Other Forum Etiquette

BillMeyer

Well-Known Member
Licensed User
Longtime User
Hello Fellow BefourExers,

It is with interest that I have watched this forum this past weekend and have come to the conclusion that Etiquette Rules need to be revisited.

1. Before Posting - make sure you have exhausted all possible searches and then only ask your question. No question is stupid - all are valid and the more descriptive your "Heading" the more interest you are going to attract - like a moth to a candle.

2. When asking your question or seeking help, please try to state clearly what you require and what your desired outcome should be. If your outcome is secret to give you a competitive advantage - then your answer is also most likely going to be a kept secret by other members.

3. Tell us the steps you have followed and then post your code - that way we can help you correct a problem or suggest an alternative.

4. Post code between code tags - it makes it so much easier to read, looks much neater and creates acceptance by other members by providing a familiar interface.

5. Please don't answer your self or leave comments like "Never Mind - I have found the Solution" - Doing this is selfish. There are others who might also be looking for this answer to a problem and it is highly frustrating to find a post that ends in this way. Rather post the solution and mark the post as "SOLVED" - in this way you help others who have helped you at some time as well.

6. Please don't post the same question twice or thrice by just having re-phrased it or asking it differently - rather use the edit button and state on the bottom of your post "EDITED" - There are (19 Sept 2018) currently 592 487 messages on the forum - It becomes frustrating to see the same question 3 times over and the third post ends with "Never Mind - I have solved it" - You also have the danger of being placed on an Expert members "Ignore" list and you have lost access to all that knowledge.

7. Being polite and posting a "Thank you" is very nice and shows good manners, but please follow it up with a click on the "like" button. This is almost worth more than a "Thank you"

8. The main language here is English - if you have a problem with English (it might not be your mother tongue) then look at one of the other language forums or use Google Translate - we who speak and write English will not laugh at you or disrespect you for trying.

9. If you rant - you will be ignored like a child that throws a tantrum in a busy supermarket.....

and finally,

Please do not dis (speak disrespectfully to or criticize) the product in any of it's forms (B4X, B4A, B4i, B4J or B4R) or it's creator (Erel) because you are frustrated or your problem is not being solved immediately. If you don't like the product - go and try Xamarin - I guarantee you will be back and then you will have to swallow your previous words.

Keep in mind that this is an international community with several different languages, time zones, customs and markets. Your problem might be a priority to you but is not necessarily the priority of someone else.

If I give you a fish - you eat for a day - If I teach you to fish......

Enjoy !!
 

npsonic

Active Member
Licensed User
Here's something to add etiquette which many of users may not like. At least not many of the real developers here, but if you can answer question made by user then answer the question and don't just judge the way someone has written he's or her's code.

If you have nothing else to say than offer judgment without answering the question don't answer at all. Pointers are always welcome, but with the answer if such is possible to give for that particular problem.

When searching for answer to some problem from forum, it makes my blood boil when I see answers like these "Why you do it like this", "This not proper way to do this", "You must upgrade your B4A and do this", "Use code tags" and in the end question is not answered and user made question is gone quiet.


SO, if you are answering question:

- Answer the question if it can be answered with the information given by user
- Give pointers and judgment WITH your answer to the problem
 
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Erel

B4X founder
Staff member
Licensed User
Longtime User
Sorry but I don't agree.

1. If someone is posting code without code tags then it is fine to comment about it in a polite way. It is important to encourage members to follow the simple rules or we will end with unreadable and undiscoverable posts.

2. If you are pretty sure that the OP approach is wrong or that there is a better approach then questioning it is a friendly thing to do.

Everything is a matter of balance. As long as we are polite to each other and come with good intentions then the discussions will be productive and positive.
 
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Peter Simpson

Expert
Licensed User
Longtime User
Got me - Sorry - should have been 17 Sept - prophetic maybe ?

Your name isn't really Marty McFly is it and yoveyo had a Flux Capacitor issue have you.

Anyway I agree with you 100, absolutely everything you said was correct Marty, oops I mean Bill.

Yes, this forum etiquette post of yours should be pinned up just under the forum rules.

An excellent post.
 
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techknight

Well-Known Member
Licensed User
Longtime User
Is there a way to add some javascript to this forum that detects "untagged code" and either properly formats it, or just aborts saying put code in code tags? Just curious.

Low low priority but might be something to think about.
 
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Sandman

Expert
Licensed User
Longtime User
Is there a way to add some javascript to this forum that detects "untagged code" and either properly formats it, or just aborts saying put code in code tags?

I know that XenForo has support for add-ons, and there are lots of them out there. That said I don't know what they're capable of, but it seems likely that it would be possible to detect if a post contains text matching a specified list of keywords - and if it does, it just bounces it back to the user instructing them to add code tags.
 
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DonManfred

Expert
Licensed User
Longtime User
s there a way
I dont think this is the proper thread for your question! You should create a thread in the forum discussion instead. Or post a wish in bugs and wishlist
 
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techknight

Well-Known Member
Licensed User
Longtime User
I dont think this is the proper thread for your question! You should create a thread in the forum discussion instead. Or post a wish in bugs and wishlist

Maybe I should have rephrased my sentence a different way, but my thought still stands and doesn't warrant another thread because it kind of falls in line with this. It was a suggestion and not a request.

When I saw my notification light up that someone had quoted me and replied, I felt sort of happy that someone had input that was relevant and maybe would have been nice to read, but nope. Got the usual old "canned 302" that I keep seeing around here over and over again.
 
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techknight

Well-Known Member
Licensed User
Longtime User
then what is this thread for then? Seems like its filled with a whole bunch of suggestions for forum rules and processes to me.

So I back up "code tag" suggestion with my potential suggestion on how to automatically alleviate the issue before it actually becomes an issue.

Oh well, I give up.
 
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Sandman

Expert
Licensed User
Longtime User
Since we somewhat recently got ability to add tags to our posts, I think it can make sense to add an item to the first post by @BillMeyer. Perhaps something like this:

10. Tags are to be used mainly as a way of categorizing posts. It's not meant to contain the post headline or a long description.

(This addition because there's been a recent post that used the full headline as a single tag.)
 
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