The Moth

Helping out in the newsgroups but also as someone that got a lot of support from them in my earlier days, I thought it would be interesting to classify the "types" of posts in a newsgroup (ng) that may rub some people the wrong way (myself included). Note that in the past, I have broken many of these rules myself :-)

So here are my suggestions (in random order):

1. ALL CAPITALS
Capitals are interpreted as shouting so post in capitals if you want to start an argument rather than get help.

2. WRONG NG
Before posting to an ng, it makes sense to check if your question applies to it - otherwise you are just wasting bandwidth.

3. GENERIC QUESTIONS DON'T BELONG TO SPECIFIC NGs
Just because you are hanging out in the aspnet newsgroup doesn't mean you should start asking about the difference between value types and reference types. It is a .NET question but it is not specific to the technology ng. Same goes e.g. into asking about differences between C# and VB in the winforms ng: both are dotnet languages but that doesn't mean you can post them anywhere.

4. READ THE FAQ
So obvious, but so rarely adhered to. I think there is a problem with the technology we are using. There should be a method to detect when a new user posts to an ng and send them the FAQ with a 30 minute delay before they can actually post a question. BTW, for CF look here.

5. AT LEAST READ THE DAY'S POSTS
Follows on from “Read the FAQ”, but guess what you look like when your exact question was asked and answered a few hours ago.

6. BASHING MSFT BEFORE ASKING THE QUESTION DOESN'T HELP
Opening your post with insults to Microsoft and the way they support developers (e.g. documentation) is not helping your cause (to get support). The experts helping out are obviously happy with the platform, so you are insulting their choice. Even when you are right with your accusations, do you think that others are not aware of them? That is why the ng is there: Ask your question without the rant.

7. IF YOU ARE GOING TO POST, HAVE A QUESTION
Describing a problem is fine, but do try to end your post by formulating some kind of question.

8. YOU DON'T KNOW IF YOU FOUND A BUG
Just stating that you found a bug will not get you many replies. Do you really think you are the first one to report the bug? If yes then fine, you have reported it and don't expect any replies. If on the other hand you would like some help to work around it or validate that it is a bug, state your problem with repro steps and ask for help (note how that does not include proclaiming that you found a bug).

9. SHOW ME THE CODE
This is probably the number one omission. Imagine if I send you an email telling you I have a problem when e.g. calling a WS but don't show you any code; kind of daft, right? Show me the code so I can repro your problem and show you what is wrong or how to change it to make it right.

10. TELL ME SOMETHING ABOUT YOUR ENVIRONMENT
Which version are you running (SP1, SP2 etc)? E.g. you have a problem running some code on your device but not the emulator. What device/emulator (PPC 2000/2002/2003, WinCE 4.1/4.2/5.0 etc)? E.g. you'd like a code sample that does xyz. What language are you using (VB/C#/C etc)?

11. DOT NET IS A MULTI-LANGUAGE PLATFORM. DEAL WITH IT.
Do not finish off your post with "code in VB only". If the help is given in C#, translate it with one of the many online converters or use it in a class library. If you are having trouble translating it, post back including the specific line you are having trouble with. If you prefer to see it in VB, state at the beginning what language you are using (it will be used as a hint but not as a constraint).

12. WHEN YOU POST CODE, INCLUDE THE EFFECT YOU ARE SEEING
"Here is my code. It doesn't work". What doesn't work? Does it not compile (what is the compilation error on what line?), does it throw an exception at runtime (what exception on what line)? Learn to at least use breakpoints and step into to locate the offending line!

13. "URGENT, URGENT, PLEASE HELP" or "REPLY SOON, I AM WAITING"
Everybody that posts to the ng requires help urgently. Marking your message as such will only piss off some experts, thus you get less attention. Don't do it. Don't cry for help; the fact that you posted a question is a big clue that you are after help.

14. DO NOT MULTI-POST
Posting the same question separately to every ng you think it applies to, is real bad manners. Most experts hung out in more than one ng, so they have to read your post multiple times. Imagine if you posted the same question to one ng multiple times; isn't that stupid? That is exactly what multi-posting does. If you think that you *must* target multiple ngs, please cross-post (include the ngs in the “to” field - if your newsreader doesn't support that then change newsreaders).

15. DON'T ASK ME TO DO YOUR PROJECT
"How do I pass parameters from one thread to another" is OK. "Post a sample that animates a little person on the screen collecting coins while avoiding aliens" is not OK.

16. DO NOT ASK UNRELATED QUESTIONS IN ONE GO
Do not gather up your questions in one post. You may have encountered these 5 problems in the last hour, but posting them in one message will not get them answered. Think about it: Unless someone has the best answer to all of them, they are not going to help (had you split them into many posts, some would get answered). Worst, someone replies with answers to some questions (but not all). Given that the post has had a reply, others may not look at the thread so your unanswered questions get ignored. Also, posting many unrelated questions invariably breaks the following rule.

17. CHOOSE A GOOD SUBJECT
Not everybody reads all the posts in the ng. Besides, an expert may get a couple of minutes at lunchtime to scan the group for a few easy questions to address. Guess what they are scanning. You got it: the subject. Subjects such as ".NET" or "TabControl" or "Exception" or "[no subject]" are ignored.

18. THE SUBJECT IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR THE BODY
Sticking your question in the subject and leaving the body empty is not clever. Not repeating any info of the subject (or referring to it) is not clever either. Choose an appropriate subject and then, when you write the actual message, forget what you wrote in the subject: (re)describe the full problem.

19. DO NOT CHANGE THE SUBJECT FIELD
You are participating in a thread of discussion and mid way through you change the subject - please don't! If you want to say "thank you" or "solved" say it in the body; don't change the subject text. Without going into details, this causes problems to some newsreaders (when they are used in a certain way).

20. NEW QUESTIONS GO INTO THEIR OWN NEW THREADS
This is a bit like the multiple unrelated questions in one post. You've started a thread, you got your problem solved and now you have a new problem. Don't insist that the kind person that just helped you should now address your new issue! Start a new thread.

21. EXCLAMATION MARKS
Exclamation marks, smileys etc have their place in newsgroups. I have no problems with them and use them myself but please don't end *every* single sentence that you *ever* wrote on *every* post with 3 exclamation marks!!! [ true story]

22. Last but by no means least: DON’T REPLY TO ME
Replying in the ng is fine. Replying to me personally is not – please don’t. (Comments on my blog entries are always welcome of course)

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