Originally Posted by
goalie
Isn't it the job of someone proposing something to have answers in hand. I'm not saying to have all the answers to all the issues & questions but at least have the basic abc's as that imho is the job of the presenter and not the job of the audience to be doing the presenter's homework
I guess that depends on whether one regards this as a collaborative design effort or a group critiquing one person's design.
As to back pedaling, I always feel free to modify my opinion when I get new information. Don't you? Isn't that the point of this thread? Or do you regard it as somehow unfair to the critics if the initial proposal changes in response to member feedback?
Here's what I just posted on the reopened OMNI thread:
I started with a pledge to study the possibilities fully and with the expectation that reader feedback similar to Facebook's Like would benefit FlyerTalk. Early comments led to a change from "Like" to "Helpful" in order to focus the intent of reader feedback. The thread title is therefore slightly out of date, although the poll question is clear. It also became clear early on that a gradual approach like we used for image content was preferable.
My current thinking, for those not wanting to read 400 posts, is that reader feedback could help some forums and could harm others. Therefore we would need software that can show the Helpful button in some forums but not others. That software does not currently exist, and it's quite properly not the top priority.
I remain in favor of step by step per-forum trials of reader feedback when Internet Brands is able to support them. I think there is much we can do in the meantime to define what other features would or would not add value to FlyerTalk. It's not obvious to me what summary information should be visible to whom.
I wish the poll had emphasized the fact that any Helpful button will go through a trial period rather than being turned on site-wide and left on, but I'm happy to have even a rough indication of member sentiment on the issue.
Because of the implementation challenges and priorities, don't expect anything to happen soon. For example, if we can't get the software, we are unlikely even to vote on doing a single forum test. But it's great that we have been able to uncover quite a number of pros and cons on the general concept and on specific features and functions. The current discussion will help this and future TalkBoards considering versions of reader feedback. It might even help steer the future capabilities of the vBulletin platform.
Your TalkBoard members are a careful and responsible lot. Don't expect to see anything risky or radical meet the required 2/3 vote. That's the way it should be.