What's The Feeling On Posting In Inappropriate Forums?

Kintarō Hattori

Hey Mods/Admins,

Many months ago I posted a question in Collectables and Antiques about an old watch I bought from eBay. It took two months before anyone answered with any sort of reply. Tonight I had another query and looked at posting it in the same forum. Since I originally posted there many months ago there had been just three other threads.
I didn't feel that my question was going to be answered there, so I looked at all of the forums and sub-sections on boards for a suitable alternative and after finding none I presumed After Hours would be the next suitable place as it's for everything else.

My thread was moved by a moderator as seemingly I put it there for 'traffic'. While I realise this does happen I resent the implication that I put it there for that reason. I've been here a while and I consider myself a responsible user. Collectables and Antiques is anything but a hive of activity. There are a total of 8 threads there, two of which are mine, which are both about the same watch, which represent 25% of the total activity on that forum.

I posted in After Hours as I was looking for a response to my question, I didn't feel it was likely to happen in Collectable and Antiques as it's pretty much dead.
So my question is, Is it totally unacceptable to post in a forum other than the one which is most relevant to what your asking? Even if that means your question is unlikely to be answered?

Karl Hungus

eo980 wrote:

So my question is, Is it totally unacceptable to post in a forum other than the one which is most relevant to what your asking? Even if that means your question is unlikely to be answered?

Yes.

The fact is, there are absolutely people who will constantly post everything in AH, and ignore the myriad of other boards we have. Clamping down on off-topic posting should mean that the other boards shalln't be as oft-ignored, and get higher traffic.

By posting off topic, you're just adding to the problem.

Ruu_Old

Agreed with Mr.Hungus on this one. The number of threads starting with "I know this is the wrong forum but..." such and such other forum "gets no traffic" in AH is ridiculous. Who can we blame for that? While you might have been looking for an answer to your question, it doesn't help things much. You could have just bumped up your thread in Collectibles to get attention from people looking at the index page maybe.

Karoma

Right. This is painful. You still can't see that you did put it in AH for traffic?!
Paraphrasing to hopefully drive the point home: "Hello. I know this thread should be in another forum, but it doesn't get as much traffic as I'd like so I'll put it here which has a lot of traffic... traffic ,traffic, traffic..."

How the hell is this not posting for traffic?!



You are starving the other forum of traffic - which is your original issue (that it doesn't get enough traffic) - it's a vicious circle, eh, Ted? This logic is daft. AH is not a catch-all forum.
This has been discussed: Re-read the AH charter, read the stickies, read through Feedback. You have been warned.

nesf

The "easy to swallow" version is that because of the cynical/idiotic people who abuse AH to just gain traffic/attention everyone's threads are moved from AH. Or I lock them and ban the user. It depends.

If there is a better forum for something then post it there. The only time I am willing to make an exception is when there are grounds for a "general" discussion of a topic outside of the specific forum. For instance I wouldn't be overly bothered by a single budget thread tomorrow in AH where "the common man" discusses it. The reality is that while there will be a thread in Economics and Politics etc about this, those threads will be very specific in purpose (from an economic or political perspective for instance) and not really the place for people to discuss how they feel about the budget and/or how it will affect them. Such discussion isn't relevant in politics or economics really where the emphasis is more on the forum's topic.

We are reasonable about it, but really there is no argument to keep the vast majority of threads we move. As you can see from above the exceptions are quite specific and it's rare that a topic is so general to belong in AH and other forums. The easy way to figure out whether a thread falls into this catagory is to ask yourself whether or not the topic will be or is front page news in the majority of papers, i.e. something of the general public interest. Threads on Collectables and Antiques do not tend to fall into this catagory tbh.

Kintarō Hattori

Loose the attitude Karoma. There really is no need for it. Karl, Ruu I know what your saying but Collectables and Antiques really is a dead forum.

Karl Hungus wrote:

The fact is, there are absolutely people who will constantly post everything in AH.

I'm not one of them, I do spread my time around various forums and visit other forums. I'm just making that clear.

Karoma wrote:

Right. This is painful. You still can't see that you did put it in AH for traffic?!

I absolutely can see what I've done 'wrong'. I just don't completely agree with your strict enforcement.

Karoma wrote:

You are starving the other forum of traffic.

It doesn't get any anyway. 25% of the threads there are mine, and that's just two threads and the last I posted three months ago. It gets NO traffic.

I understand what your saying though. If you have a question for a forum that gets no traffic your best off keeping it to yourself and not asking it in the first place. Really that's grand, I totally understand.

I've never really had an issue with a mod before Karoma, but I have to say your attitude really leaves a whole lot to be desired. Your rude smug and wholly unpleasent. Please try and be a tad more pleasant. That's just my opinion though.

leche solara

Ruu wrote:

Agreed with Mr.Hungus on this one. The number of threads starting with "I know this is the wrong forum but..." such and such other forum "gets no traffic" in AH is ridiculous. Who can we blame for that? While you might have been looking for an answer to your question, it doesn't help things much. You could have just bumped up your thread in Collectibles to get attention from people looking at the index page maybe.

Is bumping your thread actually encouraged. I've often felt like doing it when I get no response, but I'm never sure if its frowned upon or not. At what stage (how many?) does bumping become a nuisance?

What about a new thread but in a slightly different way?

Karoma

eo980 wrote:

Loose the attitude Karoma.

I was being to-the-point. There wasn't an "attitude". Be careful what you ask for.

There really is no need for it.

It seems there is. You're not seeing the blatantly obvious. You seem genuinely ignorant.

Karl, Ruu I know what your saying but Collectables and Antiques really is a dead forum.

It doesn't get any anyway. 25% of the threads there are mine, and that's just two threads and the last I posted three months ago. It gets NO traffic.

"dead" - why? What makes it "dead"? Not many posts in it? WHY IS THAT?! Work.it.out. It's because others wish to post elsewhere. It's because you won't have every idiot and their dog posting a reply just for the hell of it (Like the postcount++, ill-informed muppet-fest that is AH).

I absolutely can see what I've done 'wrong'. I just don't completely agree with your strict enforcement.

Oh. I retract the above statement. You now get it... it's just that you are special. You're an exception. You should be allowed do what thousands of other users cannot. Right. Gotcha. ... Um, how about: No.

I understand what your saying though. If you have a question for a forum that gets no traffic your best off keeping it to yourself and not asking it in the first place. Really that's grand, I totally understand.

Or maybe you don't get it. I can't work it out. Did you lie above?

I've never really had an issue with a mod before Karoma, but I have to say your attitude really leaves a whole lot to be desired. Your rude smug and wholly unpleasent. Please try and be a tad more pleasant. That's just my opinion though.

Aw, bless; I' was your first. *pop*
Request denied.
I don't give a flying **** how you perceive my response. I've stated above - at worst, I was being blunt. Don't like it? Tough.

Karl Hungus

eo980 wrote:

I understand what your saying though. If you have a question for a forum that gets no traffic your best off keeping it to yourself and not asking it in the first place. Really that's grand, I totally understand.

Be a prat about it why don't you? :rolleyes:

If anyone needs to lose the attitude, it's you tbh.

Kintarō Hattori

Ahh sigh. What a twat you truely are. No I wasn't looking to be special, merely pointing something out, or so I thought I was. I honestly wasn't having a go at you, I just thought you were smug and arrogant and your last post bares witness to that. You've gone all out to attack me and belittle what I was saying.

It's a pity you couldn't be more like Ruu or nesf, such pleasant people.

Anyway, lets stop this now, I could carry on and I'm sure you could too, but there is no point to that. I'm sure we both have better things to be doing.

Kintarō Hattori

Karl Hungus wrote:

Be a prat about it why don't you? :rolleyes:

If anyone needs to lose the attitude, it's you tbh.

Ahh now c'mon Karl. I think I'm right. But that's obviously irrelevant. I can handle that.

Karl Hungus

eo980 wrote:

Ahh now c'mon Karl. I think I'm right. But that's obviously irrelevant. I can handle that.

I understand your problem, and honestly, I sympathise. But the fact is, posting threads off topic in AH is what leads other forums to have low traffic, and you're adding to the overall problem. And if you're let get away with it, everyone else

Another view one might take of this, is that it's not so much a question of off topic, but one of the segregation of topics. Everyone seems to want new boards made for every single little topic they can think of... Is this the end result?

nesf

eo980 wrote:

It's a pity you couldn't be more like Ruu or nesf, such pleasant people.

You'll find that I'm not particularily pleasant. Just reasonable in my cruelty.

biko

So my question is, Is it totally unacceptable to post in a forum other than the one which is most relevant to what your asking? Even if that means your question is unlikely to be answered?

Yes, it is. New users may be excused in that they probably haven't discovered the rest of the site yet, although somehow they found AH. Dev has tried to correct that by putting a sticky in AH. 1000+ users should have found the other foras long ago, which is the case with yourself.

AH post for traffic, a big no-no. AH for finding a hairdresser in Dublin, also a big no-no. And so on... Kind mods will move and redirect you to the right forum, strict mods can and will ban you.

You have clearly mastered the art of "links in my sig", perhaps just an additional one for the Collectable and Antiques question would have spared you (and us) this?

Kintarō Hattori

biko wrote:

You have clearly mastered the art of "links in my sig", perhaps just an additional one for the Collectable and Antiques question would have spared you (and us) this?

Biko that's a wonderful idea and one I'm going to implement it tonight. If only karoma had suggested that idea in as pleasant a manner as nesf's rather than telling me on three seperate occasions that I had been warned and risk being banned, despite getting this message on my one occasion of rule breaking.

Karoma

eo980 wrote:

Biko that's a wonderful idea and one I'm going to implement it tonight. If only karoma had suggested that idea in as pleasant a manner as nesf's rather than telling me on three seperate occasions that I had been warned and risk being banned, despite getting this message on my one occasion of rule breaking.

What?!
I'm meant to be nice, ultra-sickeningly-polite, wipe your arse and hold your hand as you use Boards.ie? Uh, why?
However you choose to get an answer doesn't have a single thing to do with me - unless it involves posting in a forum just for traffic.
As you said, I have better things to be doing. If you can't grasp the concept, or think I should let you and you alone away with it - please, think again. I'm not here to hold your hand or clean up a mess you're intentionally making - I tried using reason to get this across. This has clearly failed. The only recourse: a ban. I gave you a simple to understand warning on several occassions. No offence was intended - just removing any potential ambiguity.



You want rude? You got it from here on in.


Shut up. That's why.

Kintarō Hattori

I didn't ask you to be ultra-sickeningly-polite, nor did I mention anything about my arse (why did you mention my arse?) and nor did I ask you to hold my hand. That's reserved for someone else.

And again I will say I wasn't posting for traffic in the way you think I was.

I didn't ask you to be rude, and I certainly wouldn't want you to be, to me or anyone else.

C'mon now, enough of this childishness.

scojones

Talk to the hand!



This issue has been addressed a gazillion times. OP, imagine if everyone wanted to do what you are purposing... If this was the case then there would be no need for ANY other fora on here other than AH. Lets just get rid of all the fora and just post everything in AH! Infact lets get rid of boards altogether, and combine every web board site into one massive forum!

Karl Hungus

eo980 wrote:

And again I will say I wasn't posting for traffic in the way you think I was.

You know, I don't seem to recall Karoma saying you were posting for traffic in any specific way. Infact, the vibe I got was that any posting for traffic, reguardless of the reasons, wasn't allowed.

Karoma

And again I will say I wasn't posting for traffic in the way you think I was.

You were. Again: This is blunt simple language; I hope you're OK. Need a tissue? I know I do - OH YOU'RE ARSE. TEHEHEHE! ARSE! I'M TEH GAY. (And you tell me to be less childish? Your insinuations and name-calling has truly set an example. I shall be reborn!)

Oh I'm getting tired explaining this:
You posted somewhere that you felt more people would see the thread.
You didn't post in the specific forum that suited it. Why? Because you feel not enough people will see it.

Eyeballs on thread = "traffic".

The specific fora were created so that people didn't have to wade through a silly and unmanageable number of posts to get to something that took their interest. People who use, in this case, C&A know about Collectables and Antiques and would have an answer for you more than people in AH (Who will probably answer just for the hell of it). It belongs in that forum. There is no doubt in my mind about this.
I agree with nesf's practice - but there's no room for general conversation on this topic.
You know it doesn't belong in AH - this thread title gives it away. Or, at least, I think you do - I'm not quite sure about this. If this is the case, and you do know it doesn't belong there and yet you insist that you should be allowed to proceed - you're asking to be an exception to a rule that applies to every other Boards.ie member. I will not do this - it's not fair on other members and sets a bad precedent -> Others will continue to post in a forum that gets more traffic than the correct forum -> the correct forum gets less traffic -> and then people insist on using the forum with more traffic because it gets way more traffic -> the correct forum gets less traffic -> and ... so on. Before you know it, we're back to 1 / 2 fora Boards.ie and people have to wade through thousands of posts to get something they are interested in or want*.


* People also complain about difficulties searching/finding stuff on Boards.ie - archiving threads in their appropriate fora helps organise for retrieval.

nesf

eo980 wrote:

C'mon now, enough of this childishness.

Look, no offense but you've been acting like a child who thinks the rules shouldn't apply to them for the entirety of this thread. Karoma was curt in this thread but I don't blame him really. You are not 5, you really should not have been suprised that your thread was moved. You've been here long enough to be aware of the rules.

Ruu_Old

leche solara wrote:

Is bumping your thread actually encouraged. I've often felt like doing it when I get no response, but I'm never sure if its frowned upon or not. At what stage (how many?) does bumping become a nuisance?

What about a new thread but in a slightly different way?

That I am not sure about, I would guess it would be up to the moderator of the forum in question. It is very rare (at least the forums I visit Photos, Comp/Tech, Bargains) to see a thread without at least one reply. I would say after 2 bumps and no one has replied to your query/issue then you can put it to rest that no one has an answer or is too lazy to reply. As I mentioned, it would probably be up to the mod how they deal with it.

Kintarō Hattori

nesf wrote:

Look, no offense but you've been acting like a child who thinks the rules shouldn't apply to them for the entirety of this thread. Karoma was curt in this thread but I don't blame him really. You are not 5, you really should not have been suprised that your thread was moved. You've been here long enough to be aware of the rules.

I've only been reflecting the manner in which I was dealt with. I'm actually very pleasant and polite in person and I never once thought that the rules shouldn't apply to me. I asked a question. I thought it made sense, I didn't argue with the decision, I merely queried it.

Kintarō Hattori

Karl Hungus wrote:

You know, I don't seem to recall Karoma saying you were posting for traffic in any specific way.

Nope, he did.

Karoma wrote:

Right. This is painful. You still can't see that you did put it in AH for traffic?!

Kintarō Hattori

Karoma wrote:

You were. Again: This is blunt simple language; I hope you're OK. Need a tissue? I know I do - OH YOU'RE ARSE. TEHEHEHE! ARSE! I'M TEH GAY

What the hell is up with you man? I agreed to disagree with you, yet here you go again.

Karoma

...I didn't argue with the decision, I merely queried it.

You disputed it / argued in PM, and in that thread (twice).

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=52452118&postcount=5
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=52452264&postcount=8 - I do like the exceptions bit.



I think Mr. Hungus' post was meant to be read as a full sentence...

What the hell is up with you man? I agreed to disagree with you, yet here you go again.

In my curt manner: You. you're a hypocrite with a rather narrow view of how things work and an inability to grasp simple concepts. I don't appreciate your jibes.
You let it go and yet... you replied again, and again before I replied.

Karl Hungus

eo980 wrote:

Nope, he did.

Still just see him saying you posted for traffic. Not seeing mention of a specific way of posting for traffic.

Kintarō Hattori

Wasn't posted for traffic Karoma. It was posted as I had hoped to get some kind of answer. I had posted in here before in relation to the same watch, different query. It was two months before someone answered! As I stated at the top of the thread, Collectable's and Antiques has to be the deadest part of forms with a total of 8 threads, two of which are mine.

In fairness, my question is unlikely to be answered here which is why I posted in After Hours. I had looked at all the other possibilities and sections on boards, but I thought Lego or Fitness would be wholly unappropriate. After Hours is everything else, so I felt that was the best place for it.


That is word for word what I PM'd you. How is that an argument? It looks suspicously like a statement to me! Are you trying to stir things up?

Kintarō Hattori

Karoma wrote:

In my curt manner: You. you're a hypocrite with a rather narrow view of how things work and an inability to grasp simple concepts. I don't appreciate your jibes.
You let it go and yet... you replied again, and again before I replied.

I merely replied to your reply. Twice I said we should just agree to disagree and twice you came back all curt like and insulting!

eo980 wrote:

Anyway, lets stop this now, I could carry on and I'm sure you could too, but there is no point to that. I'm sure we both have better things to be doing.

My first peace offering to which you replied before I said anything to you.

eo980 wrote:

What the hell is up with you man? I agreed to disagree with you, yet here you go again.

My second (more or less), to which you replied.

kippy

eo980,
Let it go.
Kippy

Kintarō Hattori

kippy wrote:

eo980,
Let it go.
Kippy

I tried to kippy twice, but Karoma just can't stop.