What is that "Knowledge Base" section I stumbled into?

[atikovi]

It's like I somehow entered a parallel universe. It has the same categories like selling, buying, shipping, etc. but instead of a REPLY button it has an ANSWER or COMMENT button. I thought it odd that there were few replies to a thread I posted in until I realized something is a little odd here. What's the point of two separate but seemingly the same, forums?

[mtgraves7984]

I've stumbled there and am stumped, too. I certainly don't feel qualified to 'Answer' anything. Hmmm...

[mcdougle4248]

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@atikovi wrote:

It's like I somehow entered a parallel universe. It has the same categories like selling, buying, shipping, etc. but instead of a REPLY button it has an ANSWER or COMMENT button. I thought it odd that there were few replies to a thread I posted in until I realized something is a little odd here. What's the point of two separate but seemingly the same, forums?

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I am curious, too. 

Maybe @mr_lincoln a helpful poster on the Knowledge Base board would shed some light on this for us.

[loveyourimagination49]

It supposed to be a quick way to get your question answered.
How much are FVFs? 10%
The end.
Where as the discussion boards are for, well discussing.
How much are FVFs? 10%
50 post later and the discussion turns to cats, dogs, pies etc...

[mcdougle4248]

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@loveyourimagination49 wrote:
It supposed to be a quick way to get your question answered.
How much are FVFs? 10%
The end.
Where as the discussion boards are for, well discussing.
How much are FVFs? 10%
50 post later and the discussion turns to cats, dogs, pies etc...

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Ah, good to know.  Thank you.

[mr_lincoln]

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@mcdougle4248 wrote:

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@atikovi wrote:

It's like I somehow entered a parallel universe. It has the same categories like selling, buying, shipping, etc. but instead of a REPLY button it has an ANSWER or COMMENT button. I thought it odd that there were few replies to a thread I posted in until I realized something is a little odd here. What's the point of two separate but seemingly the same, forums?

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I am curious, too. 

Maybe @mr_lincoln a helpful poster on the Knowledge Base board would shed some light on this for us.

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You rang?!?  Actually it's almost like there are three similar areas if you include the Member to Member boards whereby ONLY approved members can reply to questions.

The Q & A flow is different then the Discussion board flow.  Discussion posts follow each other in chronological order whereas the Q & A is designed so someone with a question can respond to someone's post and then back and forth replies until a answer is complete.   However, what often happens is someone posts a discussion type topic on the Q & A boards and the flow prevents it from really being a good discussion.

[lacemaker3]

Historically, the eBay boards used to be divided into two sections:

1. Discussion boards.
2. Answer center.

During one of the changes that were made during the last 5-10 years, the former Answer Center was renamed Knowledge Base. The Member-to-Member board is in the Knowledge Base, but it is the only board there where answers are restricted to the Community Mentors only.

At the same time, the format of the threads in the newly-renamed Knowledge Base was changed. Threads there can be very confusing because the posts are not shown in a logical order, but in a random order that can change over time. It's supposed to be based on an assessment of the "value" of the posts, but because the assessment includes the number of likes the post has gotten, the order is really based on popularity, rather than accuracy or usefulness.

[lacemaker3]

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@mr_lincoln wrote:

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@mcdougle4248 wrote:

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@atikovi wrote:

It's like I somehow entered a parallel universe. It has the same categories like selling, buying, shipping, etc. but instead of a REPLY button it has an ANSWER or COMMENT button. I thought it odd that there were few replies to a thread I posted in until I realized something is a little odd here. What's the point of two separate but seemingly the same, forums?

---

I am curious, too. 

Maybe @mr_lincoln a helpful poster on the Knowledge Base board would shed some light on this for us.

---

You rang?!?  Actually it's almost like there are three similar areas if you include the Member to Member boards whereby ONLY approved members can reply to questions.

The Q & A flow is different then the Discussion board flow.  Discussion posts follow each other in chronological order whereas the Q & A is designed so someone with a question can respond to someone's post and then back and forth replies until a answer is complete.   However, what often happens is someone posts a discussion type topic on the Q & A boards and the flow prevents it from really being a good discussion.

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FYI:  The Member-to-Member board is in the Knowledge Base, but it is the only board there where answers are restricted to the Community Mentors only.

I think there is less activity now in the Knowledge Base, because of the illogical and confusing order of the posts. There were a lot of requests to change it back, which fell on deaf ears. Most of the former responders there have left now.

Except for the Member-to-Member board, which gets a lot of traffic solely because members who came to the Community through the Help page are channeled directly to the Member-to-Member board.

[mcdougle4248]

@mr_lincoln 

Thank you!

[mr_lincoln]

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@lacemaker3 wrote:

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@mr_lincoln wrote:

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@mcdougle4248 wrote:

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@atikovi wrote:

It's like I somehow entered a parallel universe. It has the same categories like selling, buying, shipping, etc. but instead of a REPLY button it has an ANSWER or COMMENT button. I thought it odd that there were few replies to a thread I posted in until I realized something is a little odd here. What's the point of two separate but seemingly the same, forums?

---

I am curious, too. 

Maybe @mr_lincoln a helpful poster on the Knowledge Base board would shed some light on this for us.

---

You rang?!?  Actually it's almost like there are three similar areas if you include the Member to Member boards whereby ONLY approved members can reply to questions.

The Q & A flow is different then the Discussion board flow.  Discussion posts follow each other in chronological order whereas the Q & A is designed so someone with a question can respond to someone's post and then back and forth replies until a answer is complete.   However, what often happens is someone posts a discussion type topic on the Q & A boards and the flow prevents it from really being a good discussion.

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FYI:  The Member-to-Member board is in the Knowledge Base, but it is the only board there where answers are restricted to the Community Mentors only.

I think there is less activity now in the Knowledge Base, because of the illogical and confusing order of the posts. There were a lot of requests to change it back, which fell on deaf ears. Most of the former responders there have left now.

Except for the Member-to-Member board, which gets a lot of traffic solely because members who came to the Community through the Help page are channeled directly to the Member-to-Member board.

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I wanted to add to my reply ... yes, I know many members with questions get directed to the M2M and I have seen some pretty easy questions butchered by some who have replied OR have seen some of the "approved mentors" give some really bad advice ... not sure if they just accept people to support that board who have not spent time on Exile Island or what?!? (like ME LOL!) ...

On several occasions I actually PMed the OPs about the bad answer or bad advice they were getting and received thanks for the efforts ...

[comics-scifi-collectibles]

@mr_lincoln   You and anyone else that wants to sign up for the M2M board can apply here... we need some fresh blood we are spread thin.  There are some qualifications such as having posted more than 500 times in the community etc...

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Mentors/bd-p/Mentors

Anytime someone sees a question that I answered incorrectly or something needs more clarification please PM me.    🙂  

[mr_lincoln]

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@comics-scifi-collectibles wrote:

@mr_lincoln   You and anyone else that wants to sign up for the M2M board can apply here... we need some fresh blood we are spread thin.  There are some qualifications such as having posted more than 500 times in the community etc...

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Mentors/bd-p/Mentors

Anytime someone sees a question that I answered incorrectly or something needs more clarification please PM me.    🙂  

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First, let me say THANK YOU for the vote of confidence ... I did apply last year but was summarily declined.  The "posted 500 times" criteria ... is that just posts?  Accepted Solutions?  Created threads?  The first two I have, the last one I do not have ...

Anyway, I will give it some more thought because of your encouragement.  Again, thank you.

[comics-scifi-collectibles]

@mr_lincoln.   We'd have to ask Alan what exactly is meant by the 500..  I see you helping a lot of people on the db boards and giving good advice which is needed too 

[alan@ebay]

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@loveyourimagination49 wrote:
It supposed to be a quick way to get your question answered.
How much are FVFs? 10%
The end.
Where as the discussion boards are for, well discussing.
How much are FVFs? 10%
50 post later and the discussion turns to cats, dogs, pies etc...

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This is a pretty good take on the difference between the Discussion forums and the Knowledge Base Q&A boards. The Q&A boards are designed to be ways to get quick-fire answers to your questions, whereas the discussion forums tend to see topics debated by many users with different perspectives. 

We could do more to explain each area of the Community better and clarify the purpose. We'll tackle that in the coming months.

I hope this helps. 

[alan@ebay]

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@mr_lincoln wrote:

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@comics-scifi-collectibles wrote:

@mr_lincoln   You and anyone else that wants to sign up for the M2M board can apply here... we need some fresh blood we are spread thin.  There are some qualifications such as having posted more than 500 times in the community etc...

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Mentors/bd-p/Mentors

Anytime someone sees a question that I answered incorrectly or something needs more clarification please PM me.    🙂  

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First, let me say THANK YOU for the vote of confidence ... I did apply last year but was summarily declined.  The "posted 500 times" criteria ... is that just posts?  Accepted Solutions?  Created threads?  The first two I have, the last one I do not have ...

Anyway, I will give it some more thought because of your encouragement.  Again, thank you.

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Hi @mr_lincoln, 

Good question. By "posted 500 times," we mean authored 500 replies. They can be across any area of the Community, in areas such as Discussions, Knowledge Base, Groups. We included that requirement so that we have a substantial posting history to evaluate when users apply. 

I'll keep an eye out for your next application. 😃