First Timers

[Marsh]

Recurrent Problem - Innocent web-surfer puts quiz question into Google and clicks the first link in the list.  He arrives in the Answerbank.  He notes down the answer, clicks "Most Recent" and sees a big box with "What is your question?" at the top.  He doesn't notice the words " AB Suggestions" or the "Category Search" box and types in another twenty-five quiz questions, one at a time.  Result: angry Answerbankers from Ayr to Adelaide.  It's so easily done.

Possible Solution - (I hope) - When the surfer registers his user name he is taken to a screen with something like this:

Get the BEST from the Answerbank

1. Post your question in the right category (see the list in the left hand column).  Your hard disc problem won't get solved in Food and Drink � your Quiz question won't find solutions in Body and Soul.  Tour the site and see what fits in where.

2. Use Category Search (at the bottom of the left hand column).  If your question has been answered already people may choose not to answer your duplicate.  For Quizzes try both the question and the quiz name.  If more than 20 threads come up you will need to click "Next 20" in the green bar at the bottom of the screen to reach the higher numbers.

3.  If you have more than one question from the same Quiz, put them all in one posting.  Give the question numbers to make it easier to post answers.


4. Don't swear; don't be rude.  If you do we may ban you from the site.


5. Don't entirely trust the answers.  You do not know how knowledgeable the answerer really is.  Before taking irreversible action, run the ideas past your doctor/lawyer/Citizens' Advice Bureau.  Check quiz answers in Google before sending in your entry. 

6. Enjoy the Answerbank.

 

Might this work?

Catagory Clarification

  

Hijackers

[bernardo]

Hooray!  Brillig idea.

TODSFA

[MrsCheeks]

Do you honestly think that people will read all that????

 

I doubt it somehow ... particularly the ones who are set on making this place the pits.

[Marsh]

Maybe if, after each paragraph, the surfer had to click [NEXT] and move to a new screen, it would help everything get read.  I agree that faced with a ten metre run of Terms and Conditions, one does tend to click "Yes" without reading more than three lines.

And it wouldn't overcome deliberate misbehaviour, of course.  It would only help the innocent web-surfer.  But I have, without meaning to, broken three of the rules outlined above.  It could help a little bit.

[AB Editor]

Marsh - thanks for taking time to come up with such constructive suggestions. All will be reviewed. What does everybody else think?

[zgma]

Yes, I like it!  Also the idea of having to click next to get to the next paragraph, maybe a lengthier sign up process would discourage all these imposters?

[Wraith]

Excellent idea Marsh.

[IndieSinger]

Congratulations Marsh on a thoroughly thought-out and well-structured post. And a fantastic idea to boot; I would love to see this implemented. As long as the new messages to read through were clearly distinguished from looking like "Terms and Conditions" (which people would ignore) I think this would severely deplete the numbers of mis-posts.

[Lindy Loo]

Fantastic idea Marsh, I totally concur with Indiesinger and hope this is implemented asap....

 

If the Editor was able to put this and ewand's suggestion together

http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/AB-Suggestions/Question71593.html

it would help the new and regular users

[Elfin]

Well done Marsh!  Good work.

I have a vacancy in my team for a Help developer/author if you're interested ;-)

[Yinzer]

Yes, all great ideas!

[SteveD]

Excellent ideas!  Everything is there and it works on the KISS principle (Keep It Simple, Stupid!).

 

[rod]

Very good idea. How about a weekend moderator?

[Marsh]

Sorry, Elfin, I daredn't take on any new projects. Thanks for the compliment though. 

And thanks to everyone else, too, for your kind words.  I would award you all three stars but it would be too obvious why I'd done so.