Please review my guidelines on comments

kgun · #1 (**permalink**) 08-12-2006, 11:46 AM

before leaving a comment.

I personally like Matt Cutts Guidelines and comment technology:

Guidelines for comments: March 24 2006

Scroll to the bottom of that post and see how he does it.

Example, have a link to the WPW Forum Rules and Guidelines above the comment / new post (text field).

Read how Wikipedia describes newsgroup and forum spam: "Old Usenet convention defines spamming as excessive multiple posting, that is, the repeated posting of a message (or substantially similar messages)."

Could this be improved on WPW that I think is very good already.

Regarding the Guidelines:
Our SPAM Policy. Are they up to date? Isn't it now legal to have affiliate links in signatures?

Should there be a note on
- taking a thread off topic
- threadjack
- hijacking a thread

What about splitting posts that are going off topic if it is an important new topic, like Chris did with one post recently?

In addition, every time you click a post, it is registered as a new view of the thread. I see that other forums only count one view from one (unique) IP (during a time interval). In my view, that gives a more correct picture of the popularity of a post.

**incrediblehelp** · #2 (**permalink**) 08-12-2006, 01:40 PM

kgun I am not sure I understand the splitting posts point, but I agree the spam policies might be more clearly displayed on WPW.

kgun · #3 (**permalink**) 08-12-2006, 01:56 PM

Ask Chris, he recently split a post. I think it was relevant and could have been done in other cases as well:

Example: Matt Cutts answer on duplicate detection

I think that post could have been split too, with an advantage.

I am only a more and more invisible member here. Ken recently called me WPW's "SpamBot", so I had to remove my picture :-) :-)

**mike** · #4 (**permalink**) 08-12-2006, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kgun

Regarding the Guidelines:
Our SPAM Policy. Are they up to date? Isn't it now legal to have affiliate links in signatures?

I just now looked over the forum rules and I think they're fairly clear and up to date.

I don't care if you have an affiliate lnk in your signature. There has never been any rule forbidding an affiliate link in your signature. The rule (as it is clearly stated) prohibits affiliate links in posts. There is a difference.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kgun

Should there be a note on
- taking a thread off topic
- threadjack
- hijacking a thread

I think all three of those items are the same thing. Basically, don't hijack a thread, right? Well, I can add that to the list of rules I suppose. I'll have Rafael put a "Do not hijack threads" line in the general rules on Monday.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kgun

What about splitting posts that are going off topic if it is an important new topic, like Chris did with one post recently?

Splitting/merging posts is a mod/admin only feature. If you feel like a thread or post should be split, merged, or otherwise manipulated - report the post.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kgun

In addition, every time you click a post, it is registered as a new view of the thread. I see that other forums only count one view from one (unique) IP (during a time interval). In my view, that gives a more correct picture of the popularity of a post.

This is already in place (your IP address is not static).

**mike** · #5 (**permalink**) 08-12-2006, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kgun

Ask Chris, he recently split a post.

I am only a more and more invisible member here. Ken recently called me WPW's "SpamBot", so I had to remove my picture :-) :-)

When did Ken call you a spambot and what does that have to do with your picture?

kgun · #6 (**permalink**) 08-12-2006, 02:09 PM

No problem with that. It was in a discussion in the break room that was deleted and in my opinion that was best. I threaded his thread, IMO a joke.

I have been called so much in my life, even a CIA agent. My initials are KGB. My first paper in the Central Bank of Norway had those initials. The Govenor of the Bank, a fantastic leader in my view, gave the following remark when he read that paper.

"Now KGB has infiltrated the Central Bank."

I had to change the initials, since I got so many letters from "CIA." No joke, but the letters were jokes.

**mike** · #7 (**permalink**) 08-12-2006, 02:11 PM

Sooo, where does the part about having to delete your image and becoming invisible and all that come in?

kgun · #8 (**permalink**) 08-12-2006, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mike

This is already in place (your IP address is not static).

It was, but I asked my ISP to give me a dynamic for a reason I do not remember. I thought it did not function as a dynamic. Good that you confirm that it does.

kgun · #9 (**permalink**) 08-12-2006, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mike

Sooo, where does the part about having to delete your image and becoming invisible and all that come in?

Reaction to what was discussed there before the post was deleted.

I got a PM from rah about it that I have replied too. No problem for me if he shows that PM to you. There is nothing secret in it IMO.

Webnauts · #10 (**permalink**) 08-12-2006, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mike

I don't care if you have an affiliate lnk in your signature. There has never been any rule forbidding an affiliate link in your signature. The rule (as it is clearly stated) prohibits affiliate links in posts. There is a difference.

Mike to avoid any misunderstandings, are affiliate links allowed in signatures? Can I use them too?

**mike** · #11 (**permalink**) 08-13-2006, 12:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Webnauts

Quote:

Originally Posted by mike

I don't care if you have an affiliate lnk in your signature. There has never been any rule forbidding an affiliate link in your signature. The rule (as it is clearly stated) prohibits affiliate links in posts. There is a difference.

Mike to avoid any misunderstandings, are affiliate links allowed in signatures? Can I use them too?

"I don't care if you have an affiliate link in your signature." Is about as unambiguous as I can be... I don't know any other way to say it really.

No, I don't want affiliate links littering the posts. I don't mind -and even encourage- people to link out to things in their posts when the link is relevant to a discussion - but I don't want a bunch of affiliate spam in the posts, no.

In your signature, as long as it isn't porn or some other objectionable material and providing you stay within the parameters set forth (no images, 3 lines max, no crazy fonts, etc) I don't really care what you link to in your sig.

Chris · #12 (**permalink**) 08-14-2006, 09:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kgun

Ask Chris, he recently split a post. I think it was relevant and could have been done in other cases as well:

Example: Matt Cutts answer on duplicate detection

I think that post could have been split too, with an advantage.

I am only a more and more invisible member here. Ken recently called me WPW's "SpamBot", so I had to remove my picture :-) :-)

i split the post because it was threadjacked... for that reason only. no less, no more. just because someone splits one thread because it had gotten off-topic doesn't mean every thread should be split...

kgun · #13 (**permalink**) 08-14-2006, 09:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris

just because someone splits one thread because it had gotten off-topic doesn't mean every thread should be split...

Of course not.