[cobalt-users] Proposed meta-FAQ / "read before posting" article.

[Dom Latter <d.latter@xxxxxxx>]

In the absence of a proper FAQ, or any response from Cobalt with 
regards to putting a "welcome" email in place, I propose somebody 
/ something posting something like the following on a regular basis.

Comments / flames please.

The Cobalt Users Mailing list meta-FAQ.
=======================================
Not so much an FAQ but a guide to how to get your FAQs and IAQs answered.

0.  Do not be afraid to ask questions.  There are helpful people here.
Nobody got born with this knowledge - and we are all still learning.

1.  There's ways of annoying those helpful people, and there's ways of 
getting the most from them.  This is what this guide is primarily about.

2.  The chances are that you are not the first person to have asked your
question.  In the case of Cobalt's products, the answers are archived in 
the Knowledge Base and in the mailing list archives.  Check those resources,
and learn how to search the Web for answers on non-Cobalt specific questions.
When you post, indicate that you have tried these avenues - people are 
much more willing to help those who try to help themselves first.
Invest in some books; and don't expect the list to do your job for you.

3.  When you post, observe some "rules".

3.1. Give a meaningful subject, including the precise product.  E.g. 
"[RaQ 3] Strange error in web log".  

3.2. If it's a fresh subject, then make a fresh post, don't "reply" to
an existing message.  Even if you change the subject line, for many people
your post will be threaded under the original thread.  (Which they may 
have chosen to disregard in the meantime.  You *do* want people to 
read and respond, don't you?)

3.3. Do not post in HTML.  This really winds some people up.  There are 
many reasons, not least of which is that for people subscribed to the 
list digest, it appears as raw HTML, and in other words is practically
unreadable.  If people can't read it, they certainly won't reply to it.

3.4. Do not top-post.  That is to say, when replying to a post, give 
context to your post in the form of just enough quoted material, 
and put your response *after* the quoted material.  Again, consider the 
effect top-posting has on the digest form of the list, and consider how 
when you were searching the archives (as you were, remember?) the most 
useful replies were the ones that came *after* the question.  Further 
argument about this point can be referred to RFC 1855 and just about 
every guide to newsgroup and mailing list ettiquette ever written.
It is not a "personal preference".  It is a standard.

3.5. Keep your line lengths short, less than 80 characters.  Otherwise,
many people will see your post with some badly-mangled formatting,
and be less inclined to read it.

3.6. Read your post through before sending, and check for spelling, grammar, 
and layout.  The easier it is to read, the more likely people are to respond.

3.7. Don't criticise someone else's spelling and grammar.

3.8. Keep your signature short - four lines is reckoned to be plenty.  Use 
the correct sig separator - "-- " on a line by itself.  Some mail software
will then be able to strip it automatically.

4.  Do not assume that everybody lives in the same country.

5.  If you can, read the list for a while (days, weeks, months even) before
posting to it.  This will give you a feel for it.

-- 
Dom.