UAATT (Or: Using Acronyms As Topic Titles)

[Ragnarok]

Some of you may have noticed my rant earlier, but I'm moving it here.

I don't want to see any more acronyms used as topic titles in an attempt to get people to read your topic. Use a proper title, because:

1) It's against the forum rules to use topic titles that don't adequately explain what the topic is.

2) More views won't help unless they're from the people who can help you out, and those people are the people who'll come and look anyway if you've got a sensible topic title.

3) It's bloody annoying, makes using the search engine harder, and just gets everything muddled together.

To demonstrate to people why it's annoying, I pledge at this point that any posts I make in the threads of anybody who has used an acronym as a topic title will also be compressed into an acronym. That is, you'll get just the first letter of each of the words in my post.
This will be regardless of how much I would actually like to help or how much I actually know the subject at hand.

I call upon other people who are annoyed at ill titled topics to do the same (or just refuse to respond, but it's my habit to fight fire with fire.)

[jonnyboy]

I agree, most of the things this forum discusses interests me but some things don't and clicking on topic titles that appear to have been typed by a drunk blind monkey drive me crazy.

On a side note you'll also get more feedback if your topic title isn't your whole post, and it's made to fit on the left side bar.

But now I question responding to this topic as it breaks my earlier stance.

[jrrdw]

What threads are you talking about and next time PM the mods. What your talking about amounts to the start of flamimg wars and thats not allowed.

[frankrede]

Some of you may have noticed my rant earlier, but I'm moving it here.

I don't want to see any more acronyms used as topic titles in an attempt to get people to read your topic. Use a proper title, because:

1) It's against the forum rules to use topic titles that don't adequately explain what the topic is.

2) More views won't help unless they're from the people who can help you out, and those people are the people who'll come and look anyway if you've got a sensible topic title.

3) It's bloody annoying, makes using the search engine harder, and just gets everything muddled together.

To demonstrate to people why it's annoying, I pledge at this point that any posts I make in the threads of anybody who has used an acronym as a topic title will also be compressed into an acronym. That is, you'll get just the first letter of each of the words in my post.
This will be regardless of how much I would actually like to help or how much I actually know the subject at hand.

I call upon other people who are annoyed at ill titled topics to do the same (or just refuse to respond, but it's my habit to fight fire with fire.)

With no intention of starting an argument with a Brit on the Fourth of July, I don't see why it wouldn't be appropriate under the showcase sections.

[Ragnarok]

It's happened a few times. People do it because it forces people to have to open the topic to find out what it's actually about.
I'm not having a go at anyone in particular with my topics for today, just trying to emphasise common courtesy to other forum members and encourage common sense.

And yes, frankrede, if you've actually got an acronym for a cannon name, using that in the topic title would be fine - and indeed, there is my own "High Efficiency Air Launcher".
What I'm talking about is a topic title being turned into an acronym where not appropriate - for example, if I had just used the acronym in the title of this thread.

[inonickname]

Yeh, I hate it.

Like the guy that made the topic: IHTABATMT (I hope this acronym brings attention to my topic).

[frankrede]

Oh, I see now.
I don't frequent this forum as much as I used to, I must have not seen them.
Very well then, you do make an excellent point in that case.

[pizlo]

w y s m f i t y a b a c s o a b w y t y a s c, n r c w y t a w y l:)

Nah I agree with you, maybe stiky this for a few days.

[Ragnarok]

@inonickname: Almost, but it was IHTAHBATMT Seriously.

It's not really hit big use yet, but I just thought I'd be blunt now, and nip it in the bud promptly rather than have people get it into their head that it was a sensible way of bringing attention to a topic.

No more, please. If you can't even do your fellow users the decency of using sensible topic titles, then why should they use their time to do you the favour of answering your questions?

[psycix]

I agree. Unless the acronym is the name of someones cannon, acronyms should be avoided in topic titles.

[starman]

Yeah it's annoying but people can name their cannons * just about * anything they well please. However, they shouldn't complain when their cannon is forgotten in the historical soup of ridiculously incomprehensible acronyms.

[Brian the brain]

I agree

Yeh,

Nah I agree with you

I agree.

Yeah

Well... ....I love it! It saves me a lot of trouble.
I know in advance it's just gonna be about another ghetto piece of junk or some incorrect theory.

" I'm planning on building this system where I take plutonium found in babyfood, compress it using a vacuume pump and burn it so it implodes into a giant ball of frozen raspberries, killing me and my family in the process cause I hate my neighbour.
All I need to know from you guys is what's the pressure rating on a pack of gum and what type of truck engine to get for cheap to use on my new mini.Ball valves rule!!!"

Ain't got the time for it...sorry...

Delete all the dumb stuff, all the help me posts that have been answered 50 times before and get some space back on the server...

[jonnyboy]

One thing I like about the forum is that its fairly forgiving but there needs to be more consequence for posting a help me question about how to make a piston valve that has been answered at least 100 times before that.

[john bunsenburner]

I agree a bit of discipline would do this forum good. Now where roguesci has been shut down, we can take it's role, when it comes to rules, and people following them. Really the big problem is, and this is not meant to be offensive, often times mods miss a post or topic that deserves to be deleted/locked, then members turn to mods, everyone who flames gets a pm, and the moron who started it all gets away with little or no punishment.
Perhaps we could make a list of FAQs, answer them all from topics already posted. Call it The FAQ sticky, and then we delete all the help me posts about these questions. Then no one will complain about not being capable to find the answer, its all in one place, and we have some space, sound good?
Rag, unlike most here I agree to you(i am being sarcastic!) and thank you for this thread!

[Ragnarok]

I agree a bit of discipline would do this forum good. Now where roguesci has been shut down, we can take it's role, when it comes to rules, and people following them.

Having moderated more than a few sites, I'm fine with moderate diversions from "perfect foruming", and the odd bending of the precise wording of a rule - but outright rule breaking or things that are just plain discourteous to fellow members are when I tend to come down fast and decisively.

A little less laxity could probably do the site good. Not as far as the hard-line kind of thing that was seen on roguesci, but at least a little more policing.