You say you want a resolution, well... March 29, 2012 6:06 AM Subscribe
Having the "AskMe Tick" go up upon resolution rather than Best Answer?
A passing comment in a talk post reminded me of a little issue that I've thought of in the past.
When you mark a best answer, the tick goes up on the AskMe frontpage, and psychologically I at least would be slightly less inclined to look at it if it were in my field of knowledge as the answer evidently has already been provided. This often seems counterproductive. Recommendation threads (for example) benefit from having best answers marked in the midst of people's answering to steer them in the right direction with future replies; but then they take a bit of a psychological hit in people checking in by appearing to be already answered.
Given that I have been reminded to mark my answers as resolved, would it be better to reserve the tick for when this tag goes up? That would make the status of questions much more unequivocal from outside.
A passing comment in a talk post reminded me of a little issue that I've thought of in the past.
When you mark a best answer, the tick goes up on the AskMe frontpage, and psychologically I at least would be slightly less inclined to look at it if it were in my field of knowledge as the answer evidently has already been provided. This often seems counterproductive. Recommendation threads (for example) benefit from having best answers marked in the midst of people's answering to steer them in the right direction with future replies; but then they take a bit of a psychological hit in people checking in by appearing to be already answered.
Given that I have been reminded to mark my answers as resolved, would it be better to reserve the tick for when this tag goes up? That would make the status of questions much more unequivocal from outside.
Every so often I forget it doesn't already work this way and I'm surprised.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 6:28 AM on March 29, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 6:28 AM on March 29, 2012 [1 favorite]
I think it might be better to get make sure we're communicating effectively what a best answer means for a user's question. I agree that what you are seeing is a problem. I think if we retool how AskMe works it may confuse as much as it helps. Right now the way things work is that people are prompted to leave best answers and mark things as resolved a month after asking their question. Many users do this early and some do this really in the first few hours a question is open which I think is a problematic thing but I'm not sure if changing what the check mark means is the best way to do this but we're open to suggestions.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 6:30 AM on March 29, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 6:30 AM on March 29, 2012 [2 favorites]
I think this is a great idea, but only if you also do something like add a button that will add the "resolved" tag to the question, rather than having to manually type out "resolved" in the tag entry form or whatever. And then maybe mention that button in the question input sheet or e-mail you get when it asks you to mark your question as resolved or something?
posted by Grither at 6:42 AM on March 29, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Grither at 6:42 AM on March 29, 2012 [1 favorite]
Grither, there already is a button that marks a question as resolved that automatically adds the "resolved" tag. For the OP, it's right beside the "add as favourite" button.
posted by Phire at 6:48 AM on March 29, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Phire at 6:48 AM on March 29, 2012 [1 favorite]
I'm pretty ambivalent about this pony but I do very much like Grither's sub-pony. I was confused about how to mark questions as resolved for quite some time. Yes, I know there are instructions in the reminder MeMail, but I still didn't cue in to the idea that the site was scanning for that specific string in the tags.
posted by Scientist at 6:51 AM on March 29, 2012
posted by Scientist at 6:51 AM on March 29, 2012
Hey, so there is Phire. I definitely never noticed that before.
posted by Scientist at 6:52 AM on March 29, 2012
posted by Scientist at 6:52 AM on March 29, 2012
Phire: "Grither, there already is a button that marks a question as resolved that automatically adds the "resolved" tag. For the OP, it's right beside the "add as favourite" button"
Heh. Well fine then. I just like the OP's idea in that case.
posted by Grither at 6:55 AM on March 29, 2012
Heh. Well fine then. I just like the OP's idea in that case.
posted by Grither at 6:55 AM on March 29, 2012
I think the problem is more in the fact that for different question types a best answer means different things.
If I'm asking what player hit the 574th home run in Atlanta Braves franchise history in games played on a Tuesday then there's only 1 answer.
If I'm asking what bands I should listen to considering that I like Ben Folds and Avenged Sevenfold then a best answer is more of a case where I like the answer. There isn't a right answer, there's just answers that show me bands that I like.
To me, a check mark means that there's a right answer and we can move on.
That being said, I read the questions before I see if there's a check mark. If it's something like my first example I only open the thread if I'm curious about what the answer is.
If it's something like my second example I'll still open it to give an answer because I know that the culture of the site means some answers will be marked as best but the OP might still be looking at the thread for other right answers.
I support this change.
Or, if you don't want to mess with the current conventions, adding a new graphic to represent the question being resolved.
posted by theichibun at 7:21 AM on March 29, 2012 [1 favorite]
If I'm asking what player hit the 574th home run in Atlanta Braves franchise history in games played on a Tuesday then there's only 1 answer.
If I'm asking what bands I should listen to considering that I like Ben Folds and Avenged Sevenfold then a best answer is more of a case where I like the answer. There isn't a right answer, there's just answers that show me bands that I like.
To me, a check mark means that there's a right answer and we can move on.
That being said, I read the questions before I see if there's a check mark. If it's something like my first example I only open the thread if I'm curious about what the answer is.
If it's something like my second example I'll still open it to give an answer because I know that the culture of the site means some answers will be marked as best but the OP might still be looking at the thread for other right answers.
I support this change.
Or, if you don't want to mess with the current conventions, adding a new graphic to represent the question being resolved.
posted by theichibun at 7:21 AM on March 29, 2012 [1 favorite]
When you mark a best answer, the tick goes up on the AskMe frontpage, and psychologically I at least would be slightly less inclined to look at it if it were in my field of knowledge as the answer evidently has already been provided.
I don't really get it. In a question with a correct answer, what is the difference between "best answer" and "resolved"? Why would someone mark a best answer but not mark it as resolved?
posted by smackfu at 7:29 AM on March 29, 2012
I don't really get it. In a question with a correct answer, what is the difference between "best answer" and "resolved"? Why would someone mark a best answer but not mark it as resolved?
posted by smackfu at 7:29 AM on March 29, 2012
I think it would be neat to have two separate buttons, "good answer" and "best answer." Good answer is when I'm looking for movie recommendations and check all the ones that sound cool, and does not add a green check mark to the AskMe frontpage. Best answer is for the One Correct Answer to a factual question and adds a check mark to indicate that shit got cleared up. In this scheme, "best answer" could replace "resolved."
posted by theodolite at 7:31 AM on March 29, 2012 [5 favorites]
posted by theodolite at 7:31 AM on March 29, 2012 [5 favorites]
Why would someone mark a best answer but not mark it as resolved?
posted by smackfu at 7:29 AM on March 29, 2012
I have also wondered this.
posted by unliteral at 7:33 AM on March 29, 2012
posted by smackfu at 7:29 AM on March 29, 2012
I have also wondered this.
posted by unliteral at 7:33 AM on March 29, 2012
I think it would be neat to have two separate buttons, "good answer" and "best answer."
It's really something you would prompt for when they ask the question: does this question have a single answer?
posted by smackfu at 7:36 AM on March 29, 2012
It's really something you would prompt for when they ask the question: does this question have a single answer?
posted by smackfu at 7:36 AM on March 29, 2012
I think this is a great idea, but only if you also do something like add a button that will add the "resolved" tag to the question, rather than having to manually type out "resolved" in the tag entry form or whatever.
Yes. The "resolved" tag is fine as far as it goes, but many people aren't aware of it, and people generally don't go to the trouble of manually typing out a specific word. As long as "best answers" are the thing that can be marked by just one click of a mouse, people are going to keep using them all the time. We can say that people shouldn't be as quick to mark best answers (without considering whether those are really the best answers and being aware that this might dissuade additional people from answering, etc.), but that probably won't change the fact that people do mark best answers as much as they do.
posted by John Cohen at 7:37 AM on March 29, 2012
Yes. The "resolved" tag is fine as far as it goes, but many people aren't aware of it, and people generally don't go to the trouble of manually typing out a specific word. As long as "best answers" are the thing that can be marked by just one click of a mouse, people are going to keep using them all the time. We can say that people shouldn't be as quick to mark best answers (without considering whether those are really the best answers and being aware that this might dissuade additional people from answering, etc.), but that probably won't change the fact that people do mark best answers as much as they do.
posted by John Cohen at 7:37 AM on March 29, 2012
Why would someone mark a best answer but not mark it as resolved?
If your problem isn't yet completely resolved (or at least you don't want to make an irrevocable statement to that effect), but you can tell that certain answers are better than others (or at least you're comfortable making a revocable statement to that effect).
posted by John Cohen at 7:38 AM on March 29, 2012 [1 favorite]
If your problem isn't yet completely resolved (or at least you don't want to make an irrevocable statement to that effect), but you can tell that certain answers are better than others (or at least you're comfortable making a revocable statement to that effect).
posted by John Cohen at 7:38 AM on March 29, 2012 [1 favorite]
smackfu: "Why would someone mark a best answer but not mark it as resolved?"
I'm guessing reason #1 is "Whoops, I forgot!"
posted by Grither at 7:39 AM on March 29, 2012
I'm guessing reason #1 is "Whoops, I forgot!"
posted by Grither at 7:39 AM on March 29, 2012
Here's the problem... there are four cases:
1) Only marked resolved, no best answer.
2) Only best answer, resolved but not marked resolved.
3) Only best answer, not resolved yet.
4) Marked resolved and best answer.
The poster here uses the green check to mean "doesn't want more answers". That is case (1), (2), (4).
Currently the green check is in cases (2), (3), and (4). So it isn't quite matching up.
The proposal is to change it to cases (1) and (4). This also doesn't quite match up.
So is there any real benefit?
posted by smackfu at 7:48 AM on March 29, 2012
1) Only marked resolved, no best answer.
2) Only best answer, resolved but not marked resolved.
3) Only best answer, not resolved yet.
4) Marked resolved and best answer.
The poster here uses the green check to mean "doesn't want more answers". That is case (1), (2), (4).
Currently the green check is in cases (2), (3), and (4). So it isn't quite matching up.
The proposal is to change it to cases (1) and (4). This also doesn't quite match up.
So is there any real benefit?
posted by smackfu at 7:48 AM on March 29, 2012
Why would someone mark a best answer but not mark it as resolved?
In my most recent AskMe, it's easy to pick a best answer but it doesn't mean I'm going to specifically choose that answer or that I don't want more answers.
Best Answer means out off the suggestions offered, this (or these) answer come closest to giving an answer. But they don't mean the question itself is resolved.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:59 AM on March 29, 2012
In my most recent AskMe, it's easy to pick a best answer but it doesn't mean I'm going to specifically choose that answer or that I don't want more answers.
Best Answer means out off the suggestions offered, this (or these) answer come closest to giving an answer. But they don't mean the question itself is resolved.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:59 AM on March 29, 2012
Also, there's answers like this one, which don't specifically answer the question, but do offer a great suggestion to the broader situation/question. Marking it as Best Answer obviously doesn't meant the AskMe is resolved.
The underlying point is that Best Answer isn't an objective qualifier in AskMe, so linking it to resolving the question is too confining.
For what it's worth, I've never used the resolved tag because it never comes up and I'm don't know what purpose it actually serves.
When you mark a best answer, the tick goes up on the AskMe frontpage, and psychologically I at least would be slightly less inclined to look at it if it were in my field of knowledge as the answer evidently has already been provided.
Seeing that a complex or interesting question has the Best Answer tick makes me more inclined to read it, because I can cut through the chaff and get to the answer quicker. There are lots of different ways to read the site and making a change that disrupts how some people do so should be carefully considered.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:11 AM on March 29, 2012 [1 favorite]
The underlying point is that Best Answer isn't an objective qualifier in AskMe, so linking it to resolving the question is too confining.
For what it's worth, I've never used the resolved tag because it never comes up and I'm don't know what purpose it actually serves.
When you mark a best answer, the tick goes up on the AskMe frontpage, and psychologically I at least would be slightly less inclined to look at it if it were in my field of knowledge as the answer evidently has already been provided.
Seeing that a complex or interesting question has the Best Answer tick makes me more inclined to read it, because I can cut through the chaff and get to the answer quicker. There are lots of different ways to read the site and making a change that disrupts how some people do so should be carefully considered.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:11 AM on March 29, 2012 [1 favorite]
If I'm asking what player hit the 574th home run in Atlanta Braves franchise history in games played on a Tuesday then there's only 1 answer.
So is somebody going to answer this or not?
posted by MCMikeNamara at 8:29 AM on March 29, 2012
So is somebody going to answer this or not?
posted by MCMikeNamara at 8:29 AM on March 29, 2012
Oops posted to soon...
I completely understand this request, but I also wish that it would just be resolved by people selecting the Best Answer differently (as if the question is resolved)
posted by MCMikeNamara at 8:32 AM on March 29, 2012
I completely understand this request, but I also wish that it would just be resolved by people selecting the Best Answer differently (as if the question is resolved)
posted by MCMikeNamara at 8:32 AM on March 29, 2012
...people generally don't go to the trouble of manually typing out a specific word.
We currently have a [mark resolved] link in the post byline. So marking a post as resolved is also a one-click operation. And when we send Ask MetaFilter follow-up mail a month after a question has been asked, we provide a one-click link to mark the question as resolved from there. So we have some ways that make marking a post resolved easier than typing out the tag.
posted by pb (staff) at 8:45 AM on March 29, 2012 [1 favorite]
We currently have a [mark resolved] link in the post byline. So marking a post as resolved is also a one-click operation. And when we send Ask MetaFilter follow-up mail a month after a question has been asked, we provide a one-click link to mark the question as resolved from there. So we have some ways that make marking a post resolved easier than typing out the tag.
posted by pb (staff) at 8:45 AM on March 29, 2012 [1 favorite]
How about:
Yellow Check mark: Has at least one Best Answer marked, has not been tagged Resolved
Green Check mark: Has been tagged Resolved, regardless of whether Best Answers have been marked.
posted by radwolf76 at 8:47 AM on March 29, 2012 [3 favorites]
Yellow Check mark: Has at least one Best Answer marked, has not been tagged Resolved
Green Check mark: Has been tagged Resolved, regardless of whether Best Answers have been marked.
posted by radwolf76 at 8:47 AM on March 29, 2012 [3 favorites]
Why would someone mark a best answer but not mark it as resolved?
I have a feeling that I've never marked anything resolved, though I always mark best answers at some point.
The reason being my questions are mostly somewhat open-ended, and while there may be great answers given, that doesn't mean there couldn't be be further great answers that provide additional value.
Btw I do cringe inwardly a little bit at the idea of multiple things being marked "best". I ignore the word "best", and what I mean when I mark something as best is that it is either "notable" or "especially useful".
posted by philipy at 8:48 AM on March 29, 2012 [1 favorite]
I have a feeling that I've never marked anything resolved, though I always mark best answers at some point.
The reason being my questions are mostly somewhat open-ended, and while there may be great answers given, that doesn't mean there couldn't be be further great answers that provide additional value.
Btw I do cringe inwardly a little bit at the idea of multiple things being marked "best". I ignore the word "best", and what I mean when I mark something as best is that it is either "notable" or "especially useful".
posted by philipy at 8:48 AM on March 29, 2012 [1 favorite]
I definitely never noticed the "mark resolved" link, despite efforts to point it out to me in reminder emails and such. I think the problem is that it's kinda hidden down there in the byline of the post. Would it maybe be more visible if it were a button instead of a link, and were maybe moved so that it sad under/inside of the Tags box? Maybe there's a reason that it is the way it is now, I'm just kinda throwing ideas out there.
Also, I am also unclear on what the difference is between marking a question resolved and marking an answer Best Answer. Is this just sort of one of those Things That Happened, along the lines of the Fantastic flag and Favorites, where the site just kinda grew that way?
posted by Scientist at 8:49 AM on March 29, 2012
Also, I am also unclear on what the difference is between marking a question resolved and marking an answer Best Answer. Is this just sort of one of those Things That Happened, along the lines of the Fantastic flag and Favorites, where the site just kinda grew that way?
posted by Scientist at 8:49 AM on March 29, 2012
(And if we wanted to get silly about it, Red Check mark: the first Best Answer has been marked on a Moderator-posted comment that is entirely in small text when there have been answers previously deleted in the thread, indicating that the only thing helpful so far was the Moderator calling out people on their shenanigans.)
posted by radwolf76 at 8:53 AM on March 29, 2012
posted by radwolf76 at 8:53 AM on March 29, 2012
We should have marquee around resolved questions, just to set them apart from the ones with best answer flags. Give the Green a little Broadway panache.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 9:00 AM on March 29, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 9:00 AM on March 29, 2012 [3 favorites]
Clearly, "best answer" as used doesn't mean the objective best answer, otherwise there'd be no point to keeping the question open.
"best answer", as things stand:Outside the thread
We're a perverse bunch, so there may be other use cases I haven't thought of.
Yellow Check mark: Has at least one Best Answer marked, has not been tagged Resolved
Green Check mark: Has been tagged Resolved, regardless of whether Best Answers have been marked.
I don't know about reusing the same character, particularly if the point of difference is to make it look even more like a link. Maybe we could use stars for good answers, and checks for resolved?
(I suggested making the check mark a link a while ago, and it didn't go well.)
posted by zamboni at 9:00 AM on March 29, 2012
"best answer", as things stand:
- Inside the thread
- indicates which answers are pertinent
- rewards good answers
- this question has answers that might be worth reading
- this question may already have been answered
Yellow Check mark: Has at least one Best Answer marked, has not been tagged Resolved
Green Check mark: Has been tagged Resolved, regardless of whether Best Answers have been marked.
I don't know about reusing the same character, particularly if the point of difference is to make it look even more like a link. Maybe we could use stars for good answers, and checks for resolved?
(I suggested making the check mark a link a while ago, and it didn't go well.)
posted by zamboni at 9:00 AM on March 29, 2012
In a question with a correct answer, what is the difference between "best answer" and "resolved"? Why would someone mark a best answer but not mark it as resolved?
When I'm looking for recommendations answers can be "best" IE: good. However I don't want to imply I don't want more answers so I don't mark them resolved.
posted by Mitheral at 9:00 AM on March 29, 2012 [1 favorite]
When I'm looking for recommendations answers can be "best" IE: good. However I don't want to imply I don't want more answers so I don't mark them resolved.
posted by Mitheral at 9:00 AM on March 29, 2012 [1 favorite]
zamboni: "
I don't know about reusing the same character, particularly if the point of difference is to make it look even more like a link. Maybe we could use stars for good answers, and checks for resolved?"
And a Red X for my corner-case scenario.
posted by radwolf76 at 9:07 AM on March 29, 2012
I don't know about reusing the same character, particularly if the point of difference is to make it look even more like a link. Maybe we could use stars for good answers, and checks for resolved?"
And a Red X for my corner-case scenario.
posted by radwolf76 at 9:07 AM on March 29, 2012
Generally, I do not notice if an answer has been marked resolved. The check mark is prominent outside the thread, and the boxed answers are really visible inside the thread. I do think the resolved part should be made more visible both inside and outside.
posted by vegartanipla at 9:46 AM on March 29, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by vegartanipla at 9:46 AM on March 29, 2012 [1 favorite]
I've seen lots of cases where "Best Answer" is used by the asker as both a kind of "thank you for a really thoughtful answer" and as a "yes, this right here is the kind of answer I'm looking for." These seem to me to be useful (the first socially useful, the second useful as a way of steering responders in the right direction. Obviously these only apply in cases where the question is open to multiple different possible responses (questions of the kind "I like X band, what other music might I like?").
I think if we have a button that marks "resolved" there's no reason to make "Best Answer" do double duty. Let "resolved" mean "resolved" and "best answer" mean "best answer."
posted by yoink at 10:38 AM on March 29, 2012
I think if we have a button that marks "resolved" there's no reason to make "Best Answer" do double duty. Let "resolved" mean "resolved" and "best answer" mean "best answer."
posted by yoink at 10:38 AM on March 29, 2012
At the end of the day, if it's a factual question and it has best answer marked but isn't resolved, it probably should be resolved and they just didn't do it. So changing the tick mark to use resolved status instead wouldn't help anything, and best answer is pretty much doing its job.
posted by smackfu at 11:10 AM on March 29, 2012
posted by smackfu at 11:10 AM on March 29, 2012
if it's a factual question and it has best answer marked but isn't resolved, it probably should be resolved and they just didn't do it
That is certainly true if it is a factual question; but that is only a subset of the questions on AskMe. It seems odd to default to a protocol that definitely doesn't fit a very large number of the questions asked just to add a level of redundancy for the subset of "factual" questions. I mean, given that there is a "resolved" button, it just seems clearer to make that the way of marking the issue as "resolved." I certainly see questions with "best answers" marked every day where the asker is obviously still looking for more answers.
posted by yoink at 12:17 PM on March 29, 2012
That is certainly true if it is a factual question; but that is only a subset of the questions on AskMe. It seems odd to default to a protocol that definitely doesn't fit a very large number of the questions asked just to add a level of redundancy for the subset of "factual" questions. I mean, given that there is a "resolved" button, it just seems clearer to make that the way of marking the issue as "resolved." I certainly see questions with "best answers" marked every day where the asker is obviously still looking for more answers.
posted by yoink at 12:17 PM on March 29, 2012
If a Best Answer is marked and I don't agree with that answer, I usually will not comment because then it feels like I'm attacking the person who gave that answer.
posted by jamjam at 12:24 PM on March 29, 2012
posted by jamjam at 12:24 PM on March 29, 2012
Why would someone mark a best answer but not mark it as resolved?
Marking something "best answer" implies that the answer does indeed answer the question. Having a second step to indicate the same thing explicitly isn't inherently intuitive.
If this were a big software product, the need for an implicit and explicit step would be assumed as valid, and this would probably be "solved" with something like a popup* to say "you've marked at least one best answer, would you like to mark this question as resolved? [YES][NO]".
This being MetaFilter, hopefully a simpler path will be chosen based on the way that users actually use the functionality. Personally, I'd suggest exploring this:
1. Drop "resolved" and "best answer" as concepts
2. Repurpose "best answer" functionality as "helpful answer", to reflect the common use case of users selecting more than one
3. Repurpose the tick mark functionality to indicate that the question has one or more helpful answers
*I hate this band-aid with the burning power of a thousand suns
posted by davejay at 1:09 PM on March 29, 2012 [2 favorites]
Marking something "best answer" implies that the answer does indeed answer the question. Having a second step to indicate the same thing explicitly isn't inherently intuitive.
If this were a big software product, the need for an implicit and explicit step would be assumed as valid, and this would probably be "solved" with something like a popup* to say "you've marked at least one best answer, would you like to mark this question as resolved? [YES][NO]".
This being MetaFilter, hopefully a simpler path will be chosen based on the way that users actually use the functionality. Personally, I'd suggest exploring this:
1. Drop "resolved" and "best answer" as concepts
2. Repurpose "best answer" functionality as "helpful answer", to reflect the common use case of users selecting more than one
3. Repurpose the tick mark functionality to indicate that the question has one or more helpful answers
*I hate this band-aid with the burning power of a thousand suns
posted by davejay at 1:09 PM on March 29, 2012 [2 favorites]
We should have marquee around resolved questions, just to set them apart from the ones with best answer flags. Give the Green a little Broadway panache.
This would be a great justification for bringing the marquee tag back in HTML5.
posted by davejay at 1:11 PM on March 29, 2012
This would be a great justification for bringing the marquee tag back in HTML5.
posted by davejay at 1:11 PM on March 29, 2012
Why would someone mark a best answer but not mark it as resolved?
In my last question, I got some really excellent answers, but I'm not sure which one I'll actually use. I've had this several times, actually; great advice, but for whatever reason I haven't gotten to use it yet, so I can't say for sure if my question is resolved.
"Helpful answer" would be a nice concept to replace "best answer", although I'd be tempted to keep the "resolved" option. A few times I've come back to give an update on what actually happened, and that's when I mark it resolved.
posted by epersonae at 1:54 PM on March 29, 2012
In my last question, I got some really excellent answers, but I'm not sure which one I'll actually use. I've had this several times, actually; great advice, but for whatever reason I haven't gotten to use it yet, so I can't say for sure if my question is resolved.
"Helpful answer" would be a nice concept to replace "best answer", although I'd be tempted to keep the "resolved" option. A few times I've come back to give an update on what actually happened, and that's when I mark it resolved.
posted by epersonae at 1:54 PM on March 29, 2012
mark things as resolved a month after asking their question. Many users do this early and some do this really in the first few hours a question is open which I think is a problematic thing
If the question has been resolved really quickly, why is it problematic to indicate it?
posted by asnider at 2:58 PM on March 29, 2012
If the question has been resolved really quickly, why is it problematic to indicate it?
posted by asnider at 2:58 PM on March 29, 2012
Marking things resolved early if they are resolved is no problem. Marking best answers after a few hours can give people the mistaken impression that they are resolved when this is not the case.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 3:19 PM on March 29, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 3:19 PM on March 29, 2012 [1 favorite]
I think if "best answer" were simply changed to "great answer", most of this confusion would go away. This being MetaFilter, I imagine a little ongoing confusion that can be manually cleared up on a case-by-case basis will be preferred over altering a community tradition along with the more intense, if finite, confusion that would thereby result.
posted by Scientist at 3:42 PM on March 29, 2012
posted by Scientist at 3:42 PM on March 29, 2012
To my knowledge, I have never been prompted to mark a question "resolved." In fact, I have never before heard of such a thing being done. There's a helpful sidebar in my questions telling me how to use the Best Answer feature; there's nothing saying to use the "resolved" tag, despite the sidebar being right under the tag box.
Obviously I'm doing something wrong. Does the "resolved" prompt appear in the form of a popup? There's certainly nothing in my inbox.
Upon rereading this thread, I have now located the link to mark my questions resolved. I'd never noticed that before. It's kind of tiny. I went back and read the guidelines and it's never mentioned there, even under "After you ask". I'd say its placement is problematical at best. I'm unlikely to reread my question and look at the favoriting line. I'd be a lot more likely to find it at the end of the page, or if it were called out elsewhere.
I'm neither a heavy Ask user nor the brightest crayon in the toddler's nostril, but it seems to me that 1) the Resolved feature is not well promoted or defined and that 2) the Best Answer and Resolved features are designed around how users are expected to behave, rather than around how they behave. I like the idea of changing Best Answer's wording, since there can only be one of a superlative, and there are good reasons for a user to highlight more than one answer. I also like the idea of linking the check mark--which is a symbol that, when used in a list, means "finished"--to the Resolved tag, which means "finished". If you want to call out asker-selected answers, what about something like this?
posted by darksasami at 4:46 PM on March 29, 2012 [1 favorite]
Obviously I'm doing something wrong. Does the "resolved" prompt appear in the form of a popup? There's certainly nothing in my inbox.
Upon rereading this thread, I have now located the link to mark my questions resolved. I'd never noticed that before. It's kind of tiny. I went back and read the guidelines and it's never mentioned there, even under "After you ask". I'd say its placement is problematical at best. I'm unlikely to reread my question and look at the favoriting line. I'd be a lot more likely to find it at the end of the page, or if it were called out elsewhere.
I'm neither a heavy Ask user nor the brightest crayon in the toddler's nostril, but it seems to me that 1) the Resolved feature is not well promoted or defined and that 2) the Best Answer and Resolved features are designed around how users are expected to behave, rather than around how they behave. I like the idea of changing Best Answer's wording, since there can only be one of a superlative, and there are good reasons for a user to highlight more than one answer. I also like the idea of linking the check mark--which is a symbol that, when used in a list, means "finished"--to the Resolved tag, which means "finished". If you want to call out asker-selected answers, what about something like this?
What rock bands follow strict Five Man Band format? [more inside]I realize that's a little wordy, and "starred" is a bit weak, but it's accurate and harder to misconstrue.
posted by darksasami to dumb questions at 4:22 PM - 23 answers (8 new, 7 starred, unresolved) +
posted by darksasami at 4:46 PM on March 29, 2012 [1 favorite]
There's certainly nothing in my inbox.
In the site preferences is an option to Opt-out of MeFi Mail reminders? which I'm guessing you have checked. Otherwise you'd receive a MeFi Mail 30 days after posting a question that prompts you to mark the question as resolved if it is resolved by then. We give people the option not to get those reminders because some people find them repetitive and unhelpful.
posted by pb (staff) at 5:12 PM on March 29, 2012
In the site preferences is an option to Opt-out of MeFi Mail reminders? which I'm guessing you have checked. Otherwise you'd receive a MeFi Mail 30 days after posting a question that prompts you to mark the question as resolved if it is resolved by then. We give people the option not to get those reminders because some people find them repetitive and unhelpful.
posted by pb (staff) at 5:12 PM on March 29, 2012
Aha! Yeah, it doesn't say what those reminders are all about, so when I went through and looked at my options (probably when I signed up) I probably clicked the opt-out box out of sheer knee-jerk web site optoutery. I'll be curious to see if there are other reminders I've been missing all these years as well.
posted by darksasami at 5:22 PM on March 29, 2012
posted by darksasami at 5:22 PM on March 29, 2012
What about changing 'best answer' to 'helpful answer'?
This would not suggest that the answer had resolved the question.
It seems to me questions fit into three useful categories.
1. does not have helpful answers
2. has helpful answers
3. resolved
I agree that using a yellow/green tick to distinguish between 2/3 would be helpful
posted by unSane at 6:31 PM on March 29, 2012
This would not suggest that the answer had resolved the question.
It seems to me questions fit into three useful categories.
1. does not have helpful answers
2. has helpful answers
3. resolved
I agree that using a yellow/green tick to distinguish between 2/3 would be helpful
posted by unSane at 6:31 PM on March 29, 2012
In the site preferences is an option to Opt-out of MeFi Mail reminders? which I'm guessing you have checked.
Yeah, I really think that could use a question mark button or something to explain what that is. I went looking before and wasn't sure if that was what you are talking about either. Or even just change it to "Ask MeFi Question reminders".
posted by smackfu at 6:49 PM on March 29, 2012
Yeah, I really think that could use a question mark button or something to explain what that is. I went looking before and wasn't sure if that was what you are talking about either. Or even just change it to "Ask MeFi Question reminders".
posted by smackfu at 6:49 PM on March 29, 2012
I agree that using a yellow/green tick to distinguish between 2/3 would be helpful
For me, a check/tick implicitly means "completed or resolved". If that's not what is meant, we should use something else. Also, as I indirectly said above, the default style is links are yellow. If it's not a clickable link, it shouldn't be yellow.
posted by zamboni at 6:01 AM on March 30, 2012
For me, a check/tick implicitly means "completed or resolved". If that's not what is meant, we should use something else. Also, as I indirectly said above, the default style is links are yellow. If it's not a clickable link, it shouldn't be yellow.
posted by zamboni at 6:01 AM on March 30, 2012
True, smackfu. We just added a FAQ about MeFi Mail reminders and linked it from Preferences.
posted by pb (staff) at 12:42 PM on March 30, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by pb (staff) at 12:42 PM on March 30, 2012 [1 favorite]
The problem with changing 'best answer' to 'helpful answer' would be that it would encourage those cheery all-must-have-prizes types who are so bowled over with gratitude they mark every single answer with 'best answer' and thus make the thread nigh-on unreadable. I mean, I am a grumpy old hard-to-please so-and-so, and nonetheless the little cricket chirping on my shoulder would probably tempt me to mark a lot of answers 'helpful' lest the answerers feel bad and/or unappreciated. I would then be tempted to mark the remaining answers as 'helpful' to ensure they didn't feel singled out. The entire thread would be different-coloured rectangles before I was done.
The problem here is that the 'best answer' functionality is being used for three things:
1. A tool for operant conditioning (ie encouraging people to give the right sort of answer)
2. A reward given in full selfless agapic gratitude without hope for further return
3. A way to record which of the 'helpful' suggestions given in-thread the asker actually used or even seriously considered.
The 'helpful answer' shifts the focus to the first two, which are still contradictory, and would actively encourage the second. I would suggest instead that the first functionality is best provided by the favourite, Metafilter's own patent rat-pellet delivery system. The second is unlikely to be discouraged by any suggestions as it represents a spontaneous outpouring of human love and giving which by its very nature is given to gushing past any rules or guidelines with flood-like exuberance. However, certain circumstances make it less or more likely to manifest in individuals who are only moderately susceptible.
posted by Acheman at 1:55 AM on March 31, 2012
The problem here is that the 'best answer' functionality is being used for three things:
1. A tool for operant conditioning (ie encouraging people to give the right sort of answer)
2. A reward given in full selfless agapic gratitude without hope for further return
3. A way to record which of the 'helpful' suggestions given in-thread the asker actually used or even seriously considered.
The 'helpful answer' shifts the focus to the first two, which are still contradictory, and would actively encourage the second. I would suggest instead that the first functionality is best provided by the favourite, Metafilter's own patent rat-pellet delivery system. The second is unlikely to be discouraged by any suggestions as it represents a spontaneous outpouring of human love and giving which by its very nature is given to gushing past any rules or guidelines with flood-like exuberance. However, certain circumstances make it less or more likely to manifest in individuals who are only moderately susceptible.
posted by Acheman at 1:55 AM on March 31, 2012
Interesting. How do you feel about the nomenclature "top answer"?
posted by davejay at 7:04 PM on March 31, 2012
posted by davejay at 7:04 PM on March 31, 2012
Interesting. How do you feel about the nomenclature "top answer"?
Only if that answer gets a little top hat added to it, cocked to the side.
posted by cashman at 10:55 AM on April 3, 2012 [1 favorite]
Only if that answer gets a little top hat added to it, cocked to the side.
posted by cashman at 10:55 AM on April 3, 2012 [1 favorite]
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posted by slmorri at 6:26 AM on March 29, 2012 [1 favorite]