05-13-2003, 03:25 PM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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Please Do Not Cross-Post
I can't believe I have to say this on the front page, but in the past two days we've had several people cross-post to multiple forums. So, for the record, cross-posting to multiple forums is not allowed here. Forum software does not work like UseNet (NNTP): every message in our forums has its own ID. So when you post to three forums, not only do you force everyone to read your message three times, our "Last Ten Posts" starts to look a little silly:
Please resist the urge to cross-post. Trust that your one and only post will be seen and responded to. :wink:
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05-13-2003, 03:37 PM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Sep 2002
Posts: 85
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it does look funny
lol, it does look funny, just thought I'd get the first word in.
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05-13-2003, 03:41 PM
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Thinker
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 416
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Part of the problem is probably that someone posts, then presses the "back" button, then accidentally (for whatever reason) hits the "submit" button again, and re-posts to the same forum... although in the case you're talking about there were 2 in the same forum, and 1 elsewhere, which would maybe indicate an accidental submit, and also a crosspost. :?
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"And then she understood the devilish cunning of the enemies' plan. By mixing a little truth with it they had made their lie far stronger."-C.S. Lewis
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05-13-2003, 03:44 PM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by lurch
Part of the problem is probably that someone posts, then presses the "back" button, then accidentally (for whatever reason) hits the "submit" button again, and re-posts to the same forum... although in the case you're talking about there were 2 in the same forum, and 1 elsewhere, which would maybe indicate an accidental submit, and also a crosspost. :?
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Duplicate posts happen now and then, due to user error or server glitches, and that's ok. I'm more concerned about the purposeful "I'm going to post this in three groups so people will see it" type of messages. :wink:
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05-13-2003, 04:02 PM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 1,043
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There are a few of these people in every forum. bbyrd0 at PocketPCPassion and mlp at Brighthand are just a couple of glaring examples. These two are very different, the former being genuinely enthusiastic and trying very hard to be helpful, the latter being a little $#�� disturber. Just last night the former posted in two locations that AOL 2.0 is available. Lots of bold face, underlines, and italics thrown around to make sure we get the point, that this is REALLY REALLY COOL, and then the admission that he doesn't even use AOL. Good grief.
I wonder if these types ever noticed that there's a 'view newest posts' option, or if their ignorance of that fact is at the root of the problem. Nah, doubt it. I think it's ego.
Then there was the long-standing problem back before PPC 2002 where everyone owning an iPAQ posted every... single... thread... to the iPAQ forums. It meant that if one wanted to help, regardless of what device one had, looking through the iPAQ forums was essential. I posted probably 75% of my answers to problems in 'iPAQ' threads, though the problems posted were almost all OS problems of lack of understanding, not at all model-specific. On the flip side, if one of us Casio users asked something in the Casio or the General PPC areas, the threads died quickly due to a complete lack of iPAQ user interest. We were invisible.
So now we see these repeaters, hammering away trying to spam all the territories with whatever is their little piece of importance, and one rule has become perfectly clear; the message offered is almost never important. If you see any title repeated twice or more, ignore the thread. Don't click/tap on it. It's almost guaranteed to be a pure waste of bandwidth. And if you do open it, and find that indeed it is garbage, report all but the post in the appropriate forum to moderators. One way or another, by ignoring them or hitting them with mod-actions, we've got to deal with these wee men. And they almost all are just that, teenaged boys. Never once yet have I seen a girl/woman do this, nor a male over 18. Oh, okay, I forgot developers. Every once in a while some excitable developer spams a host of forums with identical messages. This is especially noticeable over on pocketnow, with some developers hitting more than 6 places almost at the same time. While I suppose they are adults, they do seem to be fairly young anyway. Probably a degeneration of mental maturity due to excesses of coding. 
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Gerard Ivan Samija
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05-13-2003, 04:51 PM
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Thinker
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 361
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Besides the 'look at me' syndrome, I think there are a couple of reasons cross-posting takes place. One, is that there seem to be, IMHO, a few too many forums. Some might just want to make sure their message gets out legitimately. That said, do front page forums really need to be seperate from regular forums? On more than one occassion I have gone looking for a post, only to find it in a parallel universe. ;-) OFF-TOPIC/Off-Topic and SOFTWARE/Software are just a couple of examples.
The other reason, I think, is that people come in here all gang-busters, posting away without first getting a feeling for the site. PPCT may have 9,196 registered users, but in reality this is a pretty tight-knit community. All it takes is a few days to realize that there are a pretty consistent group of regulars who roam the forums and rarely let something slip through the cracks.
I have no solution for the latter problem, but maybe paring things down a bit might resolve the first? Anyone agree with me, or am I just hallucinating? Anyone have any ideas on how to get the noobs familiar with site protocol?
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05-13-2003, 05:11 PM
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Oracle
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 952
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I like the samller is better idea but...
It's actually quite perverse, attempts at acquainting people with nettiquette usually lead to even worse behavior. Just my 2 cents. 
Don't Panic!
Bobby
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05-13-2003, 05:53 PM
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Theorist
Join Date: Apr 2002
Posts: 284
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Re: I like the samller is better idea but...
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Originally Posted by Don't Panic!
It's actually quite perverse, attempts at acquainting people with nettiquette usually lead to even worse behavior. Just my 2 cents. |
Still, one has no choice but to try. Jason's approach is probably best because it appears on the front page that everyone sees. Cross posting coupled with starting new threads on old, discussed @ length topics is one of the major turn offs with visiting forums. Features such as "view new topics/posts" and "search" need to stand out. A newbie FAQ would help and I think BrightHand considered doing so at one point but I haven't seen a FAQ. If newbies were redirected to a rules/FAQ page after filling out their registration forms this may help. However, it would not address the issue raised above with more seasoned members of the various forums cross posting. 
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05-13-2003, 06:02 PM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 85
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Also most posters lack the patients of waiting for someone to reply to there message. In there inpatient little mind, they think that if they post enough times in enough places they will get a faster response. It is the same way with driving and those people who think that if they ride your bumper they will get wherever they are trying to go much faster.
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Note to self: Why don't you ever listen to me?
We the un willing led by the unqualified for so long with so little we now attempt the impossible with nothing
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05-13-2003, 06:11 PM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by trachy
That said, do front page forums really need to be seperate from regular forums? On more than one occassion I have gone looking for a post, only to find it in a parallel universe. ;-) OFF-TOPIC/Off-Topic and SOFTWARE/Software are just a couple of examples.
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Yes, we do need those. The reason why is that those forums at the bottom of the forum page are linked to the front page, while the others are not. We could hide them, since people can't post to them, but then how would people read them? :-)
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