Exposing forum expertise and experts.

[flyzipper]

In a past career, I worked in a large technology organization that had very complex, highly interconnected systems (thousands or people, thousands of pieces of technology and software).

Anyone who had been there for a while, possessed the institutional knowledge to know the go-to person for any particular component (network, load balancers, firewalls, servers, operating systems, databases, middleware, storage, backup, systems management, testing, development tools, virtualization, monitoring, reporting... you get the picture). Experienced staff also knew who to talk to when their interest was strategic, versus when it was tactical, project related, problem management, change management, etc.

As we grew... usually, sometimes. Not always.

That institutional knowledge is completely non-existent in new hires. It took months for people to become familiar enough with the environment to learn all the players.

In the meantime, they would be able to ask their more experienced colleagues who to talk to about x, but that created some operational inefficiencies and friction.

We eventually built an "expert directory", and the go-to people for any piece of the puzzle could be queried by anyone. People were tagged with the expertise they possessed, and key experts were noted to identify the true gurus of specific knowledge. This made on-boarding new people a little more smooth. It also made it easier to determine if you were talking to a true network expert (for example), versus a database person who was was just sharing their opinion about the network.

I'm still new enough to AA to feel like I lack the institutional knowledge associated with this place. I observe many similarities, such as more experienced members tagging specific members on specific posts, and that's very helpful. I also observe questionable advice being offered by members who I don't recognize as an expert, to a new member that has no idea who is who. I know that advice is suspect, and you likely do as well, but does the new member?

Jumping to a potential solution, has anyone thought about adding tags to AA member profiles that could be used to identify experts?

Not allowing members to self-identify as an expert, but tags that could be added by moderators to recognize demonstrated expertise.

It may even be as simple as allowing members to tag their own profiles with the species of bird(s) they have.

It may be as simple as creating tags such as "macaw maven" or "enrichment authority" or "behaviour specialist" or "weaning wizard", etc which could be displayed where "Mayor of the Avenue", etc are displayed. This might be the simplest to implement, and be the most transparent.

With that as setup, I thought this might be an interesting discussion with the ultimate goal of easing the onboarding of new users, and more deeply leveraging and recognizing the vast expertise contained by members of the forum.

Maybe it's a solution looking for a problem (i.e. it's not needed), and that's a cool outcome too.

 

[Peachfaced]

We kind of already do that sort of thing. If I see a question I can't answer, I tag the folks I feel might know.

I see tons of users tagged in threads all the time.

 

[Sparkles99]

I like the idea, though I'd not qualify as an anything expert. It would recognize expertise tangibly & maybe help to attract more experienced bird people.

 

[saroj12]

Then you will appreciate this

 

[Hankmacaw]

I'd much rather have those who give out inaccurate or just plan wrong information with tags. Such as "Blowhard", "Ignorant", "Childish", "Never Substantiates", "Full of BS" and "Tender Widdle Feelings".

 

[flyzipper]

I'd much rather have those who give out inaccurate or just plan wrong information with tags. Such as "Blowhard", "Ignorant", "Childish", "Never Substantiates", "Full of BS" and "Tender Widdle Feelings".

The Scarlet (macaw) Letter.

 

[Hankmacaw]

Naw, Greenwings, always Greenwings.

 

[flyzipper]

We kind of already do that sort of thing. If I see a question I can't answer, I tag the folks I feel might know.

I value that and hope it continues.
You've been around for a while though, so you know who to tag.
That mechanism also relies on you seeing the need and manually taking steps.
It's obviously working, but I'm wondering if there's an opportunity to make it more automatic and require less effort, while being complementary of that existing process.

 

[Sparkles99]

@saroj12 I don’t understand the shirt.

 

[Peachfaced]

There are basically two people that can give out titles. That would be a tremendous burden on them.

 

[flyzipper]

Naw, Greenwings, always Greenwings.

Green(wing)horn.

 

[Sparkles99]

Is that what the shirt’s about, @Peachfaced ? I don’t get it.

 

[saroj12]

@saroj12 I don’t understand the shirt.

Is that what the shirt’s about, @Peachfaced ? I don’t get it.

nope I’m typing it out

 

[saroj12]

Sudo in super doer mode the computer will do whatever you command it to. As a regular user it won’t Su super Do doer

 

[iamwhoiam]

Great t-shirt! hahahahaha

 

[macawpower58]

I think our profiles pretty much already say it.

Those who have stuck it out years and years, with a decent message count, are old-timers with learned experience.
In any field, they are usually more knowledgeable than those new, and with less time to experience and learn.
You'll never stop the new 'know-it-all's', because at one time even the old-timers fit that group.
New folk love to share their expertise, but often don't realize they're clueless.

It's upon the newer members to separate experience from no-experience. But that is with anything.

I also feel 'true experts' are really rare.
Most long time members here can offer years of experience, but even that can and should be questioned at times.

 

[Sodapop&Co.]

It may even be as simple as allowing members to tag their own profiles with the species of bird(s) they have.

This is a thought I've had too. Especially with rarer species, if you could "tag" the species so that members who have the bird get a notification. I know we often spend time trying to search for or remember who owns what. Of course it might not be necessary for everyone, or people could decide whether or not they want it: for example so that every budgie owner doesn't get a notif every single time a new member needs to know their budgie's gender.
Agreed though that inexperienced advice is a big problem; however without an easy fix.

 

[Kiwi & Co.]

I agree that something where you can select which species you own/have had experience with would be helpful, especially when discussing rarer species. It wouldn’t even need to show up as a banner, just a tag-able thing.

For example, someone is taking about Ringnecks, the tag “@ringnecks” could be used, and anyone (probably active in the last 30 days to prevent tagging tons of people) who has checked off in their account owning or having experience with Ringnecks, will be tagged. That way you don’t have to go digging for people who know about Ringnecks, you just use the tag

 

[FiatLux]

This is a really interesting issue to raise and I appreciate the thoughtfulness of potential solutions laid out. I think that the element most difficult to include in a solution is the element of cross cultural communication. Not everyone, expert as they may be in parrots, is the right fit to respond to everyone. I have noted a number of posts in this forum that have clearly indicated the poster is navigating mental health or other issues. As skilled as an expert in certain parrots may be, that expert may not have the nuance or range to respond in a way that addresses the needs of both the parrot and the parront. I have had the privilege of accessing years of resourcing for my PTSD diagnosis and usually know who to engage with and who not to for my own well being but as a new member who values the community aspect of this forum, I would assert the value of upholding expertise that includes the capacity and willingness to be mindful of both the poster and their flock. A bird, as all living beings in a shared household, is often only as well cared for and healthy as it’s caretaker. That’s not about emotionality or feelings, that’s about compassion for all involved.

 

[Sodapop&Co.]

One more thought: I don't know if this would violate privacy boundaries, but as, in my own experience and observation, a large number of inexperienced advice givers are underage there could be a "Minor" banner. Would be a bit of a warning to new posters that the advice isn't coming from years of experience. And I suggest this as a minor. I'd be thrilled about any measures taken that lessen the amount of bad advice followed by unsuspecting members. Then again, what I like most about this forum is that the overwhelming majority of members are experienced and knowledgeable. And they are often willing to take the time to politely and factually challenge bad advice. So in a way this problem is dealt with by members, as it arises. Even though sometimes it is difficult or it can turn into an argument, which is always unfortunate.