[poll] forum posting worst practices

[silverwhisper]

i've been spending a lot of time lately on my job search--that's what happens when you're unemployed--and lately, the concept of "best practices" has really risen to the fore in the discussions i'm having. you know, what are the optimal ways to go about handling certain things, how does one develop processes that are least vulnerable to breaking, etc.

conversely, there are also, as the logical companion, worst practices. for example: i spent several years working in manhattan for a lingerie company. it was a small office with no technical staff. [geek]each computer had its own IP address open to the whole internet[/geek]. i knew there was a security problem with the servers and PCs, but until i brought in a buddy to consult on securing our network, i never knew just how fantastically stupid that arrangement was. that situation was a clear case of worst practices.

a recent post in HT got me thinking: what are the worst practices in posting to a forum--either specifically to HT/HT cafe, or more generally?

ed

p.s.: as always, my answers later, yadda yadda yadda...

 

[Eilan]

I read this thread before I read and posted in the other thread. I knew what my "worst practice" was going to be, and that post is a perfect example of it.

I'm torn between wanting to put the leg-humpers on Iggy and wanting to see their posts so I can call them on their bullshit.

 

[MisterSir]

1) Trolling. This is trolling in its original sense rather than in the Internet's apportionment of it, and the post linked to in the OP is a nice example. I lump most of the replies in the Personals section here as well because they're so rarely anything more than "u hotttt gurl pm me" or something equally as banal.
2) Slash posting. W/we and T/they to describe a dominant/submissive couple is a short-cut to my ever-growing ignore list, second only to cock avatars.
3) PDAs. The worst offenders, as some of you may remember, were Condatis and Owned, who had a synchronised bitchfit and have blissfully left to infect some other place with their idiocy. Lady C's cadre seem to have taken their spot, but they have three redeeming factors - first, their stories are normally relatively on-topic; second, C herself can be helpful and three...some of it's actually kinda hot.

 

[shiny5437]

I post too much fluff.

I talk about myself too much.

 

[Eilan]

I talk about myself too much.

Nothing wrong with that. If I didn't talk about myself so damn much, I'd have 1/3 as many posts as I do now!

See? I'm doing it again!

 

[silverwhisper]

um...shiny, a forum is a self-selecting group of people who have something to say. posting fluff and talking about oneself are necessarily part of the equation. :>



more worst practices:

1. not reading until the end of the thread before replying (unless the thread's pages and pages long, in which case it's understandable).

2. reviving a long-dead thread for seemingly no reason. in such instances, i suspect it's a trial of the next generation of bots.

ed

 

[VelvetDarkness]

I'm a SPG Nazi. I just think it's so lazy when people don't bother with any punctuation or caps. The number of times I have to sift through paragraph long sentences (which is curtailed by the number of times I actually bother to these days) is just depressing. I accept that not everyone's first language is English and not everyone has had the same opportunities for a good education or whatever but blatant laziness and textspeak really irk me. Also, I hate it when people choose huge, in-your-face, coloured fonts or use block caps.

This is an amusing read. It's a very astute collection of standard forum stereotypes.

 

[Eilan]

Not researching a topic properly before asking a question. I see this on pretty much all my online haunts, and it's a constant source of frustration. It's also an issue that's often up for debate on forums.

It's not just a forum issue, though: it seems like a lot of people are getting through high school without knowing how to research a subject beyond what they find on Wikipedia. I saw it when I taught the research paper unit in my Comp classes. Thing is, I know several of the high-school English teachers in this area, and I know they're teaching this material, but for some reason the students aren't getting it.

 

[Quoll]

Along the research line, at least have a bit of a look at the other topics on the same page to make sure the question hasn't already been asked four times today.

 

[bobsgirl]

chatspeak. 'u' in place of 'you', 'ur' instead of 'your' and all that. Seriously, how hard is it to type out the word?

I admit I use the chat spellings on those rare occasions that I text someone, because if I didn't, it would take me an hour to send one message (which is why I hate texting). But here? Take the time to type out the whole word.

And yes, I am a crabby old woman.

 

[Quoll]

chatspeak. 'u' in place of 'you', 'ur' instead of 'your' and all that. Seriously, how hard is it to type out the word?

I admit I use the chat spellings on those rare occasions that I text someone, because if I didn't, it would take me an hour to send one message (which is why I hate texting). But here? Take the time to type out the whole word.

And yes, I am a crabby old woman.

You wont use predictive texting will you?

 

[bobsgirl]

You wont use predictive texting will you?

I think I know what that is. My son set my cell phone to do that, and I made him change it back. I don't like a cell phone that's smarter than me.

 

[Quoll]

I think I know what that is. My son set my cell phone to do that, and I made him change it back. I don't like a cell phone that's smarter than me.

Haha, it only took me four years to years to convince my wife to use it.

 

[Quoll]

People replying on their assumptions rather than the facts given and doing so without checking the meaning with the original source first.
I can't count how many times I've read a reply that starts with, "You are obviously..." when there's nothing obvious at all about what has been said.
What often happens is one person starts the "obviously" response, someone else reads that and assumes it is true and the next thing you know we've got a gang bang (not in the good sense) going on against some poor soul who has done nothing wrong.

 

[satindesire]

Trolling, cock avs, random cyber-fishing PMs, reviving old threads, all seconded by me.

I think trolling and cock avs are the worst. I can't tell you what annoys me more.

Probably trolling.

 

[Cattypuss]

I agree with everything above except.....

I love cock AVs. Just call me a dirty old woman lol. I have fantasies about Hotch's AV, in particular!

 

[DrHappy]

Here are some examples that come to mind:

1. im 2 lazy 2 use anytype of punctuation or 2 spell out many words you know how it is i to 2 type as if one stream of thought [I expect people to put effort into a reply, but I'm too lazy to put in the effort to make my writing east to understand]
2. The Deserter: These people ask a complicated question, yet never acknowledge any of the replies. Were the responses helpful? No thanks to any of the people who replied.
3. My cock is so big. I come here with a question, but it's really a fake question and is obviously a lame attempt to brag about a false problem: I need help in how to deal with such a big cock. So many girls tell me that it's so big. What should I do?
4. Sleazy Cheating Advice: I'm trying to have sex with my neighbor, but my pregnant wife is always home and makes it difficult. What should I do?
   

 

[DrHappy]

Here's another:

Using a posting title like "Question."

It's obviously a question, like virtually every one of the thousands of other topics in this forum. Let's assume that everyone knows that it's a question and use the title as a way to let people know what the question is about.

 

[silverwhisper]

dr happy, i'm totally with you on the bad thread titling!

ed

 

[VelvetDarkness]

Thread titles that try to exclude groups/percentages of people. On BDSM in particular we get threads entitled things like 'I want to ask the dom/mes...' and then the OP spends half the thread being rude and dismissive of any sub/switchy types who have taken the time to respond. Having alienated most of the forum regulars, who dislike seeing long time acquaintances being told they have no right to post on a public thread, the OP generally flounces off and abandons the discussion altogether.

And also OPs who post a topic and then disregard all the responses they receive, sticking rigidly to the opinion they had in the first place. I mean, why even bother? I'd cite testosterone1 as a recent example of that.

 

[Phenolphthalein]

Not on this forum (for obvious reasons) but pseudo-bdsmers/wannabe-kinky users who make sexual comments of that nature 24/7 just to sound 'cool'.

 

[CWatson]

People who PM you with pick-up lines and have less than 10 posts to their name.

People who PM you with pick-up lines and have zero posts to their name.

People who PM you on the basis of your AV, without bothering to check your profile where it says that you are, in fact, not a woman.

Oh, and, trolls.

 

[VelvetDarkness]

Not on this forum (for obvious reasons) but pseudo-bdsmers/wannabe-kinky users who make sexual comments of that nature 24/7 just to sound 'cool'.

Even more charming than that are the abusers masquerading as kinksters. There are guys out there (and possibly girls) who think that submissives really want to be treated like shit. There are more of them than you'd think in places like BDSM Personals and sending pointless copy/paste pms to any username that sounds remotely submissive.

 

[satindesire]

Even more charming than that are the abusers masquerading as kinksters. There are guys out there (and possibly girls) who think that submissives really want to be treated like shit. There are more of them than you'd think in places like BDSM Personals and sending pointless copy/paste pms to any username that sounds remotely submissive.

What's even worse than that are the abusers masquerading as kinksters that have been accepted into the fold as their practices of abuse have been deemed acceptable.

 

[bailadora]

a recent post in HT got me thinking: what are the worst practices in posting to a forum--either specifically to HT/HT cafe, or more generally?

People who don't take the time to become familiar with the boards and learn the "rules of engagement", so to speak. And then get pissed off or offended when a more established poster points out the faux pas. Likewise, people who ask for opinions/advice on a topic when what he or she is really after is validation.