To mark a thread as Resolved & forum navigation

[soleary]

Hi All

 

Excellent forum - 2 suggestions:

 

1. Why not have an 'unresolved issues' forum where, if a question hasn't been resolved, the person that started the thread can request the thread to be moved to there. That way, new members (or existing ones of course) could look at these posts. I have 2 unresolved issues and I'm guessing that they will just get lost as new posts come in. I don't want to annoy others by 'bumping' it. So the 'unresolved issues' forum would be a place that would attract problem solvers and perhaps they may even resolve the issue....

 

2. If I'm in the 'AutoCAD General' forum, I know that the '2D Drafting, Object Properties and Interface' is the forum next forum down. It would be nice to be able to navigate to that without having to go out to the 'AutoCAD' forums and then back in.

 

Just a couple of suggestions

Shane.

[Lee Mac]

Thats a gd idea Shane,

 

You could have something like, if the thread has been on the forum long enough to be moved to the next page with no replies, it could automatically be moved to the "unresolved" forum.

[ReMark]

Re: Unresolved issues.

 

Good idea. I had been thinking something along the same lines with a slightly different approach. I was going to suggest a Quick Links category for threads with no responses.

[MaxwellEdison]

Would it be better to have one unresolved issue board for all questions or one for each board? The first would make it easier to check all issues at a glance, but the second would make it easier to look through issues in your area of expertise. Also, how would the threads be handled once the issue is resolved, or if it is necroed with a closely related problem.

 

Reading that over again, it sounds like I'm against it...but I'm not. I just want to make sure this idea is fully fleshed out so it has a better chance at implementation.

[dbroada]

I often browse and only look at those with 0 replies (sorry all who bump their own threads) but I only go a page back so I think it a good idea too.

[soleary]

Re: Unresolved issues.

 

Good idea. I had been thinking something along the same lines with a slightly different approach. I was going to suggest a Quick Links category for threads with no responses.

I think this is a good idea too but as you said it is different. In this case, it's not just issues that have 0 replies that may be unresolved. As you know, some threads may have replies that don't solve the initial problem - therefore if there was such an 'unresolved issues' forum, the person would need to 'manually' move or ask for the thread to be moved.

[soleary]

Would it be better to have one unresolved issue board for all questions or one for each board? The first would make it easier to check all issues at a glance, but the second would make it easier to look through issues in your area of expertise. Also, how would the threads be handled once the issue is resolved, or if it is necroed with a closely related problem.

 

Reading that over again, it sounds like I'm against it...but I'm not. I just want to make sure this idea is fully fleshed out so it has a better chance at implementation.

Good questions. I suppose one for each board seeing as they would relate to those areas. (There would be no point in me reading and unresolved issue for 3ds Max - for example). Once the issue is resolved the thread starter could, for example, tick a box to say resolved or request it to be moved back to the forum from whence it came

[ReMark]

Ahhhhhhh......unresolved versus not answered at all. A catch-all approach would probably be the easiest to setup but as you point out everything gets dumped together. On the other hand, any other approach requires more work to set up initially.

 

Could we "test" a general versus specific approach or is that just wasting time? Or use the general approach for "questions that have gone unanswered" and a more specific approach for questions the OP says remain "unresolved"?

 

I'm getting more confused myself now. LOL

[dbroada]

not really relevant but wouldn't it be nice to have a "problem resolved" button. I'm sure ReMark and I are not the only ones left wondering if our answers actually help.

[Lee Mac]

gd point dbroada, I sometimes post an answer to a question an never get a reply back letting me know if it has or has not resolved the posted problem - an "unresolved" button would be handy.

 

I also agree with the separate area for threads with no replies, it means that answers will be put forward sooner as users can quickly browse the unanswered threads, without having to filter through all the other "resolved" threads.

[MaxwellEdison]

Perhaps a resolved/unresolved button would enable the option to simply search for all unresolved within a particular forum, either with advanced search functions, user preferences, or a link on each board.

[Strix]

so, let's take stock...

 

we fancy an 'unresolved issues' area?

 

are 'unresolved' threads only ones with no reply posts?

 

If they're later resolved is there a mechanism which moves them out of 'unresolved' and back into the area they belong in?

 

Does that mean all new threads will automatically hive themselves off to 'unresolved'

 

We'd prefer that the threads remain sorted into categories so we only read the ones relevant to us

 

If a thread has a number of answers but the OP is still scratching their head over a problem which refuses to resolve, do we have a mechanism for bringing those threads into 'unresolved', and at what point will the move be triggered?

 

 

 

Can't you guys just click the column header on the 'replies' column in a forum to sort in numerical order rather than chronological date order?

[Cad64]

are 'unresolved' threads only ones with no reply posts?

 

That's not likely to happen very often around here.

 

I could see this 'unresolved' thread area as a problem though, if people start thinking they will get their questions answered quicker by sending their question to this section. We could get inundated with lots of 'unresolved' threads, many of which might be very simple questions.

 

If you ask a question but don't find any resolution, it's ok to bump your thread. Just don't bump it more than once a day and don't bump it 5 minutes after you ask it. :wink:

[soleary]

are 'unresolved' threads only ones with no reply posts?

No not at all. There may be cases (especially with more difficult questions) where people have suggested solutions but those suggestions haven't worked.

If they're later resolved is there a mechanism which moves them out of 'unresolved' and back into the area they belong in?

Would be a nice to have

 

Does that mean all new threads will automatically hive themselves off to 'unresolved'

 

Can't you guys just click the column header on the 'replies' column in a forum to sort in numerical order rather than chronological date order?

Don't think this is relevant for this suggestion. This is 'unresolved' as opposed to 'unanswered'

 

We'd prefer that the threads remain sorted into categories so we only read the ones relevant to us

 

If a thread has a number of answers but the OP is still scratching their head over a problem which refuses to resolve, do we have a mechanism for bringing those threads into 'unresolved', and at what point will the move be triggered?

I suppose when the OP decides?

 

 

I also like some of the other suggestions to have an resolved/unresolved button. Perhaps then the posts wouldn't need to be moved at all (negating the need to create extra forums) - and then just colour code the posts? - e.g. green = resolved, red = unresolved. A new thread is automatically set to red as it is unresolved. After replies, if the OP is happy they click resolved, the post turns green and everyone knows that it is resolved. That way it would be easy to see the resolved/unresolved posts at a glance. Would that work?

 

Cad64 mentioned that 'bumping' is ok and that's fair enough - but I'm sure it annoys some people to read the same thread more than once??

[skipsophrenic]

I could see this 'unresolved' thread area as a problem though, if people start thinking they will get their questions answered quicker by sending their question to this section. We could get inundated with lots of 'unresolved' threads, many of which might be very simple questions.

 

Wouldn't it be better then if you could either make posting a new thread there only available to moderators or members with say more than 100 posts?

[Lee Mac]

Perhaps then the posts wouldn't need to be moved at all (negating the need to create extra forums) - and then just colour code the posts? - e.g. green = resolved, red = unresolved. A new thread is automatically set to red as it is unresolved. After replies, if the OP is happy they click resolved, the post turns green and everyone knows that it is resolved. That way it would be easy to see the resolved/unresolved posts at a glance. Would that work?

 

I like this idea a lot - it would make things much easier as the users can quickly see which posts need answering and the site would not have to have so many forums, which could get confusing if you have double the number of forums as there are now...

 

But colour coding sounds like a great idea - but not too many colours - as in your idea, just the red and green - life is hard enough already

[Strix]

the thing is - in AutoCAD there's more than one way to skin a cat - always

 

we have threads that people dig up which seem to have a resolution, but they have another suggestion (which may be a better answer) so it's posted too

 

This isn't a forum run by a panel of experts who answer questions for newbies (as I've seen tech help forums for phpbb for instance). We're a community of peers, our questions are discussion points rather than 'solve my problem for me' (hence all the title edits happening of late ) and the majority of our visitors probably never register, they just search our old threads for their answers (and frequently find them)

 

Many of the regulars who are already experts pick up new and better ways of doing things by problems being discussed - long after the OP has vanished to finish their work. Would a new system such as suggested completely alter the dynamics of this forum - detrimentally!

 

BTW - we have enough people who forget to thank those who make suggestions or update on what worked already, without asking users to compulsorily use a traffic light system, and we frequently get threads dredged up over again after a new version is released - when the answer then changes :wink:

[Lee Mac]

You make some good points there Strix.

 

There are a lot of threads out there that are just "heres my problem, solve it."; and I must say that in the past, I myself have probably contributed to this statistic.

 

But I understand where you are coming from, with a new traffic light system, there is a lot of ambiguity in whether a problem has been "solved" - as you say, these are more discussions than problems.

[Strix]

There are a lot of threads out there that are just "heres my problem, solve it."; and I must say that in the past, I myself have probably contributed to this statistic.

It takes a while to settle into the dynamics of a forum, especially if another you use works a little differently :wink:

[CADTutor]

This is a nice idea and has been suggested before. The problem is that it depends on the cooperation of the OP to mark the thread as "resolved". Chances are, 50% won't bother. We then have to burden the Mods with the task of assessing whether a thread is resolved or not.

 

It's a great idea in principle but in practice it will be difficult to be consistent. If there is s good solution, it's something I would implement.