[Damage75]

Originally Posted by Zardoz

"Come on down to Star Trek Forums!!! Convenitly located between, www.balhblahblah.com and www.blahblahblah2.com!! happy Hour betwen 4-6 everyday. 2 for 1 specials on Saurian Brandy!!"

Or Romulan Ale...or anything they have at Quarks (the one in Las Vegas.....they've got some good ones!)

[Damage75]

Originally Posted by Elizadolots

Damage just wants to win the pool about how many "Bring Shatner back" threads we'll have to put up with before the movie is released...

Seriously, I do think it's a good idea...if not an actual list of threads, maybe just a sticky called "FAQ's of posting" (not the "must read" thing...that's too intimidating) and include questions like "Should I just start a new thread?" to which the answer might be: "Chances are one already exists. Please check through at least a few pages of posts and use an existing thread if possible. More threads means more to search through."

This is why I wanted to do a post. So everyone could offer suggestions. I like yours better already Eliza! "FAQ's of posting" would be great.

Of course, not everyone would read it, but we could always refer newbies to it!

[Elizadolots]

I've posted on boards that had "our favorite threads" listed in a stickied post, but that really requires a lot of moderator attention because in a dynamic forum, it can change daily.

The fact is, people don't always think about things like "The more threads there are, the longer it takes to look through them, so duplication is not helpful" or "Who want to see my avatar 7 times on a single page? So as long as no one has replied in a thread, I should just edit my post to include my new thoughts" or "Given that there are multiple pages of responses, chances are someone has already said what you are planning. If you find that is true and "Agree With" those poster's responses you will be seen as smart and careful. If you just post the same thing said by others long before the thread took on a life of its own, you might be seen as somewhat silly."

[sir num nums]

Redshirt does a good job of merging related topics or moving them to the correct forum.

However, I can understand what Damage75 is trying to say.

[ST Redshirt]

Hi.

We do have a search function so people can find topics that interest them. If someone does start a duplicate thread, just use the report post feature. They're usually merged quickly, especially if a link to the original thread is included

[MissionTrek08]

True, and also a point about the search feature, Redshirt:

I tried looking up a forum topic by using only one word. The search halted, saying my search phrase didn't meet the 4-word search minimum. Okay fine, except for the next 10 tries using 4 or more words to search brought me right back to the 'failed search' screen referencing the ONE word search I stared with.

Nothing I could do would 'erase' that error message and I finally gave up searching for the topic, hunted for it manually instead. Reporting this just in case there's a glitch with cookies remembering your search request or such.

If there is a problem and 'newbies' attempt to search for a topic only to get 'locked out' of the search function, then our advice to search first before starting a topic doesn't help. Thanks!

[Damage75]

[quote=Elizadolots;28864]Damage just wants to win the pool about how many "Bring Shatner back" threads we'll have to put up with before the movie is released...

Ok...you found me out. But don't forget the second pool...how many "Shatner could have improved this movie by being in it" threads there will be the day the movie comes out!

[Damage75]

Originally Posted by ST Redshirt

Hi.

We do have a search function so people can find topics that interest them. If someone does start a duplicate thread, just use the report post feature. They're usually merged quickly, especially if a link to the original thread is included

I haven't tried that yet. I will give it a shot.

However, being a newbie myself for a few weeks now, I had no idea to even look at the report post feature.

Could a sticky be posted with what you just stated above? The first thing I was drawn to when I first jumped on was the sticky note thread. It kind of stands out.

Maybe that could work.....

[ST Redshirt]

Damage75, there is a section on reporting posts in the Posting Guidelines and Terms of Use - Must Read! thread. We encourage everyone to read that thread.

MissionTrek08, I wasn't able to duplicate your issue yet with search. Were you using advanced search or regular search?

[Damage75]

[quote=ST Redshirt;28976]Damage75, there is a section on reporting posts in the Posting Guidelines and Terms of Use - Must Read! thread. We encourage everyone to read that thread.

Sorry Redshirt, I should have been more clear.

I read through the Posting Guidelines, however, at the time, I had no idea what that function would do.

No I know. But maybe in your post it specifically addressed duplicate posts, than people might catch on.

I'm not at all trying to be critical of what you have done, just pointing out something from the newbie point of view.