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If you really want to do the right thing, change "X is not yet participating" to "Get Satisfaction has no affiliation with X". The second one is the truth. Th
by mdasen 18y ago
If you really want to do the right thing, change "X is not yet participating" to "Get Satisfaction has no affiliation with X". The second one is the truth. The first one might have truth to it, but makes it sound like X is avoiding the forum - like they have something to hide.
I know that your business plan is based on getting companies to pay you to become their support system, but it would be nice if you didn't try to shape your words to pressure them in that direction. You have no connection to the company. You are unofficial. That's the truth. It's a small change, but a very meaningful one. No one likes the implication that they're avoiding something.
Get Satisfaction is not yet responding to this criticism. ;-) Yeah, it feels pretty crappy. For all I know, you haven't even read this or know it exists! Yet, I'm implying that you're just ignoring it because you don't want to be open. It might not sound like a big deal, but it's a huge change in how people see the companies represented on your site. If you really want to be a good steward, don't be playful with your words - be honest. I'm not saying you're intentionally doing this, just that if you want companies to take you seriously and trust you as a support mechanism, saying that you're unofficial will get them on your side more than saying they aren't participating.
- amichail 18y agoI'm not saying you're intentionally doing this You are and they are. And BTW, their success probably depends on the misleading wording, at least initially. If it were done as you say from the very beginning, they would probably have much less traffic now. The art of building a successful Web 2.0 company seems to do whatever is required always staying a hair's width away from getting sued. Threats of a lawsuit are great for publicity just as long as they don't materialize into litigation.
- jaytee_clone 18y agoYou're right. It's just unfortunate, because they could easily be just as successful via a more honest strategy. Costumers need however much support they can get, official or not. Many times I prefer official forums for support, because I get faster response. I guess greed gets the best of us. But it does make more money. At what cost though.
- siong1987 18y agoI agree with what you said. I immediately stopped reading the post when I see the "X is not yet participating" in the design. I am still disappointed with the new design.
- Semiapies 18y ago"If you really want to do the right thing" Minor point: they're not here. Tell them that in their comments. :)
- paulgb 18y agoI would be surprised to hear about any SF-based, consumer-facing web start-up who didn't follow comments about them HN. Not to mention a company that is in the customer satisfaction industry.
- Semiapies 18y ago1) They're supposedly rather busy at the moment. 2) I can imagine their reluctance to visit here after the tone of the prior discussions on this topic. 3) There is no centralized comment section for the web. Not Slashdot, not Reddit, not here. They asked for comments on their site, not "please talk about this somewhere on the web".
- kylec 18y agoNo, they're not yet participating here.