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Jul 14 2010   4:01PM GMT

All work and no approval makes IT Knowledge Exchange a dull boy



Posted by: MelanieYarbrough
IT answers, Recent IT Discussions

Updated March 8, 2011: Permission is no longer necessary to approve answers. If you run into problems approving answers to questions you have asked, please contact us directly.

Updated July 15, 2010 5:11 PM: Permissions to approve answers must be granted.

Each day, our forums are chock full of new questions. Thanks to each of you, these questions don’t go floating off into the oblivion of the Internet, but rather they get answered, discussed and solved. But much like history, IT-related problems tend to repeat themselves and old questions can continue to help stumped IT pros long after the original inquirer has moved on.

One way to maximize the saving powers of older questions is to approve the answer that worked for you. It’s always great when multiple members get in on a discussion, offering ideas and methods, but this can cause confusion in future readings of the thread. If you’ve asked a question and you’ve received a suggestion that worked for you, approve the answer by clicking the gray check mark next to it! Not only will you pass along community love, you’ll give us a heads up to approve the answer for future users. Plus you get Knowledge Points if your answer is approved! (Knowledge Points can get you all kinds of goodies: Amazon Gift Cards, contest prizes, or good old-fashioned street cred.) Approved answers show up in the Answers Wiki with a big green check mark next to it and, in case that isn’t prominent enough, a large Approved Answer stamp.

If you have any suggestions or questions, send them over! Reach me via email at Melanie@ITKnowledgeExchange.com, in the comments section or by submitting a question in the forum. Happy answering (and approving)!

Melanie Yarbrough is the assistant community editor at ITKnowledgeExchange.com. Follow her on Twitter or send her an email at Melanie@ITKnowledgeExchange.com.

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TomLiotta  |   Jul 15, 2010  3:06 AM (GMT)

[I]…approve the answer by clicking the gray check mark next to it![/I]

I would, but I don’t know where the “gray check mark” is. It’s not visible when I look at a question that I asked — [A href="http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/itanswers/wireless-windows-7-wizard-wep-pass-phrase/"]Wireless Windows 7 Wizard WEP pass-phrase[/A] for example. Where should I be looking?

Tom


 

MelanieYarbrough  |   Jul 15, 2010  1:33 PM (GMT)

Hi Tom,

There should be a gray check mark to the left of the words “Answer Wiki.” If the correct answer is located in the discussions section, there should be a gray check mark on the right side of each discussion box. If you’re still not seeing it, please let me know!

Thanks,
Melanie


 

TomLiotta  |   Jul 15, 2010  8:49 PM (GMT)

Directly to the left of “Answer Wiki:” is the ‘Panic’ icon for Mshen. Below that is the [A href="http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/profile/Mshen"]Mshen[/A] user ID link, with his/her points below that.

Near as I can determine — no check mark, gray or otherwise.

Firefox 3.0.19 — in case that makes a difference.

I’d post a small image capture of what I can see if ITKE had an upload are.

Tom


 

MelanieYarbrough  |   Jul 15, 2010  9:09 PM (GMT)

Hi Tom,

I’m sorry about the miscommunication; thanks for bringing this to our attention! We’re in the works of getting this figured out, in the meantime I’ve granted you permissions to approve answers throughout the forums.

Thanks for following up!

Melanie


 

TomLiotta  |   Jul 15, 2010  10:01 PM (GMT)

BTW, I do see gray check marks to the [I]right[/I] of various comments under other questions. I just don’t see one for the question I posted about, which I’d gladly mark as ‘Approved’ if I could.

Tom


 

Carlosdl  |   Jul 15, 2010  10:38 PM (GMT)

So, most users are probably not being able to aprove answers to their questions because, as Tom, they don’t see the check mark; but even if the check mark were visible, I think it would be more intuitive having a button saying “Approve this answer”, or in any case, including that text as a label for the check mark (currently, there is only a tooltip expaining the check mark usage).


 

TomLiotta  |   Jul 16, 2010  2:09 AM (GMT)

Sigh. I was ready to post that I now see checkmarks on that question… then I read your last post. I guess that handles things! Thanks!

Tom


 

Eabouzeid  |   Jul 19, 2010  12:44 PM (GMT)

Thanks for bringing this up. I was having the same problem and assumed only administrators could approve answers. Has this been fixed?


 

MelanieYarbrough  |   Jul 19, 2010  9:19 PM (GMT)

Hi Eabouzeid,

Yes, only administrators have the ability to approve answers at this point. For now, the best way to get an answer approved is to post a thank you specifying which suggestion worked for you. We keep track of discussions and we’ll approve the answer you specify.

Thanks so much for your patience and for following up!

-Melanie


 

IceCubbe  |   Feb 25, 2011  9:28 AM (GMT)

Ok thanks, because im also having the issue and cannot approve an answer that worked for me,

Regards


 

CharlieBrowne  |   Mar 2, 2011  6:38 PM (GMT)

Are you using this feature?
Is so, How do you determine who gets the check?
I have some answers where requested has stated my answer resolved their issue, but never got the check.


 

MelanieYarbrough  |   Mar 30, 2011  4:06 PM (GMT)

Hi CharlieBrowne,

We’ve been trying to get the word out that it’s the asker’s responsibility to approve the answer that worked for them. However, if a moderator sees a question where the asker has specifically said, “Thanks, John Doe, it worked!” they can go in and approve that answer.

Does that answer your question? If you have links to those questions, Charlie, I’d be more than happy to go in and approve your answers.

Best,
Melanie