Are there any existing ASP.NET applications designed out there for creating a FAQ site? One that has a set of categories with frequently asked questions in each category, along with answers? Over at ASPFAQs.com I have a FAQ application written in classic ASP, and am wondering if there already exists one for ASP.NET that I'm unaware of.
Also, what would be in your ideal FAQ application? At ASPFAQs.com there are two parts: the front-end, that anyone can see, and a back-end, which is reserved only for specified administrators. On the front-end, the FAQ categories are listed, and users can drill down to the FAQs in a specific category or jump to a particular FAQ if they know its ID. There's also a means to display the 10 most popular FAQs (i.e., those that have received the most views), as well as the 10 most recent FAQs.
From the back-end, user accounts can be created to allow folks to create, edit, approve, and delete FAQs. There are different permission levels that can be granted, such as one user can only create FAQs, but they must first be approved by a moderator before they appear on the live site. Others may be able to create, edit, and approve FAQs, but not delete existing FAQs. Creating a FAQ is pretty straightforward, and involves just selecting the category, the frequently asked question, and providing an answer.
Here are some potential additions I have thought up:
- Ability to create “to-do“ FAQs. That is, anyone could add to a table a list of preferred frequently asked questions. From the back-end, approved users could choose one and answer it, or could remove ones from the list that might already be answered on the site or are off-topic.
- Better reporting tools, showing folks on the back-end the number of times a FAQ has been viewed, the number of views plotted against the date, and so on...
- Ability for an end user to ask a follow-up question to a FAQ. This question would get sent to the author of the FAQ, and he could then easily update the FAQ's answer including the user's question inline, along with his answer.
- An RSS feed to the FAQs
Any other suggestions?