Making A Good WPW Forum Post
How To Make A Good WPW Forum Post:
1. Before posting a new question, problem or request for help, first review the WPW Forum posts for the answer you need, it may just already be listed. Duplicate posts are frowned upon if there is already an "active" thread within the forum concerning the same question, problem or subject matter. You may also be able to solve your problem or find the exact answer to you question by using the WPW Forum search engine using keywords associated with your question or problem.
2. There are certain WPW moderator & member irritants you should avoid in posting:
a. Don’t ask for email or private message responses to your publically posted questions as people will not be able to review them and warn you if they contain harmful or wrong information, plus the rest of the WPW Forum community cannot benefit from such private answers.
b. Avoid "cute" or ambiguous titles in the subject line of your post. Make a concise, clear description of the help you need. Don't attempt to put the entire problem in the title or subject line. Do not place part of your question in the title and the remainder of it in the body of your post. Use less, but more descriptive words within the subject title of your post.
c. Avoid cross posting and multiple posting to several WPW Forums. If you do need more than one WPW Forum, cross post (include all addresses on one message) rather than multiple-post (separate messages to several WPW Forums).
d. Always post in plain text. Use upper and lower case letters instead of all capital or lower case letters. Use punctuation instead of a "non-ending" sentence. Proof read (use preview button) what you are about to post before you submit it publically.
e. Keep overt emotion and angry attitudes out of your posts. Swearing about a specific company or some software product with the use of inappropriate language turns people off. Be professional in your posting demeanor if you wish people to respond professionally with the help you require.
f. Keep your posts and follow-ups in the public forum so more than one WPW Forum member may benefit from your question/answer. Avoid personal message or email contacts concerning your post, unless you are directed to do so by a moderator. Avoid asking for help from a specific member, MVP or moderator in public. This may limit the number of quality responses to your question.
g. Don't post a new question in response to another person's post (thread hijacking). Instead, create a new post of your own, if appropriate. However avoid "me too" posts indicating you have the same problem, unless you can add substantially provide new & different information about it. Research prior threads to ensure your question will not duplicate another "active" thread within the forum.
3. In the first paragraph of your post, clearly define the problem within your question.
a. Unless problems seem related, do not mix them together, make clearly separate (not duplicate) posts, when approriate.
b. Accurately describe the problem including the "exact" verbiage in the error message you may hav received, if any. Don't skimp on any information in defining your problem, but don't provide unrelated details and confuse the issue.
c. If you are describing a screen, tell the name of the screen if one is listed. Don't post huge screen shots. If you believe a screen shot or file is critical to people understanding your problem or question, advise that it exists and offer the URL link to it within your post.
d. In you post tell exactly when an error occurs, not just that it happens. What exactly occurs? If doing some action or using some particular software triggers the error, identify it. If there is a details button, click it and post the exact message it contains.
e. Did the software/program/website ever work right? If it did, what has changed? What were you doing just before the problem occurred? Knowing about a program setting change, added software or website tweak that you tried may be essential to solving the problem.
4. If appropriate, post the URL to the website in conjunction with your question. Do not ask a question involving a website without allowing helpful members to view it publicly, so everyone can be on the same page and benefit mutually.
5. Identify the procedures you have already used to try to fix the problem. It is very aggravating to type up a long reply only to be told, "I already tried that." You are starting on the wrong foot with a post that begins with, "I have tried everything and nothing works." If you have tried a procedure from a particular WPW forum post, refer which one by posting its URL link. Saying you have searched the WPW Forums with no results is not useful information as your searching techniques may be faulty. Post the exact keywords you used in researching the answer to your question.
6. Sit back and wait for a response. Don't get impatient. The WPW Forum Community consists entirely of volunteer moderatorators and helpful members from varied backgrounds. For this reason, you should carefully consider any advice that is passed along. If you only receive an email or PM response and the answer is not posted, be careful. If there is bad information in a publically posted response, someone will almost always post the correct information. If you don't get a response, it may be because nobody knows the answer to your question or your posted problem is not clear to most members reading it. Even if other WPW Forum members cannot provide a satifactory answer to your pressing question, still treat them respectfully as friends. The help you can receive here is free of charge, with members helping members in the spirit of community.
Note: Please feel free to follow-up by adding your thoughts & comments to expand upon this list of WPW Forum posting suggestions.
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