An active community talks. In the process, everyone gets to know each other better. When it goes well, there is a clear signal about the direction or preferences. Sometimes dissent is noted. Othertimes, opposition become entrenched and divisive. Online environments are great at collecting different viewpoints. They can be a part of a negotiation or resolution process, but are rarely as effective as a real sit-down.
We strongly recommend using the feedback features of Community Corner to get a sense of your membership. If the issue is contentious, move the conversation, if possible, to the next FTF meeting or phone conference.
Four areas within the Community Corner support feedback: Blogs, Forums, Photos, and Downloads.
Depending on how the area is set up, users provide feedback by writing a comment, voting on a 5 star system, or responding to questions in a poll. Discussion forums provide the most feedback methods. They support each of these. Blogs, Photos, and Downloads support written comments and the 1 to 5 star quick voting system.
Comments give the greatest freedom to the writer. Experience shows those leaving written comments are more committed to their position than others. This means that there is a risk their comments do not represent the leanings of the middle ground members.
The 5 star system is essentially a straw poll. It takes one click. There is a summary report which averages the results. Individual voting is not reported.
Polls are the most precise. We discussed them previously. Polls are only available in discussion forums.
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