Good And Bad Post

Bad Post
Some bad habits appear to be creeping in as we add new members to the forums.  We’d like to draw them to your attention so that you can avoid them in future.

• Posting in the wrong forum
• Vague Subject Lines
• Incomplete Problem Descriptions
• Hijacking threads
• Contacting the major posters directly
• Not searching for answers before posting questions
• Demanding an immediate response
• Using text-message abbreviations
• Asking for answers to interview questions

Posting in the Wrong Forum

We have created forums for specific purposes.  For example, the FAQ forum is specifically for posts addressing frequently asked questions.  The FAQ Discussions forum is for requesting new items for the FAQ forum, or for talking about these.

The FAQ Discussions forum is NOT a general purpose place for placing posts.  Please review all forums and choose the most appropriate forum (server jobs, parallel jobs, metadata and so on) prior to posting.

Agencies seeking developers please limit your posts to the Seeking Talent forum.  It helps both you and developers seeking engagements to be able to find these posts quickly.
Vague Subject Lines

One of the important utilities on this site is the Search facility. This helps people to find answers without necessarily having to post a question.  While it is true that the Search facility allows the entire text to be searched, what is presented is a list of subjects, so the more details the better.

A subject line such as "Mysterious Error" does not help searchers who might be helped by your topics.  A subject line such as "Error 39204 while starting a job" is a more appropriate type of title. Make your subject lines as descriptive as possible.
Incomplete Problem Descriptions
Many times answers are delayed because of critical missing information that is then required from the poster before an answer can be crafted.   When you post your problem please make sure to include as much information as you can, including:

• Complete description of the problem, including exact error messages (if present)
• What product you were using, and what you did leading up to the problem.
• Steps you’ve already taken trying to resolve the problem, and their results
• Relevant system information (Operating System, hardware configurations, etc.)

Hijacking Threads
This term refers to posting a message on the end of a thread that does not relate, or relates only very slightly, to the original thread topic.  Again, it thwarts the intent of the search mechanism to change the topic being discussed. Don't hijack threads; start a new post instead.

Good Post

A title like this lets everyone know that the thread will likely be a discussion thread regarding graphics in games.
Generally, you don’t want your title to be in all capital letters. This is generally considered to be “shouting” online and is not appreciated by your fellow users. You also want to avoid using ASCII characters and “leet speak”, as these are often difficult to read and tend to turn people away from your topic.
Above all else, you want your title to catch people’s eyes. A humourous quip, an intelligent remark, a bold statement, all is up to you.

Thinking of topics to start a thread about – This is pretty easy if you’re looking for help with something. Obviously, the topic of your thread will be whatever you’re looking for help with. However, thinking of a good discussion topic is a bit more of a challenge.

A good way to try and focus your thoughts might be to write some of your ideas down on a piece of paper (or in a word document). From there, try and break it down into smaller topics that you can discuss with others in a thread. Something too broad might turn people away because they might not even be sure where to start, but at the same time, something too specific might leave no room for discussion. It’s best to try and strike a balance between the two extremes. It’s a good idea to consider both sides of the topic as well, but as the thread starter, you don’t want to have the whole discussion with yourself by bringing up every conceivable point and defeating it in the original post. Be sure to leave room for others to reply.

Some good places to start thinking of topics would be to consider something that affects the gaming industry as a whole (e.g.: how production or localization times increase or decrease demand) or something related to in-game content (e.g.: what is the significance of object A in relation to the story of the game overall). You may also see an article that you think it interesting and want to share/discuss with others (please link to the article). Or, you may even find an idea for a new thread based on what another user said in a different thread. There are lots of sources out there for those that are paying attention!

Be patient – You’re ready to get the ball rolling, which is understandable. However, you need to be sure to allow time for others to reply. Bumping your topic generally doesn’t invite the types of replies you might be looking for, especially if you only wait a few minutes. One way to spread the word about your topic might be to send a message via the forum’s messenger to someone you know would be interested in the topic, but might not be online at the moment.

1.2 Picking a topic to reply to

Pick something that interests you – if the topic doesn’t interest you, then you’ll likely have difficulty making a post that interests others, if you're able to come up with something at all.

Read a lot of posts – You’re eager to jump into a discussion and there is nothing wrong with that. However, you might end up missing a topic that you might also enjoy if you don’t look at many different threads.

2.0 Post
You've found a topic you want to start a thread about or found a thread you want to reply to. Now it's time you write your post. Keep these guidelines in mind while typing, and you'll be able to say what you want to say and others will be able to understand it.2.1 Respect for others

We’re all people – Contrary to popular belief, there is another person on the other side of the screen with thoughts and feelings much like your own. Remember, the way you value your opinions and feelings, so does everyone else value their own. There is no need to belittle someone because you do not share the same views. If someone’s information seems to be wrong, politely point them to the correct information. Everyone deserves the same amount of respect, regardless of whether they’re new to the forums or a moderator.

Agree to disagree – If you disagree with someone, come right out and say so, but please do it in a mature manner. Debates are always encouraged and are more than welcome, but there’s a point at which a debate ends or starts to become an argument. At that point, it’s time to agree to disagree and move on. There’s no point in having the discussion degrade into a flame war or a “back and forth” type deal where the same points are being made over and over.

Spoilers – Always be sure to label your posts with a spoiler warning if they contain such information. This lets everyone know that there is information ahead that might spoil the game for them. The more descriptive the spoiler warning, the better. If you’re unsure whether the information you’re sharing is a spoiler or not, a general rule of thumb is that anything stated in the instruction manual cannot be considered a spoiler. However, as a general courtesy to everyone (not just those that own the game), label all information that might be a spoiler with a spoiler warning. It’s quick, it’s easy, and it avoids negative responses.

2.2 Writing your post

Be yourself – Don’t try to pretend you’re something you’re not. Say what YOU want to say, not what someone else wants you to say. You’ll find that things tend to flow better and you should let them do just that.

Don’t force it – Odds are, if you’re forcing yourself to post, then your post’s quality will suffer. Remember, you’re here to have fun.

Thinking of what to say – if you can’t think of something to say right away, then probe your brain a bit. It won’t hurt to put some deep-thought into your post. It also helps to think about what you’re trying to say before typing it. Have an idea of what you’re looking to get down before putting it down. This will help keep a steady flow within your post. If you put some thought into it and still don’t feel right about your post, then you may want to try again later when you’ve had more time to think about what to say. Again, don’t force yourself to post! You’re here to have fun, after all. It shouldn't feel like a chore.

You don’t have to write a novel – When you’re passionate about a subject, it’s expected that you’ll have a lot to say, but you don’t have to write a novel if it’s not necessary. If you can say what you want to say in a few meaningful words, then go for it! However, if you do have a lot to say, then come right out and say it. You shouldn't cut pieces of your post out or stop short while writing just because you think you wrote too much. If you find yourself cutting pieces out of your post, you might remove something that’s more important to the your point than you realize. Quality is always valued over quantity!

One-word responses - One or two word responses such as "yes", "no", or "I agree" don't really bring anything to the table and should be avoided. If you agree with something, then say why. There are few, if any, situations in which a one or two word response can't be elaborated upon. It doesn't take a whole lot of time and will help keep the discussion going.

A little humour doesn’t hurt – A little humour in your posts will help to keep them entertaining. Not everyone will enjoy your brand of humour, but at least you can say you tried. Just remember to keep it tasteful and appropriate.

Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it won’t kill you – If you have a question, ask away. Part of a discussion is the learning process. You will be able to solidify your thoughts and knowledge by asking questions.

Research – A quick look around to make sure your information is correct is beneficial. With tabbed browsing (featured in browsers such as Firefox and IE 7), you can keep a window open to sites like google and wikipedia at all times without it really affecting you too much. They’re there for when you need to do some research and they are easily accessible.

2.3 Extra tips for organization/easy reading

Colour Coding – It’s usually not a great idea to make your post look like a rainbow. While it may seem like a great way to distinguish what you’re replying to, odds are that at least one of the colours you choose won’t agree with the forum skin. It can also be hard on the eyes. You can just as easily distinguish what sections of another user’s post you’re replying to by using the bold feature to indicate which text is yours versus the other user's. To reply to multiple people, you can open a separate tab to reply to their post, hit the quote button, copy and paste the quote, then paste it back into your original reply window. By doing this, your post will be easier to read. You can also easily reply to multiple people in one post without it looking like a jumbled mess, rather than having to make multiple posts.

Writing skills - You’re certainly not in English class, but it helps everyone out if you take a bit of extra time to incorporate proper spelling and grammar into your posts. Not only is it easier to understand your post, you also won’t have people replying to you for the sole purpose of taking a shot at your writing skills.

Paragraphs are your friend – Separate different ideas into different paragraphs. A wall of text is not only a formidable foe for even those with the best of memories, it’s also hard on the eyes. If you want to say that you think both Resistance: Fall of Man and Killzone are great games, then you’ll want to use different paragraphs to say why you think so.

PowerPoint

What I learned about the powerpoint is that it contains 27 slides in the auto layout format. Also the slide sorter contain thumbnail presentatations of each slide. Powerpoints are a presentation graphics package. Templates are used to provide colorful backgrounds for powerpoint presentations. Also you can select the color and format of the text before you start typing. When your geting ready to prints your select hondouts to print multiple slides on the page.

Blogging

What is blogging? blogging is is where you up date your thoughts or whats going on around you. Also keeping other people up dated on new or old events. Blogging is just keep up with people and everyday life. Also being able to wirte your thoughts down and letting people know what you think about the things that is going on around you. Blogging help you learn more and stay up to date on things.

WIND TURBINE

What i learn from the wind turbine was that it was very hard. You had to think realy hard and stay forcus on the parts and puting them together. Also in the end all the hard long work paid pff because it came out right and worked when we had to tested it.