate it a point.”
(BOB member since 2008-05-12)
(BOB member since 2002-06-06)
(BOB member since 2002-08-15)