One problem is the way one might have an answer to other questions whether to answer to people in expert fashion or not. Can it be made possible to have "general" split into "newbies" and "advanced" groups?
I don't know but I think lots of starters lurk on the sides intimidated to do, ask or say anything otherwise.
Edited 6 hours later:
As long as it is felt answers are all getting "hit on the head" it may not matter much. But new posted questioners should somehow be encouraged to state level of expertise and locations etc. And that No questions are too dumb. Too bad it's not required in the user naming field to insert location.
For example:
,___,
(°v°)
( ^ )
¯¯¯"¯"¯¯¯
Heights area
Vancouver WA
I would also like to see the location (major city & state) on people's profiles. This would give an idea of what else grows in their area. So many posters don't have a city in their profile. It is a good piece of information.
As a "Newbie" I also feel that knowing where the writer is located would be beneficial. Advice given from someone in the same climate carries more weight for my needs. Comments posted by someone in a different location are still enjoyable to read, but maybe they won't be as pertinent to my situation.
Another aspect of this is that it's interesting to know where people live, it adds to the richness of the conversation.
Rooney said
One problem is the way one might have an answer to other questions whether to answer to people in expert fashion or not. Can it be made possible to have "general" split into "newbies" and "advanced" groups?
Yes we can create "ranks" and can even include badges to go along with each rank to gamify the forums a bit more and encourage members to want to advance to the next rank, especially if the requirements are something simple like filling out a location. I think its a great idea and would be happy to set it up. But it would be up to the moderators if they want to take on that responsibility of moderating member ranks. Unfortunately I don't think it would be trivial to automate such rank advancing without moderators involvement. And so ultimately the decision should be up to the moderators whether we should or not.
Sounds like too much work. I'm often the only moderator in the state, and I wouldn't be able to do that.
John
Thanks for replying John. Case in point. I'm getting to this 3 days after seeing the question posed. I agree.
I tend to personally not be motivated by, or necessarily enjoy, gamification of forums - or often games for that matter 🙂 But can see the appeal for others.
I'd have no objection for some automated badges tied to post count, or number of responses to a thread one originated. Especially if any pop-ups or obtrusive elements of it could be opted out of.