Suspicion is correct.
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I want to bring up something that has not been considered in this thread. What we are discussing is the default forum settings. If a blogger does not choose a specific forum when posting a thread it’s posted by default to the Support Forum.
1. Setting aside the chatter in the Off-Topic and Showcase forums, the majority of bloggers who post here are looking for support with software issues. Removing the “Add New” button may not compel bloggers to post to “the correct forum”. It’s equally possible they may just give up and not post at all, because they don’t realize the Forum headings in the left sidebar are forum links.
2. I speak only for myself when I say that I scan the threads and my first priority is to answer all threads in the Support Forum before I answer others. Perhaps other Volunteers do that too.
When I find threads in the wrong forum I simply mark them as all other volunteers do and our Moderators move them. This is no big deal. It’s done everywhere where multiple forums exist. I do the same on 2 small private forums I moderate and it takes only seconds to do.
3. If the Support forum is not the default forum then which one of the forums would be the logical forum to assign to as the default forum? IMO none of the below meet the muster of being logical choices:
Widgets
Questions
Themes
CSS Customization
Ideas
Off Topic
Showcase
TranslationsIt’s my opinion that changing the default forum to any forum other than the Support Forum may lead to those who have important issues falling between the cracks and not getting the help they need.
Conclusion:
Leaving the “Add new” button where it is, so all threads that bloggers fail to assign to a specific forum are by default posted to the Support Forum makes perfect sense to me. That is why I am not seeking change and why I do not support this Idea. -
When I started blogging here almost 3 years ago I though the same thing when they introduced the new forum layout but come to realize quit fast that the forums would be a bigger mess if the support forum wasn’t the default posting forum. Because it would delay the response time of volunteers responding to support query’s because they wouldn’t see the thread posted to the front home page of the forum.
WP.com is well-known for its speedy response time and the volunteers take pride in this.
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From the Features page, “We’ve got friendly fellow users in the forums…” i.e. this is a peer-to-peer forum. Some forum volunteers have been around longer and have deeper knowledge of the nuts and bolts, but that doesn’t give us any special relationship to Staff. Just pointing that out.
Since the “Add New” button has been removed from the Forum front page, I think it would also be helpful if there was a notice where it used to be letting people know that to post a new question they should select the relevant forum from the ones listed at the left. Sometimes you have to state the obvious.
That’s my 2¢ worth.
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@justjennifer
I agree 100% with this statement >Some forum volunteers have been around longer and have deeper knowledge of the nuts and bolts, but that doesn’t give us any special relationship to Staff. Just pointing that out.
I’m puzzled because you say the button is gone and yet it has now re-appeared “Add New Topic”
I like the idea of a notice even though I suspect most won’t read just as they don’t read the sticky posts.
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I do believe when you go to post, you are required to pick a forum to send your question to. Of course, some people do not see that or make a mistake when posting. I do not think there needs to be a notice. People should be reading where to put their posts, even though it can be confusing.
As for the button, I still see it to! Maybe it did not load correctly on your page justjennifer? -
@timethief… I hope I did not offend anyone with my joke, it was really supposed to be a light joke, nothing more than that…
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@timethief I think you might be right that it’s more important that people find a way to post if need be.
Also I have a related question – a few weeks ago I stumbled upon a forum post which was clearly spam. I would have liked to have flagged it as such but couldn’t find a way. Is there a way for me as normal user? Not to remove the thread but like raise a virtual arm to the moderators? Sorry if this goes somewhat off-topic.
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You’re welcome. :) Are you also aware of how to report spam blogs? Id not then see here > http://en.support.wordpress.com/report-blogs/
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Hilariously enough I just stumbled upon the function when I searched for something else. But yes, good to know! As sadly blogs seem to be the new playing ground for spammers. Or I just never realised on livejournal.
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First Thanks to all for your comments be they supportive or not.
Now having run many forums in my time, I understand that there is a “default” setting on the forums and because of that there is an automatic sending here in WP to “support” if one posts with out making a direct choice of area.
What I was suggesting by removing that “add new post” button was to actually change the posting system which can be done so that there is no “default” to Support.
Unless there is a quirk with WP forums, it should be able to have the individual topics stand-alone so that when one is posting BEFORE you can submit you MUST choose the proper area to post in. By listing those individual areas with a description of each to direct the user to the correct place you eliminate the need for that “add new button” on the main page and confine it to the individual area instead where the poster should be going in the first place. This would stream-line the process as well as keep the forums much more tidy.
The advantages to this are that those “volunteers” who provide answers to the Support Area would then just have to go to “support” and not have to filter through an endless list of other topics, replying to others with things such as….this is not a support question…I have flagged this to be moved to the correct area….etc and allow them to cut down on the actual time they are spending on nonsense instead of Support replies.
Second it would also remove any confusion new people might have as to why their posts are being moved around because they will be posting to the RIGHT area from the start.
In essence it would end up looking more like this:
MAIN PAGE:
FORUMS:
Support
Widgets
Questions
Themes
CSS
Of Topic
Ideas
Showcase
Translationsdown the middle of the page and to access you would have to “click” on the one you want…not just the “add new button” fill out the form correctly and submit. NO, you would not see the list of “latest discussion” until you entered the area you want, where you would see those that pertain to that topic.
In my opinion and having moderated many a forum, this is a clean way to do it.
Finally it would also make it much easier for the Admin to focus in on both Support issues and Ideas or Suggestions, cutting down the time the HE have to spend sifting through posts as well.
Oh and as one last thought…it would even be possible to set up a “hidden” forum to send all that “spam” to when it is flagged by either a Volunteer or a Member making it very easy to deal with in the end by whoever is responsible for that.
Hopefully I have made my suggestion a bit clearer now. :)
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