We are excited to bring you a new trial version of Identify / Name the Babe and we hope you like it!
It comes with a number of new features and benefits, as explained below.
Filters
The first thing you will notice is the new filters at the top which allow you to easily navigate between the threads within this section.
You now have the ability to upvote or downvote any answers other members have given to the query in question. Often, even after someone has posted the correct answer, the original poster might not be convinced that it is actually right so you upvoting someone else's answer will help to assure them that it is indeed the answer they were looking for. Conversely, if you know that the answer someone has posted is wrong, you can downvote it. We recommend that you post in the thread to make it clear to them and everyone else that you think it's wrong and why, but please keep things respectful at all times.
You will also see a new option to 'sort by votes' which orders the posts in the thread by the number of upvotes they have received from most to fewest, rather than just the traditional chronological ordering.
Mark as solution
If you are satisfied with the answer that you have been given, you can click the big check/tick icon to mark the answer as the solution to your query. This both marks your question thread as solved and awards the user who answered it with the 'solution' credit for it. This counts towards their 'solutions' total which is viewable on their profile page. The users who have contributed the most solutions can be tracked on the member index along with various other stats and information regarding users on the forum.
This new way of marking threads as solved replaces the old [SOLVED] and [NEEDS ID] method which has been in place for the last few years.
Please note that only one answer can ever be marked as the solution, so in instances where you or another user has requested more than one ID in the same thread, any credits will be neutralized and be awarded to the FreeOnes Community which denotes that it was a team effort! Well done, team! However, if one person does indeed solve multiple queries by themself, then they can of course still get the credit.
In such instances where a member cannot be awarded a solution credit, we recommend lavishing them with likes and/or loves ( / ) to show your appreciation. Indeed, we actively encourage this for ANYONE who helps you out in any way at any time. Upvoting is not a substitute for reaction score. Whatever you do, please DO NOT mark an answer as the solution without saying thank you in some form, whether it be a post to say thanks or a positive reaction in the form of a like. Anyone making a habit of asking questions without giving credit where it is due or showing gratitude will result in you no longer being able to ask questions and get help. We feel it should go without saying that you should show your appreciation to anyone who helps you out, but sadly we have witnessed a few too many people who do not see fit to say thanks and seemingly take the help they receive for granted. This is a free "service", so the least people can do is say thanks!
Also, please take care when nominating the post which you mark as the answer as it is then pinned to the top of the thread which allows people to see the answer quickly and easily. Folks can click a link to 'view full post' if it is too long to read the entire solution at a glance. It also doesn't matter which page of the thread you are on, as both the initial query and answer will always be pinned to the top of the page, assuming the thread consists of two pages or more.
The other reason why you need to take care to select the correct post to mark as the answer is so that the right person is credited with the answer. In the event that two members have posted the answer in quick succession, the person who "got there first" should be awarded with the solution. Moderators will step in to settle any disputes regarding this or to correct any mistakes people may have made when awarding credits. We're sure you're an honest bunch, but if anyone edits in an answer after someone else has posted the answer to make it look like they were the first to answer then this won't go unnoticed, and you'll get yourself into bother... so don't even try!
Summary of the key benefits of this new version
We will run a poll in a few weeks time to gauge whether you guys prefer this new version or prefer the old way of going about things.
Thanks!
It comes with a number of new features and benefits, as explained below.
Filters
The first thing you will notice is the new filters at the top which allow you to easily navigate between the threads within this section.
- Latest updates - the default view, displaying the question threads with the most recent post, ordered from the newest to the oldest
- Popular - the threads which have proved to be the most popular and have had the most interactions and replies
- Newest - the most recently posted queries, ordered from newest to the oldest
- Unanswered - queries which have yet to receive any response at all. Can you help them?
- Unsolved - queries which are yet to have been marked as the solution, even though they may have had some replies or guesses/suggested answers
- Your questions - all of your ID threads that you yourself have created
- Your answers - threads you have posted in, irrespective of whether your answer was considered to be THE answer
You now have the ability to upvote or downvote any answers other members have given to the query in question. Often, even after someone has posted the correct answer, the original poster might not be convinced that it is actually right so you upvoting someone else's answer will help to assure them that it is indeed the answer they were looking for. Conversely, if you know that the answer someone has posted is wrong, you can downvote it. We recommend that you post in the thread to make it clear to them and everyone else that you think it's wrong and why, but please keep things respectful at all times.
You will also see a new option to 'sort by votes' which orders the posts in the thread by the number of upvotes they have received from most to fewest, rather than just the traditional chronological ordering.
Mark as solution
If you are satisfied with the answer that you have been given, you can click the big check/tick icon to mark the answer as the solution to your query. This both marks your question thread as solved and awards the user who answered it with the 'solution' credit for it. This counts towards their 'solutions' total which is viewable on their profile page. The users who have contributed the most solutions can be tracked on the member index along with various other stats and information regarding users on the forum.
This new way of marking threads as solved replaces the old [SOLVED] and [NEEDS ID] method which has been in place for the last few years.
Please note that only one answer can ever be marked as the solution, so in instances where you or another user has requested more than one ID in the same thread, any credits will be neutralized and be awarded to the FreeOnes Community which denotes that it was a team effort! Well done, team! However, if one person does indeed solve multiple queries by themself, then they can of course still get the credit.
In such instances where a member cannot be awarded a solution credit, we recommend lavishing them with likes and/or loves ( / ) to show your appreciation. Indeed, we actively encourage this for ANYONE who helps you out in any way at any time. Upvoting is not a substitute for reaction score. Whatever you do, please DO NOT mark an answer as the solution without saying thank you in some form, whether it be a post to say thanks or a positive reaction in the form of a like. Anyone making a habit of asking questions without giving credit where it is due or showing gratitude will result in you no longer being able to ask questions and get help. We feel it should go without saying that you should show your appreciation to anyone who helps you out, but sadly we have witnessed a few too many people who do not see fit to say thanks and seemingly take the help they receive for granted. This is a free "service", so the least people can do is say thanks!
Also, please take care when nominating the post which you mark as the answer as it is then pinned to the top of the thread which allows people to see the answer quickly and easily. Folks can click a link to 'view full post' if it is too long to read the entire solution at a glance. It also doesn't matter which page of the thread you are on, as both the initial query and answer will always be pinned to the top of the page, assuming the thread consists of two pages or more.
The other reason why you need to take care to select the correct post to mark as the answer is so that the right person is credited with the answer. In the event that two members have posted the answer in quick succession, the person who "got there first" should be awarded with the solution. Moderators will step in to settle any disputes regarding this or to correct any mistakes people may have made when awarding credits. We're sure you're an honest bunch, but if anyone edits in an answer after someone else has posted the answer to make it look like they were the first to answer then this won't go unnoticed, and you'll get yourself into bother... so don't even try!
Summary of the key benefits of this new version
- No more need to select the [NEEDS ID] prefix when creating a thread!
- No more need for you to ask your threads to be marked as solved - you can do it yourself!
- Show your support for an answer someone has given by giving it an upvote
- Sort posts within a topic by the number of votes they have received in descending order
- Users get awarded 'solution' credits for coming up with the right answer, a new metric specifically for solving ID requests which is separate from reaction score
- Once a thread has a solution, the answer is clearly visible at the top of the page underneath the original query for easy reference at all times
- Make use of a number of new filters available to you; e.g. 'Unsolved' enables people to quickly and easily find threads which haven't been solved yet meaning the resident experts on the board can focus their efforts on solving queries that haven't been dealt with yet
- In the event that a query goes on for so long that it reaches a second page or consists of a series of "bumps" - the original post will remain visible at the top of the 2nd page, 3rd page or however many pages it might have meaning you don't have to keep going back to the first page which, most importantly, increases the chances of you getting an ID given its increased prominence! If your original link stops working, ask a moderator to edit in a new working link into the first post so that it doesn't reduce your chances of getting the ID you seek.
We will run a poll in a few weeks time to gauge whether you guys prefer this new version or prefer the old way of going about things.
Thanks!