A Restructure of the FAQ's

Good Morning,

The Knights of the Temple are discussing a potential restructure of the FAQs located here: https://www.templeofthejediorder.org/faq , to make it easier for new members to navigate. In order to do this well, we need your assistance.

Please recall what it was like being a new member here. What were some of the questions you needed/wanted answered as a new member? Is there anything that we can do to improve how those questions are answered? Your help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much.

Ros

I think the biggest thing for me was that I was kind of confused which to read first. Also, I don't know if this is true of the FAQ anymore, but a lot of the links for answers led to forum posts and that was always a little weird. It took me a while to figure out what needed to happen first and what to do next.

But I may be a bad person to reference since I tried to read every little thing and practically memorize it before I joined. I'm the kind of person who reads the Terms of Service agreements and doesn't like signing up for stuff unless I know what I'm consenting to.

I've gone to council with ideas of my own, it is tough to discuss this in a multi-person co versation...

Recommendations are always welcome, and my proposal does remove a few items from the FAQ...

I (Council) am interested in what others think (there is also s thread in the knight forum I think?, which means there are two locations to follow, :huh:)

so, please keep ideas coming, but realize not all will be used...

But, thank you all for your ideas, and desire to make TOTJO better...

The FAQ itself is okay for me, but maybe put a link to it on the homepage? It seemed we spend time directing people to it a lot even though it is in the Nav Bar.

The order of answers in the FAQ is still weird to me. I think it should probably be structured in order a new person would need them answered. Life the "Under 18?" section seems to get completely overlooked by some of the folks that need it, and should probably go higher on the list. Things like that.

Also, anything that will get people to read it. To paraphrase a recent newbie: "oh. I don't ever expect FAQs to every have actual information; I didn't know it was important."

Here is a list of all the questions For Reference:


How should we reorder them?

As I've said elsewhere the current FAQ is a great and useful resource. But it's not really an FAQ which should be short, snappy, and an actual list of answers and links to resources for the questions which are actually asked. As such I'd rename our current page and add an additional FAQ page with a short, simple list of the questions we are actually frequently asked and brief answers or links.

We get a lot of people posting on the wall or in the confused section who say "I read the FAQ but it was confusing" or "I'm still not sure what to do". I can't help but feel they're the exact people who would benefit from an FAQ on top of the info dump we currently provide.

Rule #1: FAQs should be short and limited

I managed a support center that yielded some interesting results when we started recording clicks and interactions. From these results we realized we had two options for the beginning of the FAQ, one yielding much better results than the other.

1. When we had a very prominent search box plus a few select links beneath it (like the Mailchimp example below), search went way up. The design led users to instinctively search for their question first before clicking the FAQs.

2. When a page had an equally prominent search box and a long list of FAQs (15+ lines), there was a significant drop in search box usage. Customers clicked around on the FAQs first.

Option A allowed customers to see top issues first and then use the search for the questions instead of browsing and yielding more relevant results.

Option B had the FAQs dominating the page, forcing the customers to browse 15+ questions. After all that reading, they simply felt exhausted and would look for another channel for an answer.

http://blog.kayako.com/design-rules-faq-page/

I actually really like the FAQ that currently stands. When I go to look for specific info (I was recently looking up clergy qualifications), I just CMD+F to find it.

Edit: That's a viewpoint of someone who's been here a short while. I also appreciated the FAQ's thoroughness when I was a brand new member.

A separate Minor Faq would be great ...

I have already asked for that...

:laugh: ok ....

Edan wrote: I have already asked for that...

Let's combine all of these suggestions:

Under 18? Click Here.

• First Steps
  • What Jediism Is
  • What TOTJO Is
  • The Rules
  • How To Register
• How TOTJO Is Structured
  • Guests & Members
  • Ranks
    • Novice
    • Initiate
    • Apprentice
    • Knight
    • Senior Knight
    • Master
  • Clergy
    • Seminary
    • Licensed Ministers
    • Ordained Ministers
      • Deacon
      • Priest
      • Bishop
    • Synod
  • Offices
    • Council
    • General Positions (like Youth Officer or Librarian)
    • Online Positions (Mods, admins, etc.)
  • Honorary Ranks & Titles (Anything purely honorary)
• Jedi Training
  • Where to Begin
  • How Long Does This Take? ("Rank Hasn't Changed", other patience questions)
  • The Initiate's Program
  • Apprenticeship
  • The Degree Scheme
• (Anything else not covered, categorized for ease of location)

By breaking things down into categories of information instead of questions, people are more likely to find what they're after. Everyone asks questions in a different way, and questions usually take more space to ask than a categorization of the answer, so putting it in an order like this might help people figure out what they're trying to ask in less space with less confusion.

It also solves the FAQ problems raised by tzb, freeing us up to make a separate FAQ for genuinely FAQ that aren't covered in this "beginner's book" page, as well as presents space at the very top, first thing for minors to find information on our Youth programs, setting aside that space for either a similar guide there, a minor's FAQ, or both, like Edan and MartaLina suggested.

Upon request, I can work on restructuring the information in the current FAQ into a format like this in text, if there are any questions only an examination of the idea could fix.

Rosalyn J wrote: Good Morning,

The Knights of the Temple are discussing a potential restructure of the FAQs located here: https://www.templeofthejediorder.org/faq , to make it easier for new members to navigate. In order to do this well, we need your assistance.

Please recall what it was like being a new member here. What were some of the questions you needed/wanted answered as a new member? Is there anything that we can do to improve how those questions are answered? Your help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much.

Ros

As new member I was curious about the structure of the temple. The FAQ covers many different points, with a wide perspective. At first it was a little bit overwhelming because it is all put together. It may be an idea to bundle the FAQ categorized list using small heading and no blank lines in the numeration til the next heading begins. A small idea below, but it could be different. Just to get a impression of what I try to say!:

Global structure:
Important information: What`s Jediism
Minors: Under 18, Youth officers
Jedi path: Guests, Good Standing, Taking your time; Application, Simple Oath, What`s Apprenticeship, Knighthood, Ranking
Temple structure: Council, Clergy, Synod, Seminary(, Heritage), Ranking

How to participate:
Minors: Under 18, Youth officers
Membership: Good Standing
Apprenticeship: What`s Apprenticeship
Clergy: Seminary

Other Questions:
Suggestions: Suggestions, Complaint Process, Don`t Agree,
Other questions: TotJO Symbol, Holy Days, Interest Groups, Privacy, Online Presence, Merchandise, Funding,
Problems: Rank Hasn't Changed, Contact us, Moderators, Council, Knights

Tzb in reference to your post, I like the search box thing

The rules section has been shortened: https://www.templeofthejediorder.org/faq#Rules

Senan wrote: The FAQ itself is okay for me, but maybe put a link to it on the homepage? It seemed we spend time directing people to it a lot even though it is in the Nav Bar.

Done.

This is a proposal being considered in Council:

<sup>* Might need refining or re-wording
** Can be reworded for purposes of cohesive and summarized consolidation with links to articles to further explain selected processes (such as the simple oath for example)
+ Added</sup>


About Jediism
- What is this Jedi thing all about? (1)

Making Your Account
- Can I participate without committing? (6)
- Are there rules about age? (3)
- What is required to be considered a Jedi of the temple? (2*/4/7/13/5) **
- What are the ranks and statuses here? (10/12)

Training
- What entails training? + (plus 11)
- What is the Initiates Program? (*
- What does apprenticeship involve? (9)

The Council & Offices
- Who or what is the TOTJO Council? (20)
- Are there other roles or offices? (21) **

The Temple Clergy
- What is the clergy and how does one join it? (15)
- How can I apply for a temporary minister's license? (14)
- What is the Synod? (16)
- Are there any "holy-days" for this temple? (18)

Temple Policies +
- What are the rules of this temple? ** (25)
- What if I want to make a complaint? (22/23)


Re-insertions:
- Rules (Not as article but as link reference to it)

Removals for own article:
- SIG (could be mentioned in an already existing answer with link to article about it)

I think things relating to minors need to be much bolder... if not in bold literally... and not in a question form.
I think it should pretty much be 'Under 18s read this bit' (something like that).

Bump, people want to know that Council is listening, as the person who'll probably be the one to change the FAQ my above post was me giving you all an opportunity to chime in Any thoughts?

Making Your Account -- Under 18 years, please read this
- Can I participate without committing? (6)
- Are there rules about age? (3)
- What is required to be considered a Jedi of the temple? (2*/4/7/13/5) **
- What are the ranks and statuses here? (10/12)

(the link was just an example)

Just a thought ...

Hiya,

In regards to this post, I'd like to ask "what are the frequently asked questions and how do we differentiate them from what we provide on the general information document?