Selecting Best Answer

I think this thread: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/id-2448866/form-storage-ssd-rpm-type.html demonstrates perfectly the foolishness of allowing people to select "Best Answers" at random (and then complain when they do). I think it is a shame that effort was obviously spent (without a lot of thought, it appears) to add this facility to the forums but none is expended on correcting the obvious problems that it can cause.

Additionally, it is self-evident from looking at this particular forum that there is a big problem with posters accidentally selecting "Best Answers" and then not being able to unselect them. There is a failure here either in educating the users or, more arguably, in the quality of the forum software that allows this sort of thing to happen. I know we are always told that the developers are busy on more important things but the forums are the main interface that users have and sloppy software just makes them look amateurish.

Finally, my personal hobby horse, I still think it is a bad idea to pay freelance staff to trawl through the old forum posts selecting Best Answers. If the OP doesn't feel that any reply to their post merits that accolade then let it be; no-one else - moderators, staff, anyone who has posted more than half-a-dozen times on the forums - should be allowed to select a Best Answer. And the reason I have been given for doing this - to attract advertisers - is pathetic (IMO).
 

barto

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I don't really think it's a big problem. Sure I've seen random people select solutions but predominately the thread OP is the one to select the solution. That's how I've always viewed it here. And that's how I've always done it. The best thing to do is simply explain to the new guy that you don't select the solution unless it's your own thread. I've de-selected solutions in the past just like yourself. I don't see anything wrong with it as long as the solution selected is blatantly incorrect.

I personally feel that the votes on the right would help out a lot.
 
I agree what you say about the upvoting/downvoting. The problem here is that that is also badly broken with some people being able to use it, some - like myself - can upvote but not downvote (big frustration!), other can't use it at all. Again, that makes the forums look pretty amateurish. I'm surprised that time hasn't been assigned to solving that problem (or else the voting system being removed altogether).

As for who selects the most "Best Answers", my experience is that it is now paid contract workers rather than the OP. I have a problem with this because I have no idea what experience/qualification these people have to select the best answer to someone else's question. I've had to unselect a number of best answers that have been awarded to replies I gave as I thought they were inappropriate. (I know that the rules say I shouldn't do that, but I reserve the right to decide whether my answer is selected as best answer or not by a third party - it's my reputation.) But I wouldn't unselect a BA from the OP unless I was absoultely sure that it was unintended. If they really think that an answer is the most helpful reply to their problem then they are, by definition, correct. Just as long as they don't feel bullied into selecting a BA.
 

If the thread originator has chosen a best answer, regardless of the intent, you leave it as is. This is not open to discussion or debate. You know the rules, they have been posted many times. You may not agree with how it works, but as long as management is happy with the arrangement (and they are) it is what it is. Rehashing it over and over isn't going to change anything.
 
But I wouldn't unselect a BA from the OP unless I was absolutely sure that it was unintended
I explained quite clearly in my post that the only time I would unselect a Best Answer from the originator was when I was absolutely sure that he had selected it in error. Sometimes this is more than obvious. As long as the management are happy to give me the facility to do that I will continue in the same vein. And I will certainly continue, should I think it appropriate, to deselect Best Answers on my posts if that BA is selected by a third party.

If you don't like people selecting/deselecting Best Answers the solution is simple - don't give them the facility to do so. If the organizers of this site are too lazy to make sure that it works in the way they intend then they have no right to tell me how to behave.

I stand by what I said. No matter what the management of these forums say I reserve the absolute right to decide whether an answer that I have given to a question is selected as a Best Answer or not, as it is my reputation on the line. If you don't like that then tough - you'll have to give me a permanent ban. This, also, is not open to discussion or debate.
 

barto

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There's actually a thread about the down votes problem. It appears that the mods are the only ones that can down vote at the moment.

 
It's been a problem for ages, as has that of people wrongly selecting BAs. Just look at the number of posts in this forum requesting BAs to be undone. But it seems to be beyond the ability of the developers to fix, or else it is considered unimportant.
 


I'm sorry, but if a contribution that I make to these forums is used in a way that I feel is inappropriate then I have the absolute right to stop that usage. I haven't assigned the copyright of my contributions to anyone else.
 

Titillating

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Actually, you essentially have. Please review the terms of use. These days, anything you put up on the internet essentially belongs to the site you put it up on. Not that we are making any claims to your contributions, just pointing out that you don't seem to have your facts straight because you agreed to those terms by using the site.

As for the BAs, there are plans in the works to allow an OP to un-select a BA he didn't choose. As to why that wasn't already in place, well, that predates my tenure and I have no answers for that. That is hopefully going to get implemented early next year.

In the grand scheme of things, yes, this issue and the one with the downvoting are considered less important than other things. For instance, the incessant spam we've been dealing with for the last few months. Or the recent redesign of the Tom's Guide home page. Or keeping both forums up and running, securely. Or the dozens of other projects and tasks they've got going on. Keep in mind that they don't work solely on the US sites. They are, after all, located in France and are involved with the European sites as well.