OMG!! i have a queston.

[Overboard]

Who or what makes a good poster? and i mean posting on a fourm like this one, Is it Judged by how many or how well one posts?.. Is haveing a large post count better than say a low post count? Dose it mean that by posting on a reguler basis that your to be more respected than the ones that post less,
Or dose it mean someone that spells better and has better gammer than the others are the ones kept in high esteam.

What im trying to express is Dose it matter and if it Dose Why?.
I like most can see that there are some that seem to post non-stop (one right after the other) But they do not realy have any thing to say. its like there just super board or something.

I never have much to say and its not like im complaining or anything just woundering because i see some with Very large post counts. PS. Do not turn this into some kind of flame its just a question that i had.

[Sledgehammer427]

It really depends on the poster, and what he's/she's done.
It's pretty well seen in the Silent Hunter mods forums, some people just start shooting mods out as soon as they join up here (Silverwolf in the SH4 mods forum comes to mind foremost) SW is still below 500 posts IIRC.
I'm on here for a decent chunk of my day. I love this community and I like to follow a lot of stuff that goes on. And, being a modder, I have to follow my mods and try to help people with their various bugs they might encounter in my mods. By no means does post count have anything to do with respect. If anything, other people will listen to what you have to say.
But generally a good poster is one who doesn't get offensive with other forum members, doesn't spam (the advertising kind, else Jimbuna would be long gone,) and generally acts like a good person, who doesn't force their opinion on others.

at least, that's my opinion...
I'm sure some other people might answer your question differently.
That's why this forum's great!

[MothBalls]

It's a GT forum. People should be able to post anything as long as they don't go overboard.

There are a few who just drop in and basically spam their political agendas and beliefs, even go as far as posting spam emails and quoting nutjob bloggers and conspiracy theories. Hell, one guy recently posted that the moon landings were faked.

The political crap has been getting deep lately. Oh well, just more to skim and ignore.

What makes a good poster? Ask Jimbuna or Sailor Steve.

[Task Force]

hmm... what makes a good poster...

a good poster needs to keep his cool,and not start a huge arguement... dont dump your email box onto the forums...

Try to contribute to topics, not just be an a**hole and start an arguement...

Try to help your forum community a welcomeing and a nice place for newcomers...

erm... dont break the forum rules. I think neal lets us slide alot... just stay within the rules...

[GoldenRivet]

post count is sometimes a measure of longevity. The more posts a member has, theoretically... the longer he has been here.

in other words... high post count means your a member of "the old guard" to use the militarized parlance.

on the other hand it is possible to have been a member here for many months or even a couple of years and have only a few hundred posts. or you may have been a member here for only a few months and have thousands of posts.

when it comes to posting threads or responding to them... quality is the yard stick by which we are measured... not quantity.

on the subject of grammar or eloquence...

when communicating with someone, you must communicate effectively. In order to do this you must be able to use your mode of communication effectively.

an orator should be skilled at speaking, persuasiveness and have a large vocabulary to draw on.

a sign language interpreter must be well versed with sign language.

an artist communicates his message through painting a vivid image which should evoke a specific idea or awaken the creative response of a viewer.

a thread poster on a forum should convey his message through good grammar and his posts should ebb and flow with a certain style and grace that follows a logical format... is easy to read and easy to understand. (though this is not a requirement for good standing amongst the other members, it does help)

finally and most importantly IMHO, a good forum member should realize that this is a community... and any upstanding and well rounded member of any community abides by the rules of that community and respects those with whom he shares the community.

[Aramike]

hmm... what makes a good poster...

a good poster needs to keep his cool,and not start a huge arguement...

See, I think I get what you're saying, but I disagree with it to an extent.

I haven't been a member here long, but I belong to a couple of other boards (including being an admin and mod on one of them), and I think I've developed an idea of what makes a good poster. Of course, this is only my opinion, but here goes...


Aramike's 10 Rules for Discussion Forum Participants:

1. The search function is your friend. Be smart - if you're asking a question about something that has you stumped but it seems like the answer SHOULD be obvious, do a search. Odds are, the answer will be readily available.
2. When starting threads, try to be certain your threads are not simply redundant copies of recently previous or currently ongoing discussions. While there's nothing wrong with resurrecting a dead topic, there isn't much that is more annoying to an average member than someone starting a new thread about the same thing that everyone is already engaged on.
3. POST COUNTS DON'T MEAN SQUAT! No one really cares if you have 10 or 1000 posts - just try not to post for the sake of gaining a number next to your name.
4. Witty and relevant good/sarcastic and repetitive bad. It's okay (and entertaining) to rebuke a poster with a little jazz behind it, but try to avoid pointless, condescending sarcastic remarks over and over again. It gets tiresome and eventually reaches the point where only the people arguing are paying attention, meaning that no one would give a damn if you went to private messaging.
5. Commenting on spelling/grammar is pointless. Sure, if you're discussing something with sum1 hoo rights like dis u hav evry rite to let um no they r polly in da wrng plce. However, if someone makes simple grammar or spelling errors, you need to realize that most posters are hammering things out quickly without the assistance of spell/grammar checkers and without the inclination to double-check their work.
6. Don't post photos large enough to make the vast majority of people scroll horizontally in order to see them.
7. Leave conflicts with other members in their respective threads. There's no reason to carry over so-called "bad blood" throughout the rest of the board.
8. When starting topics, choose items that are current and SPECIFIC. In other words, starting a topic about how you think, for example, "Speeding is Bad", just sucks for conversation. Instead, make it about a specific example where speeding caused something bad to happen, or citing some kind of specific, narrowly-focused statistic to support your claim.
9. Also when starting topics, try to ask a question and state an opinion. Just posting a link and hoping people will discuss it is pointless - most of us already read/watch the news. There's no reason to make a message board just another aggregate for current events. Instead, try to post that same link, maybe quote something from that link, then give your opinion about it. Beyond that, it's even better to ask a question in order to solicit other opinions.
10. There is a difference between provocative and inciteful. The best discussions are always the most provocative. However, don't become so attached to your opinions that you cannot either see the other side or believe that your thoughts are gospel. It's quite alright to take a controversial position; in fact, it's encouraged. But it is not cool to get mad that others don't see it your way. Furthermore, it's not cool to respond to such a position as though its simply nuts and its impossible to believe anyone could think that way. However, that doesn't exempt the odd idiot who makes bad taste arguments like "the Holocaust was good".

Just remember, a good discussion board is all about community and opinions. And, it's populated with many people, some of who will say things and behave in ways they'd NEVER do in real life. I've decided that the best method of keeping yourself in good graces is to always pretend you're in the room with the person you're responding to.

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by MothBalls

It's a GT forum. People should be able to post anything as long as they don't go overboard.

There are a few who just drop in and basically spam their political agendas and beliefs, even go as far as posting spam emails and quoting nutjob bloggers and conspiracy theories. Hell, one guy recently posted that the moon landings were faked.

The political crap has been getting deep lately. Oh well, just more to skim and ignore.

What makes a good poster? Ask Jimbuna or Sailor Steve.

Negotiate a good commission rate with Neal based on the number of posts you contribute

But on a more serious note and as already pointed out:

Be mindful and respectful of other peoples views, the community comes from a wide and diverse set of people from different countries and cultures etc.

If you disagree with someone, say so but in a manner deemed appropriate and acceptable by the community at large.

IMHO I judge a person not by their post count but more by the quality and detail of what they post.

On a personal note I suppose the main (but not sole reason) for my high post count is the fact I have spent countless hours helping GWX users with their technical enquiries (and it doesn't stop there because I also host the Torrent and TS on a home server as well as sending fairly large numbers of games discs worldwide....all unnoticed in the background) added to the fact I happen to rate this fine community and consider the site owner and many here who I have met in person as my friends.

This list could be far larger if I sat and thought on it for a little longer.

I'll leave you with two examples of what I consider to be small pearls of wisdom and what we should all continue to be mindful of:

None of us are as clever as all of us.

Opinions are like ar$eholes, we all have one.

Spectemur Agendo

[Platapus]

A good poster runs a spelling checker before posting.

Dose is a noun and does is a verb.

[Takeda Shingen]

Ah, one of my favorite subjects.

Good membership is not something that can be tied to any number. Someone with a high post count could be a good member, or could just spam the board with one-word answers and emoticons. Someone with a low count could be a lurker who only speaks when he or she has something important to say. I like to think myself as the later.

Ultimately, I think that a good member is not unlike a good neighbor. The good neighbor has a sense of community. He is there to help you when you need it. He is respectful of your boundaries and property. He is respectful of the local authority, and most of all, he is a good friend. He sees the neighborhood as more than a collection of buildings in a district, but a home; a place to care for and improve.

There are some people who would call numbers a good indicator of the quality of membership. The underlying philosphy is that their posts and threads draw a lot of attention, thus increasing readership. Of course, that is akin to automobile accidents. People will certainly gawk at a car wreck, thus garnering much attention, but should we really encourage people to drive recklessly in an effort to keep the populace entertained? The above emphasis on community would indicate this to be a very poor idea.

Steve and Jim are, indeed, excellent examples of good membership. They have, and continue to contribute to the primary purpose of SubSim: The enjoyment of Submarine and Naval Simulations. Beyond that, they are just really good guys, and using the criteria above, I would absolutely not object to having them as neighbors.

EDIT: Nice sig, Archlight.