Forum Protocol on asking questions or posting answers?

[Ghislain]

What is the forum protocol on asking questions or posting answers etc...?

Below I would like to make some points that are just my personal opinion.

Realise this is an open forum and we are all coming from different academic backgrounds...I, for
instance am a very slow reader...trying to keep up with a fast moving thread is sometimes difficult.
For this same reason I am also not as well read as some on this forum. That doesn’t make me feel
that I cannot make a contribution; I know some very well read idiots.

There are threads that go completely off topic and when this is realised it is every member’s
responsibility to try to stop it and move the conversation to another, more relevant, thread so as to
respect the originator of the thread that is becoming corrupted. The corruption is not always realised
and this doesn’t always happen thus some great information is lost to the title of the thread.

Some people copy and paste great swathes of text into the threads which make the threads
uncomfortable to read...pasting key points and pointing to the source is better practice. Much
of this repetitive text comes from “Reply With Quote”. One can delete irrelevant text in the quote.

There are some people who believe that they have better “forum etiquette” than others, but in
actuality they are very rude and need to practice self examination...I can only say to ignore those
people who make rude comments as they are not aware of their own failings...I feel sorry for them;
perhaps it is an EGO thing; full of their own self-importance. Try not to get personal. If they are
becoming a problem then the forum administrator will sort it out.

We all have the right to ignore other peoples posts...as most do mine :)...but we do not have a right
to try and correct the author of that post only its content. Politely point out if they have made a
mistake...then realise that this will only be in your opinion if you do not produce supporting
evidence...it may be you who have misunderstood. If you have worked really hard producing a post
and it is ignored, remember other members do not know how hard you worked on it. Check if what
you are trying to convey is in the content of the text or if it could be summarised.

As threads become very large not everyone has the time to read through the whole thread and thus
may replicate previously posted information...so what? I may have missed it the first time around
and if not I can ignore it...It does not need to be pointed it out.

Please feel free to comment.

Let's all show a bit of understanding for others and realise we are not all the same.

Vive la différence!

Ghislain

[Awani]

What is the forum protocol on asking questions or posting answers etc...?

Short answer: Respect.

If a question/answer is repeated in a thread of many pages there is no need to be angry about it. Some actually simply add "sorry if this has already been adressed"... if one wants to be extra diplomatic.


Much of this repetitive text comes from “Reply With Quote”. One can delete irrelevant text in the quote.

Yes, I do this a lot. It makes my post easier to read (I feel). So I recommend it to all members... if you want your posts read then make it easier for others to read. Alternatively if you quote the entire post then you can easily also highlight the part you are responding too.

Happy posting.

:cool:

Moved to Rules & Guidelines (http://forum.alchemyforums.com/forumdisplay.php?5-Rules-Guidelines), and added to the title, as it is a good thread/point to have.

[solomon levi]

Hi Ghislain.

Yeah, I would hope to see this problem cured by some understanding.
We're not all on the same level, and also we have new people coming in all the time.
We don't want new people not asking questions for fear that it may have been asked before.
I would hope that people will treat people as they would like to be treated, to place yourself
in others' shoes. If I were a new member, I would like to feel welcomed.

In understanding those members who have some knowledge and experience, there
are some who guard this for various reasons - maybe they are sworn to, maybe they
just don't want to share easily what they have labored for with many years. I understand
that there are some who like to know "secrets" even if they are not practitioners, and they
guard and accumulate knowledge. There are all types. And there are various reasons for
sharing - some with genuine goodwill, some for ego/recognition, some for various beliefs.

So there is a lot to be allowed without judgement if we can. For example, asking questions
doesn't necessarily mean one is lazy.


Some other helpful approaches could be:

1. Google the topic you have questions on. Our search engine is not so good, so if you
Google "alchemyforums _________" followed by the subject you are interested in, you may
find your answer/info or not. I can usually find old posts/topics that way.

2. I suppose a question could be its own post and then someone will help you if they can and want to.
Maybe a section for questions could be created if we feel these questions interrupt posts or forums.


For the most part, I would think a question isn't good or bad - we can project a lot onto a questioner,
but how often these projections reflect the one projecting rather than who they are projected upon.


It's getting so difficult for me to outline any protocols. I would love it if everyone would practice
objectivity, but that is unrealistic as well as stating the obvious. For me to tell people how I would
practice objectivity and to recommend it just makes me to be the idealistic fool. My ability to
measure is meaningless in the face of all this subjectivity. And no matter how well we may describe
a fair protocol, the ears listening can hear only what they can hear and practice only what they can
practice.