Post by Admin on Sept 8, 2018 18:17:02 GMT
Greetings, my friends! These are my own personal guidelines for myself.
The need for them was due to numerous mistakes I made in my early attempts to help. By carefully observing others and some focused thought on my part, I was able to recognize important elements of the process of providing assistance. I won't presume to say this is the definitive resource. We all have our own personal styles. These ideas work for me and I'd like to share them with you. You may already know and employ them. If reading them does nothing more than put you in a good frame of mind, that's fine too. Also, I'm likely to add to this article. I'm still learning.
As volunteers, all contributions we make have some value. But the tone we set can maximize that value. If we make the Support Forum a friendly, cordial environment it will lead to a pleasant experience for all. Observe the post count of the ThreadStarter. If you have the rare privilege of making first contact with a brand new member of the Support Board, be sure to make them feel comfortable in this environment.
Make it Personal. Hello friend, Did you know you can set the tone for an entire conversation by opening with a greeting? It's true. By acknowledging the person as well as their problem, you make a deeper connection. They're more likely to listen carefully to your advice and less likely to be argumentative, because they perceive you as someone who cares about them. Simply tagging them is a start, but I like to also say Hello, Hi, or Hey there. Find your own style but remember that a tiny bit of effort in the beginning can pay huge dividends in the long run.
Observe the patience displayed by the ProBoards Admins and Staff members. Emulate that, as best you can. They're very adept at handling issues where the ThreadStarter is overly demanding. Rather than escalate, they cool down the tone of the discussion and put things in perspective. Apply the lessons you learn by observation, both in your volunteer work as well as on your home forum.
BE the change you wish to see. Set a proper example for how you would like others to behave. I can't begin to stress the importance of this one. It took me forever and a day to finally realize this basic truth.
The focus should be on them, not us. People start threads on the Support Forum because they need help. They deserve help. They're part of the larger community. In that way, they're like our brothers and sisters. In the long run, if they succeed we all benefit. (more on this, later)
Avoid the urge to say or do too much. I struggle with this on a daily basis. A desire to help can sometimes lead to overstepping boundaries or being verbose. Use discretion. Be concise. Less is more. Sometimes not adding is the best choice.
Solving problems is Job-1. Whether it's debugging a problem or learning how to use a forum's features, the goal is the same. Resolving issues. But how we get there matters. Procedures should be followed. Don't rush to show your skills by providing solutions in locations where they don't belong. If a member is hijacking someone else's thread, direct them to the rules/guidelines in a polite way and inform them they need to create their own thread.
Rules are Necessary. When it's appropriate to cite the Support Board Rules (Posting Guidelines), do so in a manner that encourages them to do so because it's to their benefit. Browbeating someone because they didn't follow procedures adds hostility. No one wants that. Use a light touch. Be polite when citing the rules. Especially if it's a new member. Brusque and factual is the bare minimum. Do more if you have time. We're not the staff. 
Rules apply to us too. Become familiar with them and re-read them occasionally. Knowing why certain rules exist will also help you explain why the procedures should be followed and how they benefit everyone.
Guidelines, Targets, and Goals go beyond rules. Rules define the minimum standards. Aspire to be better than 'just good enough'.
When a threadstarter has a bad attitude, have some empathy. They're frustrated. If you can acknowledge that and accept it as human behavior but also encourage them to "be a little nicer" then do so. If you can't find the right balance, just leave it alone. Either stick to solving the issue itself or just stay out of the thread entirely. 
Legal questions are fraught with peril. Defer to the ProBoards Admins in most cases. If you see the same question now that was answered by an Admin on an earlier date, you might lift a quote from that answer and say "This sounds similar but wait for an official response." Or just leave it alone and cite the office hours.
The ProBoards Admins are paid professionals. Leave the tough stuff to them. They review each and every thread when they return to the office. Members will get answers to their questions. Better they wait to get a correct answer than get a wrong answer quickly.
Off-hours are when Peer to Peer help is most needed. But sometimes you don't have the necessary answers and sometimes only a ProBoards Admin is likely to be of assistance. Informing the threadstarter of the Office Hours and assuring them that if they don't get a response during off-hours they aren't being ignored, might be all you can do. But even that has value.
Include a link to the related post or thread in the Indexed Help Guide whenever appropriate. It's a fabulous resource of which everyone should be aware.
Learn to speak the language. Correct terminology helps prevent confusion. The Glossary in the Help Guide is worth reviewing.
Listen carefully. Did you read all the details the ThreadStarter gave? You might be headed down the wrong path if you didn't fully understand what was being asked.
People make mistakes. That's how we learn. Be gracious when someone apologizes for their mistake. Be quick to apologize for your own. Avoid the temptation to defend your errors. Good people will have greater respect for those who are willing to admit their mistakes. 
Hit the pause button when needed. If you find yourself making mistakes, take a break. Others will pick up the slack.
The Support Forum is itself a community. We work together to solve problems. 
Acknowledge your Support brothers and sisters whenever possible. At the very least, throw a like on a well made reply. 
Guide the newer volunteers. Mentioning details they missed or minor errors can be done in public on the thread but be sure to point out what they got right, too. Mentoring is a good thing but don't take it too far. 
You're WRONG! ... There are time when you need to step in and correct improper advice but do you really want to sound like that? Overly confrontational corrections can cause you to look like an egotistical bully. And they cause resentment, not only in the one you corrected but those who witnessed it. 
PMs are useful to point out larger mistakes. That gives the new guy a chance to go back and correct their mistake and 'save face'. I've had the benefit of a patient mentor advising me of my early blunders in private. We can do that on a peer-to-peer basis but tread carefully. If you already have a good relationship with another volunteer, they're likely to respond well to your advice. Else leave that to the forum Staff.
Definitely throw a like on the threadstarter's closing post when they indicate the problem has been solved and have taken the time to thank those who have helped. Encouraging good manners is never a bad thing.
A picture is worth a thousand words. Use screenshots to aid in lengthy descriptions of procedures. Adding arrow to point to the buttons, dropdowns, or fields in question is a nice touch. Asking a ThreadStarter for a screenshot is also appropriate at times.
Often solutions are found through a team effort. Adding another piece to the puzzle is a wonderful thing. You don't always need to have the complete answer all at once. A cordial dialog can be marvelous. When you add to the content, add likes to the good posts made by others. 
Use spoilers to hide long strings of code or excessively large images. Without them, others will need to scroll great distances every time they need to get past your post to read the latest reply. 
Use quotes strategically. If it's likely the ThreadStarter will delete their post, quoting them will preserve the integrity of the information flow after the OP has been deleted. Use Bold to emphasize the part of their post you're referencing. Be sure to remove any sensitive information like email addresses and IP addresses, though. Quoting a volunteer who gets it wrong can paint them in a corner so consider that possibility before quoting one of their mistakes.
Do not delete your posts. Well, most of the time anyway. If you realize your error quickly and decide posting was a bad choice before anyone else replied, it might be better to delete. But in most cases, editing is the appropriate corrective action.
Use Strikethru to preserve the integrity of the thread while insuring that no one reading will take bad advice from incorrect portions of your post.
Respect the coders. They add tons of value to the forum. 
Have some fun! Excessive horsing around on the Support Board won't be well received but if you get a bit chatty occasionally, that shouldn't be too much of a problem. General Talk is there for a reason. It's a great place to play and establish friendly relationships. 
Speaking of entertainment . . . Is it okay to laugh some of the goofy characters who occasionally reincarnate themselves around here? Well yes, but very quietly. Ridiculing them in public could become unseemly. But sharing a laugh with friends via PM is definitely Kosher.
Volunteering is primarily an altruistic endeavor. The joy of helping others is its own reward. Other small benefits: The lessons learned help you in the management of your own forum. You'll discover different bits of code and plugins and forum features for your own forum. Your forum and the forums of people you help will be more successful. More members and visitors --> more pageviews --> more revenue for ProBoards --> larger budget for developers, staff, and equipment. ProBoards will always need Admins directly involved in the Support Forum but when their time is spent confirming that issues have been resolved and less time creating solutions, they can dedicate more of the precious manpower to the Systems team, Development team, resources like the Help Guide, and social media outreach. That benefits all of us.