Hi Andre,

Thanks for the feedback, and let me be the first to tell you, we not only hear you, but we agree with you!

It should be the original poster who decides which reply is the correct answer, as this is a key step in making community content trusted in the eyes of other members. This action along with other markings that a post might receive, tells all members that the content can be trusted, assuming they encounter the same or a very similar issue. You clearly understand how it works. In fact, we feel so strongly about this that you’ll soon see some visual cues designed to inform and remind members and the original poster of this important step.

So, we want to take a two-pronged approach while we think about and design a future-state community experience here at VMware. First, we’re going to be more present in the community over time (as in the new Skyline Community), while placing a great deal of focus on guiding and coaching members on the best practices that produce ‘trusted’ content.

Second, we will be using a talented group of Solution Architects to identify the correct answer when the original poster fails to return and communicate this information. These SA’s have been resolving customer issues and challenges for a number of years, and we’re confident in their ability to identify the right solution when they see it. And if they don’t see it, you may just see them post a reply to restart or fuel the discussion.

Lastly, I’d like to add that enterprise level communities are not typically a place where we see members provide off-topic or useless answers in the form of a reply. But if that were to happen, we’re prepared to engage those members and remind them of community norms, and if necessary, our code of conduct which is in place to benefit the community as a whole.

Thanks for listening, your contributions as a moderator, and for your patience as we work to optimize the VMTN community experience.

BrianG

The Global Services Community Team

Thanks for the feedback. While every community has a small percentage of members who engage the community for all the wrong reasons, including trying to game the system as you’ve described (the 1%), the majority of members are here for all the right reasons (the 99%).

This doesn’t mean that the majority of members will always provide a correct or best answer – but as long as it’s not sabotage, it’s part of what makes community support natural and authentic—members may receive multiple opinions and context to consider, which can be helpful as not all environments/topology are the same.

Over time, if we work together to encourage and remind the member who posted the original question or issue to be sure to come back and select a correct answer, we should see far better results in terms of the volume of accurately marked posts (today less than 23% of posts have a correct answer selected).

BTW—you’re right that point-based reward systems can be abused, and the new community experience due next year will use far more advanced mechanics to recognize the contributions of all members. Also know that we have the ability to identify members who may try to game the system in response to this challenge. So, we’re watching closely.

Lastly, and slightly related, I thought it might be of interest to the vExpert team and other members —when we launch the new community experience next year, questions in the community that go unanswered will be escalated into a Service Request.

Thanks for the feedback daphnissov – and we couldn't agree with you more, on all counts.

We recently added over 20 VMware employees to the community to handle technical Q&A, and we'll be adding more over time. We also plan to be more hands-on in the community, because we know that all communities – online or offline – require a support system to be successful. To this end, you will see the Global Services Team play a far more active role in community support than in the past.

And in case you missed it in my earlier post, you’re absolutely right in that the OP should be the one selecting the Correct Answer. Unfortunately, this isn't being done to the extent that it should, and one way we hope to change this, is through continuous reminders, soon to be released visual ques, and by performing the actions that we want OPs to mirror. We always appreciate the support vExperts provide, and any encouragement you can give OPs in this regard, would be most appreciated.

The Global Service Community Team

Hi LucD,

Thanks for asking. We identified and reached out to the top challenge contributor on or about Aug 21, however we have not yet heard back from the member, so we're holding off on making an announcement to give this person more time to respond (in case they're on vacation, etc.).

Please feel free to follow this thread, or keep an eye on this community for an update.