Bad Message Subjects

[boleyd]

After awhile I just have to comment on the continuing lack of good judgement when people post messages. I was taught that a Subject was to attract interest in the content. Some message subjects are ridiculous. How does a subject that only says "HELP!" tell anything about its content. Is it just possible that someone who might be able to help will not read it due to very vague subject. Thus the author only reaches the curious and maybe not a user who knows the answer.

That is just one example of weird subjects may, and probably do, fail to attract the audience the author intended. If I have no idea what the author's need is or perhaps what good info they may have, I skip down the list. If I see a subject such as "Help- Trees Are All Red?" I will take a look. But if I see a subject with "Strange Stuff". It is skipped.

So maybe trying to remember what that teacher tried to tell you about good subject structure would help you attract your target audience. Otherwise part of your intended readers are looking at messages with meaningful subjects and skipping yours.

 

[Euphod]

It never hurts to remind us of the basics. I personally take the time to read whatever the mouse over reveals, but I am less likely to respond to those HEEEEELPPP PLZZZZZ threads overall.

 

[dragonharh]

WARNING: RISK OF FLAMMING WAR

I coude say a few things here but thay wont be nice but I must make a poseing point, you must rember not anyone lives in the USA or has has the schooling you did so some of us can only do what we know how to do and if it's not up to your standers then your on the worng fourms.

3 reasons for bad posts:

1 poster did't get good teachings or schooling like you. ( I for one been down this road it's no fun )
2 poster has a dissablety of some kind that can not be helped ( very fursting )
3 poster is fornan ( not liveing in Canada or US )

To skipping a post for this reason it don't look up to your standers is rude and bad judgement I'm not placeing blam on anyone i'm makeing a point.
I thing this post needs to be lock befor thing get to heated. you do make apoint on the orther hand there are just some who just don't try and smilpey lazy. If I can't understand I post I don't bother helpping and it has to be prity bad for that wich saddy I agen agreen on that level with you ppl are say stuff thats makes no scents. I of corse Try to help thows who need it but with good reason thats in my felds of understanding and I will inore Noob Posts.

I know how ppl get here so i'm staying out of this one after this post.

 

[H222]

Just because I'm not from Canada or the US doesn't mean I can't speak English. Specifically, English(? Connection? English=English?) people may speak the language, but it is their language

Jamie

 

[shaneturner12]

I'm happy enough to read any thread that is in my field of knowledge, including ones that just say Help or similar. It's the only way of being sure that you haven't missed something that you can help with.

Shane

 

[Scottbe8]

I'm sorry dragonharh, but I don't understand your post. Can you please translate it for me?

Back on topic, users should also make sure that their topics are posted in the correct forum. For example, topics like "I can't download content" should go into Support>DLS,FCT whereas topics like "TS12 fails to recognize my credentials" belongs in Support>TS12, and "Missing KUIDs" goes under Mainline>General Trainz.

 

[BRClass66]

A snob believes that some people are inherently inferior to him or her for any one of a variety of reasons, including real or supposed intellect, wealth, education, ancestry, class, taste, beauty, nationality

 

[dragonharh]

A snob believes that some people are inherently inferior to him or her for any one of a variety of reasons, including real or supposed intellect, wealth, education, ancestry, class, taste, beauty, nationality

Agreed

I'm sorry dragonharh, but I don't understand your post. Can you please translate it for me?

1 poster did't get good teachings or schooling like you. ( I for one been down this road it's no fun )
2 poster has a dissablety of some kind that can not be helped ( very fursting )
3 poster is foran ( not liveing in Canada or US )

If you can't understand this idk whjat to tell yea.

 

[DELETED-aYx9Q4SYwhiI2h6]

I'm not sure what is going on here but I tend to agree with "boleyd" I'm no expert on Trainz and I'm not able to help anyone very often; and therefore don't look at many post that are not very descriptive.

Mostly I just don't have the time to check out every post. I'm lucky if I can spend a half hour a day on Trainz so I only check out something that interest me. I know that I miss many a post that would help me because the heading was unclear.

I'm just glad and thankful there are so many out there who can check out each post and help where they can because they are the ones who make trainz what it is.

Thanks
Dave

 

[boleyd]

I do not buy the argument about non-native language. Just copy paste something relevant and put a question mark at the end. There are also 15 language specific forums here.

As to education. The schools here begin teaching that stuff in 5th grade. Anyone who is educationally challenged can privately go to many sites on the Internet and see how to compose something that meets the average standards.

A disability so severe that it prohibits an expanded Subject is quite likely to have more of an impact on the text portion.

Spelling in the example above just needs a simple free spelling checker often within the user's browser.

Today English is the defacto standard language. Not because it is superior but it was carried through commercial trading, wars and entertainment products. It is very difficult to learn since it is cobbled together with words from several languages. If your language skills are not up to it then, as mentioned, use one of the language specific forums and in any event someone there will probably be able to construct an understandable message for you.

People in the USA are language lazy and we should not judge the abilities of others with our lack of initiative. I spent some time in Belgium and was surprised by the number of people who spoke English there. Some of them worked for me and I easily understood their accented English.

There is no need to lock the thread but some moderator personal cautions may be in order.

 

[mp202]

I'm sorry if I didnt know any better. You guys should know better than to harsh on somebody who was in a dire situation to acquire desperately needed info. But no you just had to act like your better than everybody didnt you?

 

[dragonharh]

I do not buy the argument about non-native language. Just copy paste something relevant and put a question mark at the end. There are also 15 language specific forums here.

As to education. The schools here begin teaching that stuff in 5th grade. Anyone who is educationally challenged can privately go to many sites on the Internet and see how to compose something that meets the average standards.

A disability so severe that it prohibits an expanded Subject is quite likely to have more of an impact on the text portion.

Spelling in the example above just needs a simple free spelling checker often within the user's browser.

Today English is the defacto standard language. Not because it is superior but it was carried through commercial trading, wars and entertainment products. It is very difficult to learn since it is cobbled together with words from several languages. If your language skills are not up to it then, as mentioned, use one of the language specific forums and in any event someone there will probably be able to construct an understandable message for you.

People in the USA are language lazy and we should not judge the abilities of others with our lack of initiative. I spent some time in Belgium and was surprised by the number of people who spoke English there. Some of them worked for me and I easily understood their accented English.

There is no need to lock the thread but some moderator personal cautions may be in order.

You are very closed mind poor jugmet you think a man like is easy and every one has or can get what you have let me tell you something Not every one gets to go to school and lurens how to read if you wornt tout how to do something then how to you luren do do what avery one expets you to do. you think its that smipe to go to school or take a corse online dude let me make it clare. thows things cost money and alot of it nothing free inless you have a good job your ****ed. I know I been there you can't tell me its easey so Don't gop BSing about stuff you do not understand. I had to fight my ass off just to get a job and has to work hard to get into a schooling program wich was did NOTHING to help. you need to rethink your words bud becuse its not awalk in the park like you think! I have had it with you tipes.

 

[boleyd]

Being able to read AND communicate are keystones of employment. If those skills were missing at an early age it is not difficult to pick them up. Just watching a good TV news program on a nightly basis, reading books and my favorite for learning, what words I have found, is magazines. Here you not only get to see the proper usage of the language but proper spelling as well. The major advantage of reading a good magazine is, by choosing a subject that interests you the chore of comprehension and learning of the language is thus quite enjoyable. As an example I loved Popular Mechanics and Popular Electronics magazines. Great info and you find that you automatically pickup a good language style and proper spelling.

As too snobbery. Imagine how silent we might be if all we could ever do is is say nice things with no critiques. In this case even the mildest suggestion for more "meat" in the subject line of messages brings out the snob charge. If I had phrased it like - "I am sick and tired of poorly educated people failing to use common sense to construct a message" I would not be just a snob but an S.O.B. as well. If I were face-to-face and said I wanted "more meaning in message subjects" would I be called a snob? So, was there a better way to ask for more info in a subject or was the way I asked for it OK?

Just to toss out a nasty word toward me does not help. Say I am a snob and why. Then, in the context of this message that can be discussed. If trying to elevate the quality level on a forum is being a snob then so be it.

 

[clam1952]

Chill pill time.

I don't think the purpose of this thread was to "have a go" at peoples standard of education, it was more of a well meaning bit of advice, in an attempt to get people to use a subject heading that has some relevance to the content.

In Dick's original post, where was it mentioned about spelling, punctuation, construction of sentences or educational standards? Quite simply it wasn't, it was purely about the incorrect or bad use of subject headings.


To get back on the topic of subject headings.
It really does make things a lot easier for everyone, if the subject actually includes a clue as to what a thread contains, both for those who try to help and those who are maybe searching the forums for an answer to a problem or information on a particular subject. It also helps if it is posted in the correct forum, experts in a particular field will probably stick to that area and not be looking for say, DLS problems in Content Creation.

Using a clear indication in the subject heading of the problem or content, posting it in the correct place will reap rewards, rather than taking pot luck on getting any reply.

 

[JEB114]

Must be a full Moon Somewhere!!!

 

[ZecMurphy]

Time to calm down everyone.

The original post was specifically about the 'subject' line of the thread, which is intended to tell the reader what your thread is about. Simply saying "help" won't really do this, and likely won't get you far. On the other hand, a subject like "Looking for accurate locomotive dimensions/drawings" (best to include locomotive type as well) will let people know what your thread is about (aka, the subject of the thread). A clear subject will help you, the poster of the thread obtain the best help for your post. Most people have limited time on the forums, and will only look at posts that have a subject they know they can either assist with, or that is of interest to them. If your subject doesn't clearly show what your post is about, they are likely to skip it, and you may not actually get the help you want/need.

As to the language/spelling/grammar side of things, this thread wasn't written about that, and this isn't part of the discussion, at least not directly. Spelling is important, as is grammar, etc, purely to ensure that everyone can understand you. It doesn't need to be perfect, but a bit of effort with it can go a long way to helping you to get the best assistance possible.

Regards

 

[sniper297]

One thing sticks in my memory, before the internet - can't remember if it was CompuServe or Prodigy, but the biggest game discussion at the time was Sierra's Red Baron mulltiplayer. One kid posted "gam werck" for the title, elaborated a little further in the subject - "gam don werck". Assuming he meant the game don't work for him, a few of us tried to help - gotta wonder where Mom and Dad were?! Anyway several days of back and forth assuming he was talking about Red Baron, it turns out he was connecting on his sister's computer to ask for help with Donkey Kong on Nintendo. Mario "wercks", why didn't Donkey Kong? He was inserting the Donkey Kong cartridge backwards, he just needed someone (where WERE his parents?!) to advise him to turn it around.

Moral is you'll get more help quicker the more accurately you can describe the problem you're having.

 

[JCitron]

As someone who works in technical support, I come across posts like this all the time including badly classified tickets on the help desk system. I agree with Dick on this. A better worded thread title makes solving problems much faster.
Titles such as "Don't work", "Broken", etc. are very difficult to troubleshoot quickly. In the work world, these tickets fall by the wayside until someone has the time to read them. In many cases, the problem could have been solved in a very short time, but because the category was incorrect, or the description of the problem is vague, the tickets languish in the queue for a very long time. This upsets the users/ customers and makes the support staff look bad.

I understand when people are frustrated when things aren't going the way they should, but taking the time to explain what is needed goes a long way much faster.

John

 

[Scottbe8]

As someone who works in technical support, I come across posts like this all the time including badly classified tickets on the help desk system. I agree with Dick on this. A better worded thread title makes solving problems much faster.
Titles such as "Don't work", "Broken", etc. are very difficult to troubleshoot quickly. In the work world, these tickets fall by the wayside until someone has the time to read them. In many cases, the problem could have been solved in a very short time, but because the category was incorrect, or the description of the problem is vague, the tickets languish in the queue for a very long time. This upsets the users/ customers and makes the support staff look bad.

I understand when people are frustrated when things aren't going the way they should, but taking the time to explain what is needed goes a long way much faster.

John

On that note, this topic should be stickied or somehow integrated into the community guidelines and support ticket instructions i.e. "The HelpDesk can choose to ignore your request if your subject is extremely vague. Your subject should highlight the key words of the error or problem you are experiencing. eg "SnC Product key rejected by TS2009" rather than "program broken please help"."

 

[matruck]

3 poster is foran ( not liveing in Canada or US )

I'm still trying to work out why i'm called a foran because i live out side the US or Canada. I live in Australia and no it is not another state just below Flo-Ri-Duh.