Forum Customs

[Dee]

Just asking about any customs that I might break inadvertantly. First, any particular issues regarding posting in a thread that's been defunct for a month or two to ask a potentially newby question? Secondly, any problems with emailing a regular a potentially newby question in order to avoid appearing foolish or newby? As I said, I just don't want to violate an unwritten rule. Or any of the written ones, for that matter. Thanks.

[Skean Dhu]

too late!

seeing as you posted this in the water cooler, I find it hard to believe that you missed the big all caps thread title 'NEWBIES the Forums unwritten rules....written down."
i understand your need to make a post but you could have read the rules, then read them again and decided they answered all of your questions and your reputation here would have gone untarnished.

i humbly suggest you think a little more and do a little more searching before you start a new thread that already has one opened.

[Anthony]

Dee, do check out the sticky thread at the top of the page about theforum's unwritten rules. If you have any questions remaining afterwards, please ask them.

Your post was not a bad one to make, we like new members who are keen to learn and want to stick to the rules. However, the aforementioned thread will probably answer all your questions, rendering this thread moot, so please search harder before you post in future :)

[knowledgehungry]

I don't mind when someone asks me a newbie question via email, if it is too stupid of a question i just wont answer.

[Dee]

Anthony,

Thanks for the reply. I did read the sticky you mentioned, but while I'm trying to catch up on as many of the threads as I can, every forum and newsgroup has it's own way of handling things and unwritten rules always seem to stay ahead of the guys charged with writing them down. It just seems to be the nature of the beast. Neither of the questions I originally posted were addressed in NBK2000's Rules post so I thought I ought to ask before breaking an undocumented rule. Thanks again.

[Jacks Complete]

I have to ask this question, too. Dee asked about re-opening old topics, and I have too.

Basically, topics that are six months old or whatever, need stirring every so often, so they don't get forgotten by the newer members. I have posted on a few old topics, bringing, I hope, some new ideas and thoughts to them.

I see this as being in line with the idea of the forum. But I don't know if this frowned upon or not. I hope not.

[nbk2000]

There's nothing against the rules of replying to an old topic...as long as it's RELEVANT.

Nothing pisses me off like seeing a two year old topic restored by some newbie going "Yeah, I agree completely!". :mad:

If you've got an update, some new information to contribute...than go ahead and bring it back.

If you just want to say "Me 2", then be prepared to DIE! :)

[Jacks Complete]

Well, since I didn't already get a bollocking, I figured it was ok! Nice to have it in writing.

I have now started two threads, in the hope of getting info as well as giving all I know on the subjects, as well as posting on some of the less current ones.

There is a fair bit of knowledge on both topics, but they are very diffused, with just little mentions here and there. Hopefully they will gather stuff together.

On those lines, if I find an interesting snippet somewhere on the boards, stuck in an otherwise un-related thread, what is the protcol on copying it to a current thread? I imagine that it is obvious that credit would be given, but do you want a hyperlink to the original post?

Obviously cross-threading would be dumb, but if the thread is originally on one thing, but winds up on another topic all together, I think it a neccessary evil.

What do the mods say?