jmelby wrote:Why do you say "No responses" when you have had a couple of thoughtful responses and you haven't taken the time to respond to the questions posed to help you better?
I agree wholeheartedly.
bprater, you have a valid question. Hopefully after a few responses here you will have a better understanding of the dynamics of the forum. You've already gotten some really good comments.
As a new forum member please remember that responding and posting takes time and effort, for both you and the responders. You garner a lot of good will when you take the time to acknowledge a response. What's a reasonable time span? I would say no longer than one day at the outset of a thread. It's only reasonable to expect that if someone has a question they will be monitoring for responses as soon as they can. A simple thank you lets the responders know you have read the posts. And please be sure to answer questions. This also helps to keep the thread near the beginning of the list of topics. In case you haven't noticed messages scroll quite fast here. I dare say if the topic gets pushed off the first page it's in danger of being ignored, and if it gets pushed beyond the second page you can pretty much kiss it goodbye.
Another recommendation. Give serious thought to how you word the subject line. A subject line that clearly states the issue at hand will garner a lot more responses than one that leaves the forum members saying, "Huh?" In fact on this thread it would be helpful if you would have repeated the subject of the original post with wording on the order of, "Why no responses to ......?" And a link to the original post would be nice also. I for one really have no hankering to start looking for the post you are referring to, but if you would have included a link in your first post here I probably would at least look at it.
Use friendly wording. Posts that come across as angry or combative will be ignored. When I say angry I'm referring to how you write, not what you are feeling. Many posters are angry about their diagnosis, or frustrations with their machine. Those will be answered. But if you are expressing anger at the forum members, or your doctor, or even just at the world in general, you will be ignored. For the record, I do not consider your first post in this thread as angry or combative.
I have no idea how the post you are referring to was written, as I don't think I've read it, so I'm not attacking what you posted. I'm just giving you my opinion on what works, and what doesn't.
And once in while you just plain strike out. I did recently with the thread I started about multiple logins. No responses at all. I just figure it's a subject people are not interested in and that's the way it is.
EDIT: I just read some of the other responses and want to second the comments about using the Search function. You gain a hellavu lot points if you explain that you have used the search and can't find a suitable answer, or found some answers but still have questions. Demonstrating initiative in looking for answers for yourself, and explaining what you've done, gets you a long way here, and in any forum. And please, as others have said, know your equipment exactly. If you're not sure of the name, say so. There's no harm in not knowing. But there is harm in not being accurate.
