Forum Etiquette

[Richard_Less (imported)]

There are etiquette protocols for all aspects in life; dining in public, going to the theatre, sharing the road, etc.

I find that posting also requires certain etiquette. There have been countless posts which painfully lack etiquette or common courtesy.

For example:

Quotes

When quoting a post, please consider is it even necessary, then quote only the relevant part.

So many people quote the entire post only to make a one line comment. This just makes the thread take up more space, takes longer to read/scroll through, etc. This is especially annoying when the quote is an entire article already at the top of the thread. There was even a post today where the FIRST reply to a brand new topic quoted the original post entirely. Why even quote it when your reply is immediately below it? Why even quote at all if the thread has stayed on course?

Fonts/Colour/Formatting

Some people use a large font size or "ALL CAPS" for their entire post - text equivalent to shouting.

Some choose colours that are difficult to read. It's one thing to highlight a few words or sentences, but an entire post in yellow is quite hard on the eyes. You're not producing some sales flyer here so just Keep-It-Simple. If you must use colours, please choose something easy to read.

Also, be sure to break up large posts with appropriate line/paragraph breaks. A sea of text can look as though you're looking at the code of the Matrix.

Spelling/Grammar

There is a spell checker available when making a post so please use it. I realize that some people here do not have English as their native language so there are bound to be grammatical and spelling errors but for those whom English is their 1st (and/or only) language, basic grammar should not be an issue.

Also, you most likely have a full sized keyboard at your disposal so there is no need for "txt" style writing.

I just had to rant on these pet peeves of mine. I know many have the same issues as they pop up within offending threads all the time.

[markle (imported)]

[cut]

Amen

markle