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What's Basic and What's Not.. The Ground rules of Forum

arindam_m
Active Contributor
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116

Was just curious on the fact of whats Basic and What's basic and whats not? Isn't it a bit open ended.

For example the below threads are OK(Older ones)

http://scn.sap.com/thread/1148689

Was there no docuemntation available for REUSE_ALV_LIST_DISPLAY back then and is available now?

http://scn.sap.com/thread/1168714

Was there no documentation available back then on SELECT-OPTION values population

http://scn.sap.com/thread/1153862

Was there no documentation available on SELECTION-SCREEN COMMENT back then

http://scn.sap.com/thread/1166603

Was there no documentation available on GUI_UPLOAD back then

But these are not

http://scn.sap.com/thread/3307002

http://scn.sap.com/thread/3313506

http://scn.sap.com/thread/3350623

Although the reasons for which these were rejected could have been applied to the older ones too. Or application of rules is bit up to the discretion of the members. Just asking to clarify on the ground rules that look a bit foggy. Please post your opinions.

Cheers,

Arindam

Accepted Solutions (1)

Accepted Solutions (1)

JL23
Active Contributor
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a question from 2008  may have been the first one on this matter , but the same question in 2013 is probably  the copy # 200 on this.

forum rules develop over the time, the current version is from Feb 2012

Moderators in 2013 are not the same moderators as in 2008

And moderators do not work 24/7, they have there normal work to do, they have weekends, they have vacations. It is not possible to check about 700 to 1000 new discussions after a 14 day vacation time.

And even moderators are different, there might be moderators who just do moderation, while other moderators are subject matter experts who remember the questions asked every other day. One may write just a direct message and leave the message open, others delete the message right away from the moderation queue before they appear in forum, and if they  past  pre-moderation already then discussions get locked.

arindam_m
Active Contributor
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Thanks Jurgen for your comments, it was informative. Just had a question on how the moderators moderate. In reply to a forum question my answer was edited and was posted as.

in thread

http://scn.sap.com/thread/3361711

Is moderation of messages done in such a vexed manner usually and answers evaluated on how much the moderator is irked rather than on technical evaluative rules. (also questioning the very basis of an initiative done by SCN in the process )

Cheers,

Arindam

JL23
Active Contributor
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I cannot see the picture and do not see anything special in the link, so I cannot comment on a special case.

The moderation rules are publicly available here in About SCN:

I can just tell you that the moderators are humans and each one is different in culture and behavior

Any moderation action needs some time.

If I have some time when seeing a basic question, then I lock it and give even a proof

like here: http://scn.sap.com/thread/3350155

Often a direct message is send too, especially if the thread is rejected directly from the queue.

In busy times, which is either because of my personal work load or having numerous disussions in moderation queue  I do not give this kind of proof.

arindam_m
Active Contributor
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Hi,

Yes the thread has been edited again.

Cheers,

Arindam

SuhaSaha
Product and Topic Expert
Product and Topic Expert
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Hello Arindam,

That was my bad, my apologies! Some bug on the Jive platform, i didn't intend to jeopardize your response. This is what happens when you multi-task

We, Mods, judge the merit of a content based on prescribed set of rules provided to us. Everyone judges the content based on his/her perception of the rules (but never bending the rules). Let me quote Matt here -

Moderation is an art & not science!

We try to keep the forums free of the "noise" (basic questions, plagiarisms, duplicate content et al.) but sometimes some of the content might filter through the pre-moderation. This is where we need responsible forum members to be our extended eyes & ears. You too can do your bit to by hitting the abuse button & letting us know if some noise has filtered through.

I hope this clears the air!

- Suhas

arindam_m
Active Contributor
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Hi Suhas,

Apologies accepted. I also agree with you on:

We try to keep the forums free of the "noise" (basic questions, plagiarisms, duplicate content et al.) but sometimes some of the content might filter through the pre-moderation. This is where we need responsible forum members to be our extended eyes & ears. You too can do your bit to by hitting the abuse button & letting us know if some noise has filtered through

I just have a point here instead of rejecting the question outright or locking it..with suggestions to read documentation or do more search, a better way might be to make it a discussion and actually point or give links to such documentation or existing blogs or discussions or wiki to actually guide the member towards a direction where he/she might be able to solve it. As i guess a forum will always be a mix of members from all levels beginners, intermediate and experts... and we should do constructive moderation to allow all members to engage in the community.

Cheers,

Arindam

JL23
Active Contributor
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No, links to the older discussions or to the exact documentation is what some people just want instead of searching themselves. This does not encourage them to search the next time, instead it encourages many contributors  - who want to make easy  points with other peoples knowledge - to just post such links too.

arindam_m
Active Contributor
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Hi,

I think if we make it a discussion.. no points are awarded isn't so? That's why I stated to make it a discussion that way easy points are out while the discussion is still on and the person gets the help.

Cheers,

Arindam

JL23
Active Contributor
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you mean to make it "not a question".

In that case the contributor cannot make points with correct or helpful answers, Likes are still possible.

But you wont see any difference in Google or SCN search, such threads still clog the forum.

And it even encourages more people to ask such basic questions in the hope that others do the search for them.

I had it just yesterday, a well known frequently asked question, and I knew that I had seen real good answers, I did a search, opened about 20 and did not find the answer I was looking for.

If it was my question then I would have opened the other 180 too, as I usually do not give up  half way. But to be honest, deleting all those questions with no or nonsense answers would save the searchers a lot of time to find the real good content.

arindam_m
Active Contributor
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well in that case remove the points for likes too if like points are a big concern.

But to be honest, deleting all those questions with no or nonsense answers would save the searchers a lot of time to find the real good content.

I suggested that pointing back to existing solutions and documentation for valid basic discussions not for

questions with no or nonsense answers

And i agree they should be locked if deemed nonsensical.

Cheers,

Arindam

SuhaSaha
Product and Topic Expert
Product and Topic Expert
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Thanks for the suggestion, but the cons outweigh the pros (as highlighted by ). So there is nothing much to add from my side! Our idea to keep the forums free of the clutter an...

As i guess a forum will always be a mix of members from all levels beginners, intermediate and experts... 

Whatever may be the level of experience with SCN all of them are professionals, aren't they? Time and time again the community evangelists have highlighted the importance of . So much so that it has been added as a mission in the new gamification platform.

well in that case remove the points for likes too if like points are a big concern.

It's never been about the points and will never be. Let me honest with you, this was not what i thought when i joined SCN . But over the period of time i realized that SCN is not just about points - it's about learning, collaboration, sharing knowledge et al.

For me it's Quality over quantity - Contributors like , , , Former Member, , , post quality. They might never become Topic Leaders (or Top Contributors, dunno what's it called no...

I just have a point here instead of rejecting the question outright or locking it.

As i have(rather Matt has) said moderating is an art & not a science. We have a set a guidelines & that's what we have in mind while moderating. How it's done depends on the person.

arindam_m
Active Contributor
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Yes I too agree its never about the points its the engagement that counts and of course the the quality of the engagement. I just said it as a suggestion no hard and fast rules..

Cheers,

Arindam

MarcinPciak
Active Contributor
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As usually kind comments from the person, who himself should be presented as an authority. That is modesty:) Thanks buddy!

Answers (1)

Answers (1)

Jelena_Perfiljeva
Active Contributor
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There was already a heated discussion on this in Coffee Corner just a few months ago:

http://scn.sap.com/thread/3315408

arindam_m
Active Contributor
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Hi,

I guess its a very open question.. and always gets discussed.

Cheers,

Arindam