Andrew

Agreed that is the key really. It would be good if we could automate it to an extent and there will always be people who can't be bothered to read it but i think a lot of new posters would post the relevant information if someone told them how to.

Jon

Hi Guys,

How about NetPro putting a video on the guidelines of using this form including what to ask, what not to ask, what information if provided initially can expedite the resolution and talking about the rating system.

This can be done in addition to plain text.

Whenever you click on start a new conversaion, open a new page about these guidelines.

-> Sushil

Hey Rob,

Thanks a lot.

I completely agree with you. Day before I stumbled through one of the posts, where the user was asking for quick resolution. His statement was something like - "Its very urgent, respond immediately".

This is mostly because few people are under the assumption that this forum is officially addressed by Cisco and they are bound to address the query within stipulated timelines, just like support groups. They don't realize that this is an open forum where people are taking time from their busy schedule to help others and share their knowledge & experience.

This message should go across to the users.

-> Sushil

Sushil / Rob

Excellent points and rated. I think it is really important that people realise that these are volunteer forums and not supported by Cisco as such, altho thanks goes to Cisco for providing them :).

Jon

Hi Jon,

Really appreciate you coming out with such a nice idea which I feel can help further sreamlining this excellent forum and help reducing unecessary chaos.

-> Sushil

Dan

I like the screenshot. I don't think we can force people to read something but as i said i do think a lot of people would post the right information if told how.

I guess i wrote the requirements based on my areas of involvement ie. Switching/Routing/Firewalling so it may well be that Rob and others can add their requirements eg. software versions (thinking of VOIP here) etc..

I think we need to keep it as short as possible but obviously with enough information to be useful.

As for ratings and response expectations. I can see the pros and cons of both. Ratings as we know are a bit of a touchy subject as some of the other threads in this specific forum testify to :). As you probably know i think the ratings system works quite well as it is, and on balance i personally don't feel we should include ratings advice. There is already a ratings link - perhaps we could just link through to that.

One of the key things that keeps me involved with NetPro is that these forums have a great "feel" to them. Everybody participating is generally there to help people. What i would be in favour of, as mentioned by Rob & Sushil, is to remind posters that this is purely a volunteer site and that the people helping are not getting paid or tied to Cisco in any commercial way.

Jon

Hey Guys,

Dan, as always, thanks for jumping in! You are one of the main reasons that these Forums are great.

Jon, I really admire your thinking here! I have added 5 points for your great thoughts on starting this thread (very innovative!) I would also recommend leaving the ratings aspect out of this completely as this new link should just be to help our peers add the relevant details to speed resolution to their issues. Plus, ratings is always a touchy subject (yikes!!)

As nicely suggested by Jon, each section of the Forums would need a little customization to be relevant, but that shouldn't be too difficult. Here are a couple of further examples;

All posts should include the following information:

For IP Telephony

-Platform type ie. Communications Manager/Communications Manager Express/UC500/IP Phone model.

-Release Version/Firmware/IOS being run

-Numberplan details (if relevant)

-Configuration details if relevant with a note to ask for sensitive information to be removed.

-Description of the actual problem and what if any steps to resolve or test have been performed

-Additional info related to recent upgrades patches etc.

-Is the issue intermittent/constant

For Unified Communications

-Plaform type ie. Unity/Unity Connection/Unity Express/MeetingPlace/MeetingPlace Express

-Release Version/SR's/Engineering Special

-Voice Messaging/Unified Messaging

-Failover/Non-Failover/Active-Active

-Configuration details if relevant with a note to ask for sensitive information to be removed.

-Description of the actual problem and what if any steps to resolve or test have been performed

-Additional info related to recent upgrades patches etc.

-Is the issue intermittent/constant

Just my early morning thoughts,

Cheers!

Rob

PS: I'm still voting for the removal of the 1 and 2 point ratings ;-)

Good ideas all around. Why couldn't it be as easy as providing text boxes when a user posts for the relevant information? Nobody is going to read the guide imho. I think this may be what Jon was getting at when talking about a template. When a user creates a new conversation, the start a conversation page would include something like the following.

Conversation Title

Category or

Device or

IOS or dynamic drop down depending on what user selected as device?

Configuration

The best thing about this is you can make certain fields required. Also, you could have 1 single "Start a conversation" page for all of netpro, where the user would select the category he want the thread to be in.

Also, once you have defined the criteria the user enters, you could use a similar form in the "Search Netpro" page instead of just being able to search for keywords/dates.

Hi,

All the ideas above are great, just one suggestion.

Instead of projecting these as Guidelines to use NetPro, projecting these points as Tips to get faster response, which is going to attract more users to read and answer your posts would be a good idea.

As a user when I read these points as guidelines I'll feel that I am being pushed to follow them, while reading the same points as tips to enhance my chances of getting faster resolution I'll automatically start following them.

-> Sushil

Sushil,

I agree with this suggestion 100%

Cheers,

Dan Bruhn

NetPro Community Manager

Adam,

Templates are an interesting concept for NetPro. I feel your comment on it's “Search NetPro” effects would be a huge benefit for the community. A few questions that come to mind.

1. Do you think forcing users to follow a template may dissuade some users from posting?

2. What if the members question doesn't fit in a required field but is still a legitimate question?

3. How would we categorize the past 9 years worth of content?

Cheers,

Dan Bruhn

NetPro Community Manager