Forum courtesy: guide to forum threads

Auggie's Dad

Administrator
Dec 28, 2007
1,995
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12
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1
13
South Hadley MA
Parrots
Auggie: Dusky Conure
I'd like to first welcome all new members. It is great to see the forum so active, but with such activity and with growing numbers comes the responsibility to see that the interactions run smoothly.

To this end I have some guidelines to recommend for effective forum communication; call it an etiquette lesson if you like.

Thread Titles
Titles should be informative so a potential reader may have an idea what to expect. Some of us do read all new posts; others may not want to. I hope the title I have chosen here serves as a good example. Other recently active threads that have good titles are "Are quakers overly aggressive parrots?", "What parrot should I get?", or "DIY toy making supplies". The initial post will elaborate on specifics but upon reading the title one will have a good idea what topics are being discussed.

The worst title I have seen was on three separate threads active at the same time covering completely different topics - that title was simply "HELP". Such a title borders on offensive in its presumption. Not only is it completely uninformative it also implies that this user thinks they are more deserving of attention than many other users who are also asking questions or looking for help of some sort or another. I am often tempted to ignore such threads, but as a moderator I still do check to see that there is nothing inappropriate posted there. Would anyone frustrated that their watch stopped or cell phone quit working suddenly start yelling "HELP" in public? I should hope not, and if they do they should hope I am not the one to respond.

Fonts
There are options for bold, italics, and underlined fonts. Feel free to use them, however making an entire post bold and/or increasing the font size drastically above normal is not needed and can be disruptive or just offensive to the senses.

Spelling and grammar
I find great irony in the fact that I would have to comment on this. My spelling is atrocious and my grammar is rarely much better. I am quite capable of writing well, but often when having a discussion on a forum I simply write what I think. This often comes out as a collection of fragments or run on sentences, but just the same I make sure that it would be easily comprehensible. Others it seems do not use such a standard.

Internet-speak for better or worse is often informal and often does bend traditional language rules. I am no prescriptivist grammarian, but when your language decays to the point of meaninglessness you should neither expect a response nor for anyone to take you seriously.

There are cases where if I took a good bit of time I could decode what a member meant to say - but I find it offensive that they would expect all of the readers of their post to spend time decoding it rather than taking the time themselves to write it well in the first place. Your time may or may not be more valuable than mine, but it is not wise to imply it is while you are asking for advice.

On occasion posts are so horribly written that I get a headache while trying to read them. Quite recently we had a post that went on for nearly a page without a single punctuation mark. From now on I will not read such trash.

I would be much more willing to work hard in reading the posts of people who are learning English as a second language, but sadly their writing is often nearly flawless. No one butchers the English language more than native speakers.

Closing
There are many ways one may be disrespectful or offensive on a forum. Simply because you have used no 'four-letter' words nor derogatory names does not mean you can treat others poorly with your manner of posting.

I try to be quite conservative with the moderator tools that I have at my disposal. I rarely see a need to formally punish abrupt or inappropriate attitudes, but neither will I cater to them. If you post like a fool you will be treated like a fool. If you make an effort to communicate well I (and likely others) will make a greater effort to respond to your posts.

Jesse
AKA Auggie's Dad
 
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TexDot33

Bird poop and baby poop
Dec 26, 2006
2,576
Media
4
10
New Hampshire USA
Parrots
15 year-old Sun Conure: Hamlet &
14 year-old Green-Cheeked Conure: Mac
I thanked you in this post, and, a-la "facebook"

:smile049: "Jason Likes This"

This also sounds like AD has had enough! I think he might just start using his "ban" powers more frequently ... nice! :-D

***** And, while we are on the subject here *****

SEARCHING PREVIOUS THREADS:
There is a search feature here on this forum. All previous threads are archived and categorized and can be searched. All of us are more than willing to help you out with any questions that you may have. But, if you are in need of a timely answer, search the forums and see what else has been said on your topic.

Honestly, I am on a personal ban on interacting in any thread that says, "which bird should I get" as this topic has been discussed AT LENGTH MANY, MANY times and I have put, what I feel, is a lot of great advice out there.

So, please, see what else has been said on your topic by searching, and don't get too upset if we don't reply to a thread, that's usually because we have just answered the question too many times.

:50:
 
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vernon98

New member
Oct 27, 2011
6
1
Reading it l was thinking was a little grumpy . But by the time l got to the end it all made sense .
So your comment has helped me and l am sure many others so thank you all concerned !
Cheers*
liuying1.jpg

liuying2.jpg

liuying3.jpg
 

angelkaymac

New member
Feb 25, 2014
2
1
Hi I am a new member, but I liked the way auggies dad makes a statement. tell the truth and all know where you stand . Great job .
 

Freespin

New member
Nov 28, 2013
705
1
Waikato New Zealand
Parrots
Male senegal - Stephen. Previously Barry - Male Barraband
Nelson - Male Eclectus
I love every inch if this thread! Very reasonable I think and not asking a lot really! We are all big kids after all (well for the most part) =p
 

henpecked

Active member
Dec 12, 2010
4,858
Media
3
18
NC/FLA
Parrots
Jake YNA 1970,Kia Panama amazon1975, both i removed from nest and left siblings, Forever Home to,Stacie (YN hen),Mickie (RLA male),Blinkie (YNA hen),Kong (Panama hen),Rescue Zons;Nitro,Echo,Rocky,Rub
Hey helen, please post in the "new members" section
 

DoodlesMom

New member
Nov 25, 2014
254
1
Phoenix,Arizona
Parrots
GCC >Doodle
As a new member I appreciate knowing the guidelines. Each site has different guidelines and keeping continuity is needed. Thanks AUGGIE'S DAD, personally I thought you were spot on!
 

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