Create a grading system for Home Page posting

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I would like to suggest a rule to be applied to future new subjects presented here at Woody’s for discussion, information and, or urgent action, as the case may be:

In the Home Page posting, clearly written in bold all caps, a similar to the DEFCOM grading system be prominently inscribed using a system that, let’s say, is call the TECHCOM:

Graded fro 1 to 5, a TECHCOM with these values would mean:

1 –  Of interest only to real System Administrators and very keen geeks.

2 –  Only for people with Windows 10 in their machines.

3 – Mostly for Group A.

4 – Mostly for Group B, particularly home users.

5 – For everyone, absolutely have a look wherever you are in the Tech Great Chain of Being, and take immediate action.

And, as an example, I would suggest that the topic of this forum, and the “light reading” from the Patch Lady immediately preceeding this one, as just two recent examples, should definitely have a TECHCOM of 1. Of course everyone should still be allowed to participate in anything they fancy, but at least they would have been warned.

Discuss.

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You never know what you’re going to need or when in the way of information.

I would suggest not grading topics and let people decide for themselves the information difficulty level.

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2 users thanked author for this post.

jburk07, SueW

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+1
Let each reader judge themselves. They know their own interests best.

2 users thanked author for this post.

jburk07, SueW

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It’s called Freedom: You get to look at whatever you wish; spend time on whatever you wish; and disregard the rest. You even get — with moderation — the freedom to speak/ communicate whatever you wish (if it’s within the general purview/ flow). Great system; our nation’s been using it since 1787. One of the reasons why we are the envy of the rest of the world.

1 user thanked author for this post.

jburk07

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Actually, I think having some grading system like the one suggested by Anonymous is not a bad idea. Unfortunately the use of words “Only for” and the like seems to have confused people, in spite of the disclaimer in the last paragraph: “Of course everyone should still be allowed to participate in anything they fancy, but at least they would have been warned” that some of those that commented afterwards seem to have missed. The purpose there, if I understand it correctly, is to warn, not to discourage or negate access. Or deny people freedom, liberty and the pursuit of happiness…

 

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

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I’m the anon from June 14th, my concern was not for loss of reader’s liberty or fear of censorship. It was for the author of posts. When an idea strikes, write away. Let the concept develop as your thoughts lead you. Starting with artificially defined constraints would limit like a thoroughbred’s blinders. Useful for a single purpose only. Or, setting aside guidelines until an article is complete may lead to dithering over how to classify. I would not like to have another hurdle to the freeflow of ideas placed at the end. It might possibly lead to cancelling a difficult to classify item instead of sharing a new concept. Feels a bit like assigning random tasks to idle workers.
So I will add, no need to apply labels. I will stick by “Let each reader judge themselves.” And I will slightly alter “[everyone knows] their own interests best.”

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Anonymous: not every one “knows their own interest best” in all cases. That is why I, as do people like me, being neither an expert on the intricacies of operating systems, nor particularly interested in becoming an expert in that subject, often come to Woody’s to sort out if someone that looks like a problem is really a problem, not my own misunderstanding of a situation, and if it is really a problem, how to go about solving it. This is a site where both experts and people like me can come together, exchange information of common interest, gripe about MS, and help each other. To know what of the items in the Lounge might be most immediately useful to me, because it is clear which ones are for problems with my version of Windows and which are not, could occasionally save me from going in a frustrating goose chase. As it happened to me recently, when Woody started a rather alarming sounding item in the lounge, but reading the article he had linked to his explanation in the Home Page did not help, as it was so thick with jargon and acronyms that I could make neither head nor tail of it. So I wrote in the same forum that I have windows 7 and asked if this was a problem for me as well. After posting my question four times in different days and getting no answers, someone whose expertise I have learned to respect, finally took pity and wrote that this was an issue only for some users of Windows 10, so I, with my Windows 7 PC, had nothing to worry about. Sweet and to the point, and all the answer I was really after.

Also, I do not see how grading Forum topics while still allowing everyone access to the things posted there (access which would be impossible to block without drastically changing the nature of Woody’s), can inhibit people from continue contributing the kinds of things that are posted now here. To me, quite frankly, that negative conclusion does not follow.

As long as I am free to read anything l may feel like, but have some idea before doing so of whom is that item most relevant to, “grading” is something I could be quite all right with.

And then you, that know your own interests best, should have no need to worry about it either.

But someone should really tell the “Anonymous” that started this whole discussion that “DEFCON” is written with an “N”, not an “M”.

By the way: “grading” does not seem to be the correct word, as a “1” does not have to mean “worse than everything else”, or a higher mark “worse than… but better than… ” The word that fits best here is “sorting”, I think.

 

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

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TechEd and Microsoft’s Ignite Conferences have a number rating.  Level 100 means it’s entry level.  Level 300 means it’s uber geek.  Would you want me to put ratings like that on the top?

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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Patch Lady,

I think that can be useful, as long it is done in a way that is not likely to discourage the mildly adventurous, the ones that may want to expand their horizons, from learning about things not really needed by them right at that moment, but that might be interesting (and even fun) to learn something about, anyhow. I imagine there is no perfect way of ensuring this, but some ways might be better than others. You have seen this as it is done in other places and, therefore, know how it works. So I trust you might have already a good idea or two on what to do.

Also, it might be an idea to set up the grading system in such  way that one can tell, right away, if a new topic is about some particular version(s) of Windows, or all versions, or none of them. Or whether it is of concern mostly to Group A or Group B.

 

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

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