I *hate* the new “Did this topic solve your issue?” feature

It's our problem too, if it leads to ill advised
changes in Apple products that are based on
misunderstood feedback.

I think that's part of the very point I was making - that we don't know what this 'feature' is for, and thus can only speculate on the underlying purpose. Such speculation may be of interest to some, though as in this example is likely to be rather wide of the mark.

Personally, I have no reason to doubt that Apple maintain the same capabilities in product design and development we have seen over the years, and since they have managed to develop the products we already know of without the benefit of user feedback in the form of unrelated buttons in Apple Discussions, I see no reason whatsoever to believe these buttons relate in any way to product development above and beyond the Apple Discussions themselves.

Apple know what this 'feature' is for, and as usual they aren't telling us. Only Apple will know, assuming anyone ever does, whether the feedback they get is in line with the expectation of it. In short, aside from the clutter which I personally find easy to ignore, these buttons have no value to any but Apple.

I frequent this and other forums to learn, to enjoy a camaraderie with other users, and to offer advice when that is possible and meaningful. Because the keyword principle used by most search engines rarely returns references to these Discussions, my specific questions are more likely to be addressed by EveryMac (potted specifications), LowEndMac (user appreciations), manufacturers' sites (for peripherals), Apple's arcana, such as Developer Notes (for the finest virgin oil), or my own library.

In this category of the Discussions about feedback concerning the Discussions themselves, my feedback is that the new feature is a visual affront, needlessly taking up far too much space in a thread. In its syntax and vocabulary it is an intellectual affront, in that it has no meaning as it stands, and any feasible translation remains speculative. Faced with a meaningless question from a stranger that is asked indiscriminately of all posters original and responding, for an undisclosed and impenetrable purpose, I will decline to answer. I will be only further irritated to have the question repeated. The repetition then exacerbates the visual and intellectual affronts.


Apple IIe; 68K: 11DT + 4PB; PPC: 5DT + 3PB; G3: 6DT System 6.0.8 to OS 10.4.x

Hey! RD.

<On Topic>It strikes me that the only post I can find where I would actually like to volunteer information on whether the post itself solved my issue or not, is the Announcement under discussion. And I can't. Ironic that.</On Topic>

I've been messing about in iLife, RD, and having a bit of fun here and there. How was the barbecue season?

Stuart

MacBook 2 GHz, 1.25 GB RAM, GarageBand 3.0.4 Mac OS X (10.4.8) iMacG4, 700 combo max'd LaCie 120 GB 10.3.9 and a deceased iBook G3

cStu --

It strikes me that the only post I can find where I would actually like to volunteer information on whether the post itself solved my issue or not, is the Announcement under discussion. And I can't. Ironic that

Me too !
I looked really hard for it too.
LOL!!!

Apple's products aren't limited to what comes in a box. Basically, it is selling a superior user experience, a critical part of which is support. Discussions is part of support, but so is documentation (including online & built in help) & AppleCare phone support.

It doesn't seem in the least unreasonable to assume that a new feature of Discussions that when used, replies "Thanks for your feedback," is intended to provide data that will be considered when making changes to any of these aspects of support. These changes are ongoing already; the only thing new here is this data stream.

...

Message was edited by: Red Dwarf

Stuart,

How was the barbecue season?

<Totally Off Topic>A barbecue season implies that there is a start and a beginning. No such thing at Casa de Rancho del RD. I've been known to fire up the charcoals in a full blizzard, holding an umbrella in one hand for protection from the elements. Had a barbecue on Sunday just gone and will probably also have one or two this weekend.</Totally Off Topic>

<On Topic>What was the topic?</On Topic>

RD

I've always wondered whether it shouldn't be, La Casa del Rancho de Enano Rojo (ER) . . .

A barbecue season implies that there is a start and a beginning.

A start and a beginning?!?! Ye Gads! Sorry Dave. Of course, I meant to say "a start and an end". Or "a beggining and an end". Went into temporary Paddy mode but I'm okay now.

RD

Ok, I can see wanting to know if ppl find a topic helpful or not... but I would have to say use the word helpful. If a topic solves your problem and that answer is not in the user searchable knowledge files then it can alert Apple that they need to address such a topic formally.

But HELLO! Why is every post have the button selection instead of the actual topic!?! It should be once at the top, and once at the bottom of the page and that is it. If the feedback is not on the person's post, but on the subject/topic then take it off of the posts!!! The context is all wrong and is just confusing.

Oh, and do they really mean topic or do they really mean thread? Lets be consistent Apple.

You must get some good quality umbrellas round your way, RD.

A barbecue season implies that there is a start and a beginning.

The new begining, of course, implies the end, so I read the statement as being indicative of the concept of a barbecue season, whilst at the same time, dispensing with the unneccesary details.

As you were ;~)

Stuart

I've always wondered whether it shouldn't be, La Casa del Rancho de Enano Rojo (ER) . . .

Me no habla Espanol very well hence del Rio kes kou se I voulez vou more than likely trebien got it ich bin schwanger wrong. 😉

RD

NO no no!

A bar-b-q, barbeque, barbecue, BBQ, Barbie or etc is NOT about any season whether the end or the beginnning of the start but a WAY / STYLE of cooking...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbecue

iMac G5 iSight 20" - 30G iPOD in Slimming Black - Mac OS X (10.4.8) - HP Pav 15" WS and Toshiba Sat 17" WS LP's - Canon 20D & A620

This post is intended for those Discussion-eers like myself who are still losing sleep at night wondering, "What the heck is that 'Did this topic solve your issue?' feature all about?" ; - )

Being a denizen of the iTunes for Windows forums, I hope everyone will understand if I mention that I made a brief trip to the Microsoft Newsgroups earlier today - their equivalent to these Apple Discussions.

Not only did every post have the question "Was this post helpful to you?" with a Yes and No button but there was also a link right underneath asking "Why should I rate a post?"

For those of you who are hesitant to click on a Microsoft link, here is their explanation. But, by way of disclaimer, I want to make it clear that I don't mean to speculate (or cause others to speculate) that this might in any way be connected to the reason Apple has for introducing a similar question on these boards. I just thought it was interesting to see how a different support board makes use of this sort of feature.

Why should I rate a post?

You can also let others in the Community know whether they should bother reading a post or not by rating posts. If you find the information in a post useful, chances are that other people will too.

Here’s how it works. The system keeps track of positive and negative ratings. Each post has a score, and a rating count. The score is the number of positive ratings, and the rating count is the number of ratings (positive or negative). Each post displays buttons for rating (above the message in the message pane or below the message in the full-thread window) with text asking if the post was helpful to you (or if the post is a response to a question you asked, if the post answered your question). When you rate a post as helpful to you, both the score and the rating count for that post are increased by one. When you rate a post as not helpful, only the rating count is increased by one. When a post has a rating count of at least three, and the ratio of score/rating count is 2/3 or greater, the post is marked as “helpful.”