Re: Community etiquette – Is "bumping" a question to keep it forward & active considered inappropriate?

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Level 7

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Re: Community etiquette – Is "bumping" a question to keep it forward & active considered inappropriate?

This is just a general question for the Community – not specific to any device or problem.

More than a few times I have seen a question that doesn't seem to get answered or a problem that doesn't seem to get solved within a short period of time and then, for whatever reason, just seems to fall into the pit of unanswered and forgotten queries.

So I was wondering, from the perspective of etiquette, how is "bumping" a question looked upon in the Community?

I really don't see it happen so it doesn't seem to be any real issue, but the thought had crossed my mind. There are times when I would hope to follow a problem to a positive resolution because I know the answer is out here, but when the participants reach a dead end the question is likely to fall off the grid.

So, thanks for any input.

iMac Line (2012 and Later)

Posted on Feb 6, 2020 11:07 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Allan Jones

Level 9

72,434 points

Feb 6, 2020 11:33 AM in response to D.I. Johnson

Generally considered bad form. Some people bump every few minutes the mistaken belief this is chat.

If a question lingers longer than about 48 hours a Community Specialist may step in and kick-start the discussion. However the basic premise here is that we are end users helping other end users on a time-available basis. Some days I have time; others. not so much. No one contributor can see every new question in every forum.

There is a way to avoid a lot of people skipping over a post and that is posting up-front details. Since the Dec 2018 forum software overhaul, the "equipment line" at the end of the post is no longer of any use in knowing exactly what device a poster is asking about. I am much more willing to help immediately when I see a post that starts, "I have a 2017 iMac 27" with 8GB RAM running OS 10.15 Catalina and it...." than to ask for clarification to things like (yes, we get these). "My Apple won't run."

As long as users remember we can neither see nor touch their computer and must rely on them for a good description of the equipment and the problem, their post are usually answered in a timely manner.

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Answer 2

D.I. Johnson Author

Level 7

24,251 points

Feb 6, 2020 11:47 AM in response to razmee209

Thanks, razmee209, that's good to know.

But let's say a problem is being worked, with many responses between a couple or a few participants, and nothing has "solved" it. While continuing to research an answer, is bumping a question frowned upon? Does anybody really care?

My OCD keeps me wondering what is being missed or overlooked when all the steps toward a solution seem to be set before me. Therefore it is with hopeful diligence that I might consider bumping a question. 🤨. (I haven't done that, but just sayin'.)

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Answer 3

D.I. Johnson Author

Level 7

24,251 points

Feb 6, 2020 11:58 AM in response to Allan Jones

Thanks for that response, Allan Jones.

I suspected that "bad form" might be the case.

And I'm with you 100% regarding well thought out and written questions.

It's frustrating sometimes when you know you're close to the answer but you need to get the eyes of just one person who can see just which little piece of the puzzle is missing to bring light to a solution.

Thanks again for your input.

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Answer 4

babowa

Level 9

78,435 points

Feb 6, 2020 12:49 PM in response to D.I. Johnson

There are sometimes "glitches" which will not have a solution - I'll offer my washer as an example: top of the line, works great, except that the circuit board seems to exhibit moody behavior when it feels like it: it will shut itself off with 1 min remaining, then sit for 2 min and restart itself with 6 minutes showing. The tech (this morning) called the factory, they did 40 minutes of trouble shooting everything - no problems found. Result: no new circuit board, but suggestion to call them when it happens again.

So, sometimes there is no solution, especially "over the air" troubleshooting without seeing the machine itself. "Re-gurgitating" that would not even be helpful in most cases. Since threads are locked after a month or two, the person can simply post again, maybe with a reference to the old thread and say "it's doing it again".

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Answer 5

D.I. Johnson Author

Level 7

24,251 points

Feb 6, 2020 7:55 PM in response to babowa

Hi, babowa. Thanks for the response.

Yeah, I understand the intermittent problem and how maddening it can be to try to track down something like that.

In my case, I was attempting to assist with a macOS upgrade from Snow Leopard to High Sierra. I've done the upgrade myself on several occasions with some of my own hardware, but the instructions I was following and relaying from Apple Support just could not get the op to the solution (s)he was looking for. It seemed pretty straightforward, still, there was a hang up that neither of us could quite id, and I truly believe it was in the order of upgrade installation on the iMac in question.

Anyway, eventually I had to admit defeat and let it go without resolution and I feel bad about that.

I would love to bump the unresolved question forward in the hope that the right eyes might see and help, hence my question here. But I also understand how that could be considered inappropriate and maybe even unnecessary as you say the op could simply repost a new question if the first goes unanswered.

'Spose I should just let it go so as not to damage my calm. 😑

Thanks again for your input.

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Answer 6

razmee209

Level 10

193,776 points

Feb 6, 2020 11:25 AM in response to D.I. Johnson

After 24 hours or so a community specialist will respond to a question if it is unanswered by the community.

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Re: Community etiquette – Is "bumping" a question to keep it forward & active considered inappropriate?

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