Rant on 'Best Responses'
By byfaithonly
@byfaithonly (10698)
United States
August 25, 2008 7:54am CST
Ok, as some who know me know I hate giving out best responses - it's a major task for me because most times I get a dozen excellent responses and want to give them all 'Best Response'.
Well, today I relized once again I'd gotten behind on doing that myLot task so cleared up 20 or so discussions.
That's NOT what my rant is about though. What bugs me is people who give out BRs after a discussion has only been posted an hour. Come on people give people a chance. The truth is I don't respond to discussions just so I can get a best response but at the same time I have found I put more effort into a lot of responses if I at least think I have a chance of getting it.
Along with this I wish myLot had a tab like they do for 'hot', 'no responses', and 'new user'. I would love one with 'unresolved' for all members or within an interest category or even on each profile page. On the profiles it could be 'my unresolved discussions' or something like that.
So, am I the only one that feels this way or there others out there in myLot land who prefer responding to discussions that have not been resolved yet?
13 people like this
26 responses
@spalladino (17891)
• United States
25 Aug 08
It bugs me, too, when I see a BR issued too quickly after a discussion has been posted. I also try a bit harder if there's a BR at stake than I would if it has already been issued. Your idea for an Unresolved tab is a great one! I know that I had a couple of zero responses hanging around until I finally got someone to respond just so I could get rid of them.
3 people like this
@byfaithonly (10698)
• United States
25 Aug 08
Oh I'm so glad I'm not the only one :) I actually have a friend here who resolved discussions as soon as she got her first response - now mind you I have my account set so I get notified when my friends post new discussions so I can respond to as many as possible but give me at least a day or so :)
@LouiseKnittel (4764)
• United States
25 Aug 08
I have seen several that have marked off the Best responses in a a matter of hours. I am like what in the world!! I have not even had a chance to look at it. Let alone Respond. I am not so worried about getting Best Response. I am just having a bit of time finding topics that I would like to respond to.
I am not sure what you ment about he the unresolved discussion. But there is a Tab. If your reading a discussion and look to the right upper corner it is there. If this is not what you ment The I am not sure!
2 people like this
@thebohemianheart (8827)
• United States
25 Aug 08
The tab you are talking about is for your own unresolved discussions. I think faith meant a tab so that everyone can see what unresolved discussions are out there so that we can respond to them.
2 people like this
@byfaithonly (10698)
• United States
25 Aug 08
LOL - see your light is turned on now, the unresolved tab is great but I want a second one :) for everyone else on myLot :)
@LouiseKnittel (4764)
• United States
25 Aug 08
** light Bulb Going on*
Well that is a awesome Idea,, ( now that I realize what is being said )1 person likes this
@sweetdesign (5142)
• United States
25 Aug 08
It bugs me too. I have seen discussions with one response on its first day and the poster has chosen best response already! There is only one response people! Ok my rant over lol. I also am soooooooooo far behind on this task. I need to go do some of that right now while I am thinking about it.
1 person likes this
@sweetdesign (5142)
• United States
26 Aug 08
I will go looking for it! The nap kinda threw me off today. I went to look at my unresolves and I am way too freakin' behind I have some from 1 and 2 years ago!! YIKES!!
1 person likes this
@byfaithonly (10698)
• United States
26 Aug 08
I still have a few I could resolve but got off track with my rant :) I usually try to do them a week or two after I've posted them depending on how many responses I've gotten.
@byfaithonly (10698)
• United States
25 Aug 08
Hey been wondering where you were at - I posted a discussion before this (I seldom post more than one discussion in a day) but it got buried and I thought forsure you would respond to it - it's in the gardening category :)
Sometimes I just have fun ranting and then seeing how many other people jump on the band wagon so to speak - this one seems to have brought out a lot of others who this bugs too.
@ShellyB (5241)
• United States
26 Aug 08
I will be ok with responding to discussions that been resolved but I am trying to take my take in resolving mine.
It is because I sometimes have been to quick and I should have taken my time.
Having said that, a link will be helpful for people who are interested in those topics.
1 person likes this
@byfaithonly (10698)
• United States
26 Aug 08
I think it is better to wait a bit before resolving them because there are a lot of people who won't respond to ones that have been resolved already - if it's something that really really catches my attention or I have something major to say I will still respond but I know I don't put as much effort into wording my responses if it's already been resolved.
I should have said take my time and what you said makes sense and it is something that I am noticing.
@joyadalia (1408)
• Philippines
26 Aug 08
Yes, sometimes I wouldn't answer those with best responses already. But most of the time I don't really care as long as I find that the thread is interesting. But it bugs me at times that there are a lot of best responses and yet they don't really deserve to be. For example, I have received a best response from a newbie and my response was totally not deserving to be marked as best response because not only was it just one line but it was totally not helpful at all. I guess it was marked best response because I responded quickly to his discussion. I would have felt a whole lot better if I got the best response from a comment that I really worked hard on. 
1 person likes this
@byfaithonly (10698)
• United States
27 Aug 08
I know what you mean often I look at who got the BR for a discussion and can't believe it was given to the one who got it - but then I have seen here many times where it's obvious that 2 friends join and no matter what the discussion or the response the 'friend' is going to get the BR. And I do feel cheated when I have put real effort into giving a quality response - I do that for every discussion I respond to.
@VenomSingh (165)
• India
25 Aug 08
hehe
i dunno what the big fuss is
How does BR matter anyway
does it give you money or prestige
i think not :)
@byfaithonly (10698)
• United States
25 Aug 08
Actually I do think your earnings are a bit more when you receive a best response but not sure on that - to me it's just a little 'pat on the back' it's nice once in awhile to have someone say 'job well done'.
@doubleloveyou (2466)
• United States
26 Aug 08
Yes besides increasing your rankings which give you more (once you get a star) You get a little more for BR as well.
1 person likes this
@lingli_78 (12822)
• Australia
25 Aug 08
i have the same feeling like you... i don't understand why people give BR only 1 hour after the discussion is posted... there are not enough responses yet to make a comparison and i think the BR will also be biased... i never do that... i wait for at least a week before i give BR... take care and have a nice day...
1 person likes this
@byfaithonly (10698)
• United States
25 Aug 08
I honestly saw a discussion one time that had only been posted 10 minutes, had one response and that one already had best response :(
@MissGia (955)
• United States
25 Aug 08
That bugs me too, so your not alone.
Personally in my discussions that i create i let them go on for a week or so before i mark someone as best response.
Someone might give a great response 2 hours after you post a discussion..but someone might come across it a week later and gives an even better response. So i find it best to let a discussion progress before you call it game over and give someone best response.
1 person likes this
@byfaithonly (10698)
• United States
25 Aug 08
I am so happy to know I'm not the only one that this bugs - and from this discussion it seems we are in good company :) I too like to give it a week or so before resolving it.
@p3halliwel2005 (3156)
• Philippines
25 Aug 08
I am excited and happy when I get a best response from a discussion I responded to which is a few. I rarely give out best response but it's just because I am busy but I do pick out one best for each discussions I have. I rate the others + if I like their responses. I only rate negative when the responder is very rude and just want to start a fight in the responses they gave out. Yes it is unfair to rate one best response when there are just a few responses on the discussion I think they should wait for others to say something maybe the next one will be much nicer. For me as long as I get rated positive it's ok for me.
1 person likes this
@byfaithonly (10698)
• United States
25 Aug 08
I know I'm the same way - when someone gives me a BR I feel like they are saying 'job well done' and it really lifts my spirits so I like in turn to do the same for others, it's just so hard being fair about it.
@youdontsay (3497)
• United States
26 Aug 08
I don't even notice if a discussion has been "resolved" with a best response. I just find discussion that I think I might have something to say in response.
I try to "resolve" my discussions when there has been no activity for four or more days. I like to give plenty of time for quality responses.
And when my friends point out that they have unresolved discussions I often try to find and respond to those. But it is quite a challenge to search through their discussions to find them.
Happy myLotting!
1 person likes this
@byfaithonly (10698)
• United States
26 Aug 08
Oh I know I've done that myself - spent a whole night just going through friend's discussions finding ones with 'no responses' or 'not resolved yet'. I sure would love that tab that would automatically pull those discussions up for me - I mean you can get discussions with no responses but you can spend hours going through those with so many members.
@dawnald (85146)
• Shingle Springs, California
25 Aug 08
If I'm really interested I'll respond anyway. But sometimes if I see the BR has already been given, I won't.
There was one yesterday or the day before, something about why some discussions didn't get responses. I responded and so did one other person. There was a best response given out (to the other person lol) after no more than 2 hours.
I wonder how many more responses she would have gotten had she waited a bit.
On the other hand, I'm guilty the other way. I'm busy going through and resolving some old ones that I just couldn't make up my mind on. Somebody who isn't even active right now may get surprised by one. lol
1 person likes this
@byfaithonly (10698)
• United States
25 Aug 08
I will admit today when I was doing my BRs on discussions that were as much as 6 months old (I've been ill and not on myLot alot) I kept in mind who I've seen active and who wasn't so as not to 'waste' a BR on someone who isn't even active now.
@kenzie45230 (3560)
• United States
25 Aug 08
I'm with you on all accounts. I hate finding a brand new discussion with only one or two responses, and discovering that one of those few responses already got the "best response." The other day I found one that was proof to me that some people give those out to their "friends" no matter how stupid the responses. And, yes, it would be great to be able to find the unresolved discussions of everyone...somehow.
1 person likes this
@byfaithonly (10698)
• United States
25 Aug 08
Oh I came across one a while back that had been posted 10 minutes, had one response and it was only 3 words - and got best response, needless to say I didn't bother responding to that one.
@guybrush (4658)
• Australia
26 Aug 08
Sometimes it's funny to earn a best response - then when you look, you realise yours was the only response, and you'd only posted it a few minutes before! I'm guessing this sometimes happens because new people are enthusiastic. It IS hard to choose a best response sometimes, and I usually leave it two or three weeks. I've only ever posted half a dozen discussions anyway, and the responses are between 0 and 12 - so it's no biggie to choose one!
1 person likes this
@byfaithonly (10698)
• United States
26 Aug 08
Oh I'm so happy to hear I'm not the only one this has happened to - I thought I did something so great but duh, no compitition :(
@stagewhisper (901)
• United States
25 Aug 08
I honestly don't pay much attention to the BR option at all... in fact, I don't think I've handed out a single BR yet in any of my own discussions (oops). It just doesn't seem that big a deal to me. So I guess that yes, in a way, the BR thing is sort of annoying, since I keep putting it off and ignoring it.
@byfaithonly (10698)
• United States
25 Aug 08
LOL - out of site out of mind, I took a quick look at your profile though and for only being on mylot for 3 months you have received quite a few best responses so you must be doing something right for me though I feel quilty if others give me a BR and I didn't do anything for them.
@carolbee (16230)
• United States
25 Aug 08
I only respond to discussions where I think some input on my part is valuable. I don't like saying, "I don't know." If the best response has been given out, I will still respond. I agree with you about giving a best response after the discussion has only been posted an hour or two. Many myLotters work and aren't home during the day to respond to new discussions. They need a chance as well to get that best response. In order for everyone to earn on this site, we all need a fair chance to respond to any and all discussions.
1 person likes this
@byfaithonly (10698)
• United States
25 Aug 08
For the most part I do the same - only respond to discussions I can contribute something to but will admit not always. There are times I will comment with something like "I have no idea but I would like to know more myself, I look forward to seeing what others have to add". I do expound more on the topic of discussion to get more 'length' to my response.
Then there are times I will do my best to find, create a way to respond to a discussion - particularly for my friends if I see a discussion of theirs isn't getting responses - sometimes just one response will kick a discussion into the puplic eye and get lots more responses.
@slickcut (8141)
• United States
25 Aug 08
Hi Faith, you taught me this when i first became a mylotter remember?I had opened a discussion & gave you the best response right away,and you told me to wait until i get a lot of answers before i responded to best response,that is a lesson you taught me and to this day i do that.You were very sweet about filling me in and i do appreciate your help because i was a newbie...I also have a hard time giving out best responses because everyone has such great advice...When i do give out a best response i even feel guilty because there are so many that deserve that ,but this is what i do to make things & me feel better about having to choose...I always go & give everyone a + just because they were nice enough t answer my post,even if we chat back & forth I give a + for everything they do..So i feel even if i cannot give them the best response at least i can help their star go up....
1 person likes this
@byfaithonly (10698)
• United States
25 Aug 08
Ok, mark this on your calendar - Faith taught someone something :) Kids have been on a rampage lately, seems Mom doesn't know anything at all so it's nice to hear someone thinks I know something.
You know what though - I do remember that discussion, I was nervous about saying something but felt close to you already and didn't want you hurting yourself as far as getting reponses to your discussions.
I give + to most who respond to my discussions but there are on occasions ones that get a - and just the other day I reported a response that was totally off topic, it was removed from my discussion.
1 person likes this
@lordwarwizard (35747)
• Singapore
25 Aug 08
Hello Faith, let me give you a one-liner to further piss you (HAHAHAHA! 
)
Take it easy, why bother about best responses? 
)
Take it easy, why bother about best responses? @byfaithonly (10698)
• United States
25 Aug 08
Oh you are funny wiz - this from the man who at one time went to the extent to give out special awards to his responders - seems I received a few of those and was always thrilled by the way :)
@whittby (3072)
• United States
25 Aug 08
Sure, it's not as much fun responding to discussions and then finding that the BR has been given - the first day for pete's sake. I feel I have responded to a discussion that will never be visited again by the originator. Maybe the myLot folks who do this just don't get the concept. Or are extremely OCD about their housekeeping on here? 
@byfaithonly (10698)
• United States
25 Aug 08
Oh now I never thought about OCD in housekeeping I suppose that's a possibility but I am guessing it's they just don't think or are excited when that first person responds. It's a mystery to me but I do know I am much more motivated to give better responses when I think I have a chance - the competitive nature in me I guess :)
@thebohemianheart (8827)
• United States
25 Aug 08
*L* Some days I go in and look at discussions that were posted 10-12 months ago, and respond to them, even though they already have a best response. (I get bored, sometimes*S*)
Anyway, I do think that people should be given a chance to respond to discussions before a best response is given. I let mine sit there for at least a week. Sometimes, I forget and it sits there for a month before I go back in and resolve it.
I do this because I know there are times that I come across a post that I haven't seen, and it may have been there for 2 or three weeks, I just missed it on the rotation. So, yeah, give us a chance to SEE the discussion, be a little patiant when it comes to people responding.
1 person likes this
@byfaithonly (10698)
• United States
25 Aug 08
It was kinda fun going back 6 months and doing the best responses on some of my own discussions - a couple I had actually forgotten I even posted them :) I will admit sometimes in the past I've gone way back and responded to discussions but most times I try to stay as current as possible.
