In Google groups Susan Moskwa asked users how and what they did to keep a check on posts. Some of the questions which include:
- How do you keep up with what's going on?
- Do you use the Google Groups UI?
- Do you use our RSS feeds to follow threads?
- How do you decide which threads to read?
- Do you stop by a couple times a day, or are you constantly following new posts as they come in?
The response was a mix, mostly interesting. Some of which are:
- Sorry to be negative, but the search here sucks – I generally have to view my profile to find threads I posted to. I'm reluctant to start adding feeds to my reader in order to keep up. I wouldn't mind getting an alert when a thread is updated (if I can specify on a thread-by-thread basis only).
- I scan down the page for items without a response – there is usually a reason – either the question is one we don't have a standard answer for (I like them) or more likely, the person hasn't put the question in a way that is clear – so I'll often prompt them a bit and try and get the ball rolling.
- Seems like a common theme here seems to be that the UI is seriously flawed – particularly for keeping track of threads you've commented on and have received replies – sure, you can do that with the 'email replies to me' option – but if you're replying to lots of theads, the 'more options' -> 'email me replies' little hidden facility is a bit of a dog leg with each thread – I seriously think that there should be a more visible way to enable these emails – like perhaps a button?
For the entire interesting blog, read How to become a Webmaster Help superstar.
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Navneet Kaushal, CEO PageTraffic is a trusted authority in the search engine marketing industry. He is a featured author at Web Pro News, Search Newz, Website Notes, DevWebPro, SEO Article and Web Help Now among many others.
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I just came across your blog from google. Nice posts – I look forward to reading your feed