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Advanced Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: Yesterday @ 10:42:17 PM
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The whole purpose of this forum is to be able to have open discussion between members, to share our experiences, and to ask questions and receive help and advice.
However, there is frequently confusion between forum members that gets in the way of those objectives, and I think that a good portion of that strife stems from people not knowing how to post EFFECTIVE questions so as to get useful answers.
As a result of this observation, I've come up with what I think is a helpful guide to posting questions and requests for advice so that more forum members can get the help they're seeking with as little confrontation as possible.
1. BE SPECIFIC - Don't expect someone to know your situation, even if you've posted about a particular horse or problem before. I know that I read hundreds of forum postings (here and elsewhere) and emails every day, and it's nearly impossible for me to keep everyone and their horses straight - I'm sure the same is true for many of the people here. So begin posts by refreshing everyone's memories and then give as much pertinent information as possible regarding your situation.
For example, a "bad" post might read: "My horse is spooky. What should I do?"
That doesn't give people much information, and you're going to get a lot of people asking questions and looking for more detail before they can help you.
A better post might read: "My green broke four year old gelding is spooky. It seems to be worse when he's under saddle, or when there's a lot of activity. I'm an intermediate level English rider, and I'm not currently working with a trainer. What can I do to help him calm down and focus on me?"
That gives us all some information, and you're much more likely to get a helpful, insightful answer up front.
2. USE PROPER GRAMMAR AND SPELLING - IM/texting abbreviations are difficult to read in this format, are distracting, and can confuse people who aren't familiar with them. Also, the forum software has a handy spell-check feature, it even underlines misspelled words in red - USE IT! It only takes a moment to let the computer check for misspelled words, and taking the time to do it makes reading and understanding posts so much easier for everyone involved. Grammar is a bit more tricky, but if you slow down your typing a little bit, and carefully read through your post before you hit the "send" button, you'll likely catch the majority of mistakes. Finally, be sure to capitalize where necessary and use correct punctuation. If you're not sure what's right, that's fine, but at least try. I personally find it very hard to reply to things when I can't tell where one sentence ends and another begins.
3. REVIEW FORUM RULES BEFORE YOU POST - If you're not sure if something is appropriate or allowed, check out the rules or ask a mod/the admin or even a senior forum member. It's better to ask ahead of time, then have a post deleted and not know where it went. But chances are you already know that the off-topic/RPG/contest isn't acceptable, so why bother to clutter up the boards with it?
4. THINK BEFORE YOU POST - Just as in real life, you make your own reputation on the forums. Show respect to others and respect will be given back to you. Avoid personal attacks, and don't get defensive if you don't get the reception you were expecting. It's OK to disagree with someone, and no one can make you take the advice you're given, so there's no real point in starting a fight. Simply be polite and gracious, even if you don't agree with what someone has said, or else ignore them. Speak your mind freely, but do so with decorum and maturity. Debate and discussion are wonderful things and the lifeblood of this forum and any other, but realize that what you say has a definite impact on how others view your online persona.
That's about it :)
Hopefully this article reminds us all what this forum is really about - People helping people help their horses in a friendly, informative atmosphere.
"Quick fixes, by their nature, fix nothing; that's why they're repetitive."
-Dr. Laura
"It's better to ride even if you get thrown, then to wind up just wishing you had."
- Chris LeDoux
My Blog: http://equinesolutions.blogspot.com/
Follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/woodrowsmommy
For help on posting: http://board.horsechannel.com/Topic188135-4-1.aspx
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Advanced Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 11/5/2009 5:37:39 PM
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And a few add on's, if I may, Woodrow...
5. Please attempt to make your subject line informative. 'Help' may be just what you need, but 'Help with my spooky horse' is likely to get you more responses and in a timely manner.
6. Please try and contribute something when posting. There is nothing wrong with adding on an, "I agree" but having half of your post count consisting of, "Yep", "Sounds good" or "I agree with so and so" simply clutters up the boards.
7. Have a little patience. Give your post some time to be read and responded to. Keep in mind that the members here are in different time zones, so what may be the middle of the day for you could find half of the members tucked in bed. Bumping posts repeatedly and/or begging for responses only serves to annoy other members.
8. Please be respectful of the time and effort that someone else has put into *your* problem. If you ask for help with your horse and receive a thoughtful in-depth answer with possible solutions, you don't have to agree (or even use them) but at least take the time to repost to your topic and acknowledge those responses. There are far too many members that initiate a post, receive a half dozen insightful answers and then are never heard from again on that topic.
Laura
"It is the difficult horses that have the most to give you" - Lendon Gray
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Advanced Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: Yesterday @ 5:00:58 PM
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| do you mind if i add? 9. when you put up a critique you are asking for comments wether or not you strait out and said that. please do not get angry at people that are a bit harsh as that is no different than a real trainer would be. If you do not like waht they have told you then you do not have to listen, but you can keeep this to yourself
 
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Average Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 11/16/2009 5:50:48 PM
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| Thank you! I think everyone could use some reminders once in a while! If you don't mind... 10) Dont be too over sensitive. Don't jump to conclusions that everyone hates you and thinks your a bad rider because most of time they don't know your situation. Like if you say My horse always rears and I fall off ann tips? Many people would say Get a trainer and/or a new horse. And then you realize you forgot to mention you have a trainer. Many people are being honest and come out sounding mean. And I just tried spell check..It is really neat!
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Advanced Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 10/3/2009 10:23:50 PM
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Visits: 1,377
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| Kudos to Woodrow and Amen. Lol this was a much needed topic :)
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Advanced Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: Yesterday @ 10:42:17 PM
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Thanks for the additions Laura and Maddie. :)
TBwonder - I had just noticed that there's a lot of traffic on this board, and a lot of people seeking feedback/advice - only to get discouraged when they don't get what they're looking for. It just made sense to help people learn HOW to post rather than trying to address individuals. I think that I'm going to put a link to this topic in my siggy, and refer back to it when I'm having trouble deciphering what someone wants.
"Quick fixes, by their nature, fix nothing; that's why they're repetitive."
-Dr. Laura
"It's better to ride even if you get thrown, then to wind up just wishing you had."
- Chris LeDoux
My Blog: http://equinesolutions.blogspot.com/
Follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/woodrowsmommy
For help on posting: http://board.horsechannel.com/Topic188135-4-1.aspx
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Junior Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 3/3/2009 4:37:17 PM
Posts: 128,
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Great Post!
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Junior Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 10/23/2009 7:00:58 AM
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Yeah, I agree that everything that was mentioned was something that has needed to be addressed for quite some time, but the problem is, how to get it to become a reality? Over half the kids on the site don't reread what they wrote let alone use spell check!! Like was stated, you have to sit there and decipher alot of the questions due to the spelling. It would be great if we could get it to become a thing of the present Another problem is the duplicating of topics.
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Advanced Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: Yesterday @ 11:43:37 PM
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How about "Try and avoid using hard to read colours for your fonts. They are pretty, but hard on the eyes."?
Society does not need more children; but it does need more loved children. Quite literally, we cannot afford unloved children - but we pay heavily for them every day. There should not be the slightest communal concern when a woman elects to destroy the life of her thousandth-of-an-ounce embryo. But all society should rise up in alarm when it hears that a baby that is not wanted is about to be born. ~Garrett Hardin
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Senior Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 2/22/2009 9:03:36 AM
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Great topic Woody! :]
If you don't mind, I'd like to add one thing:
11) BROWSE. Sometimes just going over posts throughout the forum can help a lot in seeing what posts are solid and what posts are shaky. Just scan over topics and see what you like and dislike. If you look at a post that has bright purple font and you think 'Geez, thats hard to read.' then maybe you should take your font off of the color pink. Learning from others achievements and mistakes is a good philosophy.
12) Don't be nitpicky of other members posts. Unless something is clearly inappropriate or needs to be removed, don't comment on it. If need be, ask a mod, admin or a senior member to assist you. We're here for a reason, to guide you young'uns to learn the ropes.
:]
--Cotton [Boyes Stallion 176]--
--15hh Quarter Horse Gelding--
--May 2, 2000--
--.Assumption S.A.D.D.--
For The Signature Rule and topic:
http://board.horsechannel.com/Topic230564-4-1.aspx
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