Chat option in SCN

[Former Member]

Hi Gurus,

  Do you think a highly restricted chat on SCN will help more to resolve the SAP issues quickly ? The restrictions are like:

1.) All the chat converstation which will provide solution of an issue will get published ?

2.) The person who posted some initial solution can only chat with issue owner ?

And so on......

  I am not sure about feasibility but lets suggest how helpul it will be ?

BR,

Prakash

[Steffi_Warnecke · Accepted solution]

I really don't see any value of a chat. What can this chat do, that a back and forth in a thread can't?

This idea was voiced before here in SCN and my opinion hasn't changed since then.

Regards,

Steffi.

[former_member190778]

Hi,

If SCN will going to launch this service or facility then i would suggest no one would take part in discussion so seriously! agree with all above statements which are not facilitating this chat! there are already many options available on SCN to learn almost everything! In my opinion this is not a valid suggestion.

Regards,

Suhaib Bin Aziz

[moazzam_ali]

Hi

There are already many valid reasons shared by Jurgen, Lakshmipathi and other members. I don't think so this idea will get enough votes. Even in this whole discussion no one seems to be convinced for this idea. I am also coming with the same opinion that it won't add any value to the forum. In forum we can't force someone to post but in chat it'll look od if someone texts you and you don't reply.

Like Jurgen said we receive a lot of emails and most of them are basic questions or career guidance. If we activate some chat function, same practice will be adopted by newbies here.

Thank$

[Matt_Fraser]

This is precisely my concern.  I'm not a consultant, I'm not an SAP employee.  I have a "day job" providing Basis support for my employer's SAP system.  SCN is a resource I rely upon, and therefore a resource I give back to when I can, but when I have "paid" work to do for my employer, that must and will always come first.  So, when I jump into a discussion with a suggestion, hopefully one that provides some value, that doesn't mean that I'm then available for the OP to engage in real-time chat, possibly getting upset when I'm simply not able to respond quickly and immediately to a question.  Furthermore, I like to consider my responses before I give them, try to make sure that I'm giving accurate and valuable feedback and not something that will just further confuse the OP or perhaps even drive him/her in the wrong direction.  We all give "off the cuff" answers from time to time, but sometimes an answer needs consideration first.  Chat doesn't lend itself to taking that time for consideration.  And, as Steffi, Jurgen, and others mentioned above, someone else may then want to jump in to either expand upon an answer, or better yet refute it with a better one!  The nature of the discussion threads as they now stand lends itself well to this.

[former_member184657]

Now THAT should hit the nail on the head!

pk

[Former Member]

And the discussion deviated from its actual path . Champs I dont think its justified to link the social networking chats (Facebook, Gmail , Whatsapp etc) with the chat which I have mentioned here.

In my different post in this thread I tried to put all the positive aspects of this function. But somehow I feel the discussion lost its actual theme.

Anyways just a simple point every discussion have it's positive and negative aspect. Assume a scenario where we need to achieve this , can we get some positive points on this ? Try , if you really donot getting any positive aspect of this then it will surprise me. Lets try to put some positive comments too and remember the discussion doesnt mean the thing get implemented for sure . Champs, its simple to say what we dont have to do but its not that much tough to come out with some positive points. Think the person who put their thought first time to implement theThread thing, he/she also went through lots of positive and negative aspect .

BR,

Prakash

[Former Member]

Hi Prakash,

Seems you are taking all of the contributor's points in negative way!

Your points are very much valid, at the same time other's points also. Positive point of other's can be a negative point for you.

It's just a discussion and everybody is trying to add their valuable inputs/opinions.

Watch and get a conclusion why few are agreeing and most of the contributors are not agreeing.

Have a good day.

Regards,

Nick Loy

[Former Member]

Thanks Nick. Sorry if it get conveyed wrongly what I mean by word Negative here is "Till now we got lots of reasons about the issues/problems/errors/not to does which we are going to face with this chat thing". So I requested to all the members please provide some points like what we need to do to make it useful.

BR,

Prakash

[marilyn_pratt]

I've been following this discussion with much interest.  It reminds me of some of the ways people approach Design Thinking (or should) when they test the desirability, feasibility and viability of a product or concept and conduct customer interviews.

• Practice Empathy
• Integrative Thinking
• Embrace Diversity
• Fail early, Fail often
• Cherish Multidisciplinary Work
• Seek inspiration from Users
• Overcome Fixedness
• Accept Ambiguity

When observing how people really work and think, it is best to be fully open to insights we can derive from such observations and conversations.

If you were to continue to drive this idea of a chat tool (say in Idea Place),  you might consider:

1) A list of what would have to be true and work for this to be useful

2) Test your key assumptions

3) To do 1&2 try thinking in terms of "What is?", What if? What wows? What works?

[Former Member]

Thanks Patt for such a nice analytical view. I can this is the reply for which I am waiting for (Y).

BR,

Prakash

[Former Member]

Thanks all for putting your view. The discussion always provides different aspects of one thing whether its positive or negative. Thanks again.

BR,

Prakash

[Former Member]

I would say - Urgent/ASAP queries should be rejected here! As all the contributors are just volunteers and we have SAP's SMP for incidents/urgent support.

Why SCN need a chat option if everything is supported by SAP thru SMP? SCN is just for knowledge sharing sometimes can be useful for issue resolutions (became most of the times now a days). Again all issues (mainly production/critical) should be raised in SMP only which is standard/recommended way.

Regards,

Nick Loy

[Former Member]

Thanks Julius. For your valuable input.

BR,

Prakash

[Former Member]

In short:

Thread will remain as it is . Person who have posted their query can chat with one of the member who have given some (partial) solution (If anyone of them available at that moment). A small conversation may provide more details for both the member.

I can understand lots of time people do out of topic discussion like career growth, scope in SAP etc. etc. But the chat which I am telling is only thread based its not like Social networking site where user can login and chat with anyone.

There is no issue with thread posting (its very successful), my point of concern is it will give end users extra benifit.

BR,

Prakash

[Steffi_Warnecke]

Okay. I understand what you mean now.

A small conversation may provide more details for both the member.

BUT why do they need another medium for this small conversation? It can happen (and does happen a lot) in the threads themselves to clear things up and get to the (real) problem and a possible solution. To take this out of the thread and into another area, where only two people can read what is being talked about just means, that the others, that also try to solve the same problem with the OP are in danger of asking the exact same question IN the thread (or in their chat with the OP).

That's kind of cross-posting which we won't to avoid here in SCN. Asking the same thing in different places tends to create a lot of confusion and noise and loose ends. If you can split a thread for an issue into the thread and (possible multiple) chats for the exact same issue will result in the same confusion and noise. And I don't see, that this would save any time. Not for the OP nor the users trying to help him/her. If not all the information are in one place for all to see, it doesn't really help anybody.

[Former Member]

Hi Steffi,

  The main idea is: If solution found over the chat then  whole conversation will get published under that thread only.

BR,

Prakash

[Former Member]

I think you should start your own website and offer chat channels which then become public domain.

If it takes off then we'll all be there shortly afterwards.

If not, then we will at least have you in our memories for a while.

Good luck!

Julius

[JL23]

I cannot imagine how this will work.

First you need to find somebody who wants to chat with you about this discussion.

Then you talk offline towards a solution, while others still continue to reply based on assumptions they make since the online discussions is a kind of dead while you are chatting with the "expert".

And finally, the chatters agree that their offline discussion is posted in the discussion, but how?

One after the other, just repeating the sequence of talk? Or just one of both is posting the chat  into the discussion? Who? And how will the chatter expert get his points? And what do you want to tell the others who posted meanwhile in the forum? Sorry guys, I had a chat with an expert, this is what we came up with, I will give him all the points, you can read now what we talked offline.

I get from time to time such offers via email, here an original phrase just copied from a recent mail:: Can you help.. Later, I am going to raise a query in SDN and will provide you the link for the same in order to award you points for your help

I don't do this and if I would realize this in the forum, then I do not see anyway around accusing them for point cheating.

I think the advantage in a forum is to reach many many people with just one post, a 1:n relation. While a chat is reducing it to 1:1 

And who is the expert? Do you think I am, since I first in the rankings? The more I learn the more I see how much I do not know.

When I post one of my rare questions, then I even hope that someone with  zero points who is just returning from a training reads the question and can provide me with an answer.I probably had not chosen him to chat with.

I am almost old, I am definitely not anymore the first in new technologies, but I know chats have their charm and I using it frequently within the company. You can immediately see who is online, and it is a very quick way for small one line questions which just need a one line answer.  (The hardest punishment for my daughter is a prohibit of WhatsApp for some hours). But I cannot see an advantage in a private chat and making it visible to the public later. The forums are in general nothing different to a chat in a WhatsApp group, anybody in the group can see what others post, can step in or just shake their head. Anybody is free to decide if he wants participate or not. In a private chat you actually have to participate otherwise it is considered as rude if you don't answer.

No, I do not miss a chat function in SCN and I cannot see that it would make SCN a better place.

[Former Member]

Don't get me started on use of WhatsApp by daughters.

Why Facebook paid billions of dollars for text messages full of smileys and trillions asking "How are you?" I simply cannot understand....

Cheers,

Julius

[JL23]

I am actually lucky that WhatsApp is available, if this were all SMS for 15 Cent each I would need  to play guitar in train station. But she actually found a way to create a bigger bill recently, she called her girlfriend to remind her checking the messages, and this more than a hundred times in a month.

[Former Member]

Consider yourself lucky. Mine discovered how to turn international roaming on to be able jabber away on WhatsApp and share videos even (she wants to become a movie director) with her friends.

Very expensive experiment... but Swisscom got the roaming fees for that, not WhatsApp.

Cheers,

Julius

[nabheetscn]

Hi Prakash

Always late to join the discussion... My 2 cents.. Lets say our SCN team implements this chat. You have a question and you are chatting with me and imagine i have provided you the solution..Your issue is resolved but look at now from the below mentioned point of views.

• Is the solution suggested by me is it the best possible solution..? Let it be in the open for discussion.. let everyone get a fair chance to provide his inputs.
• It was a basic question user should have searched it rather than simply start chatting.
• Imagine the level of nuance it will generate for all the moderators..Sir have an issue,my blog rejected..blah...blah...blah..

With your discussion it looks like  SCN Group on What'sapp is going to be the next target no offence just kidding hope you understand.

Nabheet

[moazzam_ali]

Hi

Interesting conversation

I am also thinking the same that why Facebook paid Millions of dollars when they can download whatsapp from Google market for free

Whatsap is very famous and I don't use any other texting app on my cel now/ Its free and I hope Mark Zuckerberg is not thinking to make it a paid app.

Thank$

[Former Member]

Thanks MoazzaM  but I thought after reading whole converstation people will not relate social networking chats with this option .

Anyways,  yes this chat  thing is tough at this moment but like a common Developer my thinking is "What is Next". The options which we already have,  there is no question/doubt on its excellency weather it is SCN Thread or Facebook or Whatsapp , but do you think this thread thing will last for our life long. Offcourse the Think tanks of SCN working hard to improve it for next level  and I am sure in next version we will see lots of new functionality in Thread posting also.

I am not a great fan of Facebook chat or whatsapp but technology attracts me .

Cheers,

Prakash

[moazzam_ali]

Hi

Facebook chat or whatsap etc are purely social and I usually go there in my free time. SCN is professional it is more likely to be Twitter. We can follow on twitter but we can't have a live chat there. Same goes for SCN as well.

There is always a room for improvement in anything and this should be positive. You can think something new which can add value to the functionality and quality content of SCN.

We can have hat function in SCN in profiles only. This will have nothing to do with any space. User would be able to change their statuses. With this if we want to talk to someone about something non work related we could talk but again this will happen if both users have showed their statuses as online. This is just an idea and I think this will not impact the forum.

Thank$

[Steffi_Warnecke]

But this is already kind of available through the direct messeges.

[moazzam_ali]

Yeah it is but you know what! In chat we can send and receieve message in blink of an eye but in direct messages we have to wait for a while to get page refreshed You know time is money and I am talking about saving time and money both

Thank$

[Former Member]

Dear Jurgen and Dev,

  Completely agree with your view but the chat box which I have mentioned is no where similar to Social networking chat. Please consider the restrictionswhich I have mentioned. Also I am in complete favaour  of publishing those chats since those chats will be for future refrence as solution of those issue.

I know its complicated to restrict a chat only for one thread or for a querry. But you dont think in place of posting several times for a querry took more time than prividing online solution using instant conversation ?  Just an view.

BR,

Prakash

[Steffi_Warnecke]

My question stands: what is the value of such a chat? What is the difference between that and the threads we have going on already?

What you describe right now kind of sounds like a thread that is invisible untill it is closed with a solution. And it only is visible for the OP and the poor person that happens to stumple into it first. Nobody else can see it and therefor give a helpful hand if it comes to a halt or wrong suggestions are made.

I don't understand what you want to gain by a chat function and such a special one at that? Either I really fail to understand your concept and idea or maybe you should expain it a bit more.

[former_member183424]

Still I am not agree with that. Users can get a instant solution from experts if they see their discussion properly.

I've faced many users has posted a question in forum and he get replies within 10-20 minutes. But he (OP) takes time to reply more than 10 days..

Actually you are pointing these peoples, who check the answer and reply immediately if they have some doubts. But what is the problem in discussion? Its same as you want.

[former_member183424]

Well, in my opinion, this is a public forum, Not a personal forum.

Every conversation should be visible for everyone. Nothing should be personal here.

As per your restriction, what is the problem with discussion thread ?

Although we have a option for direct message here.

[Former Member]

Yeah Krishna Its complex to implement but we have seen lots of querry where its mentioned "Urgent".

I am not considering for all questions.

BR,

Prakash

[JL23]

All posts with "urgent" or "ASAP" in the subject get rejected in my area, And if it is in content then I decide case by case what to do. If I see a user is doing this in any question then it is rejected as well. In any case such discussions are bouncing to the end of my answering queue.

I love those  urgent  questions talking about problems in the IDES system.

In Google Chat I already hide my status, as 99 % of all chats are about  "I just wanted to say Hi" "Can you help me in my career" "Do you have a job for me" "Can you send me training material, FDS, Blueprints..." "I need an answer and do not want to search....all my questions get rejected in SCN"

We have the direct messages, ad only people following each other can use it, and this actually works pretty well, as I have not yet seen any misuse. What I get via this channel is exactly what I want to get this way. And this is the reason why I care about who I am following in SCN.

[former_member183424]

Same here.. I get 2-3 emails daily after rejected the question from various forum and also for the career guidance.

[Lakshmipathi]

If chat system is implemented, then, no user will post here and update properly.  In each and every forum, there would be some top contributors and invariably, only those would be disturbed all time. 

Also most of the members dont put efforts to analyse the issue on their own or search in SCN or Google.  They just want an immediate solution which is not a good habit.

G. Lakshmipathi

[Former Member]

Hi Laxmi,

    thanks for your input, but we are not considering this chat as normal social networking chat. Please have a look into our discussion. The concept is to keep the thread as it is.

BR,

Prakash

[Former Member]

Agreed Steffi ... there are some situation when user needs some immidiate solution. If he/she will raise his/her querry with some urgency then only chat will get unbaled for that querry.

BR,

Prakash

[former_member184657]

Well... no SCN member is entitled to get URGENT replies to one's consultancy issues! So I'm pretty much sure that SCN will not take up this idea. It also adds a lot more complexity in maintenance of the Jive platform as we know it. Add to that, more work for the Moderators to monitor these areas!

pk

PS: Unbaled???