Additional Field on Posts

[Molly K]

Hey super forum fans,

There is functionality in the forums that will allow us to add field(s) to the end of each message.  I'm curious if you guys had good ideas on how to implement this in our community (or if we should implement it at all).

PROs:

We can add Boolean, String, Email, Text, Integer, Date/Time, Radio, or List of Values fields to each message.

We can change the options in the list of values over time.

The text entered in the fields is appended to the message text and is therefore searchable.

The fields can be required or optional.

The fields might serve as a good reminder to encourage people to let us know what products or versions they are using.

We can limit the fields to only show up on new threads instead of on all the replies.

CONs:

The same fields will be present on ALL messages in the ENTIRE community.

If we change an item in a list of values, the existing data is not updated.

There is no way to multi-select from the list of values.

There is not a way to edit the fields after the editing window for the message has passed.

There is not a way to add these fields to any of the existing messages.

I have been struggling with what to put in the lists and how to select things that are universal throughout the entire community.

Should it be product information?

Software __________

Version ___________

Hardware _________

Driver ____________

Toolkits ___________

Modules __________

Should it be problem classification information?

Installation/Activation

Configuration

Programming

Upgrading

Crash/Bug/Error

Seeking Application Advice

Other

Should it be more focused on coding expertise?

Memory Management

User Interface

Program Architecture

Graphs and Charts

...

Are you interested in people's industry or job function?

Are you interested in what area of the world people are coming from?

Any help or feedback is always appreciated!

Thanks!

[shoneill]

Hi Molly,

My 2c

I think required fields should include software and version numbers along with OS.  I think friver information is too numerour to be included ins omething like this.  IT will end up cluttering the fields.

Job function and industry is for my taste irrellevant.  As is the info as to where people are (or where they come from).  What might be quite interesting is languages spoken (And I mean non-programming languages 😉 ).  This might help people get answers they can properly understand.  Many people here speak more than one language.

I also think a loose description on what the question / post is about is quite useful (memory management, GUI etc.)

Will this slow down the forum significantly?

Shane.