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A NOOBS GUIDE TO POSTING ON FR

Relax: don’t worry if you don’t get everything exactly right.

Communicate clearly: write in the best spelling, grammar, punctuation, capitalisation, idiomatic speech, etc. that you can, no matter how bad anyone else’s posts are.

It may be a good idea to avoid too high or complicated words, because many foreign speakers of English often have poor English vocabulary. Use words that suit the level of the discussion and the poster you are commenting to.

Don’t let the way a poster says something get in the way of the information. If their way of saying something is objectionable, others will likely help you deal with that poster.

Avoid logical fallacies: I.E. Don’t outwit yourself. It’s all on record, so it’s too easy to prove exactly what you said.

Especially avoid ad hominem: “You’re under age and much younger than me and not a lawyer, so you’re not qualified to give your opinion about open-source licences.” Assuming you really know anything about the person on the other end of a post is just silly.

Be polite and friendly.

Don’t be too terse. Write coherently, and explain what you want.

Proper human communication has a lot of redundancy, but people prefer it this way. Even in Information Theory, you cannot compress an arbitrary amount of data to a message which is too short.

On the other hand, don’t be too verbose, as people won’t bother reading you. THE LESS YOU SAY, THE MORE EASILY IT IS COMPREHENDED. It may be better to put a claim and reiterate.

Don’t selectively trim the message without leaving enough context. Remember, people other than the person you post to are reading as well.

Don’t mis-interpret or jump to conclusions - ask the other poster what he/she means if you don’t know.

Try to avoid using aphorisms, proverbs, “famous” quotes, rhymes or verse etc. Instead use free-form, coherent speech and say what you want in your own words.

The problem with aphorisms, and their ilk are that they tend to project authority, and usually backfire because a person intuitively knows that.

Sometimes they may lead to an aphorism war or for “correcting” the aphorism or discussing its larger context and origins.

All of these can sometimes spice up a friendly conversation and add humor to it, though, but your mileage may vary.

Don’t make fun of another poster, unless it’s a consensual exchange. Respect others and try to avoid unnecessary humor, especially the below the belt kind of humor. Be pleasant - not funny.

Don’t be rude; use soft words such as “I think”, “I believe”, “In my opinion”, “I find that”, etc., when giving your opinion, and facts when you are actually quoting facts from a source.

Don’t label: Unless you like being labeled back.

If possible, thank a poster for responding to you, or providing the opportunity to respond to him. If the poster’s responses are well written, acknowledge that, even if you don’t agree with what it says.

These things go a long way towards providing good communication on an Open Forum Website.