Here’s a question that has been on my mind: Should corporate representatives of the companies or programs discussed be identified more clearly (such as their names appearing in green)?

I see some benefits in providing more prominence to those representatives. First and foremost, sometimes users want an “official” response. Their answers carry a certain weight to them and therefore it is a benefit to the community as a whole to highlight posts that they make and information that they share. The second benefit is that it more clearly highlights which companies have active participation on the board and that in turn incents additional participation. If most hotels chains, for example, have a representative here then others might be more inclined to jump on the bandwagon and ensure their message is also represented. And those representatives are the individuals who provide us a channel into the organizations themselves and have the potential to actually make changes to respond to the experiences of this group.

The down side is that some users might feel less valued as their opinions are shown to carry less weight than those of official representatives. It also increases the likelihood of negative comments that pollute the environment with anger and ire rather than constructive debate and it might therefore lead to additional moderation.

Overall, I think I would likely support giving it a try but I recognize that several here have far more history than I. Has this type of things ever been discussed before? And what are the broader opinions on whether or not it might be a viable direction for this community? Is it just me or do others see potential value in getting the providers more involved with our discussions?

Thanks.