Name that thread
Posted 27th February 2011 at 05:43 PM by Paul Myers
This one is more for the folks who are new to online discussion. It's simple, but not always obvious.
Choose your thread titles carefully.
If you post something vague and meaningless, like "Help" or "I have a problem," you're going to get a fairly random selection of people reading your post. Wheoever's curious, but that will usually be it, unless the thread catches fire for some reason. If that happens, it usually won't be the reason you wanted.
A more descriptive title will get the attention of people who have the knowledge you need, which will get you (and the other members who may have the same question), better answers, more quickly.
For example, if you're having problems with a Wordpress plugin, the title "Help!" is useless. "Help with WP plugin" is better. Help with BuddyPress for WP" is perfect. It's likely to get the attention of people who've used that particular bit of code. They're the ones best able to answer your question.
Combine this with posting in the proper forum sections, and you'll get a lot more out of your forum time.
This is not just a practical matter for people seeking information. It's also a matter of courtesy toward the other members. Some people will open threads with vague titles, to see if it's something they can help with. When they can't, which will be the case more often than not, they've just wasted time which could have been better spent elsewhere.
A side note to more experienced members: You know better. Posting threads with vague titles when you've been here for a while just tells the rest of the members that you don't care enough to consider their time. That is, in a word, rude.
To the folks who think it's clever to write sensationalist thread titles to get attention for a post that has little to do with said title: Don't. This is a discussion forum. It is not your personal copywriting lab, and we are not a group of test subjects for your marketing efforts.
Paul
Choose your thread titles carefully.
If you post something vague and meaningless, like "Help" or "I have a problem," you're going to get a fairly random selection of people reading your post. Wheoever's curious, but that will usually be it, unless the thread catches fire for some reason. If that happens, it usually won't be the reason you wanted.
A more descriptive title will get the attention of people who have the knowledge you need, which will get you (and the other members who may have the same question), better answers, more quickly.
For example, if you're having problems with a Wordpress plugin, the title "Help!" is useless. "Help with WP plugin" is better. Help with BuddyPress for WP" is perfect. It's likely to get the attention of people who've used that particular bit of code. They're the ones best able to answer your question.
Combine this with posting in the proper forum sections, and you'll get a lot more out of your forum time.
This is not just a practical matter for people seeking information. It's also a matter of courtesy toward the other members. Some people will open threads with vague titles, to see if it's something they can help with. When they can't, which will be the case more often than not, they've just wasted time which could have been better spent elsewhere.
A side note to more experienced members: You know better. Posting threads with vague titles when you've been here for a while just tells the rest of the members that you don't care enough to consider their time. That is, in a word, rude.
To the folks who think it's clever to write sensationalist thread titles to get attention for a post that has little to do with said title: Don't. This is a discussion forum. It is not your personal copywriting lab, and we are not a group of test subjects for your marketing efforts.
Paul
Total Comments 0
