[OT] multiple posts, same subject... please don't do it! (Not a rant - just some good advice)

[billko]

The reason why I am writing this thread is because lately I've been seeing a rash of people posting the same thing over and over again.  While I understand the eagerness in finding a solution, this actually works against you because:

You will actually get less responders than with a single thread.  Responders are loathe to post to multiple threads because a typical response may take 1/2 hour or more to formulate, so duplication of efforts (someone else's as well as their own) is not something they relish.

It makes life difficult for members looking for the same information.  Think about it.  You do a search.  You get five hits.  They are all duplicates of each other and several pages long, but you feel obligated to read through them all just in case one of the threads has a solution...Time to grab a gun and go hunting...

It's just plain selfish.  Unfortunately, the world does NOT revolve around you.  I know this for a fact because it revolves around me.  Get over it.  Wait your turn.  😄

A close cousin of this type of poster is one who continually "bumps" their posts to the top by posting things like... "anyone?" or "hello?" every half hour or so.  Don't get me started on THAT issue... 😉

Bill

[tst]

Ah, sweet innocence. You think that those people are actually reading your thread? They most likely only look at their own thread and even that would be because they get email notifications when there's a new post. They often go and cross-post the thread to other forums as well, usually with the same text (because why would you want to rewrite the text? That's a lot of work).

There are several methods for dealing with this:

1. Ban them. This isn't done here and probably never will be.
2. Ignore them. The problem with that is that not everyone is aware of this and people will still waste their effort. But you don't have to, at least.
3. Try to stop the deluge by posting the links to the duplicate threads.
4. Try educating them. Good luck with that. It may help with those who don't understand. It doesn't with those who just don't care about other people's time.

Personally, I at 2 most of the time, while occasionally dipping into 3 and 4.

[Labview Lover]

Dear Ni's forums posters, experts and bigenners

i know that this thread is somewhat posted because of my last redundent threads.BUT, i assure you that was just a mistake and (maybe despaired trial to get the remedy answer to my questions). However, i learnd the lesson. and am 100% committed to keep Ni's forums as clear and great as expected.

National Intruments corp. is my most favorite tech. place. So i feel committed  toward them.

Sincerely yours

LabVIEW and NI LOVER

[Ben]

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tst wrote:

Ah, sweet innocence. You think that those people are actually reading your thread? ...

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Yair,

Concidering that you are seem to be the most vocal about floating threads, I'll run this passed you first.

What if we composed a nice "how to ask - Forum Protocl" thread and had Laura float it to the top.

Would you object to that?

I see no other method of getting the message out to noods without getting Lithium involved.

Ben 

[tst]

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Ben wrote:

Would you object to that?

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Yes, because:

1. I doubt that it would work - What you would probably get is people posting their questions into that thread (remember what happened to threads like "LV at 20"?) unless Laura locks it, and
2. It would definitely annoy me a lot more than the occasional duplicate thread.

Lithium could place the text into the instruction page you get when you try to post a new thread, but since some people don't seem to follow those instructions (e.g. trying to really search before posting, even though the system forces them to search), I doubt they would notice this.

This problem is common to pretty much any open forum on the web and no one has a real solution. As you can see in this thread, some people are willing to listen and even read threads other than their own. Others don't care what you say and will pollute any forum they can find with their cross-posts.

[billko]

Ben:

I'd LOVE to have a little sticky FAQ about forum posting.  This is exactly where I was hoping this discussion would lead!

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tst:

Sweet?  Innocent?  I'm neither.  I've been posting to forums longer than a lot of people here have been alive.  😉

While I understand that hardocre offenders aren't going to be swayed or even pay attention to this post, I'm hoping that I can stop the bleeding by getting dialog going to the effect that I mentioned to Ben above.  Also, maybe there are some borderline offenders who might be influenced by such a post.  Besides, it felt good posting it, even after leaving it on the screen for 10 minutes before posting.  (I usually let a potentially flammable post sit for at least that long before posting it.  You'd be surprised how many posts you withdraw after letting it cool off like that.)

We don't need to ban people like that.  It's like shooting people for jay-walking... Hmmm, maybe I'm on to something there... but I digress.  Repeat offenders, maybe.  🙂

#3 is an excellent idea.  Referring to other posts is an act of kindness and selflessnes even I am not capable of!

#4 is kind of what I was trying to do with this post. 

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LabVIEW Lover:

While your posts indirectly motivated me to write the post, repentant offenders aren't the ones this post is directed at.  😉

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Thanks to everyone who responded.  This is exactly how I envisioned the direction this thread is taking.  Thank you for responding the way I knew the community would!

Bill

[elset191]

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What if we composed a nice "how to ask - Forum Protocl" thread and had Laura float it to the top.

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It would annoy me to see that at the top all the time.  Could get used to it I suppose..

But, as has been said, I don't think the type of people who post the same thing over and over aren't the type of people to look at other threads.

[Darin.K]

I find that while I occasionally use the arrow to "Float" a thread to the top, I would certainly make frequent use of a down arrow to "Sink" a thread.  I thought of a few options for sinking, but the most practical would be to pin the thread to the time of the original post.  That way it could just roll off the front page no matter how many times somebody replies or tries to bump it.  To speed the disappearance, perhaps it could immediately sink to the bottom of the front page until it is displaced.

I'd rather make it easier to ignore the annoying posts than make it more difficult to post for the majority of people who seem to get it right (or at least close).

[rex1030]

Usually forums have admins that keep an eye on people doing that and they delete the second thread and warn them. Not here for some reason.

[MattBradley]

Only one thing ... bilko, the world doesn't revolve around you.  It revolves around every teenager.  Just ask them.  Not sure how this is possible.  Probably need a grant for further study about gravitational dualities...  🙂