How do I connect to someone on SCN ?

[Neil]

Dear All,

How do I connect to a user on SCN.

I wanted to send a message to an expert on SCN regarding an issue, but looks like I can send messages only to friends or followers and I was not able to find the place where I could send a friend request to someone.

Thanks,

Neil

[Jelena · Accepted solution]

Just wanted to point out that SCN is not really anyone's private Help Desk, so the best solution would be just to post a discussion in a suitable forum.

I shamelessly use the 'mention' feature that Jason suggested when an issue calls for an expert from another area and it worked very well so far. But we should be respectful to others and don't expect an instantaneous response.

Also please make sure the issue at hand really-really requires specific expertise and can't be resolved by an intelligent search on Google.

Thank you.

[former_member182378 · Accepted solution]

Jelena,

Just wanted to point out that SCN is not really anyone's private Help Desk, so the best solution would be just to post a discussion in a suitable forum.

I agree with your point and I also think that posting in the forum would help many.

But some times, one would want to ask a "specific" question only to a member.

Ofcourse, knowing the strengths of the member (by having read his posts in the forum), is a prerequisite.

[Jelena · Accepted solution]

On the old web site it was possible to send an email to a member, as long as it was enabled in the profile and I remember getting only the questions that could've been easily posted on SCN or just resolved by searching. I recall other members mentioning the same thing, so eventually almost everyone had to disable emails.

In most forums there is a feature called "private message", which SCN does not have. But I'm afraid it would end up just like the emails above.

Unfortunately, these features are easily abused, so I'm guessing that's why SCN went with such restriction. I don't really like it either, but not sure what would be a good alternative. Of course we can always submit a suggestion on Idea Place.

[JL23 · Accepted solution]

SCN has direct messages, but it is only for members who are following each other.

As you see I have my mail ID visible in my profile, so people can even reach me by mail. It is still up to me if I answer or not.

Sometimes it is useful, where people do not want to share screen shots in public, somehow they trust me

If I am  approached with questions for which the answer is in the forum, then I certainly react identically like I do as moderator in the forum, with please search.

To be honest, it is in average maybe 4 mails per week. They probably know that I am more active in the forum than in mailbox.

[Jelena · Accepted solution]

Jürgen, thanks for the comment. Interesting feature - if I just hover over your avatar then it says 'Email: (private)', but email is visible if I click on the profile (alternative email). Definitely an option for someone willing to make themselves more available, thanks for pointing this out.

[JL23 · Accepted solution]

does it really look different?

if I hover over my name then I see it this way:you should actually see at the bottom on right at this card a button to send a direct message to me, inc

<This message was moderated>

[Jelena · Accepted solution]

You see it differently because it's your own profile. This is what I see:I guess that explains only 4 emails per week. 😊

Direct Message button is available only because I'm following you and you're following me. If I hover over Neil's name, for example, the button is not there. Which, by the way, also shows me that Neil has 1 lifetime point - c'mon now, Neal, we need to contribute something before getting something back. Tsk-tsk...

<This message was moderated>

[JasonLax]

Hi Neil,

Users must be following each other to send messages.  Unless the other party is following you, you won't be able to connect and send direct messages.

You can always get someone's attention with an @ Mention like this:

See http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-29083#Mention for more info on this feature.

Jason