Commercial Services

Originally Posted by JBeaucaire

The points are applied to the thread prior to it being posted.

Originally Posted by JBeaucaire

less and less of this will be discussed here in the Water Cooler as time moves on since it will, in effect, have little to do with anyone who doesn't have access to the CSF.

That's fair enough... at the same time since I am not a part of the admin/ mod/ Guru faction and have no way to vouch for the resourcefulness or integrity of the CSF system, I will not be supporting the notion that OPs should submit their questions to the CSF before getting a written guarantee from one of the individuals who can answer a question that their question will be solved within a reasonable amount of time and on budget. In other words, if I start to answer a question in the free forum and someone jumps in and says... 'hi, this is too complex, you need to post it in the CSF' with no guarantee that this person is responsible for finding a solution then I will recommend otherwise. If this leads to me being reprimanded for preventing the flow of individuals to the CSF, then I will simply stop coming to this water hole.

Trust is earned, not given, and so far I haven't seen any argument to make me believe that we should 'trust' the CSF system (except that it will make money for EF).

Since from my understanding, I have been politely told that this is none of my business since I do not carry one of the badges of EF honor, I will refrain from further discussion on this topic unless provoked.

Thank you for your kind attention and I wish you all the best.

abousetta

Originally Posted by JosephP

shouldn't that always be the goal even if you don't always achieve it?

We're referring to dispute resolution, so I do not think happiness for all is useful goal, so no. In dispute resolution the best outcome is fair arbitration. Happy or not, that's the goal. And since I personally expect there to be little of this, all the people offered Guru status are smart peeps, those that accept are probably up for the jobs they accept in the CSF.

Originally Posted by Domski

Just out of interest does this type of system actually work anywhere else?

I don't know, other sites offer solutions for free and for pay and have for some time. Anecdotally it appears to work. We're not modelling any other web site. People have been occasionally offering to pay for help here on the EF, too.

Originally Posted by abousetta

That's fair enough... at the same time since I am not a part of the admin/ mod/ Guru faction and have no way to vouch for the resourcefulness or integrity of the CSF system, I will not be supporting the notion that OPs should submit their questions to the CSF before getting a written guarantee from one of the individuals who can answer a question that their question will be solved within a reasonable amount of time and on budget.

@Domski, I wonder if other sites offer these written guarantees. Interesting idea.

Originally Posted by abousetta

if I start to answer a question in the free forum and someone jumps in and says... 'hi, this is too complex, you need to post it in the CSF' with no guarantee that this person is responsible for finding a solution then I will recommend otherwise. If this leads to me being reprimanded for preventing the flow of individuals to the CSF, then I will simply stop coming to this water hole.

Not sure how reasonable it is to offer this idea, that you would be reprimanded for answering a question you know how to answer. So, I'll vote on that. Answer it, like always. CSF merely a new VERY optional option, EF is and will always be a free forum foremost. Else and you and I both will be finding new watering holes.

Originally Posted by abousetta

Trust is earned, not given, and so far I haven't seen any argument to make me believe that we should 'trust' the CSF system (except that it will make money for EF).

By nature I trust people, systems, with caution, until such time as I see evidence I should not. Being distrustful works for some people, not for me. The CSF was surmised, devised, designed and implemented. 8 questions posted and 6 resolved, so far, trust aside, seems to works as designed. We are looking for things that actually don't work to fix, not fears and distrust of the system.

Originally Posted by abousetta

Since from my understanding, I have been politely told that this is none of my business since I do not carry one of the badges of EF honor, I will refrain from further discussion on this topic unless provoked.

Thank you for your kind attention and I wish you all the best.

Calm discussion of a topic I hope is thought-provoking, if that's what you mean. Thanks for your thoughts so far.

Originally Posted by JapanDave

As you mention this yourself. What about the Moderators that have not passed Guru Status, but are still allowed to answer questions in the paid forum?

I did? I missed that. So let me say... they are Moderators, so they will be able to moderator and view/answer questions in the CSF.