Stay On Topic!
As a good practice in life, we should
Stay On Topic.
Sadly not everyone knows this! Some people ramble.
Here is some basic tips for staying on topic while posting.
1) A Board is Addressed to the WORLD- At least to anyone with the rights to read it. Your post is addressed to the topic of that board. If your post is addressed to less than that, like if you want to post something
to one person or even
to a group of people (unless it is a group board!),
it should NOT be posted on a community board!Either post your message in a P.M. or an Email,
NOT on a Board. Or rewrite your post to ADD something to the Topic, Addressed to Everyone!
2) A Topic is what is in the Subject:When you click on New Topic, Take time and enter the Subject with Care, it is your Topic. The Topic/Subject is the MOST important things you will write, does it contain what you are writing about?
3) Always look at the Topic.When you reply to a Post...
Is what you are writing about THAT TOPIC? Maybe you have something related to say - then OPEN A NEW TOPIC FOR THAT! You will show people how SMART you are by
ONLY POSTING ON TOPIC!
4) ADD to the Topic.Some people write post that say things like, "at-a-boy" or "I really liked that post" or "keep the post flowing" or "let's get more people involved" or "maybe we could expand that idea this way!" (Usually an off topic idea.) These make good P.M.'s but have no place on the Board - think about it, in a way it is addressed to one person or a group and it does NOT ADD to the TOPIC!
So Don't Post It! If the TOPIC is how to make pancakes,
none of that
adds to the TOPIC!But on the topic of how to make pancakes someone posts their grandmother's family recipe and someone else post,
"I added blueberries to mine! Yummy!" That is on topic!
"I replace the white sugar with brown sugar and add a table spoon of cinnamon and my kids love them!" Is likewise on topic because it
ADDS TO THE TOPIC!Then if someone says,
"Gee everybody, thanks for the great ideas, they are all so wonderful and I hope you keep posting them!" Hold On, that is
WAY OFF TOPIC because
IT ADDS NOTHING TO THE TOPIC!5) Don't Ramble into another Topic.Sometimes people post 2 or 3 or 4 Topics and wonder why they do not get good answers. The problem is simple, you should be posting on 2 or 3 or 4 Different Topics!
One Post Per Topic!
6) Don't Violate the Board Topic.Each Board Has A GREATER and a Lesser Topic! This post is:
North High Saxons > IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS > LATEST WEBSITE NEWS > Stay On Topic
Each one is a Topic. Here, let me show you a better example...
North High Saxons > Class of... > 1970's > 1973 >
Reunion 2008 - 35 Years! (Moderator: Jeff Tanner) > Who is Coming to the Reunion? > Who is Coming to the Reunion? - That is the Topic or Subject! All post here should be about who is coming to some reunion...
> Reunion 2008 - 35 Years! (Moderator: Jeff Tanner) > - This lists the topic of the board. Everything in that board should be about a 35th Reunion in 2008
> 1970's > 1973 > This Board has something to do with the topic of the 1970's and 1973 in particular.
> Class of... > So now we know it is about the topic of the Class Of!
So far we know the topics are who is coming to the 35th class reunion of the some class of the 1970's, specifically 1973... The Community name gives us that final topic...
North High Saxons >This is
not about Redondo High Sea Hawks!
To post
On Topic, your post here would have to be about
who is coming to the 35th class reunion of the some class of the 1970's, specifically 1973, of North High Saxons!7) Use Common Sense!My grandfather told me that common sense isn't so common anymore. You are using your time and the readers time. Make it count. "A Great Post!" is something you put in a P.M. or an I.M. or maybe even in an email if it really helped you a lot.
NOT on the Board!If you put it on the board, the board alerts everyone to read it and they go there and that waste their time!
BE SMART
STAY ON TOPIC!
