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Question about forum rules

Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2006 4:10 am
by matthijs
Everybody posting a question would like to recieve a lengthy and complete answer, within 15 mins, from someone really knowledgable. Right? :)

And as I have experienced so far here, often that is the case, even though I should not expect that! (many thanks to everybody here)
However, sometimes a question will remain unanswered. For various reasons I guess. It could be an uninteresting question, too vague, not clear, too demanding, etc etc.

Now, my question:
Sometimes when I read a thread I come up with another question, related to the original question. What I have noticed is that when I post that question in the existing thread, it - sometimes - doesn't recieve as much attention as when I post it in a new thread. I could of course post every question I have in a new thread, even though it's related to an existing thread, hoping it'll get more attention.

However, what is the finer netiquette on this? I've read the forum rules, and know bumping is not the right thing to do in case a question remains unanswered. Should I rephrase the question I still have and post it in a new thread? Or rephrase it and bump the existing thread?

Thanks for your feedback.

Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2006 5:37 am
by Weirdan
It's good netiquette to not bump. Ever.

I'm not quite sure if you're talking about thread hijacking or bumping... from this:
Sometimes when I read a thread I come up with another question, related to the original question. What I have noticed is that when I post that question in the existing thread, it - sometimes - doesn't recieve as much attention as when I post it in a new thread.
it appears it's about thread hijacking.

Basically, there are two types of threads. Those ones you started and those started by others. Thus there are two sets of rules:

For your threads
Post the new information/knowledge/understanding you've got about the issue. Rephrase your original question if you were asked to. Rephrase your question if you feel it would be clearer to express it some other way, but only once. Reading three posts in a row with the texts like: 'hello, here is <a question>', 'it was meant to be <rephrased question>', 'ok, since you do not seem to understand, let me rephrase once more' is... quite boring, at least.
Do not bump.

For threads you participate in (not yours)
Stay on topic. If the question you're gonna ask is closely related to the thread subject, post it in original thread (OT). If it's somewhat related, post it in a new thread and post a link to the new thread in the OT. When posting link, describe how it's related to the OT subject.

Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2006 5:57 am
by matthijs
Weirdan, thanks for your reply. It's a lot clearer now.

I hadn't thought about thread hijacking in this context. But you are right that posting a new question not entirely related to the question in an existing thread not started by me is indeed not how it is supposed to go.
If it's somewhat related, post it in a new thread and post a link to the new thread in the OT. When posting link, describe how it's related to the OT subject.
That makes sense. I'll stick to that.

Thanks for clarifying.

Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2006 8:26 am
by DeprecatedDiva
In keeping with the above question, I would also like to ask about OLD posts that directly relate to questions I may have.

If I find a post from 2003 (through SEARCH) that asked the same question that I am needing further clarification, may I 'wake up' such an old query or should I reference it and ask my questions in a new query?

Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2006 10:33 am
by feyd
Generally, it's preferred you let the old thread lay as is. Opting for instead to create a new thread where you reference the older thread. This gives people the option to read the older thread if they choose without breaking the general flow.

If people didn't post as often here it wouldn't be so much an issue resurrecting older threads, but because of the turn over rate, it's often preferred to make the new thread.

Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2006 6:22 pm
by Chris Corbyn
feyd wrote:Generally, it's preferred you let the old thread lay as is. Opting for instead to create a new thread where you reference the older thread. This gives people the option to read the older thread if they choose without breaking the general flow.

If people didn't post as often here it wouldn't be so much an issue resurrecting older threads, but because of the turn over rate, it's often preferred to make the new thread.
The exception of course being in "Code Snippets" (or the stickies).

Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2006 6:33 pm
by feyd
d11wtq wrote:The exception of course being in "Code Snippets" (or the stickies).
Yes, you are correct, those are perfectly fine and preferred. :)

Love all the exceptions? :P

Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2006 6:39 pm
by John Cartwright
I'm still waiting for some one to bump the first thread ever created :lol:

Not really, so don't do it ;)