Know-How Exchange : Guidelines

Welcome to our community! This forum is here to help you find solutions to your marketing questions, whether basic or complex. We invite questions (and answers) of all types and strive to be expedient, courteous and helpful.

KHE IS:

• A conversation among marketers
• A creativity tool and brainstorming resource
• A dynamic forum stocked with new ideas every day
• A network of colleagues to help you when you're stuck

KHE is NOT:

• A monologue or announcements board
• A static forum that rehashes the same issues every week
• A group of professionals who do students' homework

To further illustrate, here are some guidelines developed by our members to help newcomers learn how KHE works.

Guidelines for Askers

1. If you have a general question, it probably has been asked before. So the fastest way to find a solution may be to search our archives. (We have more than 2,000 questions stored there!) If your question is a little different, be sure to describe what makes it unique. The more original it sounds, the more members are likely to respond.
2. In writing questions, please provide enough backgound so our members can make relevant suggestions. (See Ex. 1 and Ex. 2.) We understand you may not want to provide sensitive information about your company. However, please be sure to include a general description of your industry, location, customers and most importantly, your objectives.
3. Please don't post a question and then abandon it. Engage in a dialogue with the Answerers. Tell them what you think of their responses and reply to any questions they ask. (See Ex. 1 and Ex. 2.)
4. Awarding points closes your question. So please don't "Accept" the first response you see. This ends the discussion prematurely. We encourage you to wait at least 24 hours to give people in different time zones a chance to respond. Then close your question by Day 10. This recognizes contributors in a timely manner and makes room for new questions.
5. Experts are happy to help students explore their thoughts, but they will not do their assignments for them. If you are a student, be sure to share your own ideas along with your question. (See Ex. 1 and Ex. 2.)

Guidelines for Answerers

1. Feel free to answer a question by doing Internet research and then expressing the facts or ideas you learn in your own words. But if you want to copy someone else's writing word-for-word, keep it short (100 words) and cite the source (provide a link).
2. In your post, you may invite the Asker to contact you offline to find out more about your services. But our primary purpose here is to share knowledge, so please also provide some value in your response. This way other readers benefit. (See Example.)
3. To keep the commercial statements unobtrusive, please do not post your phone number, email address or Web site in your answer. Instead, include those in your profile and invite people to click over to see them. We routinely delete contact info from answers. (See Example.)
4. When you see questions that don't match our expectations, politely guide the Askers rather than ignoring or scolding them. It's important that new members feel welcome and understand how things work. Consider linking them to these guidelines to shortcut their learning.

Community Ethics

We expect everyone to treat each other with respect. The Moderator will delete any postings containing profanity, discriminatory slurs, threatening language or libelous statements. If you see something like this, please let us know. Each person may have only one membership in KHE. Opening new accounts to get more Question Points is unacceptable. If you generate multiple profiles and award points between them, all profiles will be eliminated and you will be barred from this forum. We take immediate action if we detect a breach in this area. If you're tempted to create a new account because you're having trouble logging in with your original one, please contact us instead. If you have already created more than one account, please let us know so she can combine the accounts for you.

Questions? Comments?

Do you have questions? Or would you like to suggest a change to these community guidelines? Please write us with your ideas. We're glad to have you join us, and we hope these guidelines encourage you to jump in and participate. We look forward to seeing you in the forum soon!