Coming Soon : Question Threads

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Mendalla

Happy headbanging ape!!
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The software upgrade that I have already alluded to before is likely to happen in October based on the current pace of development and my availability (I'm burning a pile of holidays in October so have time).

So, I am going to start telling about some of the new features that will be available with that upgrade.

One of the major changes is the introduction of "thread types." Right now, there is really only one thread type, a "discussion" where people post responses to a topic introduced by the first poster. "Polls" are kind of a variant of that but become their own thread type under the new setup.

The first new thread type, and one I will add to most of our forums, is the "question thread".

In a Question thread, the thread start poses a question. e.g. "What is the answer to the question of life, the universe and everything?" That original post remains at the top of every page of the subsequent thread so that people can easily see what question they are responding to even after a few pages of discussion.

Respondents then offer their suggested answers:

"Be a good person"
"God"
"42"

People can then vote on the answers, upvoting ones they think are correct (or that they agree with) and, if allowed, downvoting ones they think are wrong (or disagree with). For threads asking factual questions or "how to", downvoting can be a way for people to flag wrong answers. For threads that are more open questions or are somewhat sensitive, I would tend to only allow upvoting. The thread starter gets to decide whether to enable downvoting.

If appropriate, the thread starter or a mod can designate one answer as the "Solution" (more appropriate in, say, a "how to" thread or a "tech support" thread).

In the above example, "42" would be marked as the solution. :D
 
The software upgrade that I have already alluded to before is likely to happen in October based on the current pace of development and my availability (I'm burning a pile of holidays in October so have time).

So, I am going to start telling about some of the new features that will be available with that upgrade.

One of the major changes is the introduction of "thread types." Right now, there is really only one thread type, a "discussion" where people post responses to a topic introduced by the first poster. "Polls" are kind of a variant of that but become their own thread type under the new setup.

The first new thread type, and one I will add to most of our forums, is the "question thread".

In a Question thread, the thread start poses a question. e.g. "What is the answer to the question of life, the universe and everything?" That original post remains at the top of every page of the subsequent thread so that people can easily see what question they are responding to even after a few pages of discussion.

Respondents then offer their suggested answers:

"Be a good person"
"God"
"42"

People can then vote on the answers, upvoting ones they think are correct (or that they agree with) and, if allowed, downvoting ones they think are wrong (or disagree with). For threads asking factual questions or "how to", downvoting can be a way for people to flag wrong answers. For threads that are more open questions or are somewhat sensitive, I would tend to only allow upvoting. The thread starter gets to decide whether to enable downvoting.

If appropriate, the thread starter or a mod can designate one answer as the "Solution" (more appropriate in, say, a "how to" thread or a "tech support" thread).

In the above example, "42" would be marked as the solution. :D
Sounds interesting!(y)
 
By the right answers do you mean which answer gets the most thumbs up?

Depends. Sometimes the majority can be wrong. This originated in the tech world (certainly it's where I first encountered the concept) where there can often be multiple ways to achieve an outcome. They are technically all right, so the idea was often to seek the best answer rather than an absolutely right one. Hopefully, the one that most vote for is the one.
 
Depends. Sometimes the majority can be wrong. This originated in the tech world (certainly it's where I first encountered the concept) where there can often be multiple ways to achieve an outcome. They are technically all right, so the idea was often to seek the best answer rather than an absolutely right one. Hopefully, the one that most vote for is the one.
Who decides if the majority are wrong?
 
Oh, and there is the option to not have a "solution". As I said it is most useful to mark one of the question is seeking a solution to a problem and the poster finds one that works for them. If you were using it as a form of opinion poll, though, you might not mark a solution, just note which answers were getting the most votes.
 
Who decides if the majority are wrong?

It is really only a relevant question if there is an absolute right answer, in which case a question thread might not be the best format. "What colour is a clear daytime sky?" is not something we need to vote on.

As I indicate in the post you quote, marking a solution works best when there is no absolute right answer, but several that are technically right and the asker is seeking one that is best for them or their situation.

In the end, the person asking the question marks the solution, though mods can as well.
 
Here's @Redbaron and me playing around with a sample question thread in the dev site. The voting buttons are on the right side of each post. In this case, I disallowed downvoting so there is only a up arrow above the total votes. If downvoting was allowed, there would be another arrow below the number that would reduce it by one when clicked (when downvoting is allowed, it shows net votes rather than total votes). The checkmark in a circle is the button you use when you want to select a post as the "solution".

1600529398382.png
 
Oh, and there is the option to not have a "solution". As I said it is most useful to mark one of the question is seeking a solution to a problem and the poster finds one that works for them. If you were using it as a form of opinion poll, though, you might not mark a solution, just note which answers were getting the most votes.

Thus disituatate ... like 42 or Cape Fortue in NS ... off sure?
 
It is really only a relevant question if there is an absolute right answer, in which case a question thread might not be the best format. "What colour is a clear daytime sky?" is not something we need to vote on.

As I indicate in the post you quote, marking a solution works best when there is no absolute right answer, but several that are technically right and the asker is seeking one that is best for them or their situation.

In the end, the person asking the question marks the solution, though mods can as well.

With all misleading truths ... what is absolute and abstract? Thus the incomplete at ... present? Thus sitting precedence ... pre Ci dense space? Ci signor ... it was a Spanish Knight ... Ur! A killer in Black Lace ... Eire? Yup ...
 
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