# Comment on a question instead of answering it
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/comment-on-a-question-instead-of-answering-it/139533
**Category:** Support
**Created:** [23 januari 2020 om 14:42 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/comment-on-a-question-instead-of-answering-it/139533 "2020-01-23T14:42:00Z")
**Posts on this page:** 1
**Showing post:** 9
### Author:  [@Remah](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Remah)
#### Post date: [25 januari 2020 om 03:16 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/comment-on-a-question-instead-of-answering-it/139533/9 "2020-01-25T03:16:29Z")
> [@lassoan](#):
>
> Is there any best practices how to avoid this situation?
I’m in the middle of considering how to handle question and answers on the forum I’m currently setting up.
I’ve gone into some detail replying to you because it is worth being clear about what we’re doing. I expect that you’ve seen many of the linked topics before but others may not have.
> **Looking at this topic critically as a Q&A topic.**
>
> FYI, I’m not looking to criticize you. This is how I look at Q&A topics.
>
> I fell that your topic may discourage the answer you want. You’ve already presented _ingenious solutions_ to your problem which partly close out the opportunity to discuss your broader issues.
>
> I see four issues:
>
> 1. Not keeping our eye on the goal. In other words, if our objective is _to improve users’ experience by answering all questions_ then why make the topic focus on one technology solution. That’s probably why there is such a specific and limited response as the first reply - and Jay’s normally really helpful:
>
> > [@pfaffman](#):
> >
> > Stack exchange was designed exactly to solve that problem. Discourse is designed specifically to solve a different problem.
>
> 1. Looking at this issue as it is a technology issue when it is as likely to be primarily behavioral. Jay Pfaffman also points out. By making it about narrow use of technology we are less likely to get useful responses.
>
> > [@pfaffman](#):
> >
> > I think that all you can do is to coach some people to provide discussion for those questions and why they aren’t getting answered in hopes of having that become a community norm.
>
> 1. Providing no evidence of research on how _to improve users’ experience by answering all questions_. The Q&A (question and answer) model and its specific implementation at Stack Overflow has been discussed so many times here that there must be enough information to form a general plan to resolve your issues.
>
> 2. Using terminology that confuses the issue and attempts to force Discourse into a different mould. A Q&A website has _answers_ and _comments_ but core Discourse only has _replies_.
> For example, you can already comment without answering so a Q&A distinction between answer and comment doesn’t apply in a general-purpose discussion forum.like Discourse.
## Managing the issue
I think that you are looking at this issue at too low a level. it is worth managing such issues as if it is a non-IT issue:
- Who is responsible for this? Who are the stakeholders?
- How important is this to you and them, and to the users?
- What resources do we have to work with? Do you need more?
- What do people think? It’s usually worth getting user views and feedback.
Here’s an example with people and no technology:
- Allocate responsibility for making this work, i.e. make sure that someone has the job of making this work. Use the levers you already use - KPIs, objective, goals, tasks, whatever -
- Organize staff to make sure it happens, e.g:
- roster supervision of forum support
- assign targets or quotas - there will be a rush to resolve easy questions which is what you want
- motivate e.g. awards, prizes, etc.
- Get more volunteers to help i.e. like this site.
## Consider the following approaches outside of Discourse
### Ask the experts
I like this site because they actively use Discourse too.
> **[FeverBee: Community Consultants](https://www.feverbee.com/)**
>
> We’ve helped 300+ organisations develop successful communities for customers, fans, and employees. Discover how we can help you too.
### See what others are doing
> **[1,500+ Online Community Examples From Top Brands (2026)](https://www.feverbee.com/communities/)**
>
> The largest directory of online brand communities. Browse 1,500+ examples from Apple, Nike, Salesforce and more — sorted by industry, platform, and size.
Look at what others have done to manage different types of questions e.g:
> [@Discourse need a fork to be a Q&A software?](https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-need-a-fork-to-be-a-q-a-software/94417/9):
>
> Hi, Here you go! Though I’m not sure this will actually help slight_smile Here’s our (heavily) modified homepage slight_smile The forum-part of the community is styled, but pretty much out of the box. Three main categories: Help - For people asking for help with our software Trails - For people to ask for help with one of our tutorials Feedback - If something could be better All categories have an employees-only subcategory for employees t…
> [@Discourse for Developer Communities](https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-for-developer-communities/62185):
>
> Originally published at: [Discourse for Developer Communities](https://blog.discourse.org/2017/05/discourse-for-developer-communities/) Most early adopters of Discourse were developer communities, as is often the case with open source projects. Our own [meta.discourse.org](http://meta.discourse.org) community is also a development-centric community, so we’ve been mindful of this use case since practically Day 0. Consequently, Discourse caters to a lot of developer communities. We reached out to 30 of them to…
### How the Discourse team manage support
> [@Recommended workflows for support and community?](https://meta.discourse.org/t/recommended-workflows-for-support-and-community/126578):
>
> wave all! Super pumped to be officially launching our community this coming Monday, along with some other cool features at Tiller. [https://community.tillerhq.com](https://community.tillerhq.com) Right now, we use Intercom to handle all support inquiries. We’re getting burned out on the one to one model because we get a lot of the same questions and having folks post them to a community where we (and our enthusiastic customers) answer them gives a one to many benefit. So we’ve ramped it up, and we’re seeding content. It’ll b…
> [@Anyone know which plugins are used here on meta.discourse?](https://meta.discourse.org/t/anyone-know-which-plugins-are-used-here-on-meta-discourse/139042/5):
>
### How to encourage users to post
> [@How to inspire visitors to make the first post?](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-to-inspire-visitors-to-make-the-first-post/112336/2):
>
> What benefit is there to your users in using your community? Have you created starter topics to encourage participation? Starting communities is rarely a case of “if you build it, they will come”, you need to give people a genuine incentive to post or reply. It’s a lot of work and requires constant nurturing in the early weeks and months.
> **[Building a Discourse Community](https://blog.discourse.org/2014/08/building-a-discourse-community/)**
>
> Sure, anyone can set up their very own Discourse in 30 minutes or less. But how do you get people to go there?
### Empower the community
> [@Educating the community](https://meta.discourse.org/t/educating-the-community/131591/5):
>
> So much this. Empowering the community to dictate the culture is a fundamental part of the philosophy of Discourse. The main thing to remember here is that the key to selling (or teaching) any behaviour change is to get the motivator right. Focus your messaging on the one thing that they want the most – in this case, probably control of the culture. Interesting reading along these lines: [Changing Member Behaviour In A Community | FeverBee](https://www.feverbee.com/changingmemberbehaviour/)
Add volunteer moderators.
Add more moderators to educate and assist users.
### Maybe Q&A is too dominant
Maybe focusing more on the concepts of help and support is what’s needed. The Q&A format does have its weaknesses, e.g.:
> [@Some Improvements to Encourage Users to ask questions ? Make People Engage](https://meta.discourse.org/t/some-improvements-to-encourage-users-to-ask-questions-make-people-engage/73003/3):
>
> Quora does not do it very well – they are [not exactly taking over the world with growth](http://fortune.com/2014/03/20/why-quora-is-purposely-flouting-all-the-latest-web-trends/). Q&A is not a panacea; it does not fit all topics, in fact it only really fits a minority of them. I feel Quora [doesn’t even understand](https://techcrunch.com/2012/12/08/the-underachiever/) the actual strengths of the Q&A format, as we did at Stack Overflow. Quora is a fantastic resource. But it will never have growth or usage rates comparable to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram et al, because it’s sheer human nature to prefer conversation to answers; and it will…
### Create model answers such as FAQs
The more uniform the types of problems then the greater the benefit from standardizing solutions.
## Consider using the following Discourse-related features
### View unanswered topics
Topics without replies can be unearthed by sorting any topic list view with a column for the number of replies. Save the web browser shortcut then you have easy access :
`https://meta.discourse.org/latest?ascending=true&order=posts`
### Keywords
### Create a home page
A home page can set the tone for users.
> [@Orientating users with a Discourse 'homepage'](https://meta.discourse.org/t/orientating-users-with-a-discourse-homepage/65756):
>
> I’m an unashamed Discourse fan and have been for years but there is one thing that the enterprise platforms do better out of the box IMO, and that is orientate new users. Members that are new to either Discourse, forums or a specific community sometimes need handholding in order to transition past lurking. I’ve been working on a homepage/portal that directs people to try and overcome that. We only launched today and are still tweaking, but you can [see it in action here](https://experts.feverbee.com/). It uses no plugins so …
### Use categories
You might benefit from creating lighter categories like “I was wondering …” or “Does this only happen to me?” to reduce barriers to participation.
### Use tags
Assign tags for the status of a topic. These tags can be part of a tag group.
### Solved plug-in
As a Discourse customer you get this in the base plug-ins but other sites have to add it:
> **[Solved](https://www.discourse.org/plugins/solved.html)**
>
> Great answer? Solved allows users to accept solutions to their topics.
> [@Discourse Solved](https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-solved-accepted-answer-plugin/30155):
>
> discourse2Summary Discourse Solved allows users to accept solutions on topics in designated categories.open_bookInstall Guide This plugin is bundled with Discourse core. There is no need to install the plugin separately. Enabling Solved The Solved plugin can be enabled from its settings, accessed from your admin/plugins page: After enabling the plugin, to switch on Solved for all categories use the allow solved on all topics site setting. Alternati…
### Reduce the noise
Use core features to make the main questions and answers more obvious:
- Close resolved topics.
- Archive effective duplicates.
### Assign plug-in
A plug-in on Discourse hosting. Assign a team member the responsibility for making sure that a topic is resolved:
> **[Assign](https://www.discourse.org/plugins/assign.html)**
>
> Ensure topics are handled by assigning them to your staff.
> [@Discourse Assign](https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-assign/58044):
>
> discourse2Summary Discourse Assign provides the ability to assign topics and individual posts (both private and public) to a user or group.open_bookInstall Guide This plugin is bundled with Discourse core. There is no need to install the plugin separately.person_raising_hand Required user level: Administrator (for configuration), members of allowed groups (for using assignments) discourse2 Hosted by us? This plugin is available on our Business and Enterprise p…
### Tickets plug-in
Assign tickets to users or staff. But not a Discourse hosting plug-in.
> [@Using discourse as ticket system, so no balls are dropped woman\_juggling](https://meta.discourse.org/t/using-discourse-as-ticket-system-so-no-balls-are-dropped-woman-juggling/82698):
>
> I know there are other topics here floating around about using discourse as a ticket system, but I thought I’d start a fresh one to give a fairly complete picture of how we think discourse can be used with the current functionality, known issues, and what fixes/new functionality might help. This might also be faq material. Would be psyched to discuss with others trying to do the same thing and any workarounds you’ve found that I am missing so far. Also quite pleased to discover a whole genre of…
> [@Tickets Plugin tickets](https://meta.discourse.org/t/tickets-plugin/97914):
>
> Repo [https://github.com/paviliondev/discourse-tickets](https://github.com/paviliondev/discourse-tickets)Summary This plugin adds a ticketing system to Discourse. It requires tagging to be enabled and works best alongside the [Assign Plugin](https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-assign/58044). It is based on @tobiaseigen’s [original spec](https://meta.discourse.org/t/using-discourse-as-ticket-system-so-no-balls-are-dropped-woman-juggling/82698), and has been built in collaboration with @tobiaseigen and an awesome [Ruby for Good team](https://community.namati.org/t/ruby-for-good-2018-and-the-global-legal-empowerment-network/44159), for the benefit of both [Namati](https://namati.org) and the Discourse community. Notes When you install the plugin, three new tag groups are added tickets\_priority, tickets\_reason and tickets…
### Q&A plug-in
Not an official plug-in but it isn’t indispensable to your goal given the other features:
> [@Question Answer Plugin](https://meta.discourse.org/t/question-answer-plugin/56032):
>
> mega This plugin is now retired in favour of the official [Discourse Post Voting](https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-post-voting/227808) plugin Question Answer plugin that allows you to create topics in a similar QA style used by Stack Overflow. [page_facing_up Get the code](https://github.com/paviliondev/discourse-question-answer)[desktop_computer See an example](https://try.thepavilion.io/c/qa/)[raising_hand_woman Request a feature](https://thepavilion.io/w/feature-request)[bug Report a bug](https://thepavilion.io/w/bug-report)Of note memoUp-votes, but no down-votes (yet) The first post of the topic cannot be voted on (yet). Adding this would raise some …
### Canned Replies plug-in
Save time repeating common responses to questions. This could also form the basis for some further automated responses:
> **[Templates](https://www.discourse.org/plugins/canned-replies.html)**
>
> Create and save common replies for repeated use
> [@Discourse Canned Replies](https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-canned-replies/48296):
>
> mega This plugin is deprecated and won´t receive any new official updates. Please use [Discourse Templates](https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-templates/229250) instead. discourse2Summary Discourse Canned Replies allows staff members to create and save replies for repeated use, saving you a lot of time typing and posting the replies you post more frequently.hammer_and_wrenchRepository Link [https://github.com/discourse/discourse-canned-replies](https://github.com/discourse/discourse-canned-replies)open_bookInstall Guide This plugin is #deprecatedFeatures To use the canne…
### Reply as Linked Topic feature
Split topics where the questions are different but related:
> [@Add "Quote reply as new topic" button next to "Quote reply"](https://meta.discourse.org/t/add-quote-reply-as-new-topic-button-next-to-quote-reply/15680/7):
>
> The UX is somewhat brokenated now that reply as linked topic is moved to a different location.
Combine this with the Solved plug-in to allow additional solutions to similar questions:
> [@Forum with Q&A combined?](https://meta.discourse.org/t/forum-with-q-a-combined/53388/6):
>
> The Solved plugin + Reply as linked topic feature may give you the solution. If questioners ask question to a particular post using ‘reply as new linked topic’ button then brand new topic will be created and new topic/question’s link will be added below to the original post. So the new question topic can have it’s own solution by our solved plugin.
### Linkify Words theme component
Creates hyperlinks for certain words. This could be used to link to FAQs, model answers, specific category, etc.
> [@Auto-Linkify Words](https://meta.discourse.org/t/linkify-words-in-post/82193):
>
> :exclamation:Discourse has a built-in feature called Watched Words which can [replicate most of the features](https://meta.discourse.org/t/watched-words-reference-guide/241735) of this theme component. Consider using that before installing this theme component. discourse2Summary Auto-Linkify Words allows you to automatically hyperlink certain words or patterns in your post with the desired destination URL.hammer_and_wrenchRepository Link [https://github.com/discourse/discourse-linkify-words](https://github.com/discourse/discourse-linkify-words)open_bookNew to Discourse Themes? [Beginner’s …](https://meta.discourse.org/t/beginners-guide-to-using-discourse-themes/91966)
### Abbrify Words theme component
Add the expanded terms to any abbrevation so users don’t have search online:
> [@Add \ tags to words in posts](https://meta.discourse.org/t/add-abbr-tags-to-words-in-posts/88394):
>
> About This theme component is ported from [Auto-Linkify Words](https://meta.discourse.org/t/linkify-words-in-post/82193) to provide functionality similar to the [Abbreviations and acronyms plugin](https://meta.discourse.org/t/abbreviations-and-acronyms-plugin/38501) – namely to wrap various abbreviations used in a given forum/site/Discourse installation in \ tags. Location [https://github.com/metabrainz/discourse-abbrify-words](https://github.com/metabrainz/discourse-abbrify-words)How to install Credits Thanks to @sam for writing the “Linkify words in post” plugin.
### Restrict Replies plug-in
Restricts replies in a topic to specific groups e.g. the support team.
> [@Discourse Restricted Replies](https://meta.discourse.org/t/restricted-replies-only-allow-certain-groups-to-reply-in-a-category/131343):
>
> discourse2Summary Discourse Restricted Replies adds a per-category setting allowing staff to restrict replies on topics to the topic creator and members of specific groups.hammer_and_wrenchRepository Link [https://github.com/discourse/discourse-restricted-replies](https://github.com/discourse/discourse-restricted-replies)open_bookInstall Guide [How to install plugins in Discourse](https://meta.discourse.org/t/install-plugins-in-discourse/19157)Features This plugin adds a per-category setting allowing staff to restrict replies to the OP, and members of specific groups. This is a bolt-on t…
### [Data Explorer](https://meta.discourse.org/t/32566?silent=true) plug-in
For reports and analysis that can’t be provided in the core interface:
> **[Data Explorer](https://www.discourse.org/plugins/data-explorer.html)**
>
> Run SQL queries against your database, allowing for instant stats reporting.
> [@Discourse Data Explorer](https://meta.discourse.org/t/data-explorer-plugin/32566):
>
> discourse2Summary Discourse [Data Explorer](https://meta.discourse.org/t/32566?silent=true) allows you to make SQL queries against your live database, allowing for up-to-the-minute stats reporting.open_bookInstall Guide This plugin is bundled with Discourse core. There is no need to install the plugin separately.information_source If you’re looking for examples or support for any custom queries, you can find lots of topics in our #data-reporting category under the #sql-query tag. If there’s not one to suit your par…
### Saved Searches plug-in
Notify when search items are found. It could help staff to find the topics they support.
> [@Discourse Saved Searches](https://meta.discourse.org/t/saved-searches-plugin/67901):
>
> discourse2Summary Discourse Saved Searches allows users to save searches and be notified when any new topics or posts match the search criteria.hammer_and_wrenchRepository Link [https://github.com/discourse/discourse-saved-searches](https://github.com/discourse/discourse-saved-searches)open_bookInstall Guide [How to install plugins in Discourse](https://meta.discourse.org/t/install-plugins-in-discourse/19157)Features Following from the new watched words feature that takes action on bad words, here’s a plugin that lets people save a list of searches and get notified if any new topics a…
### Voting plug-in
Vote on topics in a category has quite a few potentially useful options. This could be used to vote for topics of most interest to users. It could be used on resolved topics to indicate best questions or best solutions. Or it could be used to rank FAQs and best model answers.
> [@Discourse Topic Voting](https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-voting/40121):
>
> discourse2Summary Discourse Topic Voting gives the ability to vote on topics in a specified category.[[1]](#footnote-173202-1)open_bookInstall Guide This plugin is bundled with Discourse core. There is no need to install the plugin separately. Features To enable it, edit any category, look on the settings tab for the “Allow users to vote on topics in this category” checkbox: Once enabled, a “Votes” item is available in the top menu. The topics in that category can be voted on w…
### AMA (Ask me anything) format
For example, to have an expert answer broader questions of interest.
> [@Doing an AMA using Discourse](https://meta.discourse.org/t/doing-an-ama-using-discourse/12103/30):
>
> We just completed [our first AMA](https://community.namati.org/t/ask-me-anything-about-the-engine-room-s-light-touch-support-16-august-2019/69727?u=tobiaseigen) in the Global Legal Empowerment Network, and it went very well! Everyone was very disciplined and followed the guidelines. I only had to delete a few “thanks for the answer” replies. The answerer felt compelled to ask himself a question that he really wanted to answer, which was a new one but we let it slide. wink Now we have an excellent topic in the forum containing a wealth of information. One important thing I noticed is that you have to disable the “remove…
FYI, a specialized AMA plug-in was started but has gone nowhere:
[Plugin: Ask me anything or Q&A format (threaded replies) - #31 by erlend\_sh](https://meta.discourse.org/t/plugin-ask-me-anything-or-q-a-format-threaded-replies/44950/31)
### Add a group chat channel with Discourse Chat Integration plug-in
Some questions are better chatted about because chat removes much of the weightiness and formaility that may being deterring some users from participating.
> [@Effectively using Discourse together with group chat](https://meta.discourse.org/t/effectively-using-discourse-together-with-group-chat/84977):
>
> Originally published at: [Effectively using Discourse together with group chat](https://blog.discourse.org/2018/04/effectively-using-discourse-together-with-group-chat/) Most modern businesses and organisations today are using some kind of team chat application. The usual suspects are Slack, HipChat, Discord, Mattermost, Rocket Chat, Riot, and Gitter, to name a few. While chat is immediate and primarily synchronous, communication in Discourse is gradual and asynchronous. We’ve seen far too many community managers treat these two…
> [@Discourse Chat Integrations](https://meta.discourse.org/t/chatroom-integration-plugin-discourse-chat-integration/66522):
>
> information_source Chat Integration is for using an external chat system together with Discourse — you may be looking for [Discourse Chat](https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-chat/230881) which adds Chat functionality directly to Discourse. discourse2Summaryopen_bookInstall Guide The Discourse Chat Integration plugin lets you send messages in your preferred chat platform when something happens in Discourse. Messages can be triggered by: New topics New replies Messages to a group Mentions of a group Functio…
### Add custom buttons etc to automate actions
For example, one of several plug-ins and theme components that do this.
> [@Custom Topic Button](https://meta.discourse.org/t/add-a-button-at-the-bottom-of-a-topic-visible-to-everyone-discourse-custom-topic-button/36217):
>
> information_source Deprecated: There is now a #theme-component that provides the same feature: [Topic Footer Buttons](https://meta.discourse.org/t/topic-footer-buttons/116968) Summary: This plugin adds a custom button at the bottom of a topic, visible to everyone (who is logged in). link GitHub: [https://github.com/techapj/discourse-custom-topic-button](https://github.com/techapj/discourse-custom-topic-button)arrow_right Install: Follow the [plugin installation guide](https://meta.discourse.org/t/install-a-plugin/19157). Features Configuration From Admin \> Site Settings \> Plugin, modify custom\_topic\_button\_url custom\_topic\_button\_title cust…
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_[View the full topic](https://meta.discourse.org/t/comment-on-a-question-instead-of-answering-it/139533)._