A Little Help Over Here, - Improving GMC: Question and Response Feature |
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A Little Help Over Here, - Improving GMC: Question and Response Feature |
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Feb 16 2011, 04:12 PM |
Don't the forums already provide this?
-------------------- Ibanez 2550E
LTD EC-1000 VB Roland Cube 30W |
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Feb 16 2011, 04:26 PM |
Don't the forums already provide this? Very good point. My thoughts are that not all GMC members are using the forum or know how to use it. A lot of my friends just don't know how to use forums online or they seem to complicated to them. I think this would be a cool feature for any member to quickly ask ANY question and get a prompt answer. -------------------- For GMC support please email support (at) guitarmasterclass.net
Check out my lessons and my instructor board. Check out my beginner guitar lessons course! ; Take a bass course now! |
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Feb 16 2011, 08:18 PM |
I'm with Dark Dude one this one.. I think I would be an unnecessary feature..
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Feb 17 2011, 10:58 AM |
Interesting.
I guess anything that makes GMCers experience better is worth adding. At first I thought the boards contain all the answers, but you guys have a point that there are many that don't use them, so I say go for it! On a side note, if this feature sees the light, I'll be glad to add any frequent questions received, and their answers, to my ongoing Wiki_FAQ here: https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/wiki/inde...he_GMC_Universe -------------------- Guitars:
Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster, Ibanez RG2570MZ, Epiphone SG G-400 Amp: Vox AC4TVH head + V112TV cab Effects: Vox Satchurator, Vox Time Machine, Dunlop CryBaby, Boss MT-2, Boss CE-5, Boss TU-2, Boss ME-70 Recording: Line-6 POD X3 + FBV-Express, Pandora PX5D GMC wants YOU to take part in our Guitar-Wikipedia! Have a good time reading great articles and writing your own with us in our GUITAR WIKI! Share your playing and get Pro-advice from our Instructors: Join REC |
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Feb 17 2011, 11:23 AM |
Very interesting discussion. Another alternative would be to use this "Quick Question" feature as a super fast way to post a forum topic question (without having to go to the forum, decide which board to post on, find the new topic button, preview, mess with bb code etc etc)
The downside is that we might get a lot more repeated and low quality topics. (we could have a new board just for this though) The good side is that we might get a boost in forum activity. Another cool thing is that we could build the feature so that it senses from which lesson the question was asked, that way you can quickly ask about a specific lesson you're working on. The thread would then automatically display something like "this question concerns "Whammy bar Phrasing Lesson II") All questions regarding a specific lesson could then conveniently be accessed from within the lesson (etc etc -once you start brainstorming you cant stop!! ) |
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Feb 17 2011, 03:02 PM |
Many people don't really check stickied topics So either: 1) People are ignoring the average internet forum's rules out of choice (this topic is all about customer service, so I checked the apple.com iPhone support forums to see whether they use the sticky idea. They do. Link) 2) It's not clear enough that the stickied topics are a must read. many of them are far outdated. Why haven't they been updated for so long? But we do have -many- questions repeated again and again. Yes, but there are better ways of attempting to fix this. Besides, most people who are not already posting on the forum, would not make a topic asking a question they know is silly. I know I wouldn't... If shyness is a part of it, the quick reply idea wouldn't be any different, unless it was anonymous. However, the most worrying part is that people are, apparently, too concerned with how they'll look on an internet forum, when asking a "silly" question. Aren't we meant to learn here? Beginners don't know enough to be able to judge whether their question is silly or not. If people feel discouraged to ask questions on a guitar forum (one that's meant to help you learn, of all places), because it might be a silly question, then something needs to be changed to target that. -- Also, how will funnelling these questions into a separate area increase forum activity? As Ben said, interaction will be lost, which would decrease activity. I understand that you want to innovate to improve customer service and forum activity, but I think there are better ways of doing this. If you haven't already, re-read Ben's post above, there are some great suggestions (the e-mail, the drop-down FAQ. Also, the last paragraph makes very important points). EDIT: Just re-read Fran's post. QUOTE On a side note, if this feature sees the light, I'll be glad to add any frequent questions received, and their answers, to my ongoing Wiki_FAQ here: https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/wiki/inde...he_GMC_Universe You're effectively making a sticky there. There's no need to wait for the feature, searches can be done on the forums to figure out the most common questions. If you could link people to Fran's FAQ clearly, then you shouldn't have as many of those questions asked. This post has been edited by dark dude: Feb 17 2011, 03:06 PM -------------------- Ibanez 2550E
LTD EC-1000 VB Roland Cube 30W |
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Feb 17 2011, 03:31 PM |
Interesting. I guess anything that makes GMCers experience better is worth adding. At first I thought the boards contain all the answers, but you guys have a point that there are many that don't use them, so I say go for it! On a side note, if this feature sees the light, I'll be glad to add any frequent questions received, and their answers, to my ongoing Wiki_FAQ here: https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/wiki/inde...he_GMC_Universe Thanks Fran, that would be very useful. I agree that there could be slightly different features to help users navigate the site and give them confidence in knowing where to look for something. Regards people not really reading through old sticky topics, I think you're probably right.. I tend not to do that myself on sites unless I'm specifically searching for a key subject etc.. What could be helpful is a small drop down menu which already has headings of a few obvious FAQ's that can be clicked on straight away. By having the actual questions written out as headings, there's is no need to search old sticky topics, as you call them. It obviously won't cover all FAQ's but you could implement it along with the proposed question feature. I know that I certainly find drop down menus very helpful when navigating a new site. One other thing I thought of a while ago is the idea of creating an email which talks a new user through using the site. A lot of what I learnt was through trial and error and I must admit there were loads of things I wasn't aware I could do until I either asked or stumbled across it, so maybe a standard welcome email which tells people how to use the forum, post REC's and interact with the instructor's lesson ie. leave feedback. I know these points might seem obvious to us now but they're not when you haven't done it before. The only possible downside I could see is that if users choose to post questions using the new feature rather than ask in the forum then the forum won't benefit from the possible interaction. I'm sure most of us don't have a problem with giving advice and talking about something which has already been covered. After all, the more experienced we get about a certain subject the more sure we can be with our advice... I dunno, it's just a thought. I'm definitely open to the new idea.. but I think there are definitely other areas where users need help. I think it needs to be made obviously clear that users can email Justin for help as well, as they might be a bit shy or reluctant to 'bother' a member of staff if you know what I mean ? Thanks Ben, this helps a lot. We don't want to discourage interaction on the forum as I said before. The idea behind this is that if members are able to get the attention they are looking for by using the feature then in theory they would be more willing to use the forums that they might previously have been to "shy" to. We know that many member are to shy to ask question and possibly uncertain where to ask a question that might be deemed "silly" therefor we are just reviewing options to help them out. Thanks again for your possible ideas and good feedback. So either: 1) People are ignoring the average internet forum's rules out of choice (this topic is all about customer service, so I checked the apple.com iPhone support forums to see whether they use the sticky idea. They do. Link) 2) It's not clear enough that the stickied topics are a must read. Why haven't they been updated for so long? Yes, but there are better ways of attempting to fix this. If shyness is a part of it, the quick reply idea wouldn't be any different, unless it was anonymous. However, the most worrying part is that people are, apparently, too concerned with how they'll look on an internet forum, when asking a "silly" question. Aren't we meant to learn here? Beginners don't know enough to be able to judge whether their question is silly or not. If people feel discouraged to ask questions on a guitar forum (one that's meant to help you learn, of all places), because it might be a silly question, then something needs to be changed to target that. -- Also, how will funnelling these questions into a separate area increase forum activity? As Ben said, interaction will be lost, which would decrease activity. I understand that you want to innovate to improve customer service and forum activity, but I think there are better ways of doing this. If you haven't already, re-read Ben's post above, there are some great suggestions (the e-mail, the drop-down FAQ. Also, the last paragraph makes very important points). EDIT: Just re-read Fran's post. You're effectively making a sticky there. There's no need to wait for the feature, searches can be done on the forums to figure out the most common questions. If you could link people to Fran's FAQ clearly, then you shouldn't have as many of those questions asked. We have talked about the option for the question to be "anonymous" or not. The member would be able to decide. This could allow the student to feel at ease when asking. Once again, thanks for the feedback. It's extremely useful. |
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Feb 17 2011, 04:11 PM |
I think the anonymous idea is quite good !
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