Solved or not Solved?

[Orthodox Dave]

No doubt this has been written about before but I'm fairly new and too lazy to search through thousands of posts (search for "Solved"? Well I just tried!)

Solved posts are rarely marked as such. So people who want to help can assume the post has been solved when it hasn't, or waste their time looking through posts assuming they haven't been solved when they have.

For a site dedicated to helping Access developers, this is a real issue.

My suggestion - mark them all [UNSOLVED] until they are solved. These posts would then stick out like a sore thumb, hopefully incentivising users into marking them solved!

 

[Ranman256]

Not SOLVED = unsolved.

 

[Orthodox Dave]

Yes exactly.

So we mark it [UNSOLVED] from the start. Something that's there is more noticeable than something that isn't, so people would then be more likely to do something about it.

 

[Lena01]

what kind of problem you have .. i am a new member and i need help with the account settings

 

[charlote]

I agree, it would be more likely to do something and find the right solution.

 

[isladogs]

No doubt this has been written about before but I'm fairly new and too lazy to search through thousands of posts (search for "Solved"? Well I just tried!)

Solved posts are rarely marked as such. So people who want to help can assume the post has been solved when it hasn't, or waste their time looking through posts assuming they haven't been solved when they have.

For a site dedicated to helping Access developers, this is a real issue.

My suggestion - mark them all [UNSOLVED] until they are solved. These posts would then stick out like a sore thumb, hopefully incentivising users into marking them solved!

Hi Dave
Yes you wrote about it before here ....https://www.access-programmers.co.uk/forums/showpost.php?p=1537070&postcount=6

However I remain unsure about this idea.
For example when 'solved' the title of this post would look like this:

[SOLVED] [UNSOLVED] Solved or not Solved?

Now if Shakespeare had used the same idea we would have

[BE] [NOT BE] To be or not to be, that is the question?

 

[ashleedawg]

Re: Solved or Never Solved?

For a site dedicated to helping Access developers, this is a real issue.

My suggestion - mark them all [UNSOLVED] until they are solved. These posts would then stick out like a sore thumb, hopefully incentivising users into marking them solved!

I completely disagree. Other than questions like "what's the function called that does xyz ?", the majority of issues are potentially never "SOLVED". Often, even coding advice from Access2007 still applies to current versions, and any advice always has the potential to be improved upon (and "improved upon" could mean an alternate way of doing something, that could apply to someone besides the OP.)

It's ironic that you post this today, the same day someone updated a decade-old thread. Does marking as post as "SOLVED" mean that is the end-all/be-all/alpha/omega answer? Who gets to make that call?

I do feel for you: in the coding world, "too much information" is often the hardest part of finding an answer to a very specific question. Skilled Googling is key with every single answer I'm every looking for. I consider myself a pretty-darn-good Googler but every single day I'm on this site I learn about something I didn't know before...

2 examples today alone, big, little, everything's relative: (1) a lead an API I've been seeking for ages, and (2), after 20 years of coding, using the MID function 1000s of times, I had no idea it works in 2 directions.

That also applies when I need an answer about parenting, a recipe, a car part, shopping online, trying to locate someone, just-the-right-porn, the list goes on... I believe the answer to almost every question anyone's ever asked about anything is out there -- it's just a matter of finding it!

It could see huge benefit if a forum topic were adding specifically about Search Tips & Honing Search Skill; this site is my favorite but is one of many important resources for coding tips, and effective Googling is a skill that some are better at than others.

I recently started creating a Google Custom Search Page that would search 'many or all' Access development information sources, AWF/EE/UA/MSDN/etc/etc but I stopped because that in itself requires a tonne of research. The Custom Search Page already exists here but only includes a few sites so far. It could help with very-specific searches.

Perhaps I should revisit the project -- and I'd appreciate any help that you (or anyone!) anyone could provide, beginning with suggested sites to be included, keywords, ranks, etc. (I'd make it rank AWF 1st, but more times than not, that's already the case!)

Thanks!

 

[isladogs]

It could see huge benefit if a forum topic were adding specifically about Search Tips & Honing Search Skill; this site is my favorite but is one of many important resources for coding tips, and effective Googling is a skill that some are better at than others.

This post is quite helpful for that:
https://www.access-programmers.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=189898

I recently started creating a Google Custom Search Page that would search 'many or all' Access development information sources, AWF/EE/UA/MSDN/etc/etc but I stopped because that in itself requires a tonne of research. The Custom Search Page already exists here but only includes a few sites so far. It could help with very-specific searches.

Sounds interesting. Didn't know you could do that
Please can you explain how to set something like that up?

 

[jdraw]

I'm not sure there is a definitive approach to solved/not solved. I've been on forums where they do not want /have a SOLVED tag as such. They feel, and I agree, that solved can be in the eye of the author. Many times you see a solution to a specific problem/opportunity, but with a little ingenuity it could be a general solution to a "family of similar issues". In other cases it is a solution to an Excel problem, but is easily adapted to Access or other office product.

I've also seem posters who mark things Solved, and don't offer any code or explanation for others. And then there are those who mark things solved --almost in frustration --just to "put an end to their misery".

The "unanswered" link in QuickLinks may be of value to those wanting to investigate/tinker with outstanding issues.

The other thing to keep in mind --there are a 1,000 ways to skin a cat -- in many cases.

 

[ashleedawg]

I recently started creating a Google Custom Search Page that would search 'many or all' Access development information sources, AWF/EE/UA/MSDN/etc/etc but I stopped because that in itself requires a tonne of research. The Custom Search Page already exists here but only includes a few sites so far. It could help with very-specific searches.

Sounds interesting. Didn't know you could do that
Please can you explain how to set something like that up?

To make a free Custom Google Search page you just need a Google Account, and to https://cse.google.com/cse where you can specify sites to search, look & feel, and lots of other options. Instructions here (quick version) or here (long version) including access via API's, search results via JSON and more. You'll get a custom link for your search page. The free version has ads, or there are paid options. If you have a website with a top-level domain ('abc.com') and add the custom search to it, you can even monetize...

 

[isladogs]

Thanks - I'll look into it

I assume its something like the search facility on Allen Browne's website which gives a choice - his site or the web

 

[Orthodox Dave]

OK chaps,

I put up this post before (not after) Colin's excellent Site Suggestions Poll came along. In that poll, our website owner Jon said this (20 July):-

b) I do not want to close threads. This will deter people from adding to them or perhaps even reading them, in my view.

c) I do not want [Solved] on posts. When I've been to sites where I've been harassed to say if my thread is solved or not, I found it added friction to my user experience. I want this site as friction free as possible.

I agree with him, except he has left the option open to mark posts as SOLVED, which people continue to do. Removing the option would fix the problem. Perhaps we could ask one last favour?

Yes I've changed my mind in light of better suggestions. We are allowed to change our minds aren't we? (Unlike politicians!)

As jdraw points out, The SOLVED label is of limited use anyway, as it's subjective to the person posting the thread.

I enjoyed reading Colin's Shakespeare quotes, and ashleedawg's googling tips and especially the philosophical stuff:

I believe the answer to almost every question anyone's ever asked about anything is out there -- it's just a matter of finding it!

Far out!