Forum Posting Guidelines :: Some useful tips for you Options

[Respree]

Why do some posts get so much attention, while others receive virtually none?

What makes some posts so interesting interesting to read, while others don't hold the interest they deserve?

Why does a seemingly innocent comment get interpreted as a personal attack and evoke a backlash of inflamatory comments.

Maybe it's the way it's written...

RustyBrick from Search Engine Roundtable has posted some useful tips on forum etiquette and how you can get the most from your posts:

http://www.seroundtable.com/archives/000688.html

[cre8pc]

I know, for a fact, that he got item #4 from these forums

[Tony]

What bugs me is not what people say/write it's how they present stuff... OK, I'm guilty of not always using quote box correctly, but I find horizontal scrolling a damn nuisance.

Here's an example of what puts me off reading a thread.
No offence to original poster Ron.
8)

If it's a short domain URL, that's fine.
But many other links ought to be enclosed in proper links code.

Is that too much to ask?
:wink:

[bragadocchio]

In Rich's defense on that one, the long odd URL was the point of his post.

It is a pain sometimes to see those super long URLs. I usually try to edit them if I see them so they don't cause the page to scroll horizontally.

I like when people write interesting page titles. Sometimes the folks at searchday will link to one of the threads over here, or Rustybrick will feature a Cre8asite post in his SERoundtable blog, or Kim will do the same. It's nice to see them use the title of the thread as the person who started the thread originally wrote it.

I'm also a real big fan of attack the post, not the poster.

Sometimes we do have differences of opinion. Those can be interesting, and we stand a good chance of learning from each other. Sometimes we end up agreeing that we just disagree.

I also like it when people format their posts a little, using some subheadings if appropriate, and breaking text up into paragraphs, and even using lists. A little bit of [b]color for emphasis is even nice (not the whole post though.... )

[behindTheScenes]

Talking of long url's I wrote a url condenser to make long url's shorter, see www.digbig.com
(Sorry for the shameless advertising but it is quite cool :oops: )

[Grumpus]

That is kinda cool. I'm not sure that it's practical to go to that page to generate a new URL each time I want to shorten something (it takes a little bit more time than it does to use bbCode to make a real link out of it even though there is a bookmarket there). The URL may be shorter, but it's not particularly memorable... For example, the URL I made that points to this thread - with a but of mumbo jumbo I ended to the end of it to make it long - is: http://digbig.com/4bmef

That said, the utility intrigues me for some reason. It's one of those things that seems like it should be useful, but I'm just not coming up with how I might use it... I suppose that if I had a free host or some other long and unmemorable URL, a shorter non-memorable URL would be useful.

Interesting.

I'm thinking you may want to make it throw a 301 instead of a 302 redirect, though. Then again, I'm not sure why on that, either. I suppose it depends upon how people are using it.

Does the URL I made stay in the database forever? Or does it last a day and expire? Does it track usage? Does it do anything with the usage tracking? (i.e. Could the tracking be used to purge URL's that haven't been used in X months out of your database?)

I guess I'm asking these things mainly because I find the tool very interesting (it's simple, really, but unique). The problem is that I'm not really thinking of many uses for it. That, of course, doesn't mean that there ISN'T a use for it - it just means I can be a bit of a simpleton at times.

G.

[polarmate]

Doesn't TinyURL do the same thing? It's been around for at least a couple of years now, if not more.

[send2paul]

Posts, topics etc....

As with most people, (perhaps), this may not be the first BB they have contributed to, or started a thread of discussion to. My rules are:

1. If you start a topic - stick with it.
2. Reply to everything and everyone.
3. Invite a reply from the person you are thanking - but also from anyone else.
4. Keep the thread going.

I've seen some personal attacks on threads in Cre8asite and I find them quite laughable. However, there are times when a certain point has to be made to someone - as long as it remains relevant to the point of discussion - and does not get personal. Flaming Wars, as I've seen it called elsewhere, can get dangerous - and people can get burnt!

Why do some posts get lots of attention, and some get none? Well, I tend to check the "Last 24 Hours" section when I log in, (that's if I've not been notified of any additions to the posts I have been watching). After that, it's a matter of "what does the title of the post say?" I suppose it's pretty much the attention grabber of the whole thing - if it doesn't grab my attention, I won't click on the link to read about it.

There - that's me done

[Respree]

That's good advice, Paul. I couldn't agree more.

I must confess, there was a underlying reason why I posted this. If I may be a little more direct, it was to ask members to refraine from attack other members in a personal way. Perfectly okay to attack the idea, though. Lively conversations and differences in opinion are what make forums interesting.

It takes some work in the 'back-room' to manage some of the more passionately debated posts from getting out of hand. Feathers get ruffled, PM's need to be sent to try to smooth things out, editing needs to be done and, IMO, the other members don't really want to read all the personally oriented comments that really don't pertain to the subject being discussed.

Sometimes, even seemingly innocent comments are misinterpreted. If you're sitting across from a person having a beer, then call him a 'jerk' or 'you're so full of it', but then give him a little wink, that is much different that saying those same words online, which lacks facial and body gestures as a sign the comment was not malicious.

So if you can make our moderating jobs a little easier, we'd appreciate it.

[Grumpus]

1. If you start a topic - stick with it.

That's my biggest gripe when responding to a topic. Someone asks a question, so I take a little time to research it and have a question I need answered before I can give my answer. So, I ask it. A week goes by and the person comes back and answers my question. Now, so much time has passed that I've forgotten the details and I need to start over from square one and research it all again from scratch.

Or - worse, they ask the question, I do the research, and they never come back at all. How much of a waste was that 10 or 15 minutes I spent?

I also particularly like closure to a thread (if there's a specific answer). I'm not talking about things that don't have an answer like "What's Better, Yahoo or Google?", but factual questions like, "Why am I getting this error?" or "How can I make it so this works in IE and still works in Opera and Netscape?" If someone takes the time to answer your question, you should definitely take the time to say both, "Yup, that worked" and "Thank you!" So many times, a thread goes on, "Nope, that's not it." "Try This" "Nope" "Okay, try this." <end of thread> Was the last answer correct? Not only for my own peace of mind, but for others looking to find the same answer to the same question.

G.

[send2paul]

And Grumpus also has a good point - I get fed up when I post a reply - and do not see/hear from the original person for ages, or sometimes not at all. (Although I have to say that it doesn't happen to me that often here).

And you're right about the "tecchie stuff" as well G. Even with my minimal experience in DWMX2004, I've found that now I'm giving advice (!) on queries on the Macromedia forums - and get frustrated when the technical debates ramble on when people don't seem to understand the medium in which they are posting and how to get the best out of it - be clear, concise, and to the point. And, if you have a technical issue - explain what you've tried already.

The printed word is an amazing thing. (I love writing by the way ! ). Sadly, people in general just don't know how to write effectively in most cases.

[Respree]

Or - worse, they ask the question, I do the research, and they never come back at all. How much of a waste was that 10 or 15 minutes I spent?

In my view, you've not wasted your time at all, Stock. Your research will benefit all the members who have the same problem and are seeking an answer. If someone has the same question a year from now and finds your post through the SE's, it will help then, as well.

The same might be said with reviews in the Website Hospital. At times, I'll spend 30 minutes to an hour writing up a review (in extreme cases, if I find them interesting), only never to be heard from again. Other forums don't let you even post a website review request until you've had 20 posts (to demonstrate you'll stick around).

But the way I look at it, if my comments help others who might be experiencing the same difficulties, then my time will not have gone to waste.

[Grumpus]

Your research will benefit all the members who have the same problem and are seeking an answer.

Not if my answer is another question.

G.

[rustybrick]

Awesome thread! I have updated my blog posting on How To Post Threads in Forums - Forums 101 to link to this thread.

Maybe someone can start Internet Forum College and we can have different sessions on forum usage. Ideas...