Copying & Pasting?

jasesmith16

Hi all,

I know people mean good in this community, helping out other members, having a nice chit chat and just in general making the place welcoming, which is truly fantastic, the way giffgaff should be. However, there is one thing that annoys me slightly, and that is those that sometimes copy and paste entire paragraphs.

I know this is their way of helping out which I respect, but I’ve even seen on occasions that it is even bothering other members now. I know It’s important on occasions to be thorough in the information you provide and pre written scripts are extremely useful to many people, me included.

But I guess the issue lies where an entire paragraph is seemingly copied and pasted from a script when half is irrelevant to the users question/s. These responses can often feel robotic and I guess sometimes overwhelming, which in my opinion is not a good thing, there is no real personality in the messages wrote. The giffgaff community is all about online social interaction between members with real meaning. If giffgaff did not have this proper interaction then they could easily have Bot Messengers and sometimes that’s what it feels like. Copying and pasting at times can work fantastic, but I think there’s a time and a place and at times it needs to be toned down in line with the question being asked. Sometimes people are posting irrelevant responses.

I’m not having a go at any members or the way they like to help people as everybody is different, it’s just my observation on the way the community sometimes is heading.

What’s people’s thoughts on this? Please try not to bite my head off, I just thought it’s worth a constructive discussion.

bornagain1

jasesmith16

I agree with you, it is very useful in a lot of cases, but occasionally it either doesn't answer the query, or contains irrelevant info as well.

bill48er

Hi jasesmith16
You have highlighted a issue that has been a sore point for many of us over the years.
You have summed up in your post exactly what the downside of cut-and-paste is.
Unfortunately it is generally driven by the desire to provide the first answer that will get a "best answer" that will also earn extra payback rather than provide a considered answer..
I used to try and help out in H&S, but gave up when my hand crafted answer that actually answered directly the question posed was swamped under a pile of irrelevant cut and paste posts.
The other side of the coin is that the lack a good easily accessible FAQ section gives rise to the same cries for help being repeated many time and cut-and paste is a sensible tool, but as you say so often miss used.

frenchielove

jasesmith16 a very good point, and yes, it can be overwhelming

richybhoy36

jasesmith16 Hi there a few years back I had a conversaation with and agent who told me that copy and paste cn some times be better !
I was old school and wrote a new message to everyone that I was replying to as i thought it was a bit more personal !
I am not a bit fan of copy and paste but it now seems to be a big part of the responses on the community.
Happy giffaffing !

jackjohnjoseph

jasesmith16 I totally agree, the replies can be quite scary at times. I very rarely go onto H&S because of it, I really only pop in if I'm awake during the night. It can also be annoying if you give a personal answer and someone jumps in hours later with their cut & paste answer basically saying the same thing.

jfc1951

jasesmith16 But I guess the issue lies where an entire paragraph is seemingly copied and pasted from a script when half is irrelevant to the users question/s. These responses can often feel robotic and I guess sometimes overwhelming, which in my opinion is not a good thing

There! There!

Oops, sorry, I mean Hear! Hear! 👍

jasesmith16

bill48er The other side of the coin is that the lack a good easily accessible FAQ section gives rise to the same cries for help being repeated many time and cut-and paste is a sensible tool, but as you say so often miss used.

Totally agree with you on that one mate. A good well written FAQ section would solve many of these issues.

bill48er Unfortunately it is generally driven by the desire to provide the first answer that will get a "best answer" that will also earn extra payback rather than provide a considered answer..

And this is the main cause. Payback is a fantastic reward method within the community, but these unconsidered copy and paste jobs shouldn’t really be rewarded in my opinion. But how do you monitor this? Impossible probably.

charlixsparkles

bill48er The other side of the coin is that the lack a good easily accessible FAQ section gives rise to the same cries for help being repeated many time and cut-and paste is a sensible tool, but as you say so often miss used.

There is a whole help hub available. The previous forum had a direct link to it at the top of help and support.

kath72

bill48er jasesmith16
totally agree ... it’s why I don’t really venture into help anymore .

last time I actually asked a question there it got no answers, presumably because a copy and paste wouldn’t do it 🙄

jasesmith16

kath72 totally agree ... it’s why I don’t really venture into help anymore

bill48er I used to try and help out in H&S, but gave up when my hand crafted answer that actually answered directly the question posed was swamped under a pile of irrelevant cut and paste posts.

In relation to the above, surely this is the opposite of what giffgaff want? You’d expect they want as many people helping as possible. I guess they must be happy with the copy and paste robots.

katie84741

jasesmith16 agree with this. To be honest I don't think I'ts the worst thing when they maybe put the initial work and they are then answering the same thing

jasesmith16

katie84741 I agree and in no way am I discrediting the good work they’ve put in to create a great response. Perhaps people need to actually look at what they’re copying and pasting at least though and delete all that is irrelevant to the question.

bill48er

charlixsparkles Agreed there is the Help Hub and the word "Help" is on the top line of a forum page.
However, most people looking for assistant on a new site will look for clear sign pointing to "Frequently Asked Questions" or "FAQ" or "Support".