Can a filter be set up to stop all the threads that use 'Urgent' or 'Help' as a subject? It seems to me that the mods spend a lot of time reminding peeps that they need to be more descriptive in the subject line.

I agree it's a crappy title, but I don't think we should be filtering posts just because the poster doesn't know hacker etiquette. Banning their post just turns them off, doesn't teach them anything about HOW to post, and helps no one; their problem may actually be interesting regardless of the crummy title. You can always implement your own filter simply by not clicking on the posts with titles you don't like.

And, let's face it, the titles of your posts aren't real great either.

lol your right. *edited to prevent a flame war* I was just putting up a thought.

Well, a check (regex for example) on the Title field, to tell people not to use urgent/help in titles would be greatly appreciated.

Minimum title length of three words would be good as well .... what is the use of a title like "samba" or "linux"?

Using a meaning full thread tittle , is just as difficult as answering
a thread in a sort and correct way , without telling too much are too little

Aparently I am out of line with this thread. Request it to be closed and I will return to my corner.

I wouldn't necessarily call it hacker etiquette, more like forum etiquette.

SkinnerC, while we have no plans to filter titles for words at this time (we do filter in that we currently PREVENT SHOUTING), you're certainly not out of line with this thread. Feedback and suggestions are always welcome here at LQ.

--jeremy

The crummy subject complaint applies to more than fora. I base my claim on ESR's "How to Ask Questions the Smart Way", which states "In the world of hackers, the kind of answers you get to your technical questions depends as much on the way you ask the questions as on the difficulty of developing the answer." This great treatise specifically addresses Urgent et. al. subject lines and states, "Claiming urgency is very likely to be counter-productive: most hackers will simply delete such messages as rude and selfish attempts to elicit immediate and special attention."

So I maintain it is hacker etiquette rather than a more narrow forum etiquette. But, that's simply my opinion and only loosely related to this thread's subject so I'll shut up now.

It's not just restricted to hackers. Try going to a garage and grabbing the first mechanic you see and "I need urgent help now! My car is broken" and seeing exactly how much help you actually receive.

It's strictly polite to ask a proper question and to give the person you want help from as much information as you think is relevant. It is even more important in a situation where you are receiving free help and are, in fact, costing the helper in terms of time and effort.

Unfortunately, there is no magic bullet for this. This subject has been discussed time and again and the fact that we are still having it speaks volumes. Jeremy has implemented certain steps to prevent this but it hasn't helped (though I can't think how you could implement metrics to prove or disprove this).

The aim of LQ is to put few barriers in front of posters so that they want to come here and ask for help. We don't charge, we aim to be friendly and welcoming, we only ask for a simple email confirmation and you aren't forced to post here at all - we do have a large number of lurking members. In some ways we are a victim of our own success, in the early days we were part of the nerd hardcore and there was certainly some flaming of new members who didn't know how to post - this was, for the most part, a re-education thing. Now, as linux becomes more mainstream, our membership is no longer made up from IT geeks and other similar people and we have to adapt.

Whatever we do, we mustn't become the type of forum we try to stay apart from - elitist and unwelcoming. If that means that we have to endure the type of thread title and post we all love to hate, well, it's the price we pay.

Excellent point.Doesn't have to be magical, most any bullet will do

In which case, either we don't have enough them to get everyone, or the ones we do have aren't big enough to affect enough people

Just put a big banner at the top of the forums page:
Only use thread titles "Urgent!" or "HELP!!!" if your life's in danger.

Indeed, for example if you are running from a bear or mountain lion with your laptop, and you need "HEEEELLLLPPP!!!!111!@" getting sound working on it so you can try to scare the creature off.

I respectfully disagree.

What we need to do is GENTLY make them adapt.


Remember, there is 400 year old mistranslation in the Sermon on the Mount -- It really said "The geek shall inherit the earth."