IdeaStorm needs a tip section

370 points posted to IdeaStorm by jervis961 06/08/07

New people to the site could use a section with tips and tricks that can be used on the site.



Things like:



1. Clicking on a person's name(even your own) will bring up their dashboard section where you can see their: articles, Ideas they voted on, comments, saved items and at the bottom of the page a RSS link to track activity.



2. On the right side of the site above your name there is a search function Putting in key words will show Ideas containing those words. (very helpful when trying to avoid posting duplicates or finding Ideas that you want to vote on) A more useful tool for searching the site was created by another user cosh . His IdeaStorm catagorizer site has a wealth of information and a much better search function



3. Below your name is the categories section. If you click on a category only the articles that were posted to that category will be displayed. While this is nice some people put their idea to all the categories so it isn't perfect.



4. Below your name is the
button this will bring you to a page showing who has received the most votes. Also on that page you can click on the words "votes cast", "articles submitted" and "user name" to sort by those categories.



5. When creating an article or comment, if you want you can add a picture. Special thanks to reg for letting me in on that one. All you need is the correct HTML format and a link
to a picture posted on the INTERNET. You can get the address by right clicking on a picture on the INTERNET and selecting properties. In the properties it should show the direct web link for the picture just highlight the complete web link, right click and select copy so you can paste it into the HTML format.



The HTML format is







It is advised to be very selective about using pictures as they can be deemed against the terms of use if they are offensive. A good site for learning basic HTML format is http://www.htmlgoodies.com/primers/html/ . Also large pictures will sometimes overpower the page so I recommend using the preview button described below.



6. There is a preview button you can push before posting an article or comment. This is really useful so you don't look stupid when your picture doesn't work correctly.



7. You can cut and paste when posting articles or comments which allows you to use a word processing program to spell check for you before posting. There are also browser add ons that you can download to perform spell check without having to cut and paste. This is also another good idea but most of us are too lazy to do it, myself included.



8. You can post video from www.youtube.com in an article or comment very easily. When on youtube's site watching a video just to the right of it is a spot that says "Embed" just cut and paste the section into your comment or idea. I would suggest being careful about the content of the video.



9. Make sure to check out the ideas in action section to avoid posting an idea that has already been accepted by Dell. You don't want to be the one beating a dead horse.



10. When looking at articles by using the popular ideas and recent ideas buttons there are more links near the right side to change the way the information is displayed. The popular ideas has a selection to see certain days and the recent ideas lets you see recent articles or votes.



11. If you decide that you no longer want one of your ideas posted here is the current correct procedure. View your idea so that the comments show along with the categories assigned. At the end of the list of categories signed is the edit article option, click it. At this time the edit screen loads, change the category to "DELETE REQUESTS" and press the post button under the editorial summary section. dell_admin1 checks this category for ideas that people volunteer to have deleted, it will not be immediate so be patient.



12. You can edit your comments as well as your ideas. When looking at comments for an idea, your comments will always have an edit symbol inside the comments box.
Clicking on the symbol allows you to edit the comment in that box and then press save to post the edit.



13. More advanced users may want to use an HTML editing program to test code before posting it to the site. There are add ons available for web browsers for this function or you can download a separate program just for this function. Firefox users may want to check out SeaMonkey which is a package that includes an editor program and is available on their website as a free download.

Thanks to reg again for posting information on this program.



14. If you do find an idea that is against the Terms of use
there is a report abuse button below the title of the idea. Click on the words
report abuse and a window appears for you to enter comments.
.


15. Wording is everything when posting an idea. Try to avoid absolutes like always, all and never. Remember just because you want something doesn't mean everyone else will so making things optional will get a better response than just saying Dell should add something to a product.

16. KEEP IT SHORT - We all feel strongly about our ideas and want to ramble on sometimes but people don't like reading long posts (heck I'll be surprised if anyone has actually read this far on this one). A good idea is short and to the point, you can advise people to look at the comments in the idea for further explanation. This cuts down on the bulk in the site and also encourages people to comment on your idea.

17. Please be careful when voting. Many people have accidentally voted the wrong way or changed their mind after reading the comments in an idea. The site lacks any function to change your vote so try to get it right the first time.

18. Don't expect much interaction from Dell employees or the admins. They have their times when they will comment in spurts but overall they are mostly absent from the site. If you think of the site as more of a suggestion box you should be fine.

19. This site is a beta program from www.salesforce.com and is a work in progress. If you find a bug in the way the site works it is best to not report it. We have found that for every fix made by SalesForce they create at least one more bug if not more.

20. The moderator update and ideas in action sections have been moved over to the Direct2Dell site to enable you to post comments directly to the admins. While IdeaStorm is mostly unmoderated Direct2Dell is heavily moderated. Your comment could take hours or days to appear. Be patient, most comments will go unanswered anyway.

21. If you need to change your password or email address go to your user dashboard by clicking on your username in the top right corner of the page. In the dashboard there are links to go to your ideas, comments and account details. The account details link allows you to change your email address and or password.


There are many features on the site that newer (and some of the regular) users don't know about. I know this isn't a complete list but it would be a helpful section. Feel free to comment with anything I missed and maybe we can get dell_admin1 to
make a new page.



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On a personal note - This is a great site for sharing ideas and learning from each other. The comments on each post tend to get off track sometimes but in the long run some of these conversations lead to even better ideas. Some of the users have formed friendships on the site and enjoy joking with each other and may post a comment to your idea that seems harsh or rude. Please do not be discouraged by the comments as most are either meant as a joke or are actually trying to help but are worded incorrectly. I highly encourage you to take part in the conversations for they can be very rewarding and you might make a few new friends in the process.