November, 2007

Can you make the list? Do you really have what it takes?

Earn Knowledge Points and make the list.

We recently added the top ten contributors’ handles to the home page of the site. These all stars are listed by the amount of Knowledge Points they gain throughout the month. The more questions you ask, answer or discuss, the more knowledge points you earn. The more Knowledge Points you earn the better your chances are on making the top ten list for that month or possibly even all time. 

Each month the top contributor will get a mention in the community newsletter and also a cool coffee mug or
t-shirt that they can show off to their friends. Earn your Knowledge Points and get the recognition you deserve.

Earn your Knowledge Points today and make the list.

All hail the power of the thumb

Back in the day, getting a thumbs down from a Roman emperor meant you’d be put down faster than you could holler, “Don’t tase me, bro!” So I’ve got good news for any members desiring Caesar-like powers – we just added a nifty ‘thumbs up or thumbs down’ feature to help rate the answers on IT Knowledge Exchange.

That’s right – the power of the thumb is now yours. When you spot a good answer that contains helpful advice, click the thumbs up to help alert other members. If you come across an answer that you know is bad advice, then click the thumbs down. And remember, the next time someone provides you with a helpful answer – show your appreciation by giving it a thumbs up.

Naturally, you won’t find this widget on unanswered questions. So to view or try out our new rating system, you’ll need to visit an answered question. There, you’ll find a little box labeled Rate this answer with the text Click to Vote. Simply click the applicable thumbs up or thumbs down button and you’re done. The rating widget will keep a running tally of all votes.

I ask our members to please think before rating an answer and not give indiscriminate thumbs up or thumbs down. If we use this feature wisely, it will be a helpful addition to our community.

Pollice verso!

Community Manager

Recent Activity now listed in your Public Profile

Have you ever come upon a really good IT answer on IT Knowledge Exchange and wished you could see all the answers from that same member? Well, now you can. Feast your peepers on our latest feature, called Recent Activity.

You already know that clicking on an ITKE member’s name will display the Public Profile for that member. Starting now, the Public Profile also includes a list showing all the questions, answers or comments that a member has participated in.

This is not only a cool way to look up answers from other members – but you can also visit your own profile to view your participation history. It’s like looking back at your footprints in the sand to see where you have been. I hope you’ll use it as a handy way to see your previous questions or to return to improve an answer.

So what’s the difference between My Watchlist and Recent Activity? I’m glad you asked. With My Watchlist, you can add any question you wish to your own personal watchlist. The Recent Activity feature, however, is designed to automatically build a participation list in each member’s Public Profile page.

So try it out already, for Pete’s sake. Visit the IT Answers section and click on your own name, or someone else’s, and explore. Take a moment to leave a comment to let us know what you think.

Community Manager

The mother of all Tag Clouds

If you like big tag clouds (and I do mean big) then you’re going to love the whopper we just added to IT Knowledge Exchange. We’ve super-sized our tag cloud and gave it a page of it’s very own.

See that new tab in the navigation bar? The one labeled Tags? That’s the tab to click whenever you wish to browse this much larger cloud.

As you know, tag clouds are just a list of keywords that are weighed based on their popularity. Sean has already covered why it’s important to properly tag your questions on IT Knowledge Exchange. The bottom line is to think carefully and use tags that best categorize your question so that others can find your question easily.

And now, back to that big ol’ tag cloud. This honker can be sorted in a couple of ways. The default view is …Cloud View. Duh. But you can also sort by List View if you prefer a simple list format to the tag cloud format. And lastly, you can also sort using Alphabetical or Most Popular.

That’s about the long and short of it. So if you’ve been pining away for a big honking Tag Cloud to browse, your wish has come true. Leave a comment and let us know what you think.

Community Manager

Firefox search engine plugin for IT pros

That’s right. Just like the cool kids, we have our own Firefox plugin. Now you can search IT Knowledge Exchange from the comfort of your Firefox search bar. It’s a no-brainer to install, so get it now!

To download the plugin, visit MozDev.org and click the link labeled “IT Knowledge Exchange.” A dialog box will pop up asking if you wish to install our search engine plugin (and who wouldn’t want such a spiffy plugin, I’d like to know?). Click yes to install and the plugin will be added to your list of Firefox search engines.

Now you Firefox folks have absolutely no excuse. Search IT Knowledge Exchange often for answers to your IT questions. Thanks.

Community Manager

Two new blogs: Data center and virtualization

Hello ITKE community,

I wanted to let you know about a couple of brand spanking new blogs we just added to IT Knowledge Exchange. Check them out and be sure to leave a comment to welcome them to our ITKE community.

The first blog is from fellow member Ryan Shopp and is called Adventures in Data Center Automation. Ryan is going to blog about the latest data center trends and share his tips and tricks to help you achieve a “Lights Out Data Center” through software automation. His topics will span application, systems, network technologies, configuration, performance, availability and security functions.

The next blog is a team effort from the editors of SearchServerVirtualization.com and SearchVMware.com. It’s called Virtualization Pro and it’s going to cover the VMware virtualization scene. You’ll find expert opinions, links, quick how-tos and advice on VMware technologies and products. Visit for the latest scoop on VMware platforms, like VMware ESX, and subjects like backup, disaster recovery, performance optimization, desktop virtualization and more.

If you’re not browsing our growing list of blogs, then you’re missing out. Get in there and see what other community members are yakking about. If you want to do some yakking of your own, feel free to request your own IT-related blog.

Community Manager

The cure for grayness has been discovered!

Hey, don’t get too excited, I’m referring to that gray silhouette that appears next to your question when you post on IT Knowledge Exchange. We’re a community here; so don’t hide behind that default avatar like a shadow – show yourself!

To get rid of the gray – first, log into IT Knowledge Exchange and click the Edit my Public Profile link. Then it’s a simple matter of clicking a couple of buttons to upload your photo or logo. Pretty simple cure, eh?

And while you’re on your profile page, why not enter a little information about yourself to allow your fellow members to learn more about you? It’s a good way to share your interests or areas of expertise with the ITKE community. There is even a place to enter the URL of your blog or website. And we all know a little self-promotion never hurt anyone.

C’mon, we all want to see more faces and less gray silhouettes. So login and visit the Edit my Public Profile link today. Thanks.

Community Manager