Staff attn: Volunteer thread tagging issues
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:) I guess I didn’t explain that well.
I’ve been reading a lot on the forums, and I keep seeing that if someone responds to something that the thread is pushed down in the queue for staff (modlook), and also if they open a new thread (?) so I was wondering if tags do the same thing for the staff, you know? But, I was over thinking it.
Thanks for the volunteer link. I have read that multiple times,trying to figure it all out. I think it was on my mind b/c @timethief said not to tag something if you can’t answer it- but there is another side where maybe if you see a tag with no replies and you know the answer, you can see the topic without reading a whole thread to know if you have any input…help faster (staff or volunteer). That is what I was trying to say. But, what I seem to be understanding is that one volunteer may look up “topics with no replies” and another may look up “topics with no tags”- so to play it safe, we only tag if we responded somewhere- unless it is the personal info thing.
Just me overthinking, :) Thanks for everything.
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Staff at one point in the past advised that bumping with a reply (not a tag) to a thread which had already been marked for their attention no longer pushed it down in their queue, but I do not know whether that is still the case. Perhaps when Staff look in they can reply to that concern as well as the others mentioned in this thread.
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Hi Friends :)
timethief, I’ve updated the tagging section of https://en.support.wordpress.com/wordpress-com-volunteers/
Thank you for pointing out this pattern.
justjennifer, Can you clarify this a little bit more?
STAFF: For my 2¢ (yet again) this is an issue that needs to be resolved at the dashboard contact form level rather than requiring someone to eyeball it in the forums.
A common example is that someone has a Jetpack connected site. So, technically, they are not in the best place to get help, but we will help if we can and get them pointed in the right direction otherwise.
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Hi lizkarkowski – Let me understand. Are you saying that all jetpack connected ORG sites that post through the Calypso dashboard’s “contact us” form (which then appear in the WordPressdotcom community forums and are tagged wpcomhelp) should be modlooked for staff assistance?
Wouldn’t it be a better use of everyone’s time to change the “contact us” form so that those users are directed to jetpack support? Let me reference an earlier forum post https://en.forums.wordpress.com/topic/use-supportbot-in-the-english-forums
I understand it wouldn’t catch everyone, but it would be a start.
Also, I looked at the updated support doc. Sometimes the oldest duplicate may not be the most relevant as a user may post again when they realize that they forgot the URL of the site they need help with or wanted to include other data…
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Oops, mean to say,
“…when they realize that the URL that appears in their forum post isn’t the URL of the site they need help with…”
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Wouldn’t it be a better use of everyone’s time to change the “contact us” form so that those users are directed to jetpack support? Let me reference an earlier forum post https://en.forums.wordpress.com/topic/use-supportbot-in-the-english-forums
AGREED.
“…when they realize that the URL that appears in their forum post isn’t the URL of the site they need help with…”
Yes that makes sense.
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staff-zinnia
timethief, I’ve updated the tagging section of https://en.support.wordpress.com/wordpress-com-volunteers/
Thanks.
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staff-zinnia,
A common example is that someone has a Jetpack connected site.
Undoubtedly there are cases where a volunteer may confuse a support request regarding Jetpack with the more simple case of a request regarding only a self-hosted site, but it’s not clear how a blanket rule of no tagging without responding will address or resolve this potential confusion.
If, in the past, I’ve come to a topic where the OP clearly refers to a Jetpack connected site, or appears to, then I might have added a “Jetpack” tag to the sidebar even if I didn’t feel sufficiently informed about the particular issues involved in the case at hand to offer a response. How would that not have been a correct or appropriate action to take?
If, on the other hand, I’ve come to a topic where the OP specifically refers to an issue regarding a self-hosted site, and not a Jetpack connected site, then I might have added a “not a wp.com site” tag to the sidebar, even if I didn’t have the time or the expertise, or feel inclined at the moment, to provide an instructive and relevant response. Again, as long as the tag I’m adding is informative and relevant, how would that action be inappropriate? In what way or ways would it be unhelpful or counterproductive? How might it hinder the possibility of eventually getting the topic appropriately and comprehensively responded to?
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Re: the “Duplicate post” issue. It all depends how many hours volunteers can give to the forums. @timethief puts in long shifts. Others such as myself can only dip in and out as workload and commitments allow. There have often been times when I have posted a reply to someone’s first post. The original poster has then continued posting almost identical questions (sometimes hours later) which have been replied to by others. If the question was something that needs staff attention it gets complicated.
If only the first question is to be replied to then volunteers MUST always click on “member” to see their posting history. staff-zinnia is implying with the amended volunteer document that only the first post should be replied to and if volunteers can add anything to the second or third similar post then that should appear in the first post?
Yet saying all that there must be a number of instances as @justjennifer describes where the first post is short and vague whilst later so-called duplicate posts may be better deserving of a comprehensive reply.
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The problem is that the url shown in OPs is often not the site the user needs help with, which results in us having to ask follow up questions for clarification.
Would it be possible to, at a minimum, ask users for their site url in the form?
https://en.forums.wordpress.com/topic/support-contact-form-ask-users-for-their-site-url?replies=4YES. I’m with you on that.
The first step I take prior to responding in any thread is to click the member link under the username and try to to confirm the URL and hosting.
While doing that I also check for duplicates. Where there are duplicates I try to post into the thread that has the most relevant information in it.
If and when I do get a URL in response to my request for one after confirming the hosting I try to remember to usually remove the “no URL provided” tag or the “confirm URL and hosting” tag that I have added to the sidebar of the thread.
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@themagicrobot and everyone
@timethief puts in long shifts. Others such as myself can only dip in and out as workload and commitments allow.
I am currently seated on a packing crate and have a whole household (28 years of accumulated stuff) to pack up in preparation for a home renovation scheduled to start next Thursday, so I won’t be around much in the next 2 weeks.
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Thanks. So do I but I want to draw attention back to what garysixtyeight posted at https://en.forums.wordpress.com/topic/staff-attn-volunteer-thread-tagging-issues/page/2?replies=34#post-2969489
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Re Tags: Adding a tag but not replying to a thread can definitely lead to the “duplicates” falling through the cracks. As for other threads, they are removed from the Topics With No Tags work flow. I am assuming many of our volunteers use this flow? Is that correct? I’d love some feedback on how y’all are working if you’re willing to share.
Re Contact Us Form: At this time, there is not enough volume of Jetpack users posting in these forums to warrant a change with the routing of the form. That’s not to say that I do not understand the points being brought up in this thread, I certainly do. If you come across these threads feel free to add the ‘Modlook’ tag so we can investigate the question. If we can’t help directly we want to get them pointed in the right direction.
Re Home Renovations: Sending happy vibes for a smooth renovation with no surprises!
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I generally head to Topics with no replies, especially if there are other volunteers focusing on questions on the forums front page.
Under that particular forums display usually there are a number of untagged duplicate threads, so I always check the member profile first before answering.
If I run across a thread of interest that hasn’t been tagged, I tag it with already existing, relevant tags to add it to the forum knowledge pool. But it would be appreciated if this could be done by the volunteer who answers a thread. Thanks!
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staff-zinnia,
Adding a tag but not replying to a thread can definitely lead to the “duplicates” falling through the cracks.
If a duplicate is found, then as @justjennifer suggests going to the member profile to check for additional duplicates is the way to go. That’s what I do as well.
As for other threads, they are removed from the Topics With No Tags work flow. I am assuming many of our volunteers use this flow? Is that correct?
I prefer the Themes forum, but when there are few unanswered topics there I’ll typically go to “Topics with no replies.” I see your point, but I haven’t found any practical use for the “Topics with no tags” list. There are presently only four topics in the top 90 there that have no replies yet. I wonder how one would work efficiently from this list.
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“Topics with no replies” is for posts more than two hours old. Often the front page of the forum only contains posts up to 45 minutes old. What happens to posts in that “no mans land” between the two? Sometimes I have just been about to respond to a post near to the bottom of the forum when it has disappeared before I could save it/reply.
And are the tags in the tag cloud the only tags we can use? Sometimes questions might need tagging with more accurate/appropriate phrases but I never know if I should or not.
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