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DoIFeelLucky
2005-05-19, 11:19 PM
Please excuse me if I'm overstepping myself here, but I have a suggestion.

I've noticed a trend in the Technobabble forum, where people have a tendancy to title their threads with names like "Newbie needs help" or other such unhelpful things. On other forums that I've been a member of, such as doom9, the ground rule is that if you're asking for help, be considerate enough to put a brief description of your issue in your thread title, so there aren't a few dozen undistinguishable threads on one page whose titles are all just variations on "help"/"I'm a n00b".

Speaking personally, I usually don't bother reading threads with useless titles like that, because I think it indicates laziness on the part of the poster. I think that adopting a policy like doom9's would be helpful to the people who reply in Technobabble, and also to those seeking help, as they will get their message across much clearer.

Thanks, guys.

U2Lynne
2005-05-19, 11:26 PM
I agree that they should title them better. But, the only way we can make sure only posts with good titles go throught is to Moderate that forum and approve all the posts. That doesn't sound like a good solution since that means more work for the mods.

And no, you aren't overstepping your bounds. I like constructive critisism.

DoIFeelLucky
2005-05-19, 11:38 PM
I dunno, maybe you could just add it to the room rules sticky ... and hope people read it. ;)

U2Lynne
2005-05-19, 11:52 PM
Ummmm, I'm trying not to laugh, really.

Yes, that is a good idea, but unfortunately most of the people who post in Technobabble don't even read the sticky that is there - the one that asks them to read the FAQ or the Technobabble Archive (http://www.thetradersden.org/forums/showthread.php?t=219). It is a good idea, so I'm not laughing at you. I'm just pointing out that the "noobs" who post threads with non-descript titles don't even read the stickies.

I wish I did have a solution for that.

Ted
2005-05-19, 11:53 PM
I agree. Another board I belong to requires that a poster use a descriptive title. No approval is necessary - just a polite note (or PM) from a mod to the poster to change the title usually suffices. After a while, new members will see those "reminder posts" from the moderators and the site will then give an overall impression (to lurking prospective members) of how things should be.

Of course, it does require a bit more work for the mods, but not really THAT much more - but then again, I'm not sure of all the mod's duties behind the scenes, so I would hesitate to suggest they do more work.

Anyway, I also view it as the poster being a bit lazy. I think that if someone wants help, they should try their best to help others give them that help.

EDIT: ...I'm just pointing out that the "noobs" who post threads with non-descript titles don't even read the stickies.

I wish I did have a solution for that.
Yell at 'em...that's what I did ;)
"Read the rules" or "Read the sitckies"

mgleason007
2005-05-20, 12:35 PM
Ummmm, I'm trying not to laugh, really.

Yes, that is a good idea, but unfortunately most of the people who post in Technobabble don't even read the sticky that is there - the one that asks them to read the FAQ or the Technobabble Archive (http://www.thetradersden.org/forums/showthread.php?t=219). It is a good idea, so I'm not laughing at you. I'm just pointing out that the "noobs" who post threads with non-descript titles don't even read the stickies.

I wish I did have a solution for that.
You could make a little quiz that they have to answer upon registering. I know it would be a pain for new users, but :hmm: