Getting Started: SME Auto-Assign

Stack Overflow recommends having at least 2-3 SMEs for your most popular tags. SME Auto-Assign gamifies the process by giving admins the option to set a predefined reputation threshold for your community. Once users earn this reputation threshold for a tag, they’ll automatically become a SME for that tag. You can learn more about the feature settings and how to configure them below.

Default Settings

SME Auto-Assign is turned off by default. An admin will need to take manual action in Admin Settings to enable SME Auto-Assign

• Navigate to Admin Settings > Customize > Subject Matter Experts
• Once enabled, set the minimum reputation required to become a SME. The default reputation requirement is 100 points
• • *Note: This reputation threshold counts points earned on Answers and Articles only

Not all Tags are ready for automation. Include up to 50 excluded Tags to further customize the SME experience

• SME assignment on excluded Tags will continue to be a manual process
• If Tags are added to or removed from the exclusion list following activation of SME Auto-Assign, users will be removed or added as SMEs retroactively

Admins may set a custom time period for automatic SME demotion due to inactivity

• Users who have lost SME status will receive a notification and opportunities to answer questions or create articles to earn their SME status again

Ongoing Management

Reputation Threshold

Admins may need to test several reputation thresholds to determine the best fit for the community

• A reputation threshold that’s too low will result in an over-saturation of SMEs on Tags, while a threshold that’s too high will have a low number of qualifying users
• When the reputation requirement is adjusted after enabling SME Auto-Answer, users will be retroactively assigned or demoted accordingly
• Users who lose SME status following an adjustment will no longer be assigned to the Tag, but will still be watching the Tag

Disabling the Feature

Admins can disable SME Auto-Assign at any time. Users who earned Auto-Assigned as SMEs will retain their SME status

Viewing Impact

SME Users Page

The Users page now has an updated view that allows all users to see SME details within the community

This view shows the name of the SME, the Tag they’re assigned to, and whether the user was Manually or Automatically assigned

Final Notes

• SME Auto-Assign offers a more streamlined and efficient method for SME management in your community
• The recommendation is 2-3 SMEs on popular Tags
• Higher SME coverage leads to better answer rates, more Content Health reviews, and better overall community health
• Users can always opt out of SME status on Tags and a future release will include the SME demotion and improved reporting