Why use user tags at all?

Question

Our group is using a wiki - so modern! - but our IT team doesn't seem to have anybody who really knows anything about how to use it. When we asked for training, they offered us someone who had been using it, and knew some stuff, but wasn't an expert.

Here's my question - what is the point of the "user tag"? I take meeting minutes, and used the user tags in the attendee list and the action items. I thought the wiki would somehow inform the person when I had saved the notes, but that doesn't seem to happen. I ended up emailing out the URL of the wiki page, which seems like the wrong approach.

What is supposed to happen? Isn't there some kind of automation? Or is it only to facilitate search?

Same question, I guess, for the "date tag" in the action items (preceded by two slashes).

Taranjeet Singh · Answer

@Peter Basch The user mentions and due dates are a very common features used in Confluence, especially to assign tasks with due dates to team members. You can find more information about their usage and purpose in this Atlassian documentation: https://confluence.atlassian.com/doc/add-assign-and-view-tasks-590260030.html

Let me know if this clarifies your doubts regarding these features, and accept my answer if it was useful.

Peter Basch · Answer

It seems to me there ought to be some kind of automated functionality there. I mean, yes, I don't necessarily want it tied to every time I hit "save," which I like to do several times in an editing session. But there should be some routine where I decide the meeting minutes are ready to be seen, and can do something where confluence looks at the "mentions" (I'm told that's what they're called) and informs them that they can click on a link and look at them.

Sadly, I can't find any documentation, so I end up relying on a lot of people each of whom have some information, some of which is correct, and it's up to me to assemble documentation in my own headspace.

Jarno_Lepistö · Answer

Only benefit that I'm seeing for that is that you exactly who is the person that is pointed out. Many times in conversations people uses nickname or only Jarno or something else and you need to guess who it really is.

What comes to find own mentions you could try this: https://community.atlassian.com/t5/Jira-questions/track-my-mentions-effectively/qaq-p/365770