job help: The future of help! - Help.com

I think the site is really good but here are the ideas I have had (I have done a lot of systems design and implementation so that is where my ideas are stemming from).

- About being able to edit posts/replies - I have not been comfortable than other users can edit the post of someone else. That leaves for changing the content and heart of a message. I think allow users to edit their own posts and replies.

- I think the person who posts something should be able to delete negative replies from their post and we should also be able to delete negatives from the shoutbox (maybe in the user profile, set up a flag that lets us select the number of days messages are in the shout or just let add a delete button so we can select which to delete.

- Some times there is so much useful information that I would like to be able to email from my post and its replies to myself. It would be great to be able to add a button to forward information to ourselves in email.

- I really like being able to invite users to posts - but it might be nice to set up a post that can be sent to your friends or fans or favorites as you choose for certain conversations you want to have with them - and then also be able to discuss posts with the general population.

- When posting, it will give a message that it can accept 5000 characters, Can you display the count so people know how much to edit?

Jebus Zeus (CoalMan) wrote:
bann all Cincinnati users… woot

Today I am not in the mood for sarcasm and if you do not have anything productive to add to the discussion, then start another post of your own and talk about whatever problem you are experiencing. It bothers me that people come to help for a reason, because they are looking for support while some others just get on because they don’t have anything better to do that put people down. My experience is that happens because some times people can only feel better about themselves in putting someone else down. Regardless, the behavior should not be tolerated and the administrator should not have to spend valuable time dealing with this behavior.

I accept that not everyone likes me and I am far from perfect. I can accept that you do not like me and frankly I don’t care. So insult to your hearts content if that makes you feel better about your life. It would be far more productive however if you would ask for help to deal with your issues.

I am not going to be bullied today so this is as much as I will engage in this with you.

- Like the helpbots! They give important information.

- I don’t know if there is a user guide of instructions but I am going to look around.

I have a few more ideas and will invite some people to this post. I have to take a break for a bit but will return later today.

I hope the site will remain free! Just a couple additional thoughts before I forget.

- Maybe add a button to block a user from your posts for those. We’ve discussed stalkers and people that bring negative stuff to our posts and it would be nice to have a block feature. Admins shouldn’t have to spend precious time focusing on user behavior so put some of that back in the user’s hands.

- Can we post files and photos in an easy way and without infecting the site with virus issues.

Be back later.

Shizuko-Sophie wrote:
I referance to users being able to delete replies to their post…

that should never be done.

Everyone has a right to express an oposing point of view as long as it falls within the site TOS.

Just because I can be stronly opinionated does not mean that I should not allow other users to express an opposing opinion to mine.

I have been taught to walways consider both sides of any discussion or argument for the simple reason that I can be wrong and in this way I can learn by dicussing issues rather than just trying to force my opinions on others.

If you strongly think a reply is inappropriate then report it and let the moderators decide if the reply warents deletion.

I don’t have any problems with opposing opinions or free expression but there are times when I’ve read posts and someone is very depressing and people say really hurtful things. The admins are so busy that I don’t think we should put the burdens on them. We could still report them, allow discussions but also perhaps keep in mind that some of us are reaching out and discussing feelings (which aren’t necessarily wrong or right - it is just how a person feels) so I think there are cases where we should be able to delete. Like I would have only deleted the one on this post that insulted Cincinnati users - as that was not helpful at all. I think sometimes too, people post under the ‘anonymous’ but you can figure out who they are in a couple of ways so I think we should either make get rid of that feature or let people have a chance to speak their piece with anon and then delete their own posts. That is just what I was thinking. I am sure whatever changes they make will take into considerationg what everyone is saying and they will make it fair.

I don’t like the current setup where you can post something and any other user can edit your post.

I agree Shouts should be private because those are between two people. From a systems perspective it can get complicated trying to maintain a database where you are giving people all sorts of different rights so probably they’ll be best for future upgrading of the site to keep things consistent.

Maybe a spell-check would be easy to add. It might be nice to set up groups from your friends list (like who you want to invite to similar things like jokes or even a “select all” button because sometimes you want to invite all.

I notice the email alerts do not show up for invites or shouts - you sort of have to log in to see them so I sometimes fall behind in responding to things.

I don’t know how elaborate they want to get in terms of each person’s profile but perhaps adding a “Search” box so you can look for a particular topic or maybe one to search the web might help. Some other sites also have a link to a user directory but I am not sure with the number of users of this system that is feasible.

I have not used the Chat feature myself but it might be nice if we started scheduling chats for specific topics at specific times so people can talk. Maybe if there are professionals involved in the site, they could post a bulletin (which is maybe different than a post??) saying, at this time we’ll have a live chat on managing stress or dealing with depression or whatever topic is of interest. Not necessarily endorsed by Help.com but part of the user community, where users agree it is just additional help/conversation.

I also think maybe the Admins need a place to post notices to users - like if the system is undergoing maintenance or backups or whatever and they need people off at certain times.

I like this site, I love the support. I am not crazy about what I see as sarcasm. I think people should be able to have their own beliefs and that people shouldn’t jump to make fun of someone else just because we don’t know what other people are really living and words have power.

Some sites also have like a “Star” system which I sort of notice here as people reply with the buttons to add friends or number of shouts. But some use the stars to show usage or achievements. I haven’t worked on a site that does this myself so I don’t know how they figure that out - maybe number of posts/number of users helped. Then I don’t know who figures out who’s helped? Just because you rely doesn’t equal being helpful. I don’t think it is a contest but it might be nice I guess I am saying to know who is nice.

There are a couple of users I would like to block from my posts and be blocked from theirs because of problems with them that I won’t go into. That way we stay away from each other and everyone is happy.

I know that is my wish list and I trust them to balance out what Help.com needs and whatever changes they make, I am glad to have found the site. It has been a great source of support for me.

I agree with those who say we need to keep an eye on the younger users because of predators. I am not sure how to do that because people can lie about their age. Maybe someone with more experience there can help out. Then again, maybe that is a good reason to keep all things public here? I know MySpace was in the news for working on keeping young users safe online.

Thanks for all your great ideas. I am going to be heading off the computer shortly because I’m in a lot of pain from having to get some important documentation finished today.

That is a great idea - I happen into the Friend list ever so often and find a Favorite or Fan and don’t know how long they have been there.