How to mark a question or post without falsely implying a negative aspect?
I see that sometimes there are questions, which most of us would have no answers, but that a moderator might be able to tap resources for a reasonable answer.
But the only way I can see to flag such a post, is to report it. But all of the options only flag the post in a negative way, and I didn't want to miscommunicate any implications that someone was misbehaving, when all that was wanted was information.
If I begin a post with Moderator or something like that, would it serve to bring the attention of someone to the post indicated?
Thanks!
Best Answer
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Flagging or reporting posts is the best way. They go into a queue that is monitored throughout the day. As you know, we just had an update in our community software that changed flagging. We are all still learning about the changes. 🙃
We have the ability to change the list in the popup for flagging. We rely on your help to let us know what needs our attention so what other suggestions do you have? I love the initial suggestion by @David Alan Webber for a reason indicating that a post hasn't been answered. Let us know what you think and we'll make some updates. Sam😊
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There have been some previous posts on the subject; in fact, you commented on this one: Flagging a community post now requires a reason to be selected. There are insufficient choices. Another user has also commented there, suggesting that "Inappropriate" be used (as perhaps the least negative choice). In fact, that is exactly what I had already done. I think that I commented in another similar discussion that it was a bit ironic that the term "Inappropriate" was actually a better description of the available choices than it was of the content being reported.
You could perhaps flag your own post in this discussion to test this. This discussion is, in its own way, an example of what you are describing. Only FamilySearch insiders could have a definitive answer to your question.
I would temper this suggestion with the recollection of a recent experience. I recently wanted to add some information on a discussion I had started about a bug in the FS web site. That discussion had been closed months ago, with a moderator saying that it had been passed on for review. That being the case, my only option was to flag the discussion and provide the new information there. I did that several weeks ago, but I have received no response whatsoever to my flag.
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We appear to have two options beyond flagging, neither of which is optimal either: tag the relevant moderator, assuming we know who that is and that they aren't on holiday, or put BUG REPORT on the front of a bug post subject, assuming the poster knows to do that.
A recent BUG REPORT (https://community.familysearch.org/en/discussion/181843/bug-report-genealogies-view-sources-button-just-produces-login-prompt-every-time#latest) actually resulted in my being emailed a support ticket number, which was a very positive development (though the problem is not actually fixed yet).
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Thank you both, JulianBrown38 and MandyShaw1 ! 😊
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@Ashlee C. I would be interested in the mod view on this - what are the optimal steps to ensure that a post requiring mod attention reaches the most appropriate mod in a timely manner? Thanks.
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@Sam Sulser @MandyShaw1 I suppose that my first suggestion would be to add an "other" option to the flagging list. My second suggestion after that might be to have a "commenter question for staff" or something similar, so that a valid question that's beyond most of us, might be promoted to a moderator or dev.
Those are my two thoughts at the moment.
And two at once is an extremely heavy load for me, as I usually juggle just one, and allow it to fade from loneliness and boredom. 💤
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I like this idea since it allows the report to be more generic (tagging doesn't work if the person is out of the office). Also, it occurs to me, could this allow reports to be seen where appropriate by the overnight/weekend FS support teams?
I would suggest
Moderator assistance needed - Search Issue [or similar - to catch the myriad issues we currently tag @SerraNola on]
Moderator assistance needed - Get Involved issue
Moderator assistance needed - Memories issue
Moderator assistance needed - Major Website Problem
Moderator assistance needed - Other
The key thing though is awareness/avoiding duplication of flags; the current tagging protocol is at least visible to all. How would you handle that? Should people simply comment that they have used one of these new flags?
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Thanks for the suggestions everyone! I'm make some updates and we'll see how well it works.
@MandyShaw1 I think multiple reports will be ok. As the reports are seen, they are dealt with and the problem is either gone (like a post needed to be moved) or the moderator has replied in the discussion that is taken care of (bug is reported to engineering).
Sam ☺️
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I have updated these options to better fit our community and based on your suggestions (and our moderator's). Take a look, see if the wording makes sense, and let me know your thoughts. Let's try these for a bit and see how the community uses them. Sam 🙂
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Sam, this is fine in Utah working hours, but a flag placed on a Friday night won't presumably be dealt with for a while. We can always mention the flag in a comment, though, obviously.
P.S. forgot to say thank you for the fact that the list of flag options now scrolls properly in portrait mode on my 'phone.
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Wasn't sure how to flag this, as it's a data problem not a bug. Can we have an option for data problems please?
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