Node vs User

[jhaze]

Hi Khoros Community!

I'm pulling Accepted Solutions metrics for our community. What is the difference between Accepted Solutions (User) metrics an Accepted Solutions (Node) metrics?

Thanks in advance!

[JakeR · Accepted solution]

If I may, I would like to suggest that you exclusively use Lithium Social Intelligence (LSI) to measure all things in your Community, rather than the classic / old-school metrics.  The only reason I go into Admin Metrics these days is for 'User Reports' (third tab on the right, near the top).  

One of the main reasons that I suggest this is for precisely the reason that you ask your question.  The old Admin Metrics area can be a bit cryptic at times.  Perhaps at first blush the metrics in each section seem to make complete sense...though the associated definitions, and subsequent data yielded quickly disabuses me of that notion. 

And perhaps the terms 'node' and 'user' are good ways to *start* to segment specific Accepted Solution metrics, but in reality we find that a lot of the metrics that fall into each subsection (both 'Node' and 'User') are oftentimes repeated, but not always with the same data when you query an identically named metric in 'node' and then in 'user'.  It is, admittedly, quite maddening.  

In the case where there are distinctly different metrics for each sub-section, here they are:

***Accepted Solutions (Node)***
Solutions Marked
Solutions Unmarked
Solved Topics
Solution Revoked Topics
Net Solved Topic
Net Solved Topics to Net Forum Topics Ratio

***Accepted Solutions (User)***
Accepted Solution Views
Topic Posted to Solution Accepted Time (Avg)
Topic Posted to Solution Posted Time (Avg)
Solution Posted to Solution Accepted Time (Avg)

Once I look at the unique metrics laid out like that, the distinctions of 'Node' and 'User' start to make a bit more sense for the unique metrics associated with the terms....but only a bit.  FYI, a 'node' in our lexicon is a Board, TKB, Idea, Blog, Q&A, or Contest.  A 'User' is quite simply any type of Visitor to the Community (authenticated or not). 

Candidly, the Admin Metrics section has periodically stymied many of us over the years (longtime customers and longtime employees alike).  The Accepted Solutions feature was first rolled out in late 2007 (maybe even early 2008) and like all features that were rolled out back then, the associated metrics were not as thoughtfully explained as they could have been in both the application itself (as well as in our release notes).  One thing I really like in LSI is that the tooltips with the metric definitions are pretty darned clear, and by that virtue alone, I throw my lot in with LSI every time instead of using the old-school Admin Metrics section.

As an aside, and from what I understand, 2019 will have us building a cleaner version of User Reports in LSI, and we will be deprecating the old Admin Metrics.  This is something I am looking forward to. 

[jhaze]

@JakeR , If I could give you 100 Kudos for this post, I would!

This definitely helped alleviate a ton of frustration and doubt on my end. I've been going back and forth with LSI vs. Admin trying to understand which is better... and you eloquently provided what I have been thinking deep down, but since I'm a newb Community Manager, I didn't trust my gut.....

LSI it is! (I just started pouring over monthly metrics in Jan, and I do agree that LSI's metrics were much more clear than Admin)

And that's good to know there's a plan going forward for cleaner versions of User Reports in LSI.

[JakeR]

I completely understand where you are coming from, when it comes to being pulled back and forth.  For the first few weeks that LSI was rolled out, I did some ping-ponging myself.

Again, candidly, there are perhaps some Khoros employees that are a bit more sheepish about telling a customer to "just ignore an important part of our software" (i.e. - Admin Metrics), but I am willing to flirt with career-suicide for the right cause.  That way lies madness, especially when you compare it to the ease, simplicity, and clarity of LSI.

Of course you have to go into the Admin console on a regular basis to tweak all sorts of things, as well you should.  Our Community platform is extremely complex, if only because there are nearly 20 years of minute configuration options.  It is a blessing as well as a burden.  But the principles we adhere to around gamification are wonderfully controlled in the Admin console, and the 'Community Structure' best practices that we advocate for are easily manipulated from inside the Admin Console too.  There is really so much good to it (the filters, Moderation controls, etc), but alas, the metrics section now appears like a Scarlet Letter or something.  

In the weeks following LSI's roll out (which was GA complete in September of 2013), all of the customer-facing people within Khoros that talk about metrics with our customers eagerly started using LSI as the primary metrics tool.  To be fair, there may be a handful of metrics within Admin Metrics that are useful, but other than the 'User Reports' section, I avoid Admin Metrics whenever I can, and I encourage our customers to do the same.

Everything you would ever need to tell whether your Community is healthy or not is within LSI.  This includes CHI and Value Analytics too (if you have chosen to enable that feature).  At the risk of putting too fine of a point on it, I give you props for asking the question about which metrics engine to use, and then choosing to go with LSI in the future.  Your job will get MUCH easier.