Forum Moderators: rogerd
It's a tradeoff - you obviously want new visitors to be impressed by the speed and quality of responses they get, but you won't get much discussion going if you kill every thread on the second post.
If nobody has jumped in after a bit, go ahead and answer. If possible, try to answer in a way that will elicit more feedback from other posters.
Did you ever do one of those seminar exercises where they give individuals and groups the same problem to solve and almost invariably the group comes up with a better solution? Forums can be the same way - if you can get a thread going that draws a variety of member input, the OP will end up with the best information.
I think leaving a few easy ones is a great idea. I also think they should be answered after a certain period of time. How long? I've been thinking of giving them a week and if they aren't answered by then, I'll answer them.
As for leaving a post that leaves the discussion open for more comment that too is a great idea. I often wonder how many threads I've killed simply by posting what I thought was useful information but in fact was a thread killer because the tone of the post was definitive, finite, or (I hope not) authoritarian.
By making someone wait too long you risk losing their interest. I'd lean toward the day after the post as an outer limit. And if the problem seems urgent, jump in right away - a timely answer will score some points for your forum.
Like you, lorax, I sometimes have to fight the urge to write lengthy, definitive posts that leave little room for other contributions and discourage alternate opinions. Sometimes that kind of post is great and extremely helpful both to the poster and subsequent readers, but often it's worth offering an initial suggestion and adding later on if other members haven't gotten involved.
I suppose it depends on the activity level of your forum and how urgent the problems are
Wouldn't you also choose the speed of responding based on the pace you want for the forum? I know of some forums with Q&A turnarounds measured in minutes (like here) and other forums that seem to just work well with a turnaround of a few days.
I actually like the forums where I get the idea that people kind of saunter by when they get the chance to participate. More laid-back, I suppose? If the admin was following up every post in 24 hours that might turn me off to the forum. But, like you said, those forums don't have either urgency or problems... :)
Of course, that can go too far when some members start answering questions that only a Mod or Admin should be answering (as I've experienced on one of my forums).
