[RANT] Start creating better subject lines if you want views - or why I'm not looking at your thread

Rhonda it isn't about penalizing people. It's about having a good idea of
what the thread is about so you have an idea of whether or not you can
help them.

If I see a thread that says "I need a php programmer" I am not going to
respond to it because I am not a good programmer so I know I can't help
this person. Therefore, I have saved wasting my time on something that
I can't do anything about anyway.

If I see a thread that just says "Need help" I'm also going to ignore it
because I have no idea what the person needs help with and I'm not
going to waste my time on something that I may not be able to do
anything about anyway.

Can you imagine if everybody who needed help at this forum just typed
in "Need Help". I don't know about anybody else, but I wouldn't read one
of those posts.

Being fair, if I choose to read just ONE of them, shouldn't I read them all?
I mean after all, they all say the same thing. So what makes one better
than another? Well if that's the case, have you looked at how many posts
there are on page 1? Do you have any idea how long it would take me, or
anyone for that matter to read through all those posts?

I don't have that much time, and anybody who runs a business also
doesn't have that much time.

So the bottom line is this. If you want help with a problem, at least tell
me what the problem is. Don't I deserve that much courtesy? If my friend
called me up and said come on over I have a problem and I need your help
with it and I asked him what it was and he said, I'll tell you when you get
here, why should I go? What if it's a problem I can't help him with? Don't
I at least deserve to know what it is if I'm going to go out of my way to
give assistance?

If you don't feel I am entitled to that little bit of courtesy, then I'm sorry,
but I can't be bothered.

And as for crying for your mother when you skinned your knee because
you didn't know how to ask for help, you're not 5 anymore. You're running
a business. And simple basic communication just slightly above the level
of a chimp should be something that nobody should have trouble with.

I have only so much time in a day. If I use part of that to answer questions here, I want to make that as productive for the people asking those questions as possible.

There is also a limit to my knowledge. I can be much more helpful in some areas than others.

Make it clear to me that you're asking about something I can help with and you're likely to get my attention. Make it an Easter Egg Hunt, and I'm going to ignore you. You're taking my time away from areas where I can be more productive.

Besides, way too many of the posts with vague titles are also so vague in their content that you can't tell what the hell they want.

Being picky isn't penalizing the vague poster. It's keeping the vague poster from penalizing others.


Paul

Edit: Note to self: Read the whole thread before replying. Evita already said all this, and quite nicely.

[RANT]
Titles that are intentionally misleading to make people click. Titles that are made to look juicy or interesting or controversial but have nothing to do with the actual post.
[/Rant]

Rhonda, I am one of the most tolerant people in the world. It has nothing
to do with tolerance. It has to do with common courtesy. If you want
my help at least tell me what it is you need help with.

How hard is it to say, "I need help with <fill in the bank>?" Is that really
asking so much?

Either way, it doesn't matter to me. I only have so many hours in the day,
so ultimately, I have to pick and choose the threads I open as far as
helping others, which I have done as much here as just about anyone
since I arrived here. Hell, I answered 80 threads my first day here and was
given hell for it because you're not supposed to do those things.

But it hasn't stopped me from trying to help others.

But I can't do that when your thread title says "Need Help."

If that makes me intolerant in your eyes, then so be it.

Like somebody pointed out in a very good thread here, "you can't make
everybody happy."

Rhonda,

I think this thread was posted originally to help educate new forum users so that they will get an answer when they do need/want to post.

On a fast moving board like this one, if they post things like this:

I need help
help please
OMG!
question

The list can go on and on - they are most likely to be one of the ones that don't get an answer and that does not help them.

Your statement above seems to me to be just your take on how a newbie would view this thread and you are missing the point somewhat.. we need people to take the above list and just add a little bit about the problem as well, such as:

I need help with a squeeze page
help please with my host account
OMG! PayPal just did blah blah
Question about Article Directories

So then we can quickly look down the subject titles and either...

Know if we are likely to be able to help OR if we are new we can see if our problem has already been posted and therefore we won't be double posting.

I'm thinking that perhaps the use of the words "skim the forum" earlier in this thread have made you see this whole subject from the wrong angle.. I see it as..

I need to be able to skim the forum quickly by using the subject titles because I don't have much time to see if I can:

a) help or
b) learn something myself.

It will waste my limited time to open every thread with no clue in the subject to see if it will fit either a) or b) and then I don't get anything from that and neither does anyone who needs help.

And although a point has been raised about writing good subject lines will draw readers in and that is a good point, for me this thread has bugger all to do with whether I think they have written the subject title well or not, couldn't care less about that, I just want to know what the thread is about.

Sue

Sorry Steve, you are very helpful in this forum. I guess I used the wrong word.(intolerant)
I don't think I will ever understand why a post cannot be answered regardless of how it is written. (I am not talking about spammers)
So I will just let it go and continue to answers the any post that I happen to know the answer.
Again Steve and Kevin I sincerely apologize for saying something that I know isn't true. Dont know where my brain was then.
Rhonda