32 replies to this topic

[Shadows]

A word from the Staff about posting

Recently, we've noticed a rash of odd posting habits that detract from the overall Eurobricks experience, so I'd like to take this moment to remind some of you of the basic posting standards that we look for.

• Sentences begin with a capital letter and end with some form of punctuation.
  
• Sentences are separated by a space, or placed on separate lines when starting a new paragraph.
  
• Making lots of short posts may increase your post count, but they also increase your chances of being asked to leave the site. If you have something meaningful to add to a conversation, it will probably consist of more than one sentence. And those sentences will be separated by a space. Or a line.
  
• It isn't always necessary to start a new thread. Go to the appropriate subforum or theme and look around. You will probably find that there is already a thread about your topic, or one very close that you could add your comment to. Each theme forum includes a thread discussing the new sets for the year, so if you want to comment on one of them, that's the place for it.
  
• When you reply to a post, it isn't necessary to quote the whole thing, just include the part you need to reply to, whether it be a sentence or an image. If you're quoting the entire post complete with 500 words and 10 images just to say "that's nice", don't.

Finally, we want you to have fun, we sincerely do. We appreciate a good joke and make plenty of them ourselves, but if that is all you are posting, or you find yourself mostly participating in non-LEGO topics, you might want to reconsider your choice of forum, since in the end, we are a LEGO site, and it is LEGO that we are here to discuss.

We don't want to spend a lot of wasted time trying to sort through spammy posting and lazy grammar, and we doubt you do either, so set a good example and hope that others will follow.

Keep these things in mind and remember that as an AFOL site, we look for a certain level of maturity, and you'll do great.

Thank you for your consideration.

~ The Eurobricks Staff

(reposted as a topic from a former frontpage reminder)

[RileyC]

I feel that we can all learn a lesson from this post. If we all start refining our post, it will trickle down to the people that aren't editing their own posts and we will se a great impact on the discussions. I know there are a lot of people on EB and English is a second language. Its great that they are trying which is terrific. However they are not where the problem lies. Its usually the ones that just want some posts. I always believe that quality will always beat quantity.

A great discussion has been brought up in the Star Wars forum which has made some good discussion instead of page after page of one-two sentence posts. I love it when an old discussion has been bought up by someone that wants to participate in it and has some great points to make. It has been a great success, and front paged!

Edited by Roncanator, 28 November 2010 - 11:16 PM.

[Ratshot]

I admit, I used to post a lot just to get my count up. After a while I realized that it was rather silly so I decided to stop. Having lots and lots of posts doesn't mean a thing, like Roncanator said "quality will always beat quantity". A very good statement Roncanator !

Edited by Ratshot, 28 November 2010 - 03:04 PM.

[The Soup Nazi]

I have noticed this lately too. More and more people are being sent into the Chamber. Though I have to admit, I did just say 'Nice, great job!' in the beginning.

[Mrlegoninja]

Roncanator, on 28 November 2010 - 10:05 AM, said:

I love it when a old discussion has been bought up by someone that wants to participate in it and has some great points to make

Don't you mean an?
I admit sometimes I post little sentences. Other times I post meaningful sentences.
I think I will do more of the latter.

[RileyC]

Mrlegoninja, on 28 November 2010 - 07:30 PM, said:

Don't you mean an?
I admit sometimes I post little sentences. Other times I post meaningful sentences.
I think I will do more of the latter.

Shh!
Just a typo that doesn't really impede the sentence. Kind of ironic though

[Big Cam]

I've always found it annoying when people quote numerous pictures.  I never see a need for this.

All of Shadows points will only make threads easier and more enjoyable to read.  Great reminder Shadows!

[JimButcher]

Big Cam, on 30 November 2010 - 01:38 AM, said:

I've always found it annoying when people quote numerous pictures.  I never see a need for this.

Or a need to quote any at all. If you just cut out the pictures and leave the text around it, the person you're replying to should know which picture you're talking about.

Are quoting pictures still prohibited here?

[Brickdoctor]

JimButcher, on 30 November 2010 - 02:26 AM, said:

Or a need to quote any at all. If you just cut out the pictures and leave the text around it, the person you're replying to should know which picture you're talking about.

Are quoting pictures still prohibited here?

Same here. I never quote pictures.

[Jebediahs]

Shadows, on 28 November 2010 - 07:52 AM, said:

...as an AFOL site, we look for a certain level of maturity...]

This is the reason (other than LEGO theme) why EB is my favorite forum. That terrible L337 speak and other unnecessary types of shorthand that lead to the decline of the English language aren't tolerated.

I do quote pictures sometimes but only when the original image was featured many pages before my post and/or if the topic has gone so far off track for so long that everyone could use a friendly reminder as to what we should be posting about.

LEGO UNIVERSE!

[Izzy]

Thank You Shadows for making this reminder for everybody to read. I think it is so important that everyone tries their damned hardest to keep all posts up to the highest standards. It is not hard to quickly check over your post to make sure it is all looking good before you press the post button, and there is always the edit button if you miss something. It can and will only make Eurobricks and you individually shine brighter.

I also feel that is not necessary to quote what someone has said if you are replying straight after them. It makes a thread so much easier and quicker to read if you are not reading half of the thread twice.  

In this day and age in an adult forum, I think there is no excuse for someone to reply "That is nice!" to a MOC that someone has spend hours or days (and in some cases months) working on. There is so much that we can comment on in different MOCs and everyone has a unique perspective when looking at it. We are here in this community to not only show off to each other, but to hopefully help each other learn more about LEGO and building techniques.

I feel that if you can not think of more than a few words to say in in response to a MOC you are not looking hard enough.

[Ricecracker]

In the three years I've been here, I've seen a dramatic increase in post quality, but recently I have seen a decline in post quality. Thank you Shadows for putting up this reminder.

Additionally, short comments and bad grammar will enforce bad habits in the future, which really won't help you at all. So, even if not for others, you might want to consider reading your comments a few times before clicking the 'Add Reply' button.

[spaced_out]

Aye!

I do compleately agree with all your points mates!

MATT

[Erik Leppen]

JimButcher, on 30 November 2010 - 02:26 AM, said:

Or a need to quote any at all. If you just cut out the pictures and leave the text around it, the person you're replying to should know which picture you're talking about.

A little tip that I usually use: if you quote a post containing (somewhat large) pictures, you can change the IMG tags to URL tags and change the image into a link. This way the image is still in the quote, but without stretching the page :)

[Capt.JohnPaul]

Bravo for reminding us all! I've been seeing lots of people using texting language and ALL CAPS. They also have so much spelling and grammar errors their typing is illegible. As for lots of posting, maybe I should watch my posting, but last time I checked, it said on average, "Post Count: 1.44 posts a day."    So I'm wondering if this is good or bad. Anyone want to tell me their post count to compare mine with?  

[Shadows]

Capt.JohnPaul, on 01 December 2010 - 01:07 AM, said:

As for lots of posting, maybe I should watch my posting, but last time I checked, it said on average, "Post Count: 1.44 posts a day."    So I'm wondering if this is good or bad. Anyone want to tell me their post count to compare mine with?  

I would say that's a reasonable count, assuming they aren't 1.44 posts of crap a day.

[Capt.JohnPaul]

Shadows, on 01 December 2010 - 05:51 AM, said:

I would say that's a reasonable count, assuming they aren't 1.44 posts of crap a day.

Posts of crap..... you mods sure have those.... um.. weird things to say..    Do you guys like, write these on a piece of paper and see when you could use these?   If so, you have WAY to much time on your hands.  

[Shadows]

Capt.JohnPaul, on 01 December 2010 - 11:32 PM, said:

Posts of crap..... you mods sure have those.... um.. weird things to say..    Do you guys like, write these on a piece of paper and see when you could use these?   If so, you have WAY to much time on your hands.  

I can't speak for anyone else, but personally I just come up with these things when I read posts like the one you just made.

[Capt.JohnPaul]

Shadows, on 02 December 2010 - 04:01 AM, said:

I can't speak for anyone else, but personally I just come up with these things when I read posts like the one you just made.

Yep.... sure you don't. I'm just kidding!   Other mods and admins: Come on, don't be shy, tell us the truth!  

[Izzy]

I don't know what you are trying to do here Capt JohnPaul. But if you actually read the thread that you are posting in you would realise that going off topic like this is not a wise idea.

Quote

Making lots of short posts may increase your post count, but they also increase your chances of being asked to leave the site. If you have something meaningful to add to a conversation, it will probably consist of more than one sentence.

I feel that this thread is terribly important for all members to read, and I have noticed a marked change in the posting habits of certain members. This is good! We all want to stay around in join in the fun that Eurobricks has to offer.

Please try to stay on topic.

[Capt.JohnPaul]

Cutlass Iz, on 04 December 2010 - 12:33 AM, said:

I don't know what you are trying to do here Capt JohnPaul. But if you actually read the thread that you are posting in you would realise that going off topic like this is not a wise idea.



I feel that this thread is terribly important for all members to read, and I have noticed a marked change in the posting habits of certain members. This is good! We all want to stay around in join in the fun that Eurobricks has to offer.

Please try to stay on topic.

I'm sorry, I'll stay on topic from now on, you aren't the first person who warned me.

[Geertos13]

I agree with all of you who already said " It isn't that hard to write a correct comment" or things like " preview the post first" or even "Speak English" !

Myself, living in a non-speaking country, and as not beeing English myself, Can't make perfect posts without a single small error. We can make errors, that's Normal ! But as far as I know, Eurobricks doesn't refuse members that aren't perfect at English. I'm not a perfect english Speaker, and this post might contain erros or mistakes. However I always try to write in a correct english and I preview my posts to check them. If I forget it, and notice an error afterwards, I correct it with the "edit" tool.

Come on Guys It can't be that hard !
At least, try it !

[Isaac5]

I posted a few posts before this, sorry if they didn't exactly follow these guidelines. I am used to a forum where these things aren't quite as important. anyway, are there any other rule topics I am unaware of?

[Geertos13]

Well, Isaac5 not to be impolite, but aren't you supposed to have read the Site Guidelines ? Including the posting standarts ?
Be sure to read the Members Guidelines

[dragunov]

The Soup Nazi, on 28 November 2010 - 05:56 PM, said:

I have noticed this lately too. More and more people are being sent into the Chamber. Though I have to admit, I did just say 'Nice, great job!' in the beginning.

What is the chamber? Anyway, I do my best to keep up with forum rules like these (and if I had not joined brickarms forums and CABG first I'd had probably been banned within a month.)