I’ve been working on a concept wiki page for sharing replies to common User Requests. The idea is that you can copy a short answer to the user which then directs them back to the Wiki for a longer answer and follow-up links. This has several advantages:
no one needs to reinvent the wheel when generating replies
replies in the app can be shorter
we all benefit from carefully honed (and correct!) replies
users are brought into the Wiki and hence to lots of further information
Good point, what I meant was something like “will the process of copying the bold text and pasting into a UR reply be good enough in practice to deliver the benefits listed above?”
I like to start my UR replies by explaining who I am, and also remind the user what they reported, so my standard reply to an unclear UR is:
Hi, volunteer map editor here, responding to your Map Issue report of <date> at <location>. Unfortunately the problem is not clear from the report. If you can supply any more information, I would like to help. You can reply to this message in the app, or send me a Private Message at www.waze.com/forum. If there is no further response, I will close this report in about 7 days.
Thanks for your time,
<my name>
My first thought is that this is a good idea. However, if we’re going to be copy and pasting an answer in, we may as well just use the longer piece of text.
I think it’s a good idea to try and encourage users to get on to the wiki but I also think that the large majority will not click the link. We may as well use the opportunity to educate the user by using the longer message. Although, I do appreciate those answers are very long and will not read well in the app- I suspect they’d look all right in the email message that’s generated.
Excellent idea. I’d suggest that not all responses need a further explanation than standard text pasted into the UR. (e.g. Problem resolved; Wrong count of exits) IME most people generally read the first sentence or two then switch off, so while long, detailed explanations are good for us people who like to get into the detail the majority just want a short, clear response so your suggestion is ideal for that. I also agree it would be a good way to get a standard set of well worded responses to common issues and will be useful info for new editors.
I agree that many users will not click the link, and regular reporters certainly won’t click it very often.
But, we want to get as many as possible of those users who are keen enough to raise reports to become editors and fix the problems themselves. (And before you say Waze has plenty of editors, that’s true in some places, but whole areas of the country are still woefully neglected.) I think giving people links to the Wiki may help to “suck them in”, so I’m all for it even while acknowledging that the link will usually go un-clicked.
To this end, it might be worth adding a paragraph near the start of the Wiki page along the lines of “the Waze map is maintained by users, here’s how to join us…”.
Final though is, have other countries tried this approach, and if so what have they learned about how to do it, or how not to it?
Maybe we could add a little line at the bottom of every UR we respond to. Something along the lines of “Thank you for your user report, it has helped us to improve the maps. You could also get involved with editing the map directly. For more information…”
I think this is a great idea. As you’ve all probably noticed, I tend to be verbose. But putting a lot of text into a UR reply isn’t a good idea. The majority of users reading our replies aren’t dedicated editors like us. Many of them aren’t going to care why a problem occurs - just that it gets fixed. Only a minority will dig further and, maybe, start editing themselves.
A scheme like this for common problems will allow us to put only what’s needed into a UR reply and have a ready-made location to point to for those who want the details.
I’d also point out that it’s not necessary to exactly copy the “short” text to paste into URs. Whilst it’s good to have some general guidance on what to say, we all have our own ways of expressing ourselves and we don’t want our replies to start looking like form letters. I currently use a text file with the various snippets that I commonly use in responding to URs (although I’m experimenting with a Chrome addon called LinkedNotes that someone else recently mentioned on the forums). I have no doubt that, once this Wiki page is complete, I’ll be adding notes based on David’s suggestions that can link to the Wiki page.
The odd story behind this is that Iain (of all people) mentioned some of my replies were a bit on the long side (the cheek of it!). Hence the idea of the short reply leading to the Wiki.
I’ve noticed I’ve been doing both! Mostly by accident though as I seem to be forgetting to mark them closed (old age). I’d say close them if they have your PM details they can always use that.
I like the idea of the page and the links. It would only take a little bit of typing to ‘personalise’ the response slightly depending on what was reported.
It’s a good idea David, but I think I’m right in saying that the wazers who report errors respond to our messages via the Waze app on the mobiles. Does the Waze app inbox support the user to be about to click on a link? Or will they have to use copy and paste? The idea of the wiki response page is good for newbies that just type “yo what’s da problem wid da map”.
I try and keep my first message to a UR short, to the point and polite.
I don’t think the app supports clickable links (someone please correct me) which is one reason I used a redirect from the UKUR page to make a short URL. If this were to be taken forward then perhaps short URL service could be used to deliver something better.
I’m in two minds about responding to app issues in URs. On the one hand, the UR system is about map issues not about app problems. There is a ready-made support system provided by Waze, whatever we think of its efficacy, and I feel users should be redirected to that. Many of them don’t seem to realise that we’re all volunteers and reminding them of that fact is always useful. But that sort of leads to the other hand, the users come to expect full support and don’t care who it comes from as long as they get it NOW. Their experience of Waze will be diminished if we don’t try to help them. On that basis I used to use the following formulation for such queries:
I’ve suggested on the UR page that you try to help if you wish but I would highly recommend using existing sources for any help, eg refer them on to an FAQ page or even a forum thread. The amount of support (if any) you give would obviously depend on your own experience - don’t overestimate your knowledge of the product. After three years, I’m still finding out new things! IT support is a difficult process and the UR system is a far less than ideal tool even for trained support staff. Far better to pass them into the Waze support system.
But putting a lot of text into a UR reply isn’t a good idea. The majority of users reading our replies aren’t dedicated editors like us. Many of them aren’t going to care why a problem occurs - just that it gets fixed. Only a minority will dig further and, maybe, start editing themselves.