A 'still need help' icon
 

When someone makes a thread, a little 'need help' icon could show up on the side of the thread where this icon is. A reply to that thread could turn that 'need help' icon into a "don't need help anymore' icon. But if the thread starter still needs help, he/she could click an option in his/her thread that will turn the 'don't need help anymore' icon into a 'need help' icon so people will not ignore the thread because it has been replied to.

I hope this makes sense. :(

Yeah I get what you mean - it could be really cool. The two big things that could prevent it being impelmented are:

Code. How easy would it be to add?

Will people actually use it? You notice the answered button at the top of this post. This is an LQ experiment in this (WFS) forum, and no one (well almost) actually uses it. Have a look at some of the recent threads on this forum, you'll see that this has been suggested. (In a variety of forms) Have a read, in some of the early ones the mods are quite gentle in their approach to explaining why no. In the latter ones they just say - no. This has been discussed many times. Search. - which is no biggy seeing as they have already answered it many times.

So: even if it was easy to implement, people still would not use it and hence it won't probably be taken on board.

Still a cool idea though. :)

titanium_geek

and- that little envelope thingy is to show how active a thread is. it is actually quite useful, and a part of LQ. (I hesitate to say integral part) so, it probably would not be changed.

titanium_geek

I know I would use it. :D I'm sure others who can relate would also use it. For now, I'm just going to use my signature.

You could always just look at how many threads have a "thanks, <this action> solved it" reply. Then ask yourself if any of the people who don't return to say thanks will return to click a solved/answered/finished/"don't need help anymore" button.

Probably the same number who return here to click "answered" when the answer is provided.

Seriously, to all of you who keep suggesting this identical thing, keep the ideas coming but just accept that not everything can be or will be implemented.

And also to mention for the two dozenth time that we've tried this type of solution in this forum, no one ever used it. :eek:

It's the law of diminishing returns.

The more features you incorporate into a forum, productivity (in fully using those features effectively) tends to plummet rather rapidly.

:cool:

A 'still need help' icon is really necessary.

Personally i got only once satisfying results. It is just that someone answers once, does not completely solve the problem, and then forgets about my thread. Those who are searching threads with no answers do not fall on mine. And the 'still need help' icon should be automatically sorted to be at the beginning of all the threads.

This idea is interesting. It's sort of the opposite of marking something as answered - only the people who actually still want help are required to do something. I can see some problems with it, but let me think those through. This is something I'll consider for a future release. Thanks for the suggestion.

--jeremy

Yes, Jeremy. I believe that you have very well continued the idea.
Once a user is not satisfied with the answer he/she should be able to activate a "not answered" or "still in need" or "help" icon. And for not disturbing other users browsing the threads a special search function for the "still in need" threads (something similar to the 0 answers threads).

of course it would be open to abuse. people using it to put their threads at the top etc.

though it a 'selfish' thing - it helps 'me' so more people would use it rather than a helps 'everybody and not specifically me' answered. This he way that people are- so it just might work.

titanium_geek

But it could be of great use to those who do use it. Threads that are replied to don't get as much attention as 0 reply threads. And if you try to start a new thread after your original one dies, it'll just be closed. I had a problem come up with backing up program settings. I had to add a link to my thread in my signature just to bring attention to it. :( 3 days later, I finally got the help I needed.

No no. I was thinking more along these lines.

* When a thread is started, a "need help" icon could show up in the corner where the envelopes are.
* When a thread is replied to, the "need help" then goes away.
* If the thread starter still needs help, he/she could turn that icon back on with an option inside of the thread.

:) what I was saying is that people are selfish. (it's true, think about it!) and so this is a feature that might be used more than, say, the answered button.

titanium_geek

Yes. You'd think that every single thread starter would use this option then... it works the opposite way as "answered".

If there was an option to mark a question as urgent then I bet everybody would do so! :)