Thread:Talk:Article feedback/Immediate improvement needed/reply

Thanks for the thoughtful note Risker.

"Suggestions for improvement" is a great idea. During the office hours we held to discuss this feature, I asked what input from readers would be most helpful for editors. What's missing/are there holes/etc. was a theme that came up. I also think that engaging readers in thoughtful commenting could put them one step closer to becoming contributors.

There are a number of ways to get this type of feedback. A free-text box, as you mention is one. Jorm lists a few others in a different thread on this topic (e.g., article needs more photographs, references, etc.). The trickier part IMHO is where to surface the reader input. The downside of directly entering comments directly on the talk page is that, as you say, editors will then need to move the superfluous comments off the talk page. This strikes me as potentially creating a lot of work for with uncertain payoff for editors. One idea that has been discussed is the idea of a “parking lot” for comments. This “parking lot” would be a separate space for comments where editors can then review and then promote helpful comments as needed. I think suggestions for improvement make a ton of sense – it would be good if we could implement the feature in way that doesn’t create unnecessary work for our editors.

We could certainly use your perspective in further developing this feature -- would you like to be part of the workgroup that helps design the commenting function? Or if you think the community would be okay with having comments directly on the talk page, we should discuss this option in greater detail.