mattice Posted March 21, 2003 Share Posted March 21, 2003 A subject line with no info.. annoying isn't it? I have seen dozens of posts saying either URGENT! or HELP! etc just this week, and I have seen several thousands over time.... We all need help and it is all urgent. So don't. If you want to stand a chance to get your post answered make sure you at least have a descriptive subject line, a good explanation of what the problem is and what you have tried to do to solve it. Mattice "Politics is the art of preventing people from taking part in affairs which properly concern them" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wizardsandwars Posted March 21, 2003 Share Posted March 21, 2003 And anytime that OSC give you an error, make sure you tell us what the last contribuion you installed was. :wink: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE: As of Oct 2006, I'm not as active in this forum as I used to be, but I still work with osC quite a bit. If you have a question about any of my posts here, your best bet is to contact me though either Email or PM in my profile, and I'll be happy to help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattice Posted March 21, 2003 Author Share Posted March 21, 2003 ...AFTER you have searched the forums... TWICE. :D "Politics is the art of preventing people from taking part in affairs which properly concern them" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 21, 2003 Share Posted March 21, 2003 ... And had a look at http://wiki.oscommerce.com/Top :wink: The_Bear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burt Posted March 21, 2003 Share Posted March 21, 2003 A subject line with no info.. annoying isn't it? I have seen dozens of posts saying either URGENT! or HELP! etc just this week, and I have seen several thousands over time.... We all need help and it is all urgent. So don't. If you want to stand a chance to get your post answered make sure you at least have a descriptive subject line, a good explanation of what the problem is and what you have tried to do to solve it. Mattice Nice one. I've pretty much stopped answering (or even looking at) posts that don't have a descriptive title. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul_C Posted March 22, 2003 Share Posted March 22, 2003 Yes, everyone needs to read How To Ask Questions The Smart Way. A good convention for subject headers, used by many tech support organizations, is "object - deviation". The "object" part specifies what thing or group of things is having a problem, and the "deviation" part describes the deviation from expected behavior. Stupid: HELP! Video doesn't work properly on my laptop! Smart: XFree86 4.1 misshapen mouse cursor, Fooware MV1005 vid. chipset Smarter: XFree86 4.1 mouse cursor on Fooware MV1005 vid. chipset - is misshapen In the subject title give a concise description of the problem. Don't tell us about you ["Newbie needs help"] and don't tell us who should be looking at the post ["**Advanced Coders Only**"]. Also, we already know that most new threads are questions, don't use the word "question" in the title (or anything similar.) We can figure that out on our own. Describe the issue; not the writer, reader, or post itself. "It's a damn poor mind that can only think of one way to spell a word." -- Andrew Jackson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 22, 2003 Share Posted March 22, 2003 i would be happy if they search the forum at least once :shock: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreamscape Posted March 22, 2003 Share Posted March 22, 2003 XFree86 4.1 mouse cursor on Fooware MV1005 vid. chipset - is misshapen thread title is like this, replies similar is likely result. The only thing necessary for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing - Edmund Burke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattice Posted March 22, 2003 Author Share Posted March 22, 2003 XFree86 4.1 mouse cursor on Fooware MV1005 vid. chipset - is misshapen thread title is like this, replies similar is likely result. Just su - root, pipe foo bar to /dev/null, killall -HUP Fooware and you're hot again baby... ;) Works for me. "Politics is the art of preventing people from taking part in affairs which properly concern them" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burt Posted March 22, 2003 Share Posted March 22, 2003 Works for me. Bang it with a big hammer usually does it for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chfields Posted March 24, 2003 Share Posted March 24, 2003 I posted a question the "smart" way and got no answer so I posted again saying I need help and got answers. I appreciate what you mean, but sometimes you have to do what you can to get an answer. By the way.....this is a great forum and for the most part has answered all my questions. This is a godsend for someone like me who knows nothing about coding or php. This is my first experience with this and I am very grateful for the help I have received. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattice Posted March 24, 2003 Author Share Posted March 24, 2003 I appreciate what you mean, but sometimes you have to do what you can to get an answer. You are suggesting it is allright to crosspost on these forums. or do whatever is needed to GET an answer. You can not simply demand to get an answer. Doesn't work like that. The idea behind a forum like this is to build a great knowledge resource, for everybody. It's not something that answers your questions if you poke it long enough. By the way.....this is a great forum and for the most part has answered all my questions. This is a godsend for someone like me who knows nothing about coding or php. This is my first experience with this and I am very grateful for the help I have received. Thank you on behalve of all of the people here. Still it would be nice if you respected the general netiquette on forums which includes refraining from posting silly subjects like 'need help' etc. It helps keeping the people happy that actually answer questions instead of asking them, resulting in a great resource for new users of osCommerce like yourself ;) "Politics is the art of preventing people from taking part in affairs which properly concern them" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 24, 2003 Share Posted March 24, 2003 I never thought of it (this forum) like that. Just poke at it persistently like you would a porcupine that you want quills from... Instead I just keep reading other people's questions and replies hoping the answer will be there and all that happens is I get side-tracked with other people's good ideas (is this post still on the "tip" subject?). So my tip would be that I concur, reading the forum is a good idea.... then you poke it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chfields Posted March 24, 2003 Share Posted March 24, 2003 Mattice, I am not "demanding" to get my question answered, however, I still need an answer, just like everybody else. I try searching the posts and wiki, and sometimes I find my answer, but when I don't, I post.I know you guys get the same questions day in and day out. I think once you get the wiki finished that should eliminate a lot of the simple questions. Provided of course, they check there before they post.....yeah right... Another thing that would help is if the search worked properly, but you already know about that. I read in here somewhere, I don't remember where, that it said if you don't get an answer to your question (after a reasonable time) that you should try a different section and/or reword the question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 24, 2003 Share Posted March 24, 2003 Actually, You have misunderstood the forum rules. To refresh your memory, I have copied them below. * No "bump" postings are allowed, which bring a posting to the top of the thread list. If a posting did not receive a reply, post it again (in the same thread) with more detailed information. * Search the forums and bug reports if you are encountering problems - your problem may have been solved already. * Do not cross-post your posting, which involves posting the same message in multiple forums. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattice Posted March 24, 2003 Author Share Posted March 24, 2003 To explain that a bit more detailed: If you don't get a reply and you reply to your own thread saying: "Come on people, I really need an answer!" "Anybody?" "Don't tell me I am the only one with this problem!" "Help me, I'm loosing hundreds of dollars here" etc etc you are BUMPING. Which isn't allowed. What you should do is giving more detailed (not as in posting entire pages of code nobody reads anyway :D) information. Like what operating system, what version of osC, a link where we can see the problem, what you already tried to solve your problem etc etc. HTH Mattice "Politics is the art of preventing people from taking part in affairs which properly concern them" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramesh Posted March 24, 2003 Share Posted March 24, 2003 also if you are solving something or found a solution post the answer with keywords which people searching can find. for the past couple of months I have placed 'keywords' in the top of my posts if I'm helping someone. *Example*Here I describe how to setup VAT in OSC uk tax vat european union In osc, you need to create two zones A VAT zone and a Rest of the World Zone ........ ...... .... META keywords for OSC forums if you like :-) Regards, Ramesh Special Effects / 3d + Flash Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chfields Posted March 24, 2003 Share Posted March 24, 2003 I understand about the bumping rule and I don't do that. If I don't get an answer I usually just post another question reworded and that usually works. Although, I think I've only had 2 question not answered and when I reworded 1 of them I got answers. The other one I don't think was able to be answered. Again I want to say how happy I am with the quality of help I received here. In return, I try to answer other peoples questions from what I have learned here. I apologize if I made it seem as though I think it's ok to do whatever you have to, to get a question answered. I don't! What I meant is that I try different things within the confines of the rules. :cry: I'm sorry............ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chfields Posted March 24, 2003 Share Posted March 24, 2003 I understand about the bumping rule and I don't do that. If I don't get an answer I usually just post another question reworded and that usually works. Although, I think I've only had 2 question not answered and when I reworded 1 of them I got answers. The other one I don't think was able to be answered. Again I want to say how happy I am with the quality of help I received here. In return, I try to answer other peoples questions from what I have learned here. I apologize if I made it seem as though I think it's ok to do whatever you have to, to get a question answered. I don't! What I meant is that I try different things within the confines of the rules. :cry: I'm sorry............ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 3, 2003 Share Posted April 3, 2003 I have also found that finding the answers is so much easier if they do post the direct problem in the title, the search function works better. It frustrates me to no end to put in "shipping zones" in the search function and all it comes back with is "help" "new here" whatever, then you have to read through everything to try and see if it even pertains to what you are looking for. Good post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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