(Un)official Etiquette Question: so regreens and answering these and priorities

[ninetydegrees]

It seems I'm full of questions lately...

So, sometimes, a volunteer answered a request and, for some reason, the user replied because it didn't solve their problem and another volunteer thinks they can solve it. What should the other volunteer do? Wait to see if the first volunteer submits a second answer? If so, how long? Or answer because the priority is giving users answers ASAP? Or leave an IC (but not everybody can read them so maybe a fake-IC in a screened answer)? I tend to wait but it crossed my mind today that I really have no idea what is the appropriate and expected behavior so here I am again seeking advice and guidance. :)

(And I hope it's ok to ask about these kinds of things)

Comments

[chemicallace]

Answering the user faster is most important. If someone answered and the user writes back needing something else, feel free to go ahead and submit an answer. The original answer writer may not check back, may not know the answer, or may be on a support break. Answering once doesn't claim the request in any way.

[ninetydegrees]

What if the first answer was incorrect? And should I apologize on behalf on DW then? Sorry if I'm being completely ridiculous about this BTW.

[azurelunatic]

I Am Not A SupportHelp, But this is what I might do:

What kind of incorrect are we talking? A troubleshooting step that was reasonable to try from the information given at first, but did not solve the problem after it was tried, and/or did not apply after more information was given? Or an approved answer that did not at all address the problem, or a solution that would not solve the problem as described?

If I saw the former, I would take my cue from the user's tone, and mention that there are common problems that should be ruled out first if it seemed necessary, and perhaps apologize for the inconvenience.

If I saw that a blatantly wrong answer had been approved, I would contact the nearest SupportHelp I could find to let them know about the issue, and let them take it from there.

[ninetydegrees]

I'm talking about the latter:

1) One I thought was wrong but wasn't sure about (my memories were fuzzy) and I did contact an SH because it was about a privacy/security issue but they never answered.

2) One where the request was weeks old so I didn't feel bad about stepping in and I don't think apologies were in order because the other volunteer had truly down what they thought best. It just wasn't the right direction in these circumstances.

3) One where a typo made the solution not work and I'm glad I waited because the other volunteer spotted it on their own.