Tag & Notify: A Feature Request for PhysicsForums

[mechanics_boy]

Wouldn't it be cool if PF could support some form of tagging system similar to facebook. For instance if I want direct my question to a specific forum member without sending a PM, I sinply tag the person in a post and he or she is notified as soon as he/she logs in on PF.

 

[micromass]

Hmm, it certainly would be cool for the people asking the questions. But would it also be cook for the people who has to answer?? If a person is tagged, then it seems like they're being pushed to answer the question. I think people would like to choose for themselves which questions they answer and which not.

 

[Ryan_m_b]

Hmm I can see some pros and some cons to this. It might be a good way of attracting someone's attention to a thread that you think can help i.e. "I think the answer to your question is X but @user could probably give you a better answer."

However two downsides I can see is that some people may find their notifications filling up quickly and against their wishes (it's a member's choice if they subscribe to a thread to receive notifications but they don't sign up to be inundated by requests from others). Secondly I can imagine a situation where people use it in thread alongside/instead of the quote function to make sure that someone replies to them, this too could be annoying.

I'd be interested to hear what others think.

 

[Ryan_m_b]

Hmm

Hmm

Great minds think alike

 

[micromass]

Great minds think alike

Or you are stealing my style... :uhh:

 

[Ryan_m_b]

Or you are stealing my style... :uhh:

I knew I shouldn't have admitted to being two years younger than you :grumpy:

 

[wukunlin]

[STRIKE]hmm,[/STRIKE] could work if each member can have an option in his/her profile that toggles between whether they can be tagged or not

 

[micromass]

I knew I shouldn't have admitted to being two years younger than you :grumpy:

You're only 13??

 

[Ryan_m_b]

[STRIKE]hmm,[/STRIKE] could work if each member can have an option in his/her profile that toggles between whether they can be tagged or not

[strike]Lol[/strike], that could possibly be an option.

You're only 13??

Wait: You're not 106?!?

 

[mechanics_boy]

[STRIKE]hmm,[/STRIKE] could work if each member can have an option in his/her profile that toggles between whether they can be tagged or not

Exactly. Or even something similar to blocking specific members from tagging you. This is especially helpful in cases where one single member is persistent or irritating.

The point being, I completely agree with you on some form of control system giving members freedom HOW tagging affects them. The rest becomes perfectly consensual once the member adjust his settings, because the member agrees to being tagged and therefore (normally) it wouldn't bother him being tagged. Once again, should a person bother the member, go back to the menu and add him to a temporary or permanent tagging blacklist.

Sometimes I find myself really wanting an advice from a well known and experienced member, although I'm aware of my limits and I would not go beyond tagging the person once and waiting for a reply. I think non-verbal communication suffice to know if a member has simply ignored or forgot about you, in which case I wouldn't mind at all and simply move on without further proceeding to tag him in a million other posts.

 

[jetwaterluffy]

I don't really see what's wrong with VMs and PMs.

 

[micromass]

I don't really see what's wrong with VMs and PMs.

Note that sending PM's or VM's to ask for help is not allowed here.

 

[jetwaterluffy]

Note that sending PM's or VM's to ask for help is not allowed here.

From seaching it in the rules, it seems it is only illegal to ask for homework help, and linking a thread is fine. So if it isn't a homework question, you can use VMs and PMs. If it is, you can link a thread to a VM or PM. Have I got that right?

 

[Ryan_m_b]

From seaching it in the rules, it seems it is only illegal to ask for homework help, and linking a thread is fine. So if it isn't a homework question, you can use VMs and PMs. If it is, you can link a thread to a VM or PM. Have I got that right?

It is up to the discretion of the person being PM'd. If they do not want to receive messages and they respond with such then any further messages can be reported as harassment.

Also to expand on what micro has said soliciting for help via PM is not something to be encouraged, all discussions should be kept to the forums.

 

[Evo]

I don't think it's a good idea. If any such tagging were to be put in place, the default should be no tagging and the person has to opt in. I doubt anyone would opt in if it meant being asked to help by anyone in any thread. That's the purpose of subscribing, an HH can see if they wish to respond to a post. Seems to work fine.

 

[Ryan_m_b]

I've been thinking about this and trying to envision different tagging situations and I'm having problems with how tagging may effect socialisation/member-contribution.

Even making it consensual with lists of blocked users I think it is too confrontational. People shouldn't ever feel obliged to contribute to PF and even though you can argue "all they need to do is block the specific person asking" users may still think they have to because to not reply and to block might be seen as rude. On top of these it might not be as simple as "this person is Ok, this person isn't" but rather "this is a topic I want to contribute to, this one isn't" which couldn't be solved by changing settings and adjusting approval lists.

One way I could see it working fine is if people can only tag and be tagged by people on their friend list but even that could get awkward.

 

[mechanics_boy]

ok, how about adding a classification system to your tags. for example, when selecting to tag someone, you chose WHY your tagging (general discussion? homework? etc). In addition to that, one has a limit as to how much one can tag for a given category (let's say 3 tags in 24 hours for homework related questions). The limit can be extended onto users, who can be tagged and how many times, etc.

The recipient on the other end can view why he was tagged and thus appropriately and anonymously decline to contribute (or accept to contribute by responding).

Of course all this is hypothetically speaking, I'm not sure how can one integrate seemingly all those features at once...

 

[DaveC426913]

I speak only for myself but i would opt out. I contribute to the threads I want to and am able to. I get enough threads from people asking me to look at their latest thread for my input. I'd resent it if I got more.Note also that the likelihood of getting tagged is probably directly proportional to how well-known a member is. It would likely put pressure on more well-known members such as moderators. It's less likely people would tag lesser-known members. That's not fair to either party.

 

[Ryan_m_b]

ok, how about adding a classification system to your tags. for example, when selecting to tag someone, you chose WHY your tagging (general discussion? homework? etc). In addition to that, one has a limit as to how much one can tag for a given category (let's say 3 tags in 24 hours for homework related questions). The limit can be extended onto users, who can be tagged and how many times, etc.

The recipient on the other end can view why he was tagged and thus appropriately and anonymously decline to contribute (or accept to contribute by responding).

Of course all this is hypothetically speaking, I'm not sure how can one integrate seemingly all those features at once...

This is sounding quite complicated and in addition doesn't really get around the problems of whether or not someone wants to contribute to said thread vs whether they feel oblidged/rude depending on what they do. It's an intriguing idea don't get me wrong but the cons seem to be outweighing the pros for me (and the solutions to the cons seem to bring about even more of their own).

Note also that the likelihood of getting tagged is probably directly proportional to how well-known a member is. It would likely put pressure on more well-known members such as moderators. It's less likely people would tag lesser-known members. That's not fair to either party.

I think you've hit a nail on the head here. One of the first things I thought reading this is how much more annoying spam/crackpots/desperate-students could get. If you were new to this forum and wanted to attract attention you could just click the staff button along the top and flag up whatever mentor overlooks your area. On top of that they could try and tag the SAs or HHs.

 

[wukunlin]

on the practical side of things, this forum uses some sort of template, no? It sounds like something a bit difficult to implement any special features

 

[LCKurtz]

Just to add my 2 cents worth, I would also opt out / not opt in.

 

[Ygggdrasil]

I don't really see the need for tagging specific people. As long as the topic is posted on the appropriate board, the members you are targeting will most likely see the post and can respond as they wish.

One area, however, where something like tagging could be useful is on topics that span multiple disciplines. The way PF is currently set up, topics appear only on one board, so if a topic requires input from both, say experts in physics and experts in biology, you could post the topic on one of the physics board and attract mostly physicists or post the topic on the biology board and attract mostly biologists.

Perhaps some sort of tagging system could be a way to draw the attention of members to posts of interest in the sections of the forum they do not normally visit. For example, one could tag a topic in the quantum physics board that deals with a "Topology" tag if the expertise of a mathematician who knows about topology is needed. An someone interested in biology could click the "Biology" tag and perhaps find an interesting posts on biology whether or not they reside in the Biology Forum. I think a tagging system like that could be somewhat useful.