[thesite] Answer this

Warden, Matt mwarden at odyssey-design.com
Sat Jun 9 11:48:08 CDT 2001


-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

> From: "John Handelaar" <john at userfrenzy.com>
> Subject: [thesite] Answer this
> 

...
> In every other respect, WEO (in common with all
> other webloggy-type apps) takes responses to
> the question on the same page.  We're asking
> people to create new articles in another section
> entirely. 

AnswerThis isn't a response-based system, if that makes any sense.
It's not like comments on an article.

Maybe if you saw the objectives of AnswerThis you would like it
better. Summarized from an admin posting:

a. Content used to be coming to the evolt.org site *MUCH* faster than
it is now. We'd be getting one to three headlines in that Headlines
mailer to thelist every day.
b. It's generally agreed that one of our greatest assets is the
www.evolt.org site. browsers.evolt.org and members.evolt.org are both
awesome, but they're add-ons to what makes evolt great at its core.
c. We wanted a way to prompt content. Not only just prompt articles,
but prompt *good* articles.
d. There is/was a lacking of good articles in the Code category. The
top 5 rated articles used to be all design and usability articles.
e. AnswerThis was developed as a way to prompt *specific* content
from our members and arouse isterst in developing content. *WE* come
up with the idea. *THEY* come up with the article.
f. There was another plus. AnswerThis would naturally end up with
solution articles similar to Breadcrumbs for XXXX that exist on the
site now. Those types of articles kick major ass, IMO.

> Worse, those new articles make no
> backward-reference whatsoever to their progenitor
> article in the AnswerThis section (how could 
> they?)

Hyperlinks work on our site. ;-)

Seriously, this is something admin would add. Just "This article is
in response to [AnswerThis Problem Article]."

> Suggested options:
> 
> 1) Backtrack Code articles to their source
> (not attractive to me because it will
> inevitably fill the code section with 
> shitloads of similar articles in various
> script languages)

That's the point. See Breadcrumbs for XXXXXX. Shitloads? I don't
think it will be *that* effective. If so, we'll have to figure a way
to determine which articles get approved.

> 2) Allow long responses (including code) in
> the below-article discussions in the
> AnswerThis section.

No way. See above.

The whole point is to get people to write articles.

> Something this obtuse defeats the object:
> I see very little point in creating something
> which is intended to get soid contributions from
> outside the evolt 'core', yet cannot really be
> used by anyone in that category.

What do you mean by this? I think you are hinting at something that
should be added to the category information article. If so, what
should be added?

And "outside the evolt 'core'"? You mean we'd be accepting problem
articles from non-admin authors.. is that what you're referring to?
If so, we haven't exactly decided on that. I think we just left it
open in the category information article so that if we decided to go
that way, we can. It would be ideal if admin didn't have to write all
the problem articles.

> Obviously I should make clear that I'm not
> denigrating anyone's efforts per se - this is
> more of a UI 'bug' than a fundamental problem
> I think.

Even if you were saying "AnswerThis sucks", I'd rather you speak up.
We can make changes if you still think there are problems. Remember,
this is something new. We aren't super-gods who know everything about
usability, building community, managing content, etc., etc., etc. I'm
not sure anyone expected that we would launch AnswerThis and never
have to change anything about it.

Thanks for speaking up. I'd like to hear more (especially a
clarification above where you lay down your problem with the current
setup).


Thanks,


- --
mattwarden
mattwarden.com

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: PGPfreeware 7.0.3 for non-commercial use <http://www.pgp.com>

iQA/AwUBOyJSiHgH0dUmEhrcEQLV1gCdHp/RcDS81HLpJPf0U7kSFWMdBc0An3Mv
h3chpmTh+zXqSlQaXph7Ro1g
=sjB1
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----






More information about the thesite mailing list