Custom request statuses

[gbp]

For example if many responses from a batch request require the same reply it would be easier to classify them with a custom status, and then deal with them in one go at a later date.

[crowbot]

Could presumably also be done by some other mechanism than request statuses, as long as that was usefully reflected in the interface.

On 11 January 2018 at 11:21, Graeme Porteous [email protected] wrote:

Sometimes requesters need to be able to classify responses before taking action. For example if many responses from a batch request require the same reply it would be easier to classify them and deal with all requests in one go at a later date.

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[lizconlan]

(Just to note that this could help us with people using "awaiting clarification" to mean "waiting for authority action" rather than the intended meaning of "the authority has asked the user for more information/to ask for something more specific")

[garethrees]

[11:52:29]  <gareth>	There are 5 embargoed requests in "Fix these delivery and other errors", all of which were last updated on 9th/10th Jan. Is there ongoing correspondence with these?
[12:42:58]  <graeme>	those 5 embargo requests, we had a bit of correspondence with Lucas about them, basically he wants new statuses to classify his responses
[12:44:12]  <graeme>	which resulted in: https://github.com/mysociety/alaveteli/issues/4456 
[12:52:40]  <gareth>	hmm okay yeah, so he's classified it as "delivery error" because the embedded PDF can't be accessed, which makes sense for him (in that he needs to ask for the PDF on its own), but that means its appearing as an action for us?
[12:53:20]  <graeme>	yeah
[12:53:36]  <gareth>	hmm, okay
[12:54:29]  <graeme>	I didn't ask him to change the status as it doesn't really effect us
[12:54:33]  <graeme>	but feel free
[12:54:52]  <gareth>	well, it does mean that we need to mentally keep track of what has/hasn't been dealt with, so its not ideal
[12:55:10]  <gareth>	but can mull that over; its not an immediate problem

[garethrees]

I'm not convinced that custom statuses are the best solution to this problem, but I think the problem itself is pretty valid. Don't know how to articulate the problem yet though.

[HelenWDTK]

We've had user feedback asking about adding a "did not have the information requested but recognises the need to make this available in future" status to allow them to accurately reflect the nuance of a particular case. Being able to add a custom status (perhaps linked to tagging), would help users who want to record/note extra detail about exactly what has happened with a particular request, whilst not overwhelming everybody else with too much choice.