Importance of thread title and choice of forum

[goldfish]

I scan the titles to decide whether to open any particular thread or not. Informative, specific titles are very helpful in this regard, while generic, attention-seeking titles (e.g., "READ THIS!") are not.

I think it's a matter of courtesy to write as informative a title as possible.

Also, I feel that many posts are placed in wrong forums.

Specifically, it seems that 'shop talk' sub-forum in the business forum has become a catch-all. Here's the description of this forum:

Talk about the daily operation of a retail florist shop. Includes advertising, management, purchasing, hiring.

Many posts there should have been posted in 'chat' forums, IMO.

 

[CHR]

Same goes for the Commentary forum. Many belong elsewhere.

The Admins were retitling posts for clarity for a while, but it takes time.

Goldie's right - posts titled 'Can you believe this?', 'I Need Help', 'What Would You Do?' tell nothing about the subject. They're likely to get ignored or to draw eyeballs who are uninterested in the topic of the post - and leave members feeling they wasted a bit of time. (Note: My examples are made up - if a member posted that title, I'm not picking on that person specifically. )

Please check the forum to make sure the description matches your post topic... and title the post to include relevant keywords.

While we're at it, if you're posting news, please do a forum search to see if someone else has posted about it. Sometimes, we gave 3-4-5 threads started about the same topic and it's clear the posters haven't visited the forum and read other posts before starting a new thread.

 

[LJVF]

Thanks for pointing this out. Not sure much will change though, seems most of the posters guilty of this are the ones that aren't message board savvy and never read these type suggestion threads. I think the marketing instincts in them cause them to create titles that will draw attention as opposed to being informative. I've grown to accept it.

Tip: If you hover your mouse pointer over the title, it will generate a pop up script of the first sentence in the post. I've found this to be very helpful and I love this feature.

 

[theRKF]

Thanks for the reminder Goldfish.

As much as were able admin team tries to rename threads to more accurately reflect their content, but it's not feasible to catch them all. Often, we might restrict this to more popular threads to maximize the benefit.

The abuse of the Commentary forum is a particular frustration for me, as I've vented in the past. I don't know more we can do other than post reminders like yours asking that people respect protocols and categories. It's important for our members to help reinforce good forum etiquette.

We recently added prefixes for thread titles (ex: Article to help users understand the nature of the content. If anyone has suggestions on additional prefixes, please post them here. We can also consider making Prefixes mandatory.

 

[duanermb]

Right below this on the unread page I see an admin posting.\

"Well, I like this" as the title for the thread! :hammer:

http://www.flowerchat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27432

Just found it ironic...

Wouldn't "Well, I actually like this TF ad" be the kind of title we are talking about?

(Sorry Mark, not picking on you)

 

[dlnfloral]

You know not all of us are "PRO Message Board Savvy". I think a little consideration and patience is needed. Or teaching could be the answer also.

 

[HeatherTuckey]

Boss busted! LOL!

I hate this too. Recently, I peruse very few threads, b/c I won't open a thread if I can't determine if the subject will interest me. I used to spend 20-30 min or more 3 times a day on FC, and lately I spend 5 minutes or less.

A lot of it is just lack of posts due to most of us being busier tho - so that's awesome!

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE put a subject in the title and not nonsense!

 

[BOSS]

Right below this on the unread page I see an admin posting.\

"Well, I like this" as the title for the thread! :hammer:

http://www.flowerchat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27432

Just found it ironic...

Excuse me...... are you sure you have the right thread there?

LOL....

Yea, I too need to shape up!

 

[goldfish]

Wouldn't "Well, I actually like this TF ad" be the kind of title we are talking about?

IMO, that title is informative enough. Clearly the title says the thread is about some Teleflora's ad. If I'm not interested in their ad, I'm not going to open it.

If the title was something like: "OMG, look at this" "TF became insane" etc, then it would not be appropriate.

The purpose of a thread title is to let potential readers to know what your post is about. It is NOT about inducing a maximal number of people to read your post.

The forum posted, "marketing", was also appropriate IMO. Other appropriate forums would include: "wire services" "Clean joke." The post would not have been appropriate in "shop talk," "commentary" and so on.

Many posters are using "Commentary" "Shop talk" forums, in an attempt to get the maximal viewing.

 

[duanermb]

Excuse me...... are you sure you have the right thread there?

LOL....

Yea, I too need to shape up!

Nice work on the edit!

 

[SpringCity]

I guess it's better to have a good title but did you all know that you can hover your mouse over the uninformative title and a box pops up with the content of the post? It doesn't really take but a second to do that. :hammer:

 

[Tracy D'Amico]

Thread titles - yes they need improvement! And tags, too. I forget where, but I saw a tag recently that said 'thoughts'. Unlikely that anyone will be searching for 'thoughts'.

Many posters are using "Commentary" "Shop talk" forums, in an attempt to get the maximal viewing.

I don't think it has anything to do with maximum viewing ... it's more likely people don't ever read the "forums" page, with the descriptions under each sub-forum. So newer users don't think about the most appropriate place for their thread.

And, techinically, anything about flowershop can go under 'shop talk', no?

I know I never specifically read a 'sub forum', just any thread that interests me when I click 'new posts' - I don't even notice what forum posts are in, unless I'm searching for something.

 

[Palms]

If anyone is interested, it really doesn't bother me, we all have different personalities and we all tackle things different. I like a good dramatic title, it makes me smile. And, i like smiling:tongue

 

[Victoria]

Sometimes things become too darn complicated.

I hover over the title. If it doesn't interest me I don't open it. We are all wired differently (thank goodness). Interesting titles intrigue me.

V

 

[goldfish]

If anyone is interested, it really doesn't bother me, we all have different personalities and we all tackle things different. I like a good dramatic title, it makes me smile. And, i like smiling:tongue

Sometimes things become too darn complicated.

I hover over the title. If it doesn't interest me I don't open it. We are all wired differently (thank goodness). Interesting titles intrigue me.

V

I think you two are missing my point.

I want to scan all the "unread" threads, usually 100 of them all at once within 5-10 min. "Interesting title" prevents me from doing this for exactly the reason you described it.

"Interesting title" is effective and intrigues me to open it, only to find that the content is not what I would be interested in. That's the problem.

Basically I'm being fooled by the "Interesting title" and ended up wasting time and, because of that, can't find the thread that would be really interesting to me.

Moving the cursor over the thread title ins't an option for me (and possbily many others), because it's the same as reading the first couple of sentences of every thread. I just don't have that kind of time.

 

[LJVF]

In almost every social situation in society, there's some form of etiquette that most people try to follow. But there are always those that do not have etiquette for various reasons. Message boards are a social situation and yes there are general posting guidelines that most try to follow.

If the majority of the general forum population do not follow etiquette guidelines, the result would be a very messy and unpopular message board.

Below are 25 Forum Posting Etiquette Tips, I think we're all guilty of a few of these, myself included. But if we keep these faux pas' to a minimum, it will help contribute to a much more pleasant experience for everyone:

1. Read the forums rules and guidelines before posting for the first time.

2. Search the other posts to see if your topic is already covered.

3. Use a meaningful title for your thread.

4. Do not use a forum to promote your product, service or business.

5. Be civil. Personal differences should be handled through email or IM and not through posts displayed to everyone.

6. Stay on topic.

7. Ignore spammers, respond to them personally and not through the board, or report them.

8. Do not submit a post that requires readers to download a large attachment. Either explain the attachment or, better yet, provide a link to the information.

9. Use plain text over HTML if you want your post to be readable by everyone.

10. In order to be understood by most people, use correct spelling, grammar and avoid slang unless you know the word or phrase will be understood by other members.

11. Do not double post (post the same message twice in one thread) or cross post (place the same message across several forums).

12. Act in a give and take manner; help others as often as or more than you ask for help.

13. Do not use all caps or SHOUT in your posts. In addition, one exclamation point is enough.

14. When replying to a post, do not quote more from the previous post than you have to.

15. Do not post new problems on someone else's thread and interrupt a topic of discussion.

16. Do not use someone else’s thread for a private conversation.

17. Most forums prohibit warez, cracks or illegal downloading of software and similar topics.

18. Watch your sense of humor, posts may be read by people from a variety of backgrounds and ages.

19. Do not use a huge and annoying signature, a modest signature is fine, moderators may remove large ones anyway.

20. Do not post any information that you want private. Posts should not contain personal, identifiable information or content embarrassing to others.

21. Do not post content that violates a copyright.

22. Do not post ”empty” or useless responses, such as just ”lol” or ”cool.” Only post responses when you have something to contribute.

23. Write concisely and do not ramble.

24. Do not use words like ”urgent” or ”important” in your subject line, be patient.

25. Do not chastise newbies.

 

[Victoria]

I get your point. I just don't find it an issue for me. My manners in all forums of my life, both real and on-line are just fine too.

V

 

[JCT]

Darell I think this list is very helpful.

The area where I always have a problem with flowerchat is the 'search' function. For me, it very rarely works.

I've been posting for awhile and know alot of the topics that have been discussed. But when I do a search, for the life of me I can't find the relative older thread. How long are threads 'archived' here?

I'm guessing that's why we have so many repetitive threads started. Either people are lazy and just want to start their own thread or they actually can't find the thread when they do a search.

 

[LJVF]

I get your point. I just don't find it an issue for me. My manners in all forums of my life, both real and on-line are just fine too.

V

V, I'd find it hard that anyone should question your manners.

Darell I think this list is very helpful.

The area where I always have a problem with flowerchat is the 'search' function. For me, it very rarely works.

I've been posting for awhile and know alot of the topics that have been discussed. But when I do a search, for the life of me I can't find the relative older thread. How long are threads 'archived' here?

I'm guessing that's why we have so many repetitive threads started. Either people are lazy and just want to start their own thread or they actually can't find the thread when they do a search.

JCT, you're right. Sometimes the search function can be tricky to use. As far as the length of time threads are archived, I think forever. I've found threads dating back to FC's beginning, however, the old ones are automatically locked. So in many cases, it's ok to create a new thread on an old subject, but as long as the post consists of new and fresh information.

Some posters are newbies at this, and their lack of etiquette is understandable. We all had to start somewhere. But then there are some that are just attention hungry and will break etiquette and use gimmicks just so they can be heard. IMO, respect is earned on these message boards. If a poster consistently puts up solid posts, then no gimmicks are needed. Members will want to read what they have to say.

 

[BOSS]

I've been posting for awhile and know alot of the topics that have been discussed. But when I do a search, for the life of me I can't find the relative older thread. How long are threads 'archived' here?

Threads are archived for ever...they are easy to find if when you search, change the results to "From the Beginning" and you'll see a lot of older items.

Searching can be for words or phrases. One thing that would greatly help search results is if the original thread starter would include "Tags" in their initial post. We admins try to add them, but honestly it's a lot of work to go into each original post and add tags... you're help would both be appreciated as well as to help return better results.