Stars

[RadioAstronomyObserver]

I seen the "stars" next to some peoples names recently.  I made the conection right off the bat and it didn't bother me till i seen stars next to my name.  I don't know what I'm talking about half the time and the other half I'm just taking stabs in the dark.  So, why would MedHelp decide to start using a system rewording those who "help" more than others?  Maybe I should reword that...  Why would someone like myself be looked at as helping when I'm nothing more than a babbling idiot?

[ed34]

and of course you can spell and have good grammar :)

[kenkeith]

It is possible your answers are so complete and clear that a response is not necessary.:)  So good quality answers does not necessarily produce quanity..the thoughful will respond others won't.

[ed34]

and another :)

[ed34]

lol I'm heading for another now....

[RadioAstronomyObserver]

Just asked a simple question and everybody has a different answer with few commonalities.  I know there is a better way to achieve the same goal.  Besides that, Ed has a few more stars than I do and if I can keep this thread going I figure by the weekend the rolls can be reversed ;-)

[erijon]

I guess I don't see the issue here. With everything else a person has to deal with on a daily basis, why would a person get worked up by a few stars? It's simply a matter of recognizing contributors. Take a look at some of the profiles here and I think you'll see it's not all about the number of posts.

Again, it's a member forum, not an expert forum. We are not here to give medical advice, just support. Pretty simple, I enjoy the interaction and that's why I'm here, the stars are a nice touch.

Just my opinion, I'm sure a quick note to a moderator would remove stars from anyone that does not want them.

I appreciate everyone's participation, it makes this the best site I visit.

Jon

[skydnsr]

I'm sure you're right, that people who get disappointing information may not ever come back to the site, and it would be very surprising if they posted a thank you.  I also think that oftentimes people who get positive and/or useful information -- information that perhaps they appreciate very much -- simply don't respond because they don't think about it.  They just get what they needed, they think that's what the site is here for, and they move on.   They may think something like, oh wow I never thought of that, and that's it.

I do feel sad for people who never get an answer to the question that they post.  I'm not talking so much about the ones whose questions are so vague that they are impossible to answer ("I've got chest pains; am I having a heart attack?"), and all you can do is tell them to seek medical advice.  I feel more frustrated about some of the ones that we just can't help because no one reading the site that day has any relevant knowledge to contribute.  But again, I don't see any real remedy for that.  Sometimes, if no one responds to one of those for a long time, I will post to suggest they try the Expert Forum, or I will post to just offer emotional support.   I have even seen some of those OPs get a real answer after their post was bumped back up to the top and it was seen by a different set of eyes.

[kenkeith]

Thanks for the information and clarification.  I was referring to what was my memory of the older version.  I'll have to catch up on the reading :)

"I think that anyone who asks a question on the forum needs to use critical thinking to evaluate the feedback..."

>>>If I had quess I think an OP will more likely accept and respond to favorable information (probably labeled a genious), and discard bad news and not reply.  How many times has an OP asked how long can I as a patient expect to live....if one answers according to statistics (i.e. less than  6 months) how many thank you responses would there be?

[kenkeith]

For another perspective, participating members on a thread are not or should not provide a diagnosis, we are providing information that can enable the OP to better communicate with their doctor...at least that is the way I view participation.  Hopefully, there are no right or wrong answers on a thread, but that analysis is between doctor and Patient.RadioAstronomyObserver and ed appear to focus on the matter from that view point as well..

[skydnsr]

Maybe I'm wrong, but I think that management has edited the explanatory blurb for Top Answerers.  When I first read it several days ago, I swear it said something about quality of answers being considered, and now I don't see that anymore.  At the time I first read it, I remember thinking, okay, if you post often but your posts are crazy, you won't get the stars, and I thought that was good.  

I agree, if the stars are based on nothing but your number of posts, then MedHelp could just list each member's number of posts beside his name.  I have been on other forums that did that.  

I think that anyone who asks a question on the forum needs to use critical thinking to evaluate the feedback that they get, no matter how many stars are beside someone's name or how many times the responder has posted.  It does kind of scare me that not everyone who asks a question seems to be doing that, but I don't know of a remedy for it.    

[ed34]

I agree with you. If you post "it's a blocked LAD" in every post, you are bound to be giving the right answer eventually but still be loaded with stars because of the number of responses.

[ireneo]

Did you happen to read what MedHelp wrote about  Top Answerers? As they said, there are usually more questions than answers and they just want to point out some folks that frequently answer questions and receive feedback as well. So it's not much different than having our post count by our name.

I admit, I'm a bit embarrassed to have stars by my name but that's just my personality. I prefer to be behind the scenes, not getting the spotlight. But that's my problem, not MedHelp's. They're just doing what they think might help others by pointing out folks that have been here awhile and are quite active. No harm there.

[RadioAstronomyObserver]

I absolutely agreed with the idea of giving KenKeith "recognition" and even better, given Moderator status.  However I don't know about the number of posts being used to recognize others.  In a gaming forum this would be a great idea but when the forum has something to do with human life....  I think only those with clear medical knowledge should be recognized with a number of stars, I.E. I should not have a bunch of stars simply because I don't have enough knowledge to do anything but type some pretty words.

  My problem is I don't like the idea of making someone a status symbol when they have no idea what they are doing when it comes to human life knowing that anyone could give very bad advise but believed 100% only because they have been recognized as having a knowledge they don't really have.  I would have rather kept things the way they were where it was easy to see that everybody on here was nothing more than people with similar problems and where the individual had to prove they knew something for anyone to take any information as gospel.  That way I had confidence the people I wrote to had a good idea I knew very little, but now with the umber of stars I could be looked at as knowing something.

[erijon]

I feel its a nice touch. I think its a nice way to recognize those that contribute. It is somewhat subjective, but I think that's fair in this kind of forum environment. Personally, I like it and it doesn't really tell me anything I didn't already know about the members here.

JMHO,

Jon

[kenkeith]

QUOTE: "So, why would MedHelp decide to start using a system rewording those who "help" more than others."

I agree and that has been a subject of discussion.  It is my opinion the number of responses is the measure as that indicates the time donated, and the more time donated the more responses and that provides the experience and hopefully the ability to provide the best answers. The number of responses is associated with user name and shown just below the name and a reader can judge accordingly.

Prior to my heart attack 6 years ago, I was associated with a computer help forum for 5 years.  Members were classified beginner to senior "geek" based on the number responses.  I never thought "geek" was a word of worth, but in computer lexicon, it denotes an expert :)  Granted there were responses not worthy to be counted as some responders just restate something that had already been said, etc., and that may be the down side.

I was on another health board for 3 years and that forum also used response count from beginner to senior.  That seems the best method for a poster to evaluate a respondent's answer to their question.  At least it is more objective.  

My 2 cents.

[skydnsr]

It's a peer support forum, so I think the stars are intended to recognize that you're a good peer, not that you're an expert.  The expert forum has the experts.  

In my opinion, good peers respond when they can, and they respond when they feel they have something to contribute.  The contribution  might just be a thought, a question, a suggestion to investigate something further, a validation of the original poster's concern, or a general expression of support .  It's not necessary that a peer be an expert, any more than it is necessary that a member of your family be an expert, in order to try to help you.  

None of us on the forum gets any remuneration for our time or effort when we try to help someone.  I take it that the stars are just a little pat on the back from management, to show appreciation.  Personally, I appreciate the appreciation.    

Finally, any poster who reads our feedback and takes it as expert medical advice has more of a problem than we can help him or her with.  It's just some good peer support that is offered here, nothing more or less.

[ireneo]

I guess it's just to show that there are some folks that have been around for awhile and are committed to helping others in whatever way they can. I'm not exactly a fountain of medical information either but I can commiserate with those that have arrhythmias and have a little experience with heart failure since that's what my Dad had. Some forums have people pop in, ask a question and then disappear forever. It's nice to know these forums have a solid base of people supporting others.