Cross-Posting & other forum issues

I posted this on another board and didn't get any response, so I will now risk the very subject I am asking about!! How ironic!

I see occasional apologies for cross-posting. Also similar posts on more than one board with no apology. What exactly are the guidelines for such?
Has anyone compiled a guide for newbies on proper forum behavior?
Sure, some wouldn't care, but a lot would so they don't ruin their credibility before they get started.
Seems like there should be a better way for newbies to learn proper "form", than to either watch others be flamed/corrected or make fools of themselves (and get flamed/corrected personally) or lurk for months trying to read between the lines. Maybe even having their first posts zapped without realizing why.
Could this possibly be an idea for a product to sell? If so feel free to kick some royalties my way for stimulating your brain!! Just kidding! (sort of)
I'd produce it myself, but as you can see from my first question it might be a little shy on good content. LOL
Just wondering, Dave

Dave,
Every forum does have different rules. Some post
those rules, some don't. There are also unwritten rules. The best way to learn the rules is to observe the behavior of the regulars at a forum first. If you are unsure of a post, it never hurts to email admin and ask first.

On the topic of cross posting, some forum owners (including me) prefer that you not cross-post because if a visitor to a forum see the same posts the he just saw in another forum he is less likely to stay and look around. Some who do cross post offer as an explanation that different people visit the different forums.

Good manners dictate that you learn and follow the rules of whatever forum you visit. It also helps to have a thick skin and expect to be flamed every now and then :-)

Willie Crawford


The Teleseminar You Can't Miss!

Sorry Willie:

In the offline real world, if one has a problem that needs an answer, one picks up the phone book, heads to the yellow pages, and calls every business on the list with the same set of questions until one finds someone who can provide the required help....not exactly the same but a very, very, close parallel.

I see cross posting as a means to getting an answer more quickly than posting on one board and waiting a day to see if there is a rsponse, and then then having to post on a nother board and wait again, and again, and again.

Not every reader of every board reads every other board and in this pattern the answer to a problem or help may not be found on just one board....granted a lot of us visit several boards but still the answer a person seeks may be from someone who doesn't visit every board.

Just my spin on it.

Cornell


Coming soon...the countdown has begun

I'm not disagreeing with you Cornell, just saying
that some board moderators consider it unacceptable and will delete posts they have seen on other boards. Individual personalities even
enter the picture. I've watched boards and certain
individuals seem to post in a way that cause them to be likely to have their posts deleted. Moderators read individuals or form opinions of them and their quirks and preferences come into play. Just the way it is.

Willie


Here's How To Make More Time And Get More Done!

> I see occasional apologies for
> cross-posting. Also similar posts on more
> than one board with no apology. What exactly
> are the guidelines for such?

The guidelines for cross posting on different forums are determined by each forum's owner. And, in part, by the contributors of the forum - inasmuch as any posts they may or may not make in correcting a poster's behavior.

Which is to say, while many forums have unwritten rules, the regulars enforce those rules off their own bat. Out of a loyalty, sense of belonging, etc.

> Has anyone compiled a guide for newbies on
> proper forum behavior?

Not that I am aware of. And it is doubtful it would be read by those it is intended for.

Even with large text stating NO BLATANT ADVERTISING, boards are still bombared with Blantant Advertising.

> Sure, some wouldn't care, but a lot would so
> they don't ruin their credibility before
> they get started.

My take on this is: if you are in doubt and are so concerned about whether your credibility will be ruined by an action, do not do that action. Simple.

If you say you are in doubt and are concerned about doing something, and do it anyway only to cry afoul and plead innocense, I question your desire to be a Victim. People who complain their post was deleted by posting it on the board, are trying to cause trouble, most of the time.

Think about it... in the real world if you are in some way denied you do not make a public show of it. You contact the relevant person directly and sort it out.

> Seems like there should be a better way for
> newbies to learn proper "form",
> than to either watch others be
> flamed/corrected or make fools of themselves
> (and get flamed/corrected personally) or
> lurk for months trying to read between the
> lines. Maybe even having their first posts
> zapped without realizing why.

Perhaps. However, we, as humans, learn by watching others and making our own mistakes, then correcting our behavior correctly.

What happens when you go to a place you have never been before? You watch others to quickly figure out what the accepted behavior is for that place.

My local supermarket has a Fast Checkout with six cash registers organized in two rows of three. The entrance to those checkouts is wide and there is no visible cue as to how people should line up. Locals know to line up to the left - as you face the two rows of checkouts the line goes to the left. The only way non-locals can know this is by observation.

Sometimes, when there is no line - just one person standing - a non local will stand next to them. They think they are supposed to form two lines - one line going to one row of checkouts and another line going to another line of checkouts.

Locals will line up correctly even with two lines there. Non-locals join the wrong line. After a minute the head checkout person informs the wrong line that there is only one line and asks them to form behind it. (It's quite entertaining to see.)

The point is, we function through observation. Online, it is the same.

Just as there are those in the supermarket who will immediately make comments about there being no sign to tell them how to line up, there are those who will complain about there being no book on how to operate within the forum scene.

Is there anything wrong with such knee-jerk behavior?

It's to be expected thanks to the education system which instills a win/lose response and encourages excuses as it's never your fault.

It's much easier to blame someone else, or the system, then to ask yourself "What I have learned from this" and move on.

> Could this possibly be an idea for a product
> to sell?

It is an idea. And someone could sell it - after all, there are classes on etiquette which one can attend. And some people may even actually buy it. I personally don't think the majority of people care about such things.

If so feel free to kick some
> royalties my way for stimulating your
> brain!! Just kidding! (sort of)

Sort of "just kidding"? :o)

Dave, the way I figure it, if you have the ability to find the many forums which are cross-posted on, you also have the abiliity to

a) use the search function on each forum to see if your question has been answered before.

b) use search engines like Google to find your answer.

Asking questions on forums is like asking to be spoon fed, most of the time.

There are those who will try every avenue themselves and only use a forum question as a last resort.

Take JDB's recent question about Pegasus as an example. After trying to figure it out himself, he asked the forum.

Most basic questions - as far as cross posting goes - just up and ask. No mention is ever made of whether the person bothered to try figure it out themselves. (As you did at the start of your post.)

Here's something to try...

Next time you see someone ask a question on a forum, go to Google and search for an answer.

99 times out of 100 you will have your answer within the first ten matches. (Opinion questions and subjects open for discussion are, of course, a little different.)

Also, if you have been visiting the various forums for some time, you get a feel for which forum is likely to provide you the answer you seek. Thus, no cross-posting is necessary most of the time.

Take the time to read the cross-posted questions. Most of the time they are nothing more than disguised ads. Posted by people who have never contributed to the forum before.

With such an atmosphere, no wonder most cross-posts are deleted or left unanswered.

I venture to say the only reason your cross-posting post was answered at all was because you pre-faced it with evidence of trying to get the answer elsewhere. In other words, you gave a legitimate Reason Why you were cross-posting. The key word being Legitimate. Phony reasons can be seen through.

Hope this helps.

Michael Ross

I agree with Cornell. Some people love to visit 3 to 4 boards, like myself personally. I post on a few different ones. Some boards you can post on and get many responses immediately and others you may get none or 1 or 2. In today's time and age people don't like to wait. Not to mention when posting to a few different boards you get a nice variety of opinions.
I don't personally know what anyone else thinks or does but I do it because of the variety. I am not looking to disrespect anyone or anything like that. I am just someone that is on a quest for knowledge. Not to mention I like to collect interesting posts for my scrapbook. They serve as motivational tools for myself.

Just one dog's opinion
The big Dog!