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Req Option to vote on "best answer" by XXX (Stack Overflow) style! - Printable Version

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Option to vote on "best answer" by XXX (Stack Overflow) style! - Blackkatt - 2013-04-21

PLEASE DO NOT MARK THIS AS SOLVED BEFORE PEOPLE HAVE HAD THE CHANCE TO COMMENT!

Hi guys!

So, here I was trying to help as many as i can at the "Windows Support Thread”. While reading I see a lot of threads/posts which are clearly solved already. Either by reading the responses from users or lack there off. The latter being someone was quick to provide a reasonable answer. But you don't know until you open the post...If not the case, there's a lot of reading coming your way. Until you read it all you do not know if the problem was solved or not! Obviously disregarding, that a user have renamed his thread as solved (or marked it as such?),

very rare this is, so we're back to wasting time and energy, giving less of it to spend helping other users,I like to suggest something like / Option to vote on "best answer" by XXX (Stack Overflow) style! that feature is brilliant!

Example:
Let's say that da-anda has a problem with stuttering video and audio, 6 other users report the same thing. Then, Blackkatt reply, try the following Settings>>System>>Audio output>> at the bottom of the page change both Audio/Passthrough output device to WASAPI, now try again. They now reply, a total of 6 unique post was made in this thread, and 4 out of 6 users found this solution valid, they now hit the vote for “best answer” button, the other 2 hit “did not solve my problem” Like I said, 4/6 users found this useful, by my calculations this post has a high successes rate, out of 6 unique post 4 of them sees this solution as is valid.


RE: Mark post as "best answer" be more efficient - da-anda - 2013-04-21

it's unfortunately not stackoverflow but only a forum. How will/should this work if questions are raised and answered on page 32?


RE: Mark post as "best answer" be more efficient - Blackkatt - 2013-04-21

hmm not sure what you mean, but feel the need to say, good point?


RE: Mark post as "best answer" be more efficient - da-anda - 2013-04-21

Your proposal IMO only works for questions with a dedicated thread, so it won't work for larger threads where users randomly add followup questions on e.g. page 32 (which is the case quite often). Also your proposal would require that the answers to the main question are ordered by "best answer" so that others have the correct answer right in sight and not probably hidden on page 5, which otherwise would still require to read the whole thread (or what was your opinion on that).

I totally get your point, but I don't think it can be applied well to a forum and it most likely would take too much hacks to get it in and limit it only to a subsection (doesn't make sense all over the forum).
IMO best would be to create a service/system like stackoverflow, but outside the forum (using the same login credentials/single sign-on).


RE: Mark post as "best answer" be more efficient - Blackkatt - 2013-04-21

(2013-04-21, 19:11)da-anda Wrote: Your proposal IMO only works for questions with a dedicated thread, so it won't work for larger threads where users randomly add followup questions on e.g. page 32 (which is the case quite often). Also your proposal would require that the answers to the main question are ordered by "best answer" so that others have the correct answer right in sight and not probably hidden on page 5, which otherwise would still require to read the whole thread (or what was your opinion on that).

I totally get your point, but I don't think it can be applied well to a forum and it most likely would take too much hacks to get it in and limit it only to a subsection (doesn't make sense all over the forum).
IMO best would be to create a service/system like stackoverflow, but outside the forum (using the same login credentials/single sign-on).

Most of the threads I've read today its obvious that the issue has been resolved, either by the user confirming or from the lack of reply as the answer given is given by an XBMC crew member who knows about the issue or in other ways have the solution. If my suggestion would work here is unclear, however what would work here is the XBMC crew member marking it as solved! as it clearly is.

More over, the technical aspect of this I haven't fully worked out. But regarding this

Quote:Your proposal IMO only works for questions with a dedicated thread, so it won't work for larger threads where users randomly add followup questions on e.g. page 32 (which is the case quite often)

When a post has been voted as "best answer" the thread will be (after review from mod) marked as "solved" it could then say on the first page "best answer" provided by "the user" so that for anyone having the same problem they would not have to go trough the whole thread to find the solution and the "helpers" could move on to the next thread


RE: Mark post as "best answer" be more efficient - da-anda - 2013-04-21

could work. Should be possible to show the best answer as second post on "resolved" threads. Would require quite some tweaking though. Will think about it, but my time is quite limited the next 4-5 weeks.


RE: Mark post as "best answer" be more efficient - Blackkatt - 2014-01-27

As I have time to read the forum atm it again struck me how time consuming/waste of time, it is going thought post and find them "solved" already, so i came to think of my suggestion yet again, any updates on this? Smile


RE: Mark post as "best answer" be more efficient - jmarshall - 2014-01-27

You can tag a thread as SOLVED - is this not being done enough perhaps?


RE: Mark post as "best answer" be more efficient - Martijn - 2014-01-27

Best answer isn't something that can be used effectively. "best answers" should be on the wiki pages and on the FAQ pages. The rest is custom answers or people who didn't read the wiki or want more clarification


RE: Mark post as "best answer" be more efficient - un1versal - 2014-01-30

Its quite frustrating, when its easier to mark a thread as solved then to ask the user to do it, simply because marking as solved is not a obvious and simple straightforward for users. Often when you ask someone to mark something as solved,

A real world example 10 users are asked to mark it as solved - 6 will ask how do I do that (the resulting explanation is way longer then it should), 2 will edit the subject line and add the word solved and 2 will never do it al all.

Moderators dont do this often enough for users and ppl like me cant do jack but give instructions of instructions of instructions or write the instructions yourself and link them on everyreply.
The only tool available is report post. < not what its meant for.

Its similar to instructing users how to post a screenshot on forums, frustrating doesnt even begin to cover how difficult things are made in a forum that is dedicated to gathering information and maybe even document things like the most popular solutions/problems on wiki.


RE: Mark post as "best answer" be more efficient - Blackkatt - 2014-12-03

(2014-01-27, 22:05)Martijn Wrote: Best answer isn't something that can be used effectively. "best answers" should be on the wiki pages and on the FAQ pages. The rest is custom answers or people who didn't read the wiki or want more clarification

That is very true indeed!

(2014-01-27, 21:23)jmarshall Wrote: You can tag a thread as SOLVED - is this not being done enough perhaps?

Unsure if that was available back then?


RE: Mark post as "best answer" be more efficient - HawkFest - 2014-12-10

(2014-12-03, 16:16)Blackkatt Wrote:
(2014-01-27, 22:05)Martijn Wrote: Best answer isn't something that can be used effectively. "best answers" should be on the wiki pages and on the FAQ pages. The rest is custom answers or people who didn't read the wiki or want more clarification

That is very true indeed!

(2014-01-27, 21:23)jmarshall Wrote: You can tag a thread as SOLVED - is this not being done enough perhaps?

Unsure if that was available back then?
Your last answer, amongst other individual situations/contexts, shows why this wouldn't be suitable for a forum : what if the actual "best answer" has been posted a year after one "best answer" has already been chosen? That new "best answer" would be silenced for newcomers, by an unrealistic "determinism" setting boundaries over time, instead of over the topic itself and the technologies that are involved: if we find ourselves to thrive in an evolving environment, then the "best answer" also has to evolve (as long as the topic exists on the medium... As such being somewhat atemporal discussions about "best answers"). Especially in regards to technology and the variety of hardware configuration, complexity (and thus "choice"), one answer could be the best for this user while that other answer would be the best for another. Yes Windows is Windows, not Linux, thus narrowing the array of different scenarios to Windows, but even then there are many contexts :codecs in use, networking availability, scope of the PC in question and its related hardware, scope of the use of Kodi itself, etc... Personally I have found many of my answers for a given topic after having read multiple posts : in most occasions, my "best answer" can be formulated from more than one post, looking up for the similarities leading onto a path for my own scenario (and then try it).

IMHO, wanting the "best answer" to be given by solely one post, in regards to most forum topics here this would be like wanting one post to serve as a complete reference guide, a book answering all the different possibilities etc.. It's like wishing for the essential discussions raising all the answers that could lead to a book, to take place after the book : to work backwards which of course is impossible.

For that matter and IMHO, what should be considered would be for the "owner" of a thread to have the possibility to maintain a "sticker post", where he/she could fill in what is considered by the thread's community to be relevant points, issues and answers, throughout the discussion (of course as an option for the OP - this can actually be done by posting a second blank after the first, but it's awkward).


RE: Mark post as "best answer" be more efficient - Blackkatt - 2014-12-10

(2014-12-10, 21:43)HawkFest Wrote:
(2014-12-03, 16:16)Blackkatt Wrote:
(2014-01-27, 22:05)Martijn Wrote: Best answer isn't something that can be used effectively. "best answers" should be on the wiki pages and on the FAQ pages. The rest is custom answers or people who didn't read the wiki or want more clarification

That is very true indeed!

(2014-01-27, 21:23)jmarshall Wrote: You can tag a thread as SOLVED - is this not being done enough perhaps?

Unsure if that was available back then?
Your last answer, amongst other individual situations/contexts, shows why this wouldn't be suitable for a forum : what if the actual "best answer" has been posted a year after one "best answer" has already been chosen? That new "best answer" would be silenced for newcomers, by an unrealistic "determinism" setting boundaries over time, instead of over the topic itself and the technologies that are involved: if we find ourselves to thrive in an evolving environment, then the "best answer" also has to evolve (as long as the topic exists on the medium... As such being somewhat atemporal discussions about "best answers"). Especially in regards to technology and the variety of hardware configuration, complexity (and thus "choice"), one answer could be the best for this user while that other answer would be the best for another. Yes Windows is Windows, not Linux, thus narrowing the array of different scenarios to Windows, but even then there are many contexts :codecs in use, networking availability, scope of the PC in question and its related hardware, scope of the use of Kodi itself, etc... Personally I have found many of my answers for a given topic after having read multiple posts : in most occasions, my "best answer" can be formulated from more than one post, looking up for the similarities leading onto a path for my own scenario (and then try it).

IMHO, wanting the "best answer" to be given by solely one post, in regards to most forum topics here this would be like wanting one post to serve as a complete reference guide, a book answering all the different possibilities etc.. It's like wishing for the essential discussions raising all the answers that could lead to a book, to take place after the book : to work backwards which of course is impossible.

hmm what? You made everything sound soooo complicated, not even sure I get it all.

Stack Overflow have "vote on best answer" this method is brilliant and saves A LOT of time. Most of time there ain't that many replies to one question, compared to this forum it would be amazing. I have not had the time to look if somethings has changed sense I first posted this thread. But if the same, it is a huge struggle helping others because have to go through the whole thread...

Reading my initial post, I find, it explains exactly what I mean and why such thing is needed...not sure what is unclear =/ (oops, previous topic was misleading, corrected now.)


RE: Option to vote on "best answer" by XXX (Stack Overflow) style! - HawkFest - 2014-12-10

(2014-12-10, 21:48)Blackkatt Wrote: hmm what? You made everything sound soooo complicated, not even sure I get it all.

Stack Overflow have "vote on best answer" this method is brilliant and saves A LOT of time. Most of time there ain't that many replies to one question, compared to this forum it would be amazing. I have not had the time to look if somethings has changed sense I first posted this thread. But if the same, it is a huge struggle helping others because have to go through the whole thread...

Reading my initial post, I find, it explains exactly what I mean and why such thing is needed...not sure what is unclear =/ (oops, previous topic was misleading, corrected now.)
I understand that mechanism, it's also used by other forums like Tom's Hardware where you have the "best answer as voted by the community" to be on top. Very useful indeed, it saves a lot of time for many straightforward topics about very specific issues (i.e. the access to some function in a given software). But they're not all like this, the "sticky post" is another/complement solution. (to make things short as a riddle: not all thoughts can hold on a bumper car sticker - sry fo that headache)


RE: Option to vote on "best answer" by XXX (Stack Overflow) style! - Blackkatt - 2014-12-10

(2014-12-10, 22:23)HawkFest Wrote:
(2014-12-10, 21:48)Blackkatt Wrote: hmm what? You made everything sound soooo complicated, not even sure I get it all.

Stack Overflow have "vote on best answer" this method is brilliant and saves A LOT of time. Most of time there ain't that many replies to one question, compared to this forum it would be amazing. I have not had the time to look if somethings has changed sense I first posted this thread. But if the same, it is a huge struggle helping others because have to go through the whole thread...

Reading my initial post, I find, it explains exactly what I mean and why such thing is needed...not sure what is unclear =/ (oops, previous topic was misleading, corrected now.)
I understand that mechanism, it's also used by other forums like Tom's Hardware where you have the "best answer as voted by the community" to be on top. Very useful indeed, it saves a lot of time for many straightforward topics about very specific issues (i.e. the access to some function in a given software). But they're not all like this, the "sticky post" is another/complement solution. (to make things short as a riddle: not all thoughts can hold on a bumper car sticker - sry fo that headache)

Well yeah, but I am talking about support threads. Its not meant for "sticky post" or anything other than. Plus "sticky posts" are locked for that matter =)