What is in this article?

This article describes STREAMBOXY's Q&A feature and what participants can do in relation to the Q&A.

The following content is included in this article: 

• What is the Q&A?
• How do I open and close the Q&A panel?
• Why don't I see the Q&A?
• How are the questions sorted in the Q&A?
• What are pinned questions?
• How do I use the Q&A?
• How are hidden questions published?
  
• Mobile view
• Further information

Support articles for Speakers and Organizers

You are in the documentation for PARTICIPANTS, therefore speaker features are not described here.

• You will find the complete speaker documentation here.
• You will find the complet organizer documentation here.

What is the Q&A?

With the help of the Q&A function, you can ask your questions to the speakers during a session and vote other questions up or down as you wish. You can also ask questions anonymously, if activated.

How do I open and close the Q&A Panel?

The Q&A panel can be opened by clicking on the Q&A icon. The Q&A icon is located on the right or left navigation bar, depending on how the administrator of the event has configured it.

Depending on the configuration, it is automatically folded out when you enter the session or rooms.

The Q&A panel can be closed again independently by clicking on the Q&A symbol or on the cross in the panel.

Why don't I see the Q&A?

The Q&A feature can be enabled by the admin in the main room (lobby) or in individual breakout rooms.

If you can't see the Q&A Panel,it's propably not enabled or the session is not open yet.

How are the questions sorted in the Q&A?

Questions can be sorted according to two different parameters ("Popular", "Recent"). 

Popular

The questions are displayed according to popularity, i.e. according to the number of votes of all participants (see section below). The most popular questions, i.e. those with the most up-votes, are ranked and displayed at the top. 

Recent

The questions are displayed in chronological order. The most recently added questions are displayed at the top.

Please note that pinned questions (see section below) are always displayed at the top, regardless of the sorting parameters. 

Here the sorting "Popular" is selected. According to this, Klaus Schmidt's question should be at the top with 3 up-votes. However, Franke Zäuner's question (with only 1 up-vote) is at the top of the Q&A history because this question is pinned (see pin).

What are pinned questions?

The speaker or moderator of the Q&A can pin certain questions. These pinned questions are then placed at the top of the Q&A history (regardless of the sorting parameters "Popular" and "Recent") and remain there even if new questions are added. 

Pinned questions are indicated by a pin symbol to the right of the question author. Only the presenter or moderator can pin and unpin questions.

If several questions are pinned, the sorting parameter "Popular" applies again. This means that the pinned questions with the most votes are at the top, and then from the top downwards according to the number of votes. 

The questions by Klaus Schmidt and Franke Zäuner are pinned. Klaus Schmidt's question is above Franke Zäuner's question because the former has 3 votes and Franke Zäuner's has 1.

How do I use the Q&A?

Ask Questions

You as well as any participant who can access the Q&A can ask questions. 

In order to do this, write your question into the respective field below the other questions and click ENTER or click on the arrow to send it. 

For other participants and speakers, the date, time, and first and last name of your message can be seen.

Ask Anonymous Questions

If you do not want your name to be seen and your question to be anonymous, click on the slider below the field ("Send anonymously"). Only the date and time will then be displayed - your name will be replaced by "Anonymous".

  

This function must be enabled by the speaker in his/her settings and is only then visible to participants. If the instructor has not activated it, the function for asking questions anonymously is not available. The slider is not visible.

Voting questions up and down

Questions can be ordered by voting questions up or down based on your interest.

The more votes a question has, the higher it will appear in the Q&A history (if the questions are sorted by "Popular").

The order in which the questions appear is visible to you and the speakers.

Attention: The voting function could be turned off if the organizer locks the function for all participants. In this case, you will no longer be able to switch between 'Popular' and 'Recent'. All questions will be sorted by 'Recent'. 

Delete own Questions

By clicking on the three dots in the top right corner of your own question and choosing "Delete Question", you can delete your message. You can only delete your own questions. The speaker of the session can delete questions form anybody. The deleted messages will then no further be visible for anyone and cannot be restored.

Open and Answered questions

Initially, all questions are located in the "Open Questions" tab. As soon as the speaker has answered a question in the stream, chat, etc., he can mark the question as "answered". The question thus ends up in the "Answered Questions" tab. 

You can switch between the "Open questions" and "Answered questions" tabs at any time and thus view all questions (open or answered).

However, if the organizer hides the answered questions, you will only see the open questions, which will be renamed to 'Your Questions'.

As long as this function is activated, you will no longer have access to the answered questions.

How are hidden questions published?

Depending on the configuration of the Q&A, questions that you ask as a participant are not published directly in the Q&A. 

Your questions that have not yet been published are displayed under "Hidden Questions". These are then visible to the speaker/ moderator, but not yet to the other participants. 

As soon as the moderator "publishes" your question, it will be visible in the Q&A history and participants can vote it up and down. 

Mobile view

In mobile view, you will find the Q&A in the toolbar at the bottom of the screen.

 

Further Reading

More information and detailed description of the participant interface can be found here.