Once in a while, when I run out of nonsense, I will write something serious.
What I experience and read in the feedback forum prompts me to think and to write about this topic. By feedback, I don’t mean newbie’s questions on why cannot do this or that, but improvement suggestions or simply ideas to make the forum a more interesting place.
To start with - any rubbish thread in the kopi-talk forum can easily attract more participation than a feedback thread. It is not difficult to understand. Generally people are afraid of giving suggestion publicly in case it makes them look stupid when their idea is being challenged or refuted. And it does take effort to give a suggestion.
So, how to encourage feedback or participation in feedback forum? (I conveniently assume sg-roc welcome feedback since there is a dedicated sub forum)
Should a feedback be challenged? The experts say no, because no feedback is a bad feedback, however negative it may sound. There is however a grey area between feedback and criticism, and between a feedback session and a discussion session. Obviously, a discussion session is meant for discussion, while feedback is a message to the receiver who has the choice to accept/react or not. A person/party who invites and receives feedback does not need to prove the feedback is wrong in order not to accept it.
A good feedback session requires the right approach from both the person giving feedback and the person receiving feedback. I knew that long ago but am still learning the trick, so this is a reminder for myself. No wonder someone said, “Knowing is not doing”.
I fully understand that very often a feedback in term of a suggestion requires clarification. But to challenge or debate over a feedback? Or perhaps sharing of ideas or suggestions that require discussion should not be classified as feedback but something else?
Share your view if you bother to, but with an open mind, please.
What I experience and read in the feedback forum prompts me to think and to write about this topic. By feedback, I don’t mean newbie’s questions on why cannot do this or that, but improvement suggestions or simply ideas to make the forum a more interesting place.
To start with - any rubbish thread in the kopi-talk forum can easily attract more participation than a feedback thread. It is not difficult to understand. Generally people are afraid of giving suggestion publicly in case it makes them look stupid when their idea is being challenged or refuted. And it does take effort to give a suggestion.
So, how to encourage feedback or participation in feedback forum? (I conveniently assume sg-roc welcome feedback since there is a dedicated sub forum)
Should a feedback be challenged? The experts say no, because no feedback is a bad feedback, however negative it may sound. There is however a grey area between feedback and criticism, and between a feedback session and a discussion session. Obviously, a discussion session is meant for discussion, while feedback is a message to the receiver who has the choice to accept/react or not. A person/party who invites and receives feedback does not need to prove the feedback is wrong in order not to accept it.
A good feedback session requires the right approach from both the person giving feedback and the person receiving feedback. I knew that long ago but am still learning the trick, so this is a reminder for myself. No wonder someone said, “Knowing is not doing”.
I fully understand that very often a feedback in term of a suggestion requires clarification. But to challenge or debate over a feedback? Or perhaps sharing of ideas or suggestions that require discussion should not be classified as feedback but something else?
Share your view if you bother to, but with an open mind, please.
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