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ORIGINAL: PeonForHer

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ORIGINAL: freedomdwarf1

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ORIGINAL: wnyThroatLover
I'm not entirely sure what my face-rodent has to do with posters...

And I'm not entirely sure what your response has to do with the subject being discussed.

wnyTL was being amusing, FD. At least, I thought him so. Stop being bad-tempered and intolerant. Leave that to the Americans - they do it much better than us. ;-)

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ORIGINAL: SeekingTrinity

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ORIGINAL: iaminigo

Expecting people to read the ToS and CoC before making their first post is kinda silly. Do you read the software license agreements on the apps you install?

True, but ignorance of the law is not a valid excuse for breaking the law. I'll be honest in saying that I haven't bothered reading the ORS (Oregon Revised Statute). But just because I haven't bothered to read it does not mean that the various police agencies Id potentially face if I break a rule is going to buy my "gee, Officer...I didn't know that <fill in the blank> was illegal" defense as I try to talk my way out of a possible ticket.

They post the TOS here for a reason. If you are not inclined to read it before you post, you should still be held to the same standard as those who do bother reading it. Ignorance, laziness, or "it just doesn't apply to me because I'm super special" isn't an excuse.

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ORIGINAL: lovethyself


I'm also thin skinned. I don't take insults well, and I try my hardest to not invite them upon myself. Knowing how some threads are attacked, I often won't start a thread on the topic I'm working through. I will spend an inordinate amount of time trying to figure out *just* the right wording so that my point comes across loud and clear. And even then, will usually not post it. I don't think that I need to be coddled, but I also don't need to be hit upside the head with a fucking baseball bat, when a simple correction would work just as well (in my experience, the nicer response usually gets a better reception). When something is snarky and negative, it's natural for the other person to get defensive, whether they are right or not. That's not being helpful, it's being antagonistic.

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I do want to say that some of the regulars are great. I've gotten help more than once that I needed, made some personal breakthroughs because of the support of some people on here. Thank you.

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ORIGINAL: SylvereApLeanan

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ORIGINAL: tj444

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ORIGINAL: SylvereApLeanan
"use the search feature" is not stifling discussion.

I have tried many times to use the search function and it SUCKS!!! totally totally SUCKS.. usually its trying to find someone's post on a recent thread and when I try to search for it, rarely ever does it show up... I end up having to find some other means to find it or simply forget it.. As far as I am concerned, using search is worse than nothing.. so telling someone to use the search function (how does anyone know if they already tried?) just makes me cringe cuz to me, search is useless.. that is one thing on this site that could stand a total overhaul to get it to work the way it should.. just sayin'..

Really? Because I've used it many times with no problem at all. I could have started a thread but I used the search feature instead. It did require experimenting a bit with keywords and/or user names to find the information I wanted but I found it. If I can do it so can everyone else.

As far as knowing whether or not someone tried the search feature, I tend to assume, perhaps wrongly, they haven't used it unless they mention looking and not finding the information they wanted. This is especially true for topics I know for a fact are covered in the FAQ or are such old chestnuts that we've had dozens of threads about the topic. Really, how hard is it to find a thread about scammers, findommes, how many people are into XYZ, or the difference between sub and slave? If they can't use the search to find those topics, there's something very wrong and they probably shouldn't be allowed on the internet.

I think most people just want to see evidence that newbies have put in some effort before they post. A brief statement along the lines of "I searched for X but didn't find it; could someone point me in the right direction or provide an answer in this thread" or "I read the FAQ and used search to look for A but found B, E, and J and that's not quite what I need" is easy and I don't think it's unrealistic to expect newcomers to do it.

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ORIGINAL: iaminigo
I saw a suggestion to remove post counts - I think that's a great idea.

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ORIGINAL: tj444

I am not the only person that has had inferior results using search here, the more frustrating and difficult it is to find something using search, the less likely people like me & newbies will use it.. the only reason I would keep "tinkering" with words/usernames in search is if I already know it exists (such as I saw the post/thread earlier and now want to find it so I can post but dam it I can't find it!).. If I didn't already know it exists then it would be one try only expecting that search was not showing it cuz it doesn't exist.. imo, CM should fix the search so it works better and then that should cut down on some of the duplicate threads..

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ORIGINAL: SylvereApLeanan

I won't try to speak for others, but I know I'm a lot more inclined to expend the energy and resources required to type out a comprehensive answer to an OP if the person can demonstrate they've made an effort to help themselves first. I don't think that's too much to ask of anyone.

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I am not the only person that has had inferior results using search here, the more frustrating and difficult it is to find something using search, the less likely people like me & newbies will use it.. the only reason I would keep "tinkering" with words/usernames in search is if I already know it exists (such as I saw the post/thread earlier and now want to find it so I can post but dam it I can't find it!).. If I didn't already know it exists then it would be one try only expecting that search was not showing it cuz it doesn't exist.. imo, CM should fix the search so it works better and then that should cut down on some of the duplicate threads..

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ORIGINAL: tj444

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ORIGINAL: iaminigo
I saw a suggestion to remove post counts - I think that's a great idea.

I think its a much better idea to simply show the number of GOLD WARNING LETTERS & "waiting approval" spankings!..

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ORIGINAL: Apocalypso

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ORIGINAL: SylvereApLeanan

I won't try to speak for others, but I know I'm a lot more inclined to expend the energy and resources required to type out a comprehensive answer to an OP if the person can demonstrate they've made an effort to help themselves first. I don't think that's too much to ask of anyone.

That's entirely reasonable and I get where you're coming from.

But I'd suggest that the barrier for ridiculing a poster should be a fair bit higher then the one for simply ignoring their thread.

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ORIGINAL: SylvereApLeanan

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ORIGINAL: Apocalypso

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ORIGINAL: SylvereApLeanan

I won't try to speak for others, but I know I'm a lot more inclined to expend the energy and resources required to type out a comprehensive answer to an OP if the person can demonstrate they've made an effort to help themselves first. I don't think that's too much to ask of anyone.

That's entirely reasonable and I get where you're coming from.

But I'd suggest that the barrier for ridiculing a poster should be a fair bit higher then the one for simply ignoring their thread.

Define "ridicule." There are some people on this thread who have indicated they believe telling someone to "use search" or "read the FAQ" to be ridicule when the reality is that it's a perfectly valid answer.

If I know for a fact that the answer to a question is in the FAQ and someone asks the same question anyway, I know they haven't bothered to make use of the resources that have been provided. I don't see any reason to coddle that person because they've already demonstrated laziness. I have no problem telling them "if you'd bothered to read the FAQ you would already know the answer to that" and I don't think that qualifies as ridicule. There's no value judgement, it's a simple statement of fact. If people can't handle having that fact pointed out to them, that's on them. They can suck it up and do better in the future.

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ORIGINAL: iaminigo
Also, when I reply to the thread the subject is "What can we do to [train] new posters" but it's listed in the forums with the subject "What can we do to retain new posters" - that's a weird difference...

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ORIGINAL: RedMagic1

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ORIGINAL: iaminigo
Also, when I reply to the thread the subject is "What can we do to [train] new posters" but it's listed in the forums with the subject "What can we do to retain new posters" - that's a weird difference...

Someone changed the heading using the Fast Reply box. If you type out a reply at the very bottom, you can change the subject line of the thread. But the new subject line isn't displayed everywhere, just in some views.

It's a weakness in the forum software, but hey. Free site, and the forums don't produce any revenue.

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ORIGINAL: iaminigo

Perhaps, in the context of this thread the best thing to do would be to refrain from posting in threads that annoy you?

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ORIGINAL: SylvereApLeanan

In the context of this discussion, "read the FAQ" is a valid response. You may not like it, but that does not make it less valid. Get over it.[/color][/size][/font]

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ORIGINAL: SeekingTrinity

This is an internet forum and expecting people to read and learn the rules BEFORE sampling what it's like is ridiculous. If someone makes one mistake on their first post, and everyone jumps on them, most will bounce and move on elsewhere. That's just how internet traffic works.

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ORIGINAL: SylvereApLeanan

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ORIGINAL: tj444

I am not the only person that has had inferior results using search here, the more frustrating and difficult it is to find something using search, the less likely people like me & newbies will use it.. the only reason I would keep "tinkering" with words/usernames in search is if I already know it exists (such as I saw the post/thread earlier and now want to find it so I can post but dam it I can't find it!).. If I didn't already know it exists then it would be one try only expecting that search was not showing it cuz it doesn't exist.. imo, CM should fix the search so it works better and then that should cut down on some of the duplicate threads..

If you try the search and fail, that's okay. Just say so and someone else may have more success and can post links. Others will take the time to type out an answer. Either way, you're getting the information, so it's all good.

But the point you seem to be missing or I'm somehow failing to convey is that you put in the effort to try whereas most of the newbs do not. They just post, and reading the FAQ or using the search feature never crosses their minds because they have a sense of entitlement telling them they should have whatever they want nownownow without bothering to put forth any effort.

I won't try to speak for others, but I know I'm a lot more inclined to expend the energy and resources required to type out a comprehensive answer to an OP if the person can demonstrate they've made an effort to help themselves first. I don't think that's too much to ask of anyone.