Sticky Draft
Well... it took some typing, but I've come up with a rough draft of how I think the sticky post at the top of all forums should go. Please post comments/feedback here, and I will try to update the draft as I receive suggestions.
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Re: Sticky Draft
I love it! Just a couple small typos:
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And in the forum title you misspelled Accessories. |
Re: Sticky Draft
Darn it! There was bound to be a typo in there! And, for whatever reason, Chrome didn't red-underline "Acessories"... both fixed now, though... thanks :D
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Re: Sticky Draft
Thanks for this!
Some comments: Everything said is good but the post is too long and it risks being ignored by those that need it more: distracted junior posters in a rush. Here you have some suggestions to slim it down without loosing the good info. All the descriptions of the forums should go better to... the descriptions of the forums that now are missing at http://www.internettablettalk.com/forums/index.php . Your draft descriptions are very good. If you agree taking them out of the sticky topic, would you mind starting a new thread to discuss them for the forum index page? We should avoid duplicate info with the current [URL="http://www.internettablettalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27900"]. Your tips and the ones we drafted can be merged. We shouldn't repeat the same generaic content in all the sticky topics. Instead, we could have the generic infor in the General forum and then have sticky topics specific to each forum explaining what is the right content to be posted there and linking to the generic topics. Quote:
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Re: Sticky Draft
Thanks for the feedback.
When I started writing, I was planning on having a more detailed description for each forum, but when I got to that section, I only ended up writing short summaries. I agree, these would seem better suited to be the descriptions on the main page. Planning out in my head, I saw this as being a general sticky, and then having the detailed explanation in each forum, as you suggested. Again, though, this would only have worked if I actually wrote full descriptions. As for the moderators... I wasn't sure how much effort wanted to be put into this. I figured I'd draft the full-effort ("full-time job") version, and someone could correct me down if need be. I'll work on editing up a bit... [edit]Just updated. Also added a "search before posting" rule that I forgot... Should I add a "Don't double post" rule too? |
Re: Sticky Draft
The content of the draft looks very good and I would only change the sorting of the items (see draft below). Now it's only a matter of finding the right share with the current sticky topic in General.
For instance, one topic could be useful for all newcomers willing to READ and the other one should be useful for those willing to POST. This is how the READ topic could see: Quote:
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Re: Sticky Draft
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Disagree with new no bumping and list of acceptable acronyms rules. |
Re: Sticky Draft
Most forums have a "README" sticky of some sort to help new users get acquainted to how the forum works, and what the rules of the forums are. I don't see why we wouldn't/shouldn't do that here.
Also, why do you disagree with no bumping and the list of acceptable acronyms? Bumping only causes confusion in threads. People bump old threads with a ton of information, and then relevant information becomes harder to find. It's a pretty standard rule. The list of acceptable acronyms is mainly to prevent chat slang, which just looks sloppy in forums. It also serves the purpose of standardizing acronyms for various functions on the tablet, and, again, quickly acquainting new users with the forum. Acceptable acronyms, in my mind, wouldn't be a strictly enforced rule, just more of a guideline to help standardize some items. I have no problem with objects to my ideas, just please give reasons if you're going to object. |
Re: Sticky Draft
The shorter this is, the better. The best type of English for such a post is simple yet descriptive.
This forum is high in Google Pagerank. You cannot assume everyone who visits and reads this knows what Maemo is. A link to what Maemo is at top is therefore useful. What you wrote is more forum rules than an introduction to what these forums _are_. The introduction lacks: Quote:
Then define what Talk is. The Maemo community forums platform. Maemo is then clickable which links to maemo.org/intro. Then the rest you wrote. A lot of what you wrote is mostly common sense. Threads are moved but this is transparent to users. A redirect is shown. This doesn't have to be mentioned. People speak the language which you read (English usually), people try to speak their best English, and so forth. In a way this is boring, in another way informating. If you cater to new users (true for Fremantle and RX-51) it is a necessity. You might want to combine proper English with describe problems in detail. BTW, it is also OK to speak for example Spanish if that is what you prefer. It is not mandatory to speak English. The order. I'd say the 'Thanks' is not as important as using the 'Search' which should be the first suggestion. Bumping second or after use correct English / describe detail (these 2 overlap). Thanks comes after the question is asked therefore last. Might make sense to put second because after search was used answer was found. But then the user is probably not registered yet. 1. Search before posting. 2. Try to use gramatically correct English. 3. Describe problems in detail. 4. Refrain from bumping old threads. 5. Use the "Thanks" button. Other things to consider to include are: A) Legality. Something to consider later; right now it is not really an issue. B) [Tag] before title. E.g. [Canola] Pogo stick doesn't work or [MicroB] crashes while visiting http://127.0.0.1 (hypothetic examples). C) Link to the search in the 'Search before posting'. Also link to tag cloud. Different subforums have different levels of communication. But that shows itself for now, I suppose. Furthermore, threads can be linked from sticky in forum using a FAQ style layout, or using the tags. You can also link to the Newbie and General forums at the bottom of the post. I'd also replace 'acquaint' with 'become familiar with' because the former is an uncommon word therefore not foreigner-friendly. The bumping is difficult. You also don't want to have 10 threads about the same. Threads can be merged, but that confuses people as well. A solution could be summing up useful information in wiki and refer to this. Each forum can have a wiki page with the 'best' threads summing them up. But that might be something for later, when it gets more crowded. |
Re: Sticky Draft
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One sticky is good, but two stickies is not and I think a single short "read this before posting" sticky is appropriate. I think bumping threads is preferable to having multiple threads on the same topic. This is not a casual conversation forum, people park information here related to a particular app to be used as a resource. If a moderator wants to close a thread as inactive or outdated, then they simply do so, don't expect users to refrain from bumping it. Three months is arbitary anyway. If the thread gets too long, move the relevant info from the thread to the wiki and close the thread with a post to the wiki page. |
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