Posting Guidelines

I'm getting a bit sick of posters constantly wanging on about duplicating posts.
How is a person supposed to check EVERY SINGLE THREAD ever posted to see if they are offending anyone?
And actually, posting the same rant about duplicating posts, is in fact duplication in itself.

Here are the posting GUIDELINES, from what I can see, you shouldn't post duplicate posts just to bump them up.
Innocent posters shouldn't be given out to, it's an open LIVE forum or am I just a silly newbie?

I'm probably going to get annihilated for saying that, or horror, maybe back in February 2003, someone posted something similar

I'm not sure what brought this on. I am assuming that you are referring the occasional case of contributors duplicating posts or creating a new thread instead of continuing with an existing related/original one? As far as I'm aware the moderators have generally (always?) been fairly diplomatic/gentle about dealing with this (especially when it involves a newcomer to the site or an unregistered poster) and generally point out the mistake, the relevant posting guidelines, link to the original/related thread and usually move the duplicated post into the linked thread. I'm not aware of anybody being given out to for making this mistake. Maybe I have missed some other incident(s) that sparked this tirade off?

pricilla said:

I'm getting a bit sick of posters constantly wanging on about duplicating posts.

Click to expand...

Is this constantly happening? Can you give some examples please?

How is a person supposed to check EVERY SINGLE THREAD ever posted to see if they are offending anyone?

Click to expand...

Via the ?

And actually, posting the same rant about duplicating posts, is in fact duplication in itself.

Click to expand...

What rant?

Innocent posters shouldn't be given out to, it's an open LIVE forum or am I just a silly newbie?

Click to expand...

Where is this happening?

P.S. I've moved this to Letting Off Steam because it does not logically belong in the Mortgages and Home Buying forum where it was originally posted.

I've seen it quite a few times recently, somebody new posts a question.
Then someone replys with "stop duplicating posts"
Everyone's situation is different, and I think people have a right to post their problem if they want advice, even if something similar has been posted in the past.
Often times people are new and inexperienced and are looking for advice quickly and don't have time to trawl through every thread. I think it is harsh and I just wanted to make the point that we're not all perfect.
I'm not getting into an argument with you, but I don't think it's nice to keep correcting people.
I have my view and you have yours. Lets not fall out over it

pricilla said:

I've seen it quite a few times recently, somebody new posts a question.
Then someone replys with "stop duplicating posts"

Click to expand...

Can you link to a few examples if possible so that we can see what you are referring to.

Everyone's situation is different, and I think people have a right to post their problem if they want advice, even if something similar has been posted in the past.

Click to expand...

Yes - but obvious duplication of posts/threads and creating new threads for posts that relate to existing discussions are avoided where possible as otherwise things become unmanageable.

Often times people are new and inexperienced and are looking for advice quickly and don't have time to trawl through every thread.

Click to expand...

The search facility is very handy for this sort of thing.

I think it is harsh and I just wanted to make the point that we're not all perfect.

Click to expand...

What precisely is harsh - I'm still confused.

I'm not getting into an argument with you, but I don't think it's nice to keep correcting people.

Click to expand...

Again I'm not clear on what you're referring to.

I have my view and you have yours. Lets not fall out over it

Click to expand...

Not at all.

Pricilla, may I say
(A) Ive only ever seen an admin(clubman or otherwise) post "dont duplicate posts" when it was the same user posting duplicate posts. Not when different users are posting same questions.
and (B) If at times, and it does happen, that a similar question is asked by a different user quite closely to another, then a link maybe inserted and request to keep all answers in one post but as above, I cant remember a "dont duplicate posts" remark in that case.

The reasoning should be in B above, as this is a voluntary board, theres no point in having contributors duplicating their work, and in A if someone hasnt contributed on the first instance of posting, its fair to say they wouldnt have an answer the second time round. If there are no answers then perhaps a bump with some rephrasing would help.

and I think people have a right to post their problem if they want advice

Click to expand...

I don't want to sound pedantic here but AAM is run and moderated for free. The high standards here are kept high by the moderators giving up their time every day (for free). Most of us would not have the temperament or ability to do their job. I am just pointing these things out because there seems to be an opinion abroad that we all have a god given right to post on AAM. We don't. While Brendan etc give of their time (and I am sure money) to provide a public service we will have access to this site. When they decide to jack it in we will not.

pricilla

Some thread or post must have sparked off your concern. We cannot deal with the issue unless you tell us where it is. Can you provide the link or links to a few of these incidents? There must have been a good few of them if "I'm getting a bit sick of posters constantly wanging on about duplicating posts".

Mods are not perfect. We are busy. It is very irritating to see someone posting yet again, "Where can I invest €10,000?". But most of the time these questions have been dealt with civilly, but if a Mod's frustration has resulted in rudeness, especially to a newcomer, please do point it out, nicely to them.

I've only ever seen the "don't duplicate posts" warning/request used by mods/admins when someone posts the same question in multiple threads. It makes perfect sense that a question should be in one forum only, as this way it is easier to follow the thread of the discussion. So I sure don't have any problem with it. It may seem harsh to lock a thread with the "don't duplicate...." one liner, but hey, read the posting guidelines before you post anything.

Many people ask questions similar to ones that have been asked before, and I find that the mods/admins (and certain frequent posters) will more likely than not point you in the direction (through the use of links) of a thread where a similar question was asked. I have often asked questions that replicate questions asked at another time, and have never taken offence when pointed elsewhere.

And finally, I would like to second Purple's sentiments above. This isn't a public service. Nobody has a right to post here (other than Brendan, I guess), and the rules are there for a reason. Deal with it.

If people feel like posting the same question 3 or 4 time at once, I don't think that the mods on boards.ie seem to mind, very liberal over there .

Ok, ok. I am also a member of the askaboutmoney fanclub, I just bought a house and think this site is brilliant. I do not know anything about the backround or moderators or actually anything at all about money.
But I do love reading the threads, and I still think it's a bit mean when someone has an honest problem and they get told to stop duplicating posts, when everyones questions and answers are slightly different.
I think all the moderators are wonderful (I had no idea ye did it for free) and I apologise for making sweeping statements.
I'm not fighting anymore ok.

pricilla said:

But I do love reading the threads, and I still think it's a bit mean when someone has an honest problem and they get told to stop duplicating posts, when everyones questions and answers are slightly different.

Click to expand...

Once again - can you provide us with even one example of the sort of thing that you're referring to because I am at a loss to understand what it is. If there is a real issue here then we need to know about it.