forum etiquette

[tomorrowstreasures]

Those active here have more than likely noticed that I have had great difficulty lately keeping my foot on the floor and out of my mouth.

That got me to thinking -be quiet, MA - about what is expected from forum members...

When I joined, this was my first entry into the world of forums ... I am sure that what is ok and what is not is most likely common sense, but I thought I would start a thread to make it a little clearer to those of us who need gentle tutorials on the proper expected forum etiquette.

Maybe after reading what those more savvy and experienced forum participants add, I can at last remove the :footinmou :p

Humor is welcome in this thread, as long as it fits the subject. :D

So, there you go, have at it... post away...

[Mad Aussie]

The first thing people should do when entering my threads is bow down and throw money ... :rolleyes:

[Gem]

The first thing people should do when entering my threads is bow down and throw money ... :rolleyes:

Or tomatoes http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-laughing014.gif (http://www.freesmileys.org)

[kiley9806]

this is my 1st forum as well TT - and i cant imagine a nicer one... small community, friendly, goofy, and very knowledgeable members, who are always ready to help, or make you laugh... :)

[Mad Aussie]

Or tomatoes http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-laughing014.gif (http://www.freesmileys.org)
http://www.mtbdirt.com.au/home/smf/Smileys/classic/biglaugha.gif


Ok ok ... my take on forum etiquette ... which is basically a repeat from what I said in another thread ...

Seeing as I run forums of my own also (unrelated to photography) I believe that the author of the thread should have some say in whether the thread stays on topic or not.
The general rule I apply is that the person who started the thread (the author) should be given the chance to get the answers they seek before anyone jumps in and starts a party.

According to that thinking I broke that rule in this very thread. But I did that to illustrate a point of course <cough bull**** I did cough>

[Mad Aussie]

this is my 1st forum as well TT - and i cant imagine a nicer one... small community, friendly, goofy, and very knowledgeable members, who are always ready to help, or make you laugh... :)
Wow ... you girls are old to be Vir ... errr... Newbies ;)

[tomorrowstreasures]

i think i am the oldest active female member. :o

[Mad Aussie]

I think something else I try to do in forums where possible is if I give critique, I try to make sure I point out both good and bad elements I see in my opinion.
Kind of try to give good with the bad so to speak.

Also people should always remember that critique is mostly a person's opinion and in no way suggests that what they say is correct for you. It's just their view. There well could be several views from different people that all are beneficial to you even if they are very different from one another.
Therefore never take any critique to heart. Take it a clue, as a perspective.

[Gem]

I mostly try to comment on pictures that don't seem to be getting a lot of attention. Just think that it's kind of unfair and rude if someone posts something and nobody replies.

[tomorrowstreasures]

I mostly try to comment on pictures that don't seem to be getting a lot of attention. Just think that it's kind of unfair and rude if someone posts something and nobody replies.


Great tip!!!:highfive:

[Mad Aussie]

I mostly try to comment on pictures that don't seem to be getting a lot of attention. Just think that it's kind of unfair and rude if someone posts something and nobody replies.
Yes true. You'll often see me comment on a thread that's been sitting neglected after a few days for that reason.

[Lovin]

I think something else I try to do in forums where possible is if I give critique, I try to make sure I point out both good and bad elements I see in my opinion.
Kind of try to give good with the bad so to speak.

Also people should always remember that critique is mostly a person's opinion and in no way suggests that what they say is correct for you. It's just their view. There well could be several views from different people that all are beneficial to you even if they are very different from one another.
Therefore never take any critique to heart. Take it a clue, as a perspective.

All the time I'm taking the critiques as from a way more experimented person in photography than me.

[Mad Aussie]

All the time I'm taking the critiques as from a way more experimented person in photography than me.
Sometimes that's the case of course. But sometimes you can learn from someone less experienced simply because they see something you overlooked.

I believe we can learn things from anybody ... all we have to do is be open minded.

[jjeling]

I think MA has said pretty much everything I wanted to say last night. I went to bed early and would have participated a little more but thats not the case.

Having been a member of a couple other forums, one that died, and another that wasn't my style, is trying to avoid posting my pictures in another persons thread. Not really the case here, but it largely relies on how the thread was started.
Personally, I will usually give some input good and bad before making future comments in the thread. Rules are made to get broken and I am no exception. Also, I try as much as possible to use proper grammer. It is a force of habit unless Im trying to make a point or add some humor to the situation. Other than these things, MA has pretty much said the rest of what I wanted to say. Just be open minded about things, and take comments at face value.

[Marko]

I think something else I try to do in forums where possible is if I give critique, I try to make sure I point out both good and bad elements I see in my opinion.
Kind of try to give good with the bad so to speak.

Also people should always remember that critique is mostly a person's opinion and in no way suggests that what they say is correct for you. It's just their view. There well could be several views from different people that all are beneficial to you even if they are very different from one another.
Therefore never take any critique to heart. Take it a clue, as a perspective.

I think is well written and I agree.

I think we are are great bunch of people and as the Admin here I am really proud of the friendly 'vibe' that's going on. All forums grow at different rates provided they are not neglected. Without a doubt, eventually some members will join that are less than friendly. I'm prepared to give everyone a chance, but if I find that they are excessively rude, regardless of their experience and talent, I will let them know that this is unacceptable on our forum. Although 'experts' are great to learn from, rarely do we learn 'well' from arrogant or rude 'experts', we get defensive instead.

All this to say.....is that the etiquette is far easier to shape when people are friendly and respectful.:goodvibes

[Greg_Nuspel]

I try never to say anything negative unless I can suggest an improvement. I figure you can't criticize unless your willing to provide a solution.

[kiley9806]

Wow ... you girls are old to be Vir ... errr... Newbies ;)
hey - since when is 27 OLD!?! :p

[Mad Aussie]

hey - since when is 27 OLD!?! :p
to be a vir... never mind ;)

[kat]

hey - since when is 27 OLD!?! :p


:eek:

Now time to cry! I thought it was hard enough hitting 30 :(

[Gem]

Oh, and I try not to flood the forums with my pictures all at once. You know, to give other people a chance to have their photocs been seen and commented upon.

[BlueX]

One thing I've noticed on some other (non-photography related) forums I've been on is that they (mostly admin and moderators) get angry when some one just starts a new thread to ask a simple question, instead of searching through the old threads to see if it has already been covered. This tends to clutter things up a bit. So before I start a new thread about a subject, especially a popular subject, I'll go through some old threads and do a search to see if it has already been covered. I just do it out of courtesy. It's definitely easier on this forum because there's a smaller community and not as much back log to go through. Of course, this doesn't apply to "show your photo" and "critique" threads.

[Mad Aussie]

That is a frustrating problem from an admin point of view sometimes.

I find on my MTB website that it's something that happens a lot but I'm very lenient with it because the technology and circumstances can change quickly so even if a person did find an old thread the info within might not be valid any longer. It's one of those things I guess. Does the person then add to that old thread or start a new one which is easier to get an answer from ? I let them decide. Sometimes new threads add spice.

[JAS_Photo]

If it's a specific subject such as a 'fresh foods diet' on a parrot site, for instance, :) it can be stickied and the inquirer can be sent there with a link. Otherwise some topics although repeated many times, can get off track or the respondents are no longer around and the thread has gone 'stale'. It can then very well benefit from a fresh start and differing opinions or solutions.

[BlueX]

I agree, this is definitely dependent on many factor like topic, subject matter, info given, applicablility, etc...

I see it mostly in car forums where a newbie signs up and their first post will go something like: "Someone help!!! I can't turn off my parking lights!!!" or "Does anyone know what type of bulbs I need for my headlights???" where a simple search will easily find the answer and the anwser will most like not change.

Not in this forum, but in others, members can get very snippy about this. I don't like getting yelled at by another geek through the computer, so I will often search before posting.

[Mad Aussie]

Yes ... 'Geek Rage' is a horrible thing http://www.mtbdirt.com.au/home/smf/Smileys/classic/hihi.gif

"If you don't stop making new threads before searching I will send a virus that will melt your monitor, turn your harddrive into a softdrive, scare your dog away, defrost your fridge and ruin your food AND make your girlfriend like Geeks!!!!"

[Marko]

One thing I've noticed on some other (non-photography related) forums I've been on is that they (mostly admin and moderators) get angry when some one just starts a new thread to ask a simple question, instead of searching through the old threads to see if it has already been covered. This tends to clutter things up a bit. So before I start a new thread about a subject, especially a popular subject, I'll go through some old threads and do a search to see if it has already been covered. I just do it out of courtesy. It's definitely easier on this forum because there's a smaller community and not as much back log to go through. Of course, this doesn't apply to "show your photo" and "critique" threads.Admins and mods LOVE people like you BlueX:goodvibes

But the fact is, those admins that get miffed for this need to take a chill pill big time. Sure it would be great if most people would search before posting, but it will NEVER EVER happen. It's like spam. You can whine and complain all you like, but it ain't gonna stop it. Besides, new members are part of the important fuel that feeds forums and Admins and Mods should be grateful that they joined up in the first place. I know I am. It's stupid to be all snotty and chase new members away (because no new member or any member wants to be talked down to), and it makes for a very 'cold' forum.

Another good thread!
Thx all,
Marko

[Iguanasan]

Admins and mods LOVE people like you BlueX:goodvibes

But the fact is, those admins that get miffed for this need to take a chill pill big time. Sure it would be great if most people would search before posting, but it will NEVER EVER happen. It's like spam. You can whine and complain all you like, but it ain't gonna stop it. Besides, new members are part of the important fuel that feeds forums and Admins and Mods should be grateful that they joined up in the first place. I know I am. It's stupid to be all snotty and chase new members away (because no new member or any member wants to be talked down to), and it makes for a very 'cold' forum.

Another good thread!
Thx all,
Marko

Some "geeky" things that I like to see is how quoting is handled and a decent subject line. When you quote someone it's nice if you take the time to delete the irrelevant material from the quote. You'll see here that I quoted a large chunk of text that has nothing to do with my post. I like to put in "..." whenever I edit another's text in order to reduce it to a more usable quote. (See good example below)



...Sure it would be great if most people would search before posting, but it will NEVER EVER happen. It's like spam. You can whine and complain all you like, but it ain't gonna stop it....

I completely agree!

[JAS_Photo]

My pet peeve is when they quote the entire long post just above their own and then put a two or three word comment. And then the person below them does the same thing! Lol.