Thanks for taking the time to recognize our efforts with the ActiveRain Q&A.  I am getting your emails and voicemails and I promise to get back to you today.  I'm heading out to Sacramento for the CRB (Certified Residential Brokers) luncheon right now, and will be returning this afternoon.  It's wonderful to see so many in the community pitch in and do their part.  It really makes for a desirable environment for both members and consumers.  :-))

Wayne - you can call or email me anytime. There may be a technical reason for your experiences. I know the staff and team at AR work very hard to support each and every member here.  I have seen some of our responses to tickets and emails end up in members spam folders and they didn't realize it.  It's not an excuse, just want you to know it's never intentional if you don't get a response.  Hopefully the links in this post will help to eliminate any future lack of response you may have experienced in the past. Thanks.

...I'm out the door till this afternoon, but my cell and email go with me!  :-))

Virginia - some of the best questions were yours! lol~  No worries, and I finally did get to bed...1:30am. haha!  OUCH! 

Susie - invisible painless spanking? Wish I got those when I was a kid!  lol~

Doreen - No More Spam, keeping the broom and Spampan right at the doorway, sweeping away as they come in. Working on a cure with the next release.  Trying to add the classic "Love-In-A-Mist" password protection. 

Ricardo - I know what you wanted to say, thanks for not saying it! haha!  Looking pretty spiffy in there now... a few more to go.

Kathleen - oh I just love to clean...yeah right!  Thanks.  Took one for the team!! 

Jeannette - only a year?  Seems like you've been here longer than that.  BTW - Good luck to you in the M2T contest.

Miriam - New York seems to have a few questions often enough, I'd love to advertise this more to consumers all over the country. That's the next step. How do we market this piece to consumers so that more will use it?  Love the brainstorm blogging.

Brian - thanks, I'd love to be able to drive more consumer traffic to this area of AR. Maybe havng it cleaned up and some great answers to good questions will help it to go viral and bring us more traffic.  It's a good start anyway.  :-)

Laura - you're an angel!  Thanks for taking one of the "Clean Up Crew" shifts.  Be sure to check your area for questions you may be able to answer.  It may turn into some leads or even customers. That could be your reward for your efforts.  That wouldn't be too bad for just a few moments of your time each day.

Marie - outstanding comment and excellent idea.  I hope anyone who reads this comment back to you will go up and read your comment.  Shall I help and give them a hint? lol~  (COMMENT #10)

Neal - I figure if you're going to allow me stock on AR next April 1st, I better get busy and earn it eh? lol~  Thanks for taking your shoes off before you come in the Q&A room.  :-)))

Yvette - stubborn and testing, maybe. Challenged and hard headed, no way! lol~ :-)) 

Don - this was not intended as a hand slap, it's more a reaching hand for help.  To market this effectively to consumers, we have to clean it up, add some value, then create some success stories from the effort. That will cause a viral sensation that hopefully rewards many members and consumers here.  :-))

Brain - that's exactly right and I hope you will check there from time to time not only to answer questions from consumers in your area, but to keep me us accountable on keeping the place clean. 

I have to give Nicole Rae all the credit for her efforts in the past on really crushing the spam in there.  It was only this week we decided to start removing all the member questions, and we did it for a good reason an good cause.  Thanks.  :-)

Harold - hopefully it will be worth your time now. Maybe we need to run an ad in the Wallstreet Journal or USAToday that says,

"ASK A REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONAL"
ActiveRain - An Industry Of Expert Voices!

Bet that would get us some traffic. Hmmm...Jon are you reading this? lol~

Mike Mueller - I added the Newbie Group to this post.  I see you came back and deleted your comment after I dd so. Sorry I forgot to add the Newbie Group on the first go around.  Thanks for bringing it to my attention.  I'll make sure you get to keep your 25 points for the comment! lol~

BTW - Loved your Twitter post, I am following all 99 already, thought that was pretty cool, thanks! 

Clint - thanks, I just go in there a few times a day now along with Nicole, and we'll do our best to keep it clean.
Michael - the "Contact ActiveRain" link is very effective as it goes right to the support team. Glad you've had success.
Jeff - thanks for sharing with others that the "Contact ActiveRain" link works and that we're responsive. I also answer my phone and return calls and emails. :-)
Larry - That's not exactly what I was saying, I think members just weren't sure where to go to ask their questions.
Jan - Love the journey and enjoying every moment of it myself. Thanks for the thanks. :-)

Brad - I deleted the comment just because it didn't make sense once you added the Newbie Group.  But hey, you did forget to link it!  (hence the link)  No worries!

Leesa - we will get it back to the point you suggest, that is what is was originally intended for. Thanks for your support and help with it.  ;-)

Mana - some will read this and some won't unfortunately.  The sad part will be that when members go in and answer other members questions there, the answers get deleted when the question gets deleted which is a total waste of time on both members part. 

Many have suggested a Q&A for members only, I will be reviewing that idea with the team to see if it's something that we want to incorporate, or if we'll just continue to use the "Contact ActiveRain" link.  :))

Aida - too bad others don't pay as close attention as you do.  We'll get it back under control and make it even better than it was before.  I think it's pretty clear when it says "Ask A Real Estate Professional" that it was initially set up for consumers.  I am finding that each day, I am deleting less questions which means hopefully the word is getting out there.  Now we need to advertise so consumers will come in and ask away! :-)

Patty and Scott - I'm glad that you see hat and agree. Thanks!  :-)

Thank you for cleaning it up. I usually flag 2 to 3 posts as soon as I go to that section- all those stupid spam links. I really do appreciate your taking them out of there! Now we just need some public floggings about the Referral section. Maybe a three step Inital here thing for people to post Referrals, maybe take points away from those who use it wrong! (I am joking, but it is annoying to see that the Referral section has become non-useful for the most part.)

Sarah - there are many areas we will be trying to always improve on AR. I wanted to start with the Q&A but I agree that the Referral Exchange is equally important, I haven't had the chance to get there and see what I can stir up yet....but I will.  One project at a time for this ol boy!  lol~  Thanks for pointing that out.  :-)

Bill - no problem, thanks for the appreciation.

Thank goodness! I went over and checked it out after your last post and when I saw all of the member questions it just made me cringe to think that the public would see those too. Another great job, Brad!

Lisa - those were my thoughts exactly. What would the consumers think when they saw them? Some questions, as a consumer would have made me feel like, well, let's just say that the word "Expert" was not the first word that came to mind.  Don't get me wrong, new members will always have questions, but like any network or internet site, there's a place to ask those questions, I just think most people don't know or ever see the contact AR link at the bottom of every page. :-)

Brad, I found your tip VERY helpful the other day and was not hindered by the junk posts - although I'm glad you are doing something about it. The ability to sort by geographic reagion was awesome! There's no sense in viewing every question out there and it's much more effective to answer questions being asked in my own market.

Mike - that's the message we want to get out to every single member here on AR.  Thanks for affirming that you get it loud and clear.  You can help by making your comment viral, and letting everyone you know that this is how the Q&A section was designed and setup to work. It will NOT work unless members understand the same as you do. Thanks!!  :-))

Thom and Ray - there may be some consumer questions in your area that you might have answers for. It's worth checking out occasionally, it only takes two clicks to get to your area and see.  Thanks.  :-)

Brad... Nope. Wouldn't want your job :) Could you please tell me who I'm supposed to ask when it comes to changing the Charmin over at the Crap-A-Rama Blog? :) Can I post that question on Active Rain's Q&A? You don't think it's stupid do you? :)

TLW - I sure do miss your comments.  I hope my Blog post didn't exhaust your browser this time. I really have tried to clean up my act, (even used some Charmin in the process) but that was more for tears than the other! haha! There really is no such thing as a stupid question, well...ok...maybe that one would qualify. lol!

Glad to hear you have cleaned it up Brad - thank you, that was a huge task! - I haven't gone over there in a long time as it had gotten so bad. Now I hope people will just answer their own areas and that will help keep it nice & clean. Thanks again.

Steve - that's the goal, together I think we can ALL pull it off!!  Thanks for taking the time to comment and answer some of those questions coming to your area.  I think there is great value in answering a consumers question no matter how simple or difficult they may be.  They do remember these things.  :-)

Brad - are you going to bother cleaning up old QA spam? Do you want us to flag old spam or just the new fresh spam? Sounds like a lot of work for you. BTW IMHO - I don't think that "I don't know how it is done in your state, but in _________ ,we do this......." is a good answer to any RE question.

Virginia - I only cleaned up back to 4/30/08. Everything forward I will try and scoop out daily. That will also include member questions. If I miss anything, your flags will be greatly appreciated. I hope to setup a spam filter on there but that will not prevent members from asking questions still.  Just need to keep an eye on it.

I agree, answer only questions from your area, and not the way you've shown above, that makes no sense cents at all. :-)

I don't envy your job. That would have annoyed the crap out of me. 10 hours? Wow! But we do have a lot of newbies. I guess we have to cut them a little bit of slack.... if we must *sigh*

Lisa - it was worth it to get us back to a point where maybe this can be the useful tool it was originally intended.  We cut slack to the newbies on many levels here, and will continue to do so. We may need to setup an area for members only Q&A's, but in the meantime, they can use the links provided to get quicker answers and immediate support to their questions.  :-)

Since you guys have been doing such a great job of cleaning up the referral area, I am confident that the Q&A area will get cleaned up as well.

Lane - haven't been to the referral area to really do an inventory and see how well everything is working there. I did post a referral last week and got 5 great responses within 48 hours and felt pleased with that. When I saw the Q&A area, I was compelled to start there.  One step at a time my friend, we're doing our best with what we have available. It will just keep getting better and better here in the rain.  Thanks!  :-)

Pippa - I'll do my best! Thanks! :-)

Tracy - thanks for continuing to invite others to AR, we will hit 100,000 tis next month thanks to you.

Terry - I appreciate your comments, keep em coming.  Ideas and suggestions too. 

Bo - love your idea and agree, one step at a time, we'll get there. Thanks buddy!!

Michael - I like Bo's idea as well, even having two Q&A areas would be cool, members and consumers with search capabilities on both. Maybe add a rating or best answer tool would be nice also.

Paula - no hand slap, sorry if it sounded like that. Can you be more specific about the advertising Blogs?

Kristal - shall I bring them to the RE Connect in SF? You will be there right? :-))

Pam - thanks, I'm just one, but with the help of others and a bit of advertising, we can make the Q&A a powerful thunder storm here in th rain!  :-)

David - the best thing you can do to help is: (and all members for that matter)

• Don't post member related questions at the Q&A for consumers
  
  
• Answer only questions from consumers in YOUR area
  
  
• Only answer questions that you feel comfortable and have experience and expertise in
  
  
• Report Spam by flagging questions if they slip by the AR support team
  
  
• Don't answer member questions there as they will be deleted and your time will be wasted if you do
  
  
• Continue to check your area every few days to see if consumers are asking questions in your area
  
  
• Advertise and let people know they can come here to "Ask A Real Estate Professional" for expert answers
  
  
• Suggest ideas and opinions on how the Q&A can be a better tool for you and the consumers
  
  
• Keep doing the great job that you do making the AR community a place that is rich in business, information, experience and friendships.
  

Thanks David, I hope others will join us in the same crusade to keep growing the community into being a place that ALL consumers will eventually come to get answers, find out information, and use as a tool to find their Real Estate Industry Professional.  :-))

Lucy - the best way to do that is to advertise advertise advertise and then provide expert quality answers when questions do get asked there.  I'll be talking with the team about other ways we can advertise and make the Q&A a better place and tool for both consumers and members. This month, we have a lot of other things going on so it may not be as quick as we like, but it will happen, I assure you. Thanks.  :-)

Mike - thanks for coming back to comment, I didn't forget, I'll admit it, I was just too lazy.  By the time I added the newbie group to the post, I was already seeing double from being on the computer too long and I didn't want to mess the whole thing up. You know me and HTML!  haha! 

Thanks buddy, we'll miss you at the real rain meetings!  :-)

Debbie - you're never too late to join in on the fun here in the rain. NEVER!!  :-))

Has there been a thought to have a Q & A section for members seperate from consumers? I know that you are not supposed to post questions there for members, but it is helpful and much quicker that searching through blogs for your answer. Maybe you could have one internal one and one external one?

Dennis - yes there has. And there will be more discussion and brainstorming in the future too. We'll be working on many things this month, and though this is not at the top of the list, it will certainly take on a greater priority if I have anything to say about it.  I see the value and importance for both members and consumers, and I don't see any reason at this point we can't have both.

Of course having only been with the team for 3 months now, these guys are very sharp and may have other plans and ideas in store that will be even better than a Q&A.  I've seen it happen before that way. Thanks Dennis, love your input and feedback, keep it coming!  :-)

Mike - I sent your comment to one of the moderators on the newbie group to see what type of response I'd get. Nothing yet, but I'll keep you posted.  I'd hate to think you were seeking help there and got a boot.  Not sure of all the details but I am looking into it for you. Thanks Mike. 

Derenda - being well advised is only good for those who read. Thanks for reading, many don't take the time to do that and it causes frustration for others when that happens.  We have some great members and tools here, sometimes it's our fault for not making it clearer. We're nothing if not flexible to change and willing to adapt. :-)

The Q&A traffic has been really light in Nevada, (and the most recent question is asking about a real estate company in Iran), but appreciate the efforts to get this corner of the Rain cleaned up. Thanks, Brad!

John - let's see if we can't increase that Nevada traffic for you guys. I have a few ideas I'll be running by the team at our next meeting, do you have any ideas you'd like to share? Is there anything you think we can do to increase awareness of this tool for consumers? I'm We're Always looking for better ways my friend. Let me know your thoughts, they're valued and appreciated. Thanks John.  :-)

Lisa - that's a first for me. lol~  To answer a question you didn't know you had makes me feel a little clairvoyant. :-)

David - I only went back to April 30th, of this year for the clean up. I think just going forward should be fine.  Any help you can provide in the future would really be appreciated.  I will be checking it daily to make sure it stays clean from Spam and member questions. Thanks my friend. :-)

DON'T FORGET THIS:

Consumers have a link to the Q&A from Localism.com. Many are probably (or will be) asking questions from this page.  They will see the "Ask" graphic when they stumble upon Localism now.

Karen - thanks, we're doing our best to always improve.

You have made some excellent points, I think your comment is post and "feature" worthy! :-)

We always need members "Paying It Forward" to others, it's what's kept the community so vibrant. The Newbie Group has been is an integral part of AR's growth and success.  DON'T YOU DARE ever delete it. New members need your group for the exact purposes you specifically created it. TO HELP NEW MEMBERS.
I only wish people would "READ GUIDELINES" too, it would make it so much easier on ALL the volunteers of these groups.  I too was guilty as you might recall.

I run a couple groups here as well and know that it's a thankless job at times, but sometimes, as you know, the rewards are not monetary. You have done a spectacular stellar job along with the other moderators helping the newbies.  I want to personally THANK YOU for all your efforts. I am a graduate from your group, and learned all I know there. (well...most of it!  lol~)

The idea for a MEMBERS Q&A is a great idea, I think we need it based on how many I had to delete from the Q&A link.  As we all continue to grow here, we will always be looking for ways to speed up, and better our systems and services.  You have certainly paid your dues, and I hope the sincereity of how much you're appreciated is comes through.  Thank again for taking the time to comment and for sharing so much of yourself with the community.

Very good post! Now if you can figure out why AR is so slow! I cannot get it to update my blogs, have contacted them and it still isn't fixed. 06/10/2008 12:07 PM by (206.255.200.117) 

The speed issue may just be your connection or IP provider, I am on now, and though there as some other issues being addressed and worked on, the speed seems to be fine.  You might want to close your browser and restart if you're having difficulty saving a blog post. Photos are also being integrated back into to the servers now. We are working on getting ALL these issues resolved. :-))

Karen - we will make this happen!  This is the best place for members to share, exchange ideas and grow together.  It makes us better people, and a stronger force in the industry. Your help, contributions and friendship here is very much appreciated. Thank you sincerely!  :-)

Lenn - you are right. We need a bootcamp training camp for new members. They should have a one week course/overview before they can activate their profile and Blog. That might solve a small portion of these issues. Would you like to be the Seargent or the General?  lol~  :-)

Actice Tracy - thanks!  I see you got you signature logo created. Very nice.  :-))

Jon - I sence your frustration and feel your pain. We are working very hard to get ALL these issues resolved.  I was frustrated too, so I decided to go to my TechKnowBabble Blog and let off some steam when all of a sudden I got this from Google!  OMG!

At this point, I threw in the towel and went to bed. I have not had any issues here on AR today, so I think we may have gotten over the biggest Hurdle.  Moving 90,000 members, thousands of groups, photos, and blog posts to a new server is no easy task I'm sure.

I think the AR team is doing their best and have done a great job when you consider all the data and member information that had to be moved over.  :-)

TLW - tin foil eh? You been holding out on that kind of valuable information all this time?  :O

TLW - what was this post about? Not sure, why don't you use the Q&A and ask someone?!?  lol~ Then I can have something to delete tomorrow too! hahaha!  :-)

Patti - ok,ok,ok  :-)  I have posted a few for you already on my profile page, just look for the video camera.  Just click on my name below and you're there!!  :-)

Jeannette - Yup, One year for me too. I started here on March 17th, 2007.  We started at the same time! Yeah!!  :-)  As far as M2T, tear it up!! 

Kaleb - it's a daily cleanup multiple times through-out the day, but it should look much better in there now. It will keep getting better every day. When we get the chance to make a couple improvements, I think you'll really like it!  :-)

Brian - I like that you're "ending up" on my Blog. :-)  You can use the contact link or you can always contact me either through any of my posts, or via email or phone. Thanks Brian, you're always welcomed at ActiveBrads Blog! 

Paddy - great idea, it might not be clear that this area is for consumers by the wording we have there now:

Here's what it says when you click on Q&A now:

Ask a real estate professional?
Below is a list of questions from the "Ask a real estate professional" form. Real estate professionals on ActiveRain may provide answers to these questions. Please read the disclaimer at the bottom of the page.

(Maybe we just need to add, "FOR CONSUMERS, GUESTS & VISITORS ONLY")

When you click on "ASK A QUESTION", here's what it reads there:

Ask a Real Estate Professional
Have a real estate related question that you want answered? Ask a local expert who is part of the ActiveRain Real Estate Network. Providing a region will help us route the question to the most appropriate local expert. Your email address will not be made visible or given out to anyone.

(Maybe add, "FOR CONSUMERS, GUESTS & VISITORS ONLY" here as well....)

Personally, I thought it was pretty clear, but who reads this stuff anyway?  Not sure changing it will do much good, but certainly worth looking into. I think adding the "Members Only Q&A"  link will make a HUGE difference too.

Thanks for your input and comment, very appreciated :-)