******Thread Titles - make 'em descriptive*****

Hi all,
have been noticing thread titles like -
"how would i be able to do this..?
"Back to basics"
"help please"

now firstly, I am not singling these out for criticism, except as examples of what will not help others to help you.
Many of the members here also have other work that they do and they often cannot afford the time to read every post to see if they can help.
It will also help with future searches by other members with similar problems.

So, make your title descriptive of your problem, like -
"back to basics" could be better titled "problem with animation in buttons"
"help please" could be better titled "scrambled text on export"
"how would i be able to do this..?" could be better titled "Stopping/controlling imported swf"
The search function is very good here at FK but it searches thread titles and needs something to work with.

One more point to make on this subject ....

We all know how slow the Flashkit Forums can be at times ... Sometimes it takes a couple of minutes just to get into a thread to read it ... Not to mention the time it takes to post a reply ... Descriptive Thread Titles help everyone involved.

Peace,
Cadence

Most that will reply to this are not the offenders.
Those that are probably won't look.

I can see several threads repeating themselves because no one bothered to look before they post.
I can as well see responses to threads in other threads.

I wish you the best of luck getting members to post as they should however don't hold your breath.

Maybe you can have fk post a mandate page before viewing the posts a simple "I will be disciptive in my posts
with agree/disagree buttons. It's really not a bad idea.

frets,
hopefully all mods know they can edit thread titles in their respective forums, as can the originators of the thread.
So we really can push it in the right direction, if we (mods) can be bothered, we can simply edit them after we know what they are about, this might encourage new members to follow suit when they come to the forum and see the type of thread titles that are here already.
If people check email notification, then they will be able to find their thread no matter how different the title from what they started with.
I'm an optimist, I guess,
once this issue is discussed enough, people get the message, I think.
david p.

I will certainly start editing thread titles to have them actually "fit" the thread content ... Besides, I (and other Mods) read nearly every single (and usually every) post that gets posted ... So, I will do my best to help clean things up around here ...

Peaces,
Cadence

bumped so everyone can read it. This is the reason why the search function seems useless to some people, because threads are called 'please help' and not 'problem with load/unload movie into a sprite' or similar.
david p.

A thousand apologies. Just saw this. Even without your reminder, I should have known to be more descriptive. Please change my latest thread, "Bug? Problem? Ignorance?" to something like "Problem with 3D Spin in Mask". Thanks.

LOL! I guess great minds think alike. Thanks, David! :D

Quote:

---

Originally posted by Frets
Most that will reply to this are not the offenders.
Those that are probably won't look.

---

Ummmm you make me sound like a criminal.

Seems a bit harsh since, as a new member, i've only ever posted three topics.

My apologies if my posts were wrongly titled, i'll be more descriptive in future.


Knomad

Knomad,

Don't let it get to ya. I don't think they were angry, just trying to be helpful. But like I said above, if they select the training route, they need to be prepared to redo the same training every day. Time doesn't stand still. People come. People go.

Now go and sin no more! ;)

(For what it's worth, I think you're a valuable asset to the community. And I bet the mods do, too. What they worry about are trolls and such.)

Quote:

---

Originally posted by Knomad

Quote:

---

Originally posted by Frets
Most that will reply to this are not the offenders.
Those that are probably won't look.

---

Ummmm you make me sound like a criminal.

Seems a bit harsh since, as a new member, i've only ever posted three topics.

My apologies if my posts were wrongly titled, i'll be more descriptive in future.


Knomad

---

knomad,
I deliberately set out to not achieve this response. It's not a matter of wrong, just more helpful to all if the thread titles are easily searched.
david p.

I understand this

And understand why, i just felt the comments about "offenders" not bothering to look was a little harsh is all.

Just wanted to make the point that i didnt do anything realsing it was inconsiderate, and that i do bother to look.
This post wasn't in view when i joined, if it had been i wouldn't have ignored it.

I didnt intend my last reply to come across as me being highly offended, was just pointing out that its not necessarily that people dont read just that they dont realise. All though i guess that may not be true in all cases.

Anyway, i took the point on board and will be more useful with my topics.

Knomad :)

I believe David is sincere he's not out to get anyone. He just want's it to be easier for all to reply as well as making it much easier on the search engine when looking for a specific topic.

This is not the first time this topic has been covered here. It is a noble goal. The same thing occured last time this topic was covered much heated debate. My stance at that time was/is similar to yours Knomad when a new member posts they are looking for answers. However at the same time
that thread was active and recieveing much attention from people of over 200 posts. meanwhile at that time most new users didn't bother to respond to the thread. And it was business as usual. Hence my comments about preaching to the saved.

From the looks of the topics currently. It has all the appearances of goals being accomplished. For that kudo's to the mods on editing thread titles.

i personally have changed two titles in this forum since this thread began.
I wouldn't be presuming that the more descriptive titles you are seeing are because of mod edits. I think that members get the drift when they see how descriptive other thread titles are, it's a domino effect and I believe that on the whole it has worked here very well with little reminding.
david p.

David Petley:


This is off topic for this thread, but I wanted to point out a slight bug in your scroller. If you mouse over the "down" button until the text has scrolled as far as possible to the top, then remove your mouse from the button, and mouseover again, the text will jump back to the beginning.

There are, I suppose, several ways to correct this, but a simple fix would be to go to the end of the "move" on the text (in the text sprite), and change the "stop" to "Goto Previous Frame" (play)".

IF this scroller was originally done by a certain unnamed party, it will just be our little secret. Just letting you know that I have since fixed this bug. Oops, did I give it away?

Anyway, I may be mistaken about the orgin of the scroller, but it does bear a striking resemblance to a scroller made by a, um, "friend," of mine :-)


James


If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus Christ,
And believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,
You shall be saved.

Quote:

---

Originally posted by jamescover
David Petley:


This is off topic for this thread, but I wanted to point out a slight bug in your scroller. If you mouse over the "down" button until the text has scrolled as far as possible to the top, then remove your mouse from the button, and mouseover again, the text will jump back to the beginning.

There are, I suppose, several ways to correct this, but a simple fix would be to go to the end of the "move" on the text (in the text sprite), and change the "stop" to "Goto Previous Frame" (play)".

IF this scroller was originally done by a certain unnamed party, it will just be our little secret. Just letting you know that I have since fixed this bug. Oops, did I give it away?

Anyway, I may be mistaken about the orgin of the scroller, but it does bear a striking resemblance to a scroller made by a, um, "friend," of mine :-)


James

---

.....aaah james it was your sprites I used..... i grabbed one of the many examples, I thought it was jofta's solution but it may well have originated from you. If so, very nice. I used it on my dark/light footer as well. When I was having problems making sprites go backward I posted and got a heap of workable solutions.
I will try your bug fix and see if it fixes my bug as well.
cheers,
david p.

David:

Well, I should know my own children, shouldn't I?

At any rate, looks like this is going to be necessary, after all:

"EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY STATED IN ANY AGREEMENT BETWEEN YOU AND JAMESCOVER, ALL CONTENT, SERVICES, PRODUCTS AND SOFTWARE OFFERED BY JAMESCOVER ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. JAMESCOVER DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THOSE OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. YOU ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE APPROPRIATENESS OF ALL MATERIAL AND ITS CONTENT OFFERED BY JAMESCOVER FOR YOUR INTENDED APPLICATION AND USE. JAMESCOVER DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE MATERIAL
HE OFFERS WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS. SUBJECT TO THE TERMS OF ANY AGREEMENT BETWEEN YOU AND JAMESCOVER, JAMESCOVER
SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, EVEN IF JAMESCOVER HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. CERTAIN STATE LAWS DO NOT ALLOW LIMITATIONS ON IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF CERTAIN DAMAGES. IF THESE LAWS APPLY TO YOU, SOME OR ALL OF THE ABOVE DISCLAIMERS, EXCLUSIONS, OR LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU, AND YOU MIGHT HAVE ADDITIONAL RIGHTS--NOT."


Sign Here__________________ :-)



James


What can wash away my sins?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

My god david, Are you in your "i change my footer every week" period?
:D

for what it is worth, i totally agree with David;)

Quote:

---

Originally posted by david petley
i personally have changed two titles in this forum since this thread began.
I wouldn't be presuming that the more descriptive titles you are seeing are because of mod edits. I think that members get the drift when they see how descriptive other thread titles are, it's a domino effect and I believe that on the whole it has worked here very well with little reminding.
david p.

---

Hi mods,
As a newbie, and i'm sure frequent offender of many rules (I still post in the wrong board, site check vs. help). Now I know it's my fault for not reading the "rules of engagment" when I signed up. So I thought maybe requiring new sign-ups to read a VERY basic rules page ie, no foul language, look at previous posts to see if you question has already been answered 50 times in the past two days, etc. But, keep in mind that there might be people out there that can only learn, and create after a long day and may be prone to being a little lazy or not thinking straight, so even if they "know" might be prone to mistakes.

I would like to see more descriptive thread titles to make it easier to find stuff (and it's quicker than waiting for replies, because you mods gotta be busy to make some of the stuff I've seen here).

Maybe a "read and comply or you can't come in" entry form?
I would have appreciated some very basic information that I was (still am <g>) too lazy to read.
"Hang Loose"

Aloha Ahinalu

ahinalu,
your post need not be addressed to moderators only as there are a lot of members here who help a lot and get frustrated by the often repeated questions of newbies (and others).
FYI
This forum once had a WELCOME thread that was always at the top of the page.. set out some friendly suggestions however only put a small dent into issues like Descriptive Thread titles.. ( a hard thing to do BTW when your brand new to something you know little about) Search before you aske etc etc.

Quote:

---

Maybe a "read and comply or you can't come in" entry form?

---

While a valid suggestion it hardley fits what the SWISH community is on about.

A helpful forum is a patient forum that sometimes posts threads like this one ( it does not popup to the top of the list by accident every couple of days) and provides an atmoshphere that soon gets across to new members.
The fact that you have posted here is an example of the impact this forum can have.

Its often been suggested that the TOP THREAD should be titled FAQ's instead of WELCOME but the truth seems to be that most arrive with a problem, post a question to solve their problem, get an answer pretty quick and soon see how the forum operates.
Before long (hopefully) they are helping others as well.

As a HELP forum I guess its hard to be anything other than HELPFUL :)
All suggestions on Forum improvement are appreciated and and thanks for your contribution.

BTW, i cant remember the original rules of Flashkit either come to think of it.

Quote:

---

Originally posted by jofta
ahinalu,
your post need not be addressed to moderators only as there are a lot of members here who help a lot and get frustrated by the often repeated questions of newbies (and others).
FYI
This forum once had a WELCOME thread that was always at the top of the page.. set out some friendly suggestions however only put a small dent into issues like Descriptive Thread titles.. ( a hard thing to do BTW when your brand new to something you know little about) Search before you aske etc etc.

Quote:

---

Maybe a "read and comply or you can't come in" entry form?

---

While a valid suggestion it hardley fits what the SWISH community is on about.

A helpful forum is a patient forum that sometimes posts threads like this one ( it does not popup to the top of the list by accident every couple of days) and provides an atmoshphere that soon gets across to new members.
The fact that you have posted here is an example of the impact this forum can have.

Its often been suggested that the TOP THREAD should be titled FAQ's instead of WELCOME but the truth seems to be that most arrive with a problem, post a question to solve their problem, get an answer pretty quick and soon see how the forum operates.
Before long (hopefully) they are helping others as well.

As a HELP forum I guess its hard to be anything other than HELPFUL :)
All suggestions on Forum improvement are appreciated and and thanks for your contribution.

BTW, i cant remember the original rules of Flashkit either come to think of it.

---

jofta,
I didn't mean "do this or you can't come in" strictly. I meant it in a; ok, you signed up entered name etc., now here's a page with "rules" (for lack of a better word). I know I would have appreciated a little help with proper etiquite (sp? have you guys thought about a spell check option here, as well as the swish program?) ;-). That's all. :-) :-)

Aloha Ahinalu

Ahinalu

Being a forum moderator on other forums as well as operator in chat I can tell you entrance pages rarely stop snerts whom feel it's there right and privledge to stomp on others or assert themselves in a less then productive manner. They come in with total disregard and maintain a level of disrespect after the arrival.

Whilst I side with you that some newbies may have specific requests that they cannot properly express on first try generally speaking afterwards they catch. Sometimes it takes more then a casual glance to achieve this. Hence the need for this topic to be posted. If you notice more closely the moderators and senior members still try to help the unenlightened with there specific swish issues while trying to direct them to the proper method of researching the answer. Very often topic's are not swish centric at all and yet Mod's senoir members will still try to address the issue which is above and beyond thier primary roles. If the mod's really wanted to they could simply delete the posts and would be well within the guidlines.
All in all I think the way the problem is being dealt with is the most fair for all parties involved including and especially Newbies so they to can not only learn the ropes but as well learn how to address issues of others and become true members of the community.

Some good pov's here. I'll read and learn!

Darren

aaaaaark!!!!!
just to bring this back to the top.
Titles like- 'swish problem' or 'help me' don't tell people if your problem is one they can actually help with, nor do they help when people are searching the forum to see if similar problems have already been solved.

If your 'swish problem' is in reality - 'I can't see the report when I use the test function'. Then put 'Problem with Test function' as the thread title.
It's common sense really.
Then when some else searches for 'test function', they will easily find the thread with it's responses. They have no chance at all of finding it if it is called 'swish problem'

please just think about describing your problem in the title.
david p

Had to reply. There's nothing wrong with a reminder every once in a while which, I think was the purpose of the original post.

With a reminder those newcomers will be helped along as well as learn how to do a proper search. Sometimes when stuff becomes a habit we ourselves forget the proper thang to do.

Bumpity, bump.

Too many Newbies and Oldies posting vague subjects. Hurts the search feature and keeps you from getting any real good help as this forum is dog-slow and no one is going to bother reading 'Help with...' if it takes 2 minutes just to be able to view the message.

Spot on Spam Lover... And then if this place ever gets so fast it screams.. STILL MAKE THE THREAD TITLES DESCRIPTIVE :)

Bump
Agreed
Dev

...of course then there's the OTHER kind of poster, who seems to post his/her entire question in the titlebar...

like...

" I can't seem to get my movie to play and I checked everything that I could. Could this be a bug in my computer or in my software?"

Then when you click on the title their entire post reads something like.

" any ideas? "


:p ;)

Please don't get impatient and make more than one post on the same subject!

Same subject/Multiple posts make it to difficult to find and followup on answers.

First, yes to descriptive titles.

Second, this has become one of the biggest forums at FlashKit. How about some sub-forums. As a newbie I am very willing and interested to follow past threads but it can be really frustrating to know where to look.

Third, does this board software let you moderators set up some fixed threads that always show up at the top of the forum? That way you could set up some common, descriptive titles that always show up first so people like me can get a little direction. You would be more in control of the forum.

Great Forum! Fantastic Replies!

Thank you VERY MUCH!!!

Bill

Exellent advice David. Now, you would think that someone with (Posts: 2295) to their name at Flash Kit forums would NOT write a non-descriptive thread title like: "Think you can do this?" wouldn't you? It's not just newbies you see.

Find the thread I refer to below... and see which Flash Kit "Heavywieght" it is writing non-descriptive titles.

Duir.

Quote:

---

Originally posted by Duir
Exellent advice David. Now, you would think that someone with (Posts: 2295) to their name at Flash Kit forums would NOT write a non-descriptive thread title like: "Think you can do this?" wouldn't you? It's not just newbies you see.

Find the thread I refer to below... and see which Flash Kit "Heavywieght" it is writing non-descriptive titles.

Duir.

---

Duir / Movie Mogul
Is there really any need for this type of post.....?

Bump

*bump*
and my 2 cents are here on the subject (scroll down a lil' bit)
http://board.flashkit.com/board/show...5&pagenumber=2

Maybe if someone posted a topic
"totally awesome FK feature"
and linked it to this thread

:) Well put

ok...who let this one get 8 pages deep? :D

Can't this be made a "sticky" thread at the top?

Sure wish it could be.... sometimes ...KLT :)