Leonard, Now if I may quote you: --------- Fourth, many of the users of this list do not seem to appreciate the value of the list archives. A link can be found at the bottom of every post. Many of you never even bother to check the archives or tips on the web site before asking a question. You can often save yourself a lot of time and get more information by checking there BEFORE posting a question- ---------- This really does not do much good when people do not place model/chassis and brief description of problem in the subject line. If you are searching the archives for a model number, if I'm not mistaken, if the model is not in the subject line, those posts will not be found. Furthermore, who wants to open several messages with certain model numbers only to find those symptoms are no where close. The ability to search the archives is an awesome tool if we have some kind of uniformity to the posts. Jeff Dougherty Intrepid Video TV/VCR 263 S Front St Steelton PA 17113 fax...717-564-4952 www.intrepid-video.com www.tech-repair.net ----- Original Message ----- From: "Leonard Caillouet" <lcaillo@xxxxxxxxxxxx> To: <techassist@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2003 11:52 PM Subject: [TechAssist] Useful and Professional Posting Suggestions There has been a great deal of back and forth regarding the appropriateness of posts and the proliferation of threads that get off track. After extensive conversations with members of the list and with the adminstrators, I have decided to make some suggestions. This list is a great resource and we should do everything we can to keep it so and to make it better. First, we should all remember why we are here. We are here to help each other to be more effective in our profession. By sharing information we can be more efficient techs and more profitable businessmen. The primary reason this group was established was to provide Technical Assistance, however, not business related advice, humor, feel-good touchy feelies, or idle chit chat. There is an amount of all of these that can be tolerated, but in order to keep the list efficient and effective we should all be mindfull of what we post and attempt to keep them to a minimum. This is what the administrators have been trying to say. The business related stuff is mostly OK, and occasional BS can be tolerated, but some limits have to be set. Second, the administrators spend a great deal of time on this listserve and the website and receive little in return. They are doing us a great service and deserve a little slack. The more we do to police our own posts the less they have to do. Sometimes they have not said things with grace, nor with a great deal of consistency and people have gotten upset. Get over it and show some appreciation for their work to make all of us more professional and effective. We can all do a better job of making our posts relevant. All of us. Myself included. Third, a few of you think because you spend a good deal of time helping others you can post whatever you want and should not be reminded to keep your posts relevant to technical support. You are simply wrong. Your help is appreciated and you should not take constructive criticism as meaning that it is not. The list administrators don't take it that way. They respond quite professionally to suggestions to improve the list, including the suggestion that critique of our posts needs to be more consistent and more clear. I have recently had that conversation and they will attempt to improve on that. We need to do our part and respond likewise. Fourth, many of the users of this list do not seem to appreciate the value of the list archives. A link can be found at the bottom of every post. Many of you never even bother to check the archives or tips on the web site before asking a question. You can often save yourself a lot of time and get more information by checking there BEFORE posting a question. When searching the archives it is painfully obvious that too much chit chat goes on because you have to go through so much of it sometimes to get to the useful information. Also, changing the subject line screws up the archives, so start a new one rather than changing in the middle of a thread. Finally, I'd like to quote Jeff Dougherty (Intrepid Video TV/VCR), who recently posted some very wise, reasonable and appropriate advice that reflects the views of most of the members that I have communicated with and the administrators: "I don't think it was the whole thread that was the problem, but some of the replies to it that pretty much DID NOT contribute to the subject at hand...If replies are made informative, to the point and subject, then there usually is no problem." If you can't live with that, you need to be somewhere else. Jeff, I hope you don't mind my quoting and snipping part of it. I mean in no way to imply that the suggestions in this post are your views, but your words were reflective of what many on the list feel. Be well all. Be in touch. Be reasonable. Leonard Caillouet Electronics World Gainesville, FL ***************************************************************************** The Tech Address Book: http://www.tech-assist.org/secure/tip/contact.html Add a Repair Tip Here, or Change/Remove your Email Address: http://www.tech-assist.org/secure/tip/main.html Lost Password: http://www.tech-assist.org and select "Lost your Login Info?". 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