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[featheredone 56]

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Edited June 14, 2022 by featheredone

[Zoop 8,384]

Way back when, this feedback board served as a place for tech support and site questions in addition to its present function. During this time it was not unusual for folks to get useless and/or bad advice for support issues, misleading and/or incorrect information in response to general site questions (not out of any malicious intent, mind you), and similar.

 

While nobody will claim that all of the posts in response to such threads were bad or otherwise flawed, enough were that it began to turn into a bit of a headache, especially when someone would say something incorrect and it would end up repeated time and time again despite not coming from an official source. Eventually we decided that the ticket system we now utilize would be the best way to ensure that every response to every question that might get asked was one that could be relied upon to be accurate and useful.

 

While the FAQ isn't perfect, we do make an effort to add to it when we receive a large influx of extremely similar questions.

[featheredone 56]

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Edited June 14, 2022 by featheredone

[Prismatic 49]

I meant to reply to this a while ago but I must of gotten sidetracked.  The solution I had in mind would of been a subforum that allows only a thread creation by the user but they nor any other user can reply (and the OP can probably edit it if needed).  Whether or not stewards are allowed to post alongside staff is something to note.

 

In my experiences though I'm more leaning towards Zoop's stance.  While there are many users that have a knowledge of the forums the number that doesn't exceed those who have no idea what is going on and sometimes ponies might act on the wrong thing (the non-forum sites I play around on don't differentiate between users and staff which doesn't necessarily help in those but obviously is not applicable here) and chaos would ensue.  It's easier for a user to get the right information the first time and if things do change the staff are going to be the ones to know.

 

With that said I am a bit weary of support tickets myself.  The biggest issue I can think of before getting into my own reasons would be if the users have the same question that isn't addressed it is possible to have to repeat or go to scripted answers.  Here unless something were to bork I highly doubt this will ever happen (I've dealt with it in the brony community before in which staff of another site wanted PMs, emails or support tickets in which the user had to effectively choose which only makes things more complicated for the staff there in which hundreds of users had the same but personalized issue) and server issues I would guess be addressed rather quickly in terms of annoucements or the news forum.  I do admit for a generic issue being issued a number and my previous uncertainty with how those systems roll (either in terms of passing the ticket around staff if available or the order tickets are read.  I've seen a few systems where ticket XXXX3042 is answered weeks after XXXX8902 for example).

 

However I'm at the point that if it works for most of the ponies and isn't overwhelming the staff no sense in changing something already set in place.

 

Edit: My experience with forum software is that there isn't an 'original poster only reply' in the user group.  I might be wrong here.

Edited January 28, 2013 by Prismatic

[SBaby 660]

My biggest issue with it is the fact that half the time when I try using the Support Ticket system, I seem to get redirected to a page that doesn't exist.

 

Then, there's the Support Tickets.  I'll say what I said before.  I understand WHY it was implemented, in theory. But here's the thing. If someone asks a question about something, is it really too much to simply answer it on that topic? Seems like it's less work in the long run than asking them to open a 'support ticket' to get the question answered, since not only do you have to make a post telling them to do that, but then you also have to make another post answering the support ticket, whereas if you just answered the question in the topic, you could resolve the issue in one post. Seems less time consuming this way.

 

Edited February 5, 2013 by SBaby

[Twilight Sparkle ✨ 8,521]

 

My biggest issue with it is the fact that half the time when I try using the Support Ticket system, I seem to get redirected to a page that doesn't exist.

 

This is my first time hearing anything about this problem.  May I please ask you to email tech@mlpforums.com about it? Believe me, that's not intentional and needs to be fixed.

 

 

If someone asks a question about something, is it really too much to simply answer it on that topic? Seems like it's less work in the long run than asking them to open a 'support ticket' to get the question answered, since not only do you have to make a post telling them to do that, but then you also have to make another post answering the support ticket, whereas if you just answered the question in the topic, you could resolve the issue in one post. Seems less time consuming this way.

 

 

Creating the "this should be a support ticket" reply only takes two clicks, actually:

 

 

As a matter of fact, the ticket system does, in fact, take less work for us to manage than a Q&A-style forum. Tickets are organized into departments which are manned by specific staff qualified for them (for instance, Roleplay World staff don't have access to the IT department), and from our end, the system does not let a ticket get "buried" or "forgotten" like a forum topic does. Tickets can also be organized by importance and feature extensive logging capabilities that simply do not exist with topics.

 

 

Besides the fact that tickets are a way of ensuring that every question gets an accurate response, it is also a matter of principle. We have defined the ticket system as the exclusive venue for such questions to be asked, so it is only reasonable that we enforce that and refuse to answer such queries anywhere else. That is why you will only be directed to the ticket system if you ask such a question in the feedback forum or by PM'ing a staff member.

 

If we did not do that, people would become comfortable with an avenue of their choice for contacting the staff, which means that staff would need to follow multiple channels to keep up with the same type of queries. That's just not reasonable.

[Prismatic 49]

 

As a matter of fact, the ticket system does, in fact, take less work for us to manage than a Q&A-style forum.

 

Let's just say I've been in a position where 400+ people have the exact same question. XD

[Twilight Sparkle ✨ 8,521]

Let's just say I've been in a position where 400+ people have the exact same question. XD

 

Sounds like a problem that can be solved with software.

 

If that happens, it usually means that we need to add an article to the FAQ. The ticket system is actually a great way to actually become aware that 400+ people have the same question.

 

As a repository of articles, the FAQ is a whole lot better to answering 400 duplicate questions than any combination of human beings ever will be.

[Prismatic 49]

Sounds like a problem that can be solved with software.

 

If that happens, it usually means that we need to add an article to the FAQ. The ticket system is actually a great way to actually become aware that 400+ people have the same question.

 

As a repository of articles, the FAQ is a whole lot better to answering 400 duplicate questions than any combination of human beings ever will be.

 

In the terms of doing technical support no FAQ is ever going to cover every nook and cranny.  You can get about 350 or so of those users knocked out and yeah to a certain extent the FAQ achieves its purposes.

 

in the other case scenario I highly doubt Mlpforums is going to split the site into two totally different websites basing itself on two different sections of the brony fandom.  An FAQ could of worked but none of us knew what to expect.

 

Anyways when I finish my rest I do want to elaborate on a few more points (granted, forums does have that angle which makes a ticket system a much better approach than PHPFox).

 

Just to note I might be playing a few fallacies and/or hypothetical situations.

 

 

As a matter of fact, the ticket system does, in fact, take less work for us to manage than a Q&A-style forum.

 

On the other side though it does in fact run into that 'work' problem as well.  One of the biggest problems I've dealt with moderation of a PHPFox community is that there are many staff members I had to deal with who refuse to spend a minute of their time for that community (Note: which is why I respect the promotion process here albeit it does sound a bit odd the first few reads).  Less work should not equate to no work.  The only problem with the ticket system is that it's a getaway for a few admins here to use the 'no time spend' card in which using a generic message is posted that somewhat degrades the purpose.  A good assumption for some users is that if an admin is willing to use a scripted message in public they're probably more likely to use it behind closed doors as well.  Will that happen here it's not likely but in general I've come to understand many people of these sorts of communities tend to behave better in public than in a private session.

 

 

Tickets are organized into departments which are manned by specific staff qualified for them (for instance, Roleplay World staff don't have access to the IT department), and from our end, the system does not let a ticket get "buried" or "forgotten" like a forum topic does. Tickets can also be organized by importance and feature extensive logging capabilities that simply do not exist with topics.

 

Nothing wrong with that as long as it flags a ticket that hasn't been closed in an approriate time frame.  The biggest issue I've observed in ticket systems is when a staff reads it but has to leave and the ticket is never answered.  For some, including myself, a fan site can be a little too formal.  Nothing wrong with this but it's just my personal taste.

 

 

Besides the fact that tickets are a way of ensuring that every question gets an accurate response, it is also a matter of principle. We have defined the ticket system as the exclusive venue for such questions to be asked, so it is only reasonable that we enforce that and refuse to answer such queries anywhere else. That is why you will only be directed to the ticket system if you ask such a question in the feedback forum or by PM'ing a staff member.

 

One of my guilty pleasures is I like to compare everything and anything support related to how Blizzard Entertainment does it. As a preface though I will attest that I've seen some rather odd situations that come about (example that comes to mind are depreciated donation bonuses for another site I play on) in which users stir up problems and it does create havoc for the staff.  Which is why principle for doing that matter is essential.  However forums have one feature that PHPFox does not.  The ability to differentiate staff members and regular users.  When I did things on PHPFox's forums yes it was a bit insane at times because unless users explicitly knew my rank (which was not moderator because it was deemed in bad taste) I typically masquaraded as a regular user.  Which worked for about three months until I had to dispense of the top ranking user of the site.  Where I'm going with this is that most sites offer either personalized support and (not or) community support forums.  In other words make it clear that information provided herein does not reflect the staff and they can't be held accountable for silly things users do.  Although yes I do admit it is slightly more work to remove bogus forum threads and there are people that do seek attention.  Anyways for a forum PM'ing staff is off limits no doubt about that.

 

 

If we did not do that, people would become comfortable with an avenue of their choice for contacting the staff, which means that staff would need to follow multiple channels to keep up with the same type of queries. That's just not reasonable.

 

I suppose where I'm spoiled here is that the brony site I used to be a part of had 35K+ registrations (doesn't mean actual users nor online counts; especially since it 'degraded' into a role playing site and required a reset) and I was the moderator with the most knowhow into finding workarounds and loopholes to getting normal functions working the load endured was minimal.  I think the other side of the coin is that the more uncomfortable users are the more skeptical and uncertain about it.  The example here is a closed door policy in which everything is done in tickets.  However with PHPFox and its social networking I'm accustomed to replying to a user's problem immediately and noting it later in the logs if it is an unresolved issue.  Then again I'm the kind of person that'll take the time to give users the best and quick response while making sure they realize what is going on.  Many people, including myself, like to be open and from my experience having nothing to hide essentially left me to being admired.  Of course with my self-sacrifice (in the depressing mood of R-Type Final no doubt) I do regard my activities with others in public light to be the only sustaining relic of my exile.

[SBaby 660]

Let's just say I've been in a position where 400+ people have the exact same question. XD

 

I think you outlined it pretty well here.  The only member that can see the response to the support ticket is the person who opened it to begin with (otherwise, we'd have on-site posts about them anyway).  And with issues related to technical matters, there are indeed times when multiple people can have the same problem.  Knowing this, I honestly don't understand how one can say this system saves time, when multiple people could open tickets related to the same problem at different times (and inevitably will at some point, especially as the site increases its member base) and force the staff to answer the problem multiple times, as opposed to the answer being posted one time, where everyone can see it.

Edited February 6, 2013 by SBaby

[Prismatic 49]

I think you outlined it pretty well here.  The only member that can see the response to the support ticket is the person who opened it to begin with (otherwise, we'd have on-site posts about them anyway).  And with issues related to technical matters, there are indeed times when multiple people can have the same problem.  Knowing this, I honestly don't understand how one can say this system saves time, when multiple people could open tickets related to the same problem at different times (and inevitably will at some point, especially as the site increases its member base) and force the staff to answer the problem multiple times, as opposed to the answer being posted one time, where everyone can see it.

 

Well on this very subforum somepony asked if the site was having issues and the thread was locked and suggested to go to a support ticket.  I would of easily said that "yes it's been rather sluggish and two days ago it did go down in which the cloud cached version was displayed until it was resolved" or something along those lines.

 

Ironically the other site I mentioned I never understood why the relations staff wanted four venues of contact.  That I will agree with Feld0 in that it is very ineffective.

[SBaby 660]

Well on this very subforum somepony asked if the site was having issues and the thread was locked and suggested to go to a support ticket.  I would of easily said that "yes it's been rather sluggish and two days ago it did go down in which the cloud cached version was displayed until it was resolved" or something along those lines.

 

Ironically the other site I mentioned I never understood why the relations staff wanted four venues of contact.  That I will agree with Feld0 in that it is very ineffective.

 

I don't think you need four venues of contact.  I just think it would be better to have one section of the forum related to questions and technical support.

[Prismatic 49]

I don't think you need four venues of contact.  I just think it would be better to have one section of the forum related to questions and technical support.

 

No, no, I meant that having four venues was just absurd.  Two is a rather good number really.  A primary that is best to be used and if applicable a secondary that 'can be used if needed but not preferred'.

 

The problem with a single venue is that it's too restrictive.