2 stage ideas process - screening for duplicates

[bertiebat]

There have been quite a few discussions about a method of rationalising the idea board to minimise duplicates.  I'm going to bore everybody again with yet another idea that may help keep the boards tidier.

I'm suggesting that an idea goes through a screening process before officially becoming a new idea.

Stage 1 -  idea is posted which allows for comments but no kudos.

This means the idea can be checked for duplicates and allows people point out flaws that the poster has not foreseen.     If it is a duplicate, then (as now) it can be marked as such and if anyone thinks further kudos are merited then the original idea will get these not the duplicate.   If not a duplicate it can have it's status changed to 'new idea'.

Stage 2 - New idea as now, with kudos and further comments allowed.  

However there would already have been a chance to point out obvious flaws with the proposed idea.

Benefits as I see it are that posters are more likely to check for duplicates before posting an idea as no kudos will be allocated to a duplicate.  The hot ideas boards doesn't get clogged up with duplicates and kudos only go to the original idea. Since all ideas have to be checked for duplicate status anyway, it might not require much more work to do it this way.

I'm hoping this is a relatively simple idea to implement as it just includes current technical facilities anyway (just requires an additional status and the ability to remove the kudos facility at that stage).

Thanks (and I hope I haven't fallen foul of the duplicates rule myself )

Edited to remove a link (nothing else)

[jamesdn]

I applaud your effort to help tidy up the Ideas board - but with respect I think you may be heading in the wrong direction.

There's nothing bad about submitting a Duplicate. I think people believe too much emphasis on this, perhaps because Duplicate ideas are set as such so quickly? This only happens to help contain all the comments, feedback and kudos on the original idea. Usually kudos is only collected on a 'Duplicate' idea if it is one of those quirky ones; not immediatly obvious as a Duplicate to everyone but still a Duplicate all the same. Try submitting a '£5 top up' idea and see how many kudos you get (It'll be none)

What I think needs to happen is not so much a system to prevent Duplicate ideas getting kudos, but more a system in place to stop people submitting obviously Duplicate ideas in the first place and not just writing down random thoughts as and when they pop into peoples minds.

[ouaisne]

I think this is perhaps the only reasonable direction suggested so far so - not the wrong direction. No need for any system changes at all - start it off in the Contribute: Innovation, Promotion and Improvements section. When say 2 Mentors or above say 'go' they post it as an idea. Simples.

If anyone can think of another direction perhaps now would be a good time to share it as we all seem to be agreed that something needs to be done.

[yaakov1]

Similar to what ouaisne said, but a bit different

I  think that instead ideas have to be approved by a certain rank or above (e.g mentor+)

And these UNVERIFIED ones get put in a tab called unverified,before it gets either moved to NEW IDEAS, or deleted because it is a high time duplicate, e.g. someone suggesting the £5 topup idea.

What do you thinK?

[ouaisne]

Did I not just say something like that?

Edit: Seems he changed the post to make this one unnecessary now!

[yaakov1]

i know, but they should make a new section for this, since lots of nice people like joshaw put cool banners in the contribute section, and this will be clogged up with rubbish ideas, which will ruin that section.

Rather they should make a subsection in ideas, and new ideas start there before they get verified, to sare the contribute section from being clogged up!

[freddyfalco]

This new refined idea, that Yaakov and Ouaisne are suggesting, sounds good to me.

I agree that there should be a subsection of the ideas forum; otherwise the Contribute section would become a bit useless, as Yaakov so rightly said.

[bertiebat]

Thanks for the comments.  

Yes I actually did wondered whether this principal could be used for more than screening duplicates as the idea has to actively be promoted to a new idea status using any criteria deemed fit.    This criteria could be that it's not a duplicate and that it has gained positive support (maybe via comments) from someone of sponsor status (could be rank based as has been suggested).

From what I can see on how technically the system works, there isn't necessarily much in the way of system changes.  

The tabs at the top of the ideas board (hot,new,top) seem simply to be searches on the same idea database based on kudos etc and it shouldn't be that difficult to include an additional tab search for lower statuses than new ideas.

In effect, there could be a new tab called something like 'unverified', but actually I don't think this is needed as a fudge could be done when the status is changed so that by adding a simple kudos by the status changer, it would feature on the hot ideas board anyway.  This would already have been merited by the act of sponsorship.   The current new ideas tab would eventually just be left with duplicates and these unverified ideas as these will have no kudos attached.  A change could be made to the name of that tab to 'unverified' though people would get used to what's in each tab anyway as the new system matures.

No actually movement from one section to another is required (it's all in the searching parameters).

I think the lack of kudos until it's actively deemed a genuinely new/(possibly) sponsored idea is an important point and this could be a relatively small change (as some parts of the community don't have kudos on posts). This could cut down on spurious idea posts (which is sort of the point).

Anyway thought it was worth a discussion even if it doesn't get any further.  Edit to remove blank space, nothing else. 

[yaakov1]

@bertiebat

Thanks for confirming my unverified idea!!!

[samlowe]

Do you not think this is similar to http://community.giffgaff.com/t5/Submit-Great-giffgaff-Ideas/Criteria-to-be-met-before-proposing-new... ?

giffgaff want everyone to have a voice and certain memembers may not find it appropriate (because they don't own that phone maybe?) so won't appriciate it as much as say a BlackBerry owner.

If you get what I'm saying ^^

[bertiebat]

hI samlowe, I did post my idea originally in the thread you linked to. 

I genuinely thought of this idea before the other one was posted and it's a different approach in it's original concept as it allows for screening of duplicates and to gather comments before allowing kudos.  It also tackles the problem of ensuring that the original idea collects the kudos instead of the duplicate.

It doesn't impose any criteria on members proposing an idea which is the basis of the idea you linked to. Though I accept that this has been discussed as part of the change status process within this idea's comments, it's an optional add on and not the basis of the idea proposed.  Given giffgaff's response to the idea you linked to, I see that part is not what giffgaff want.

If I've got the wrong approach, then that's what the comments are for and I accept that (though still a bit confused by what you are saying to be honest?).