TABLE OF CONTENTS
Overview
SME validation lets you ask a subject matter expert to check a Stack Internal answer. If you are an assigned expert, you can review the question, answer, and supporting sources in your browser, then confirm that the answer is correct.
This guide covers requesting validation from Chat and completing a request in Reviews. It applies to workspaces where web reviews are enabled.
Before you begin
Sign in to the Stack Internal workspace where the question was asked. To complete a web review, you must be assigned as an SME for at least one topic in that workspace, and the request must be assigned to you. Your workspace administrator manages topic assignments.
Click Reviews in the left-hand menu to access a personal queue of your active assignments. You can complete an assigned review in the browser without opening Slack. When Slack delivery is configured, the same request can also appear there.
Request validation from chat
Open the validation request
Ask your question in chat and read the response. When Verify with SME appears beneath the answer, select it to open the Verify with a subject matter expert window. This option appears for eligible responses when Stack Internal identifies an available review destination and signals that expert review would be useful.
Choose an expert and check the message
Use Send to: to choose an SME from the available recipients. Stack Internal initially selects the first recipient in the list. Choose the person whose expertise best fits the question. Depending on your workspace configuration, an approved Slack channel may also appear as a destination.
Read the message preview, including the Question, Response, and Sources. Use Edit message to change the Message body or Question, and View message to check the result. The suggested response and sources remain read-only. Add any context the expert needs to understand what you want checked; the current form does not share the full chat conversation.
Send the request
Select Send to Slack to submit the request. This is the current send-button label in the request window. After submission, the window closes and Chat displays Message sent with a confirmation. The confirmation acknowledges submission; the answer becomes validated when an SME confirms it.
Select Cancel if you want to close the window without sending. If the window shows an error, follow the message before trying again. An “active validation request already exists” message means a request is already open for that response.
Review a request as an SME
Open your Reviews queue
Click Reviews in the left-hand navigation. A number beside Reviews shows how many requests are pending when that count is available. The page shows active requests assigned to you in the current workspace. If there are none, you will see You’re all caught up.
Requests are ordered oldest first. Select Sort by: Oldest to switch to newest first, or Sort by: Newest to switch back. This changes the display order of your queue.
Read the question and supporting information
Each request shows who asked it, when it was requested, any accompanying notes, the question, and the suggested answer. Read the full question before assessing the response.
Select the source count, such as 3 sources, to expand the supporting material. Source entries can include a title, author, and creation date. Select a linked title to open the original source in a new tab. Some details may be unavailable, and access to an original source depends on your access to that source system.
Use your subject knowledge and the available evidence to decide whether the response is accurate and complete enough for the question. Your confirmation applies to the Stack Internal response. It does not edit or approve every document listed as a source.
Confirm a correct answer
If you can confirm the response, select This is correct. The button displays Validating... while the action is being processed. Wait for the confirmation before treating the review as complete.
When validation succeeds, Stack Internal displays The response was marked as correct. The completed card disappears from your queue, and the pending count refreshes. You can then continue with the next request.
Leave an answer unconfirmed when needed
If the response is incorrect, incomplete, outside your expertise, or cannot be checked with the information available, leave it unconfirmed. This is correct is the only response action in the current Web Reviews experience.
Stack Internal can automatically assign an unanswered request to another eligible SME. When it is reassigned, it disappears from your queue after the page updates. If your topic assignment no longer fits your role, ask your workspace administrator to update it.
What happens after validation
Stack Internal records the expert confirmation as a trust signal that can inform future responses. Where Slack is connected, the related request is updated and the asker can receive a completion notification there. The current Web Reviews page is for reviewing assigned requests; a separate web inbox for askers is not part of this workflow.
Validation does not rewrite the original source documents. If a source needs a correction, use your organization’s usual process to update that source.
Troubleshoot the workflow
No Verify with SME button
The button is not available for every response. Availability depends on the response’s sources, topic and recipient information, and trust signals. A temporary loading problem can also prevent the option from appearing. Ask your workspace administrator to check topic and SME setup if you expect a review option.
There is also a current limitation with saved conversations: reopening a conversation can omit a previously available Verify with SME button. Where possible, request validation while the original response is still open.
No recipient is available or sending is disabled
If the request window says No subject matter expert or channel is available, ask your workspace administrator to check the relevant topic’s recipients. Sending also requires a selected recipient and non-empty Message body and Question fields. If the draft cannot load, use Retry when it is offered.
Reviews is missing or you cannot access a request
Confirm that you are signed in to the correct workspace and account. Reviews is available to eligible SMEs when web reviews are enabled. A temporary service problem can also hide the navigation entry. Reload the page; if it is still unavailable, ask your administrator to check your SME assignment and feature availability.
Being an SME does not give you access to every request. Your queue contains requests currently assigned to you. An empty queue means there is no active review assigned to you at that time.
A request changes or disappears
Reviews updates as requests are resolved or reassigned, including actions taken in Slack or another browser session. If you see This request changed elsewhere or This request is no longer available, allow the list to refresh and work from the updated queue. Use Retry refresh if that option appears.
Validation cannot be confirmed
If you see "We could not confirm validation", the page has not confirmed completion. Try again. Follow the retry message and look for the success confirmation. If your access could not be confirmed, reload the page. Contact your workspace administrator if the problem continues.