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We've had the Back-it-up Principle since the beginning of M4M. We put it in place specifically to stop answers like the following:
And then, of course, everyone just votes up the answer they agree with most, or the answer from the supposed doctor, even though we have no way to prove they're a real doctor. We've enforced it pretty strongly. Do you think it's working? Do we need stronger enforcement? Are we overdoing it? What can we do to get the community to take part in setting standards like this for the site? |
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I think the "Back it up" principle currently works really well on "moms4mom" It certainly helps maintain a more personal tone in the answers which I think is very appropriate for the site, and deters answers smelling heavily of "Eau de matter of fact" Given the current traffic of users the principle works very well, but this could be liable to change when user traffic increases and user nationalities are more diverse. 2
I agree that the increase in traffic may cause some increase in "well, I think . . . " sentiments. However, by moderating at least the more egregious examples, I believe these people may get tired of the site and just give up.
(Apr 19 '10 at 09:28)
Kiesa
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Looking at other parent related internet forums (mostly in german), I really believe it is working. There are so many strange opinions out there, which are kept off moms4mom by this principle. You would not believe what strange recommendations you can find on other sites... 1
I agree with you, and since using Moms4mom I too have noticed the weird amounts of information that is floating around on the internet amongst parents, and in my opinion this really gives an edge to Moms4mom.
(Apr 19 '10 at 04:51)
emination
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I'm not sure exactly how to fix this but I think the push to choose a "correct" answer may tempt people to choose answers that they normally wouldn't accept. I have a question right now where I asked for people for an evidenced-based answer and right off the bat had 2 anecdotal answers. I'm sure these people are trying to be helpful so I'm never sure what the best response is in these type of situations. It's always tempting to "accept" the answer, especially if it's the only one. It'd be nice if there were an option to post "these are the resources I checked that weren't helpful." At the very least, it would prevent other people from duplicating effort. However, since it's not an answer, it doesn't really fit into the current rating scheme. 2
I think the simple answer is to not accept an unsatisfactory answer. If you have done some reading, I'd include the links in the question and explain why they don't answer your question. Also comment on the answers to explain why they're unsatisfactory or flag them for Scott to do that for you...
(Apr 19 '10 at 12:54)
Rich Seller
@Rich Seller, Yes, I agree about not accepting unsatisfactory answers. I think I explained myself poorly. You get points for accepting an answer and even if it isn't a huge boost it might encourage some to accept answers they wouldn't otherwise.
(Apr 19 '10 at 13:39)
Kiesa
@Kiesa - I should know this but do you actually get points for accepting an answer? I thought you only received points for having the accepted answer (15).
(Apr 19 '10 at 14:57)
Tammy
@Tammy I discovered that by chance....I guess you receive 2 points each time you accept an answer... :)
(Apr 19 '10 at 17:29)
emination
I don't think you should accept an answer if it's not "right", or it wasn't the one that "helped you" the most. The push to accept answers as correct is really a hold-over from StackOverflow, where most answers are verifiably right or wrong.
(Apr 19 '10 at 18:55)
Scott ♦♦
Yes, you should only accept an answer if "you" found it to be helpful.
(Apr 20 '10 at 02:47)
emination
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Wow. I just spent over 20 minutes responding to this, and the system threw my post away. How extraordinarily frustrating. Oh well.
@Adam Davis....Oooooch!
The link to the BIU principle is broken, and I didn't get a useful hit from Google. Can you please summarize the principle in the question? (Or fix the link) Thanks!
@torbengb: the link seems to be working fine. I added a slash to the end just in case, but it should have been adding it automatically for you.