We Need A Library Of Standard Advice At The Click Of A Button

[Dan_P]

@Randy Holmes-Farley, I am lazy, but still like and want to help folks get through their aquarium issues. It seems that I and many others dole out the same advice over and over again. Given that folks like to and probably are more comfortable with receiving information from a human, I envision a set of buttons which are linked to standard vetted advice for a subject that a responder to an OP’S question can just click on and the reply dumps the information onto the reply. While the stickies are a great idea, they can be too much to read for many issues. I would be willing to draft advice so the burden of vetting by someone is easier. I would also have a button for a list of “BS and Potential Products”.

Feel free to use this idea

 

[Dburr1014]

I think the problem is the poster thinks this might be the first time ever problem in a reef tank. They don't search, or if they do, can't find the exact answer to the exact situation to fit there needs. So they ask.

 

[Reefer Matt]

I make videos and reference those when certain topics come up. But I also understand that not everyone wants to watch a video either. You can also search and save the links on a notepad on a phone or computer about posts you replied to before, and copy and paste them to a thread.

 

[billyocean]

You can also bookmark the page when you find answers you want.

 

[threebuoys]

@Randy Holmes-Farley, I am lazy, but still like and want to help folks get through their aquarium issues. It seems that I and many others dole out the same advice over and over again. Given that folks like to and probably are more comfortable with receiving information from a human, I envision a set of buttons which are linked to standard vetted advice for a subject that a responder to an OP’S question can just click on and the reply dumps the information onto the reply. While the stickies are a great idea, they can be too much to read for many issues. I would be willing to draft advice so the burden of vetting by someone is easier. I would also have a button for a list of “BS and Potential Products”.

Feel free to use this idea

Excellent idea across the board. Stickies help a lot, but even those are hit or miss. Some people are more adept than others when conducting searches. And some people won't read anything longer than a couple of paragraphs. Still, big opportunity in your suggestion.

 

[blecki]

the problem is

When they do search they find dozens of conflicting answers. They find people who copy and paste the same response, complete with terrible grammar, on any post that vaguely mentions their favorite topic. And then there are at least three big competing sources of information that dominate all the search results and don't agree.

 

[Reefer Matt]

When they do search they find dozens of conflicting answers. They find people who copy and paste the same response, complete with terrible grammar, on any post that vaguely mentions their favorite topic. And then there are at least three big competing sources of information that dominate all the search results and don't agree.

This is also a private forum and not a blog. I agree there should be a blog section on here for experts to give advice, but that is up to the forum owner.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I agree in principle this is a great idea. In practice, my concern is that the "what ifs" are sometimes so extensive that the document is huge or becomes a series of links to more extensive documents. In a live discussion, we ask questions to drill down to the root of the issue, but without that, a lot of If then statements would be needed.

For example, these might be typical issues for which I don't see the answer being short.

Should I use this trace element supplement that the LFS suggested?

How do I raise my pH?

How do I get rid of this brown stuff growing on my sand?

 

[JayM]

Great idea, but it seems to me that pretty much nobody does research of any sort before posting a question. Very few people would use the buttons. Just look at all of the "need pics under white lighting" comments. If people did a bit of research before posting, we'd never see that.

 

[Reefer Matt]

Great idea, but it seems to me that pretty much nobody does research of any sort before posting a question. Very few people would use the buttons. Just look at all of the "need pics under white lighting" comments. If people did a bit of research before posting, we'd never see that.

I once made a post that people should research threads before posting to limit the amount of duplicate threads. I was quickly shot down and booed.

 

[exnisstech]

From what I've read here Rev encourages questions be asked even if they have been asked many times before. I have read of people being scolded (my interpretation) for complaining about people asking questions rather than using the search feature. I imaging more questions = more posts = more possibility of revenue but I may be totally wrong.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

From what I've read here Rev encourages questions be asked even if they have been asked many times before. I have read of people being scolded (my interpretation) for complaining about people asking questions rather than using the search feature. I imaging more questions = more posts = more possibility of revenue but I may be totally wrong.

I think to it can help new people feel welcomed knowing that people care about their questions even though the answer might have been stated x amount of times in the past

 

[HudsonReefer2.0]

I make videos and reference those when certain topics come up. But I also understand that not everyone wants to watch a video either. You can also search and save the links on a notepad on a phone or computer about posts you replied to before, and copy and paste them to a thread.

I just link and send them. Great work @Reefer Matt

 

[Cell]

From what I've read here Rev encourages questions be asked even if they have been asked many times before. I have read of people being scolded (my interpretation) for complaining about people asking questions rather than using the search feature. I imaging more questions = more posts = more possibility of revenue but I may be totally wrong.

This.

 

[exnisstech]

I think to it can help new people feel welcomed knowing that people care about their questions even though the answer might have been stated x amount of times in the past

I think people spend too much time needing to feel coddled and important. Me me I'm important, I matter bla bla. I'm too lazy to spend anytime looking just answer my question and please give the answer I seek I don't care if it's correct or ethical.
It's a generation thing and is only going to get worse as time goes on. These are just the oppinons of a cranky old fart and have no real value

 

[JayM]

From what I've read here Rev encourages questions be asked even if they have been asked many times before. I have read of people being scolded (my interpretation) for complaining about people asking questions rather than using the search feature. I imaging more questions = more posts = more possibility of revenue but I may be totally wrong.

I don't mind the questions being repetitive. There's almost always an X factor that makes each one unique. My gripe is when it's apparent that they've not done an ounce of research first. A person can ask better questions and get better answers if they have some general idea of what it is they're looking for.

And FWIW, it's most certainly not just this forum - it's everywhere.

 

[areefer01]

@Randy Holmes-Farley, I am lazy, but still like and want to help folks get through their aquarium issues. It seems that I and many others dole out the same advice over and over again. Given that folks like to and probably are more comfortable with receiving information from a human, I envision a set of buttons which are linked to standard vetted advice for a subject that a responder to an OP’S question can just click on and the reply dumps the information onto the reply. While the stickies are a great idea, they can be too much to read for many issues. I would be willing to draft advice so the burden of vetting by someone is easier. I would also have a button for a list of “BS and Potential Products”.

Feel free to use this idea

Well we used to use books, highlighters, and tabs

Today we have Siri, Alexa, and ChatAI.

 

[Reefer Matt]

Well we used to use books, highlighters, and tabs

Today we have Siri, Alexa, and ChatAI.

I am going back to the books myself. Still some good info in there, even if a little outdated for some.

 

[revhtree]

From what I've read here Rev encourages questions be asked even if they have been asked many times before. I have read of people being scolded (my interpretation) for complaining about people asking questions rather than using the search feature. I imaging more questions = more posts = more possibility of revenue but I may be totally wrong.

Actually it’s a little more complex. We don’t actually earn more revenue for more page views like a traditional blog or website might earn. Obviously more page views do equate to more advertising exposure for our sponsors, which in the long run is good for R2R financially. But they pay a flat rate and we don’t earn by page views.

These are my reasons we encourage people to create new threads. We don’t discourage searching but we also don’t want to discourage members from starting a new thread when they have a question.

1. We want people to get integrated into the community and one way to do that is for someone to create a new thread. They can also find out first hand how welcoming and helpful our community is.

2. Member generated content is good for us in the eyes of search engines and keeps our community relevant for search queries, which in turn leads to more members here and more activity. This is also good for advertisers.

3. Reefing methods change and sometimes there are new answers to old questions. New threads about old questions also gets people thinking and questioning methods.

4. Someone surfing the community might see a new topic they might not otherwise had known about and learn something new.

5. Gives new members, who have knowledge to share, the opportunity to contribute to new discussions and become more established as a knowledgable member.

Those are some of the reasons I like for people to start new threads. I do also like to have specific articles created, good threads stickied etc..

Again I’m not against searching but I’m more for new threads.

 

[blecki]

Great idea, but it seems to me that pretty much nobody does research of any sort before posting a question. Very few people would use the buttons. Just look at all of the "need pics under white lighting" comments. If people did a bit of research before posting, we'd never see that.

And for everyone of those posts you see one like:

> I did X, Y, and Z, but it didn't work. Here are my parameters:

And the first response is:

> Did you try Y? What are your parameters?