Please read the FAQ

My comment wasn't about Dave. It was the self appointed net cops that got
on my case when I reminded that asking questions more than once is not
necessarily a bad thing as it creates more of a social group than the
encyclopedia this group will become if a question can be asked only once.

I top post because that's how I respond to emails. It makes reading emails
easier. I use the same email tool as I do for the newsgroups so it's a
habit. I know there's the official newsgroup format for posting but so few
people adhere to it I never bothered. I think it depends on the type of
newsgroup if those rules for responding really make sense or not. I've
found archives work very well for some groups but not for others. It's my
opinion that newsgroups that are used as a discussion forum should be
treated differently than newsgroups that are very specific and have the same
small group of people all of the time as it was a long time ago when people
use a very tightly defined newsgroup to discuss specific things and come to
conclusions. Since newsgroups these days are more like discussion forums I
haven't bothered to hold to the rules. But maybe I should for this forum
since it isn't very active...

Scott



"Steve Dold" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 19 Sep 2003, Scott Lindner wrote:

People who read the FAQ are better informed and the questions (which
we welcome) are a lot more insightful after they've read it.

Dave left a very nice message reminding newcomers that there is a lot of
info in the FAQ. He wasn't an a*hole at all. That FAQ was a huge help to
me when I started and I appreciate it. I wouldn't have known about it if
he hadn't made a similar post pointing it out. If you spend any length of
time here, which we hope you do, you'll see how tedius it can become when
the same questions are asked over and over and over :-P

And quit top posting!

Just kidding. But I gotta ask...why quote if you're posting at the top
anyway? It makes it really hard to follow the message thread archives
when you do that by the way.

On Fri, 19 Sep 2003 14:55:06 GMT, "Scott Lindner"
allegedly wrote:

I hate to be a dick about this but I wouldn't expect people to do that
nor do I plan on doing so myself. The RTFM tactic can be applied to
nearly all questions in existence.

I didn't say anything about "RTFM". I posted the link to the FAQ that
exists for this group, just like there are FAQs for many other groups.
Not everyone likes to post messages and ask questions - the FAQ is for
them also.

Another issue with repeated questions is that people start to not
answer. Then you get questions that yield no response and people think
that the group is a waste of time, or they think it's run by a clique
because the newbie questions aren't good enough for them.

This is a newsgroup intended for all people to post questions, share
ideas, and yap about whatever as long as it's about snowboarding.
Don't stifle that and turn this into a FAQ pimping board.

Lurk a bit longer before you make judgements.

- Dave.

--
The only powder to get high on, falls from the sky.
http://www.vpas.org/ - Snowboarding the worlds pow pow -
Securing your e-mail

The Snowboard FAQ lives here - http://rssFAQ.org/

On Sat, 20 Sep 2003 22:18:14 GMT, "Scott Lindner"
allegedly wrote:

I top post because that's how I respond to emails. It makes reading
emails easier.

Of course, you are entitled to your opinion. But the usenet posting
guidelines exist for a good reason, which makes the messages appeal to the
majority. It's about being considerate to your fellow person.

But maybe I should for this forum since it isn't very active...

That's because it's summer in the Northern Hemisphere. Wait until winter
and it will pick up to a moderate pace. Personally I wouldn't want 100 or
more messages a day (but that's just my opinion).

- Dave.

--
The only powder to get high on, falls from the sky.
http://www.vpas.org/ - Snowboarding the worlds pow pow -
Securing your e-mail

The Snowboard FAQ lives here - http://rssFAQ.org/

Another issue with repeated questions is that people start to not
answer. Then you get questions that yield no response and people
think
that the group is a waste of time, or they think it's run by a clique
because the newbie questions aren't good enough for them.

Even I've lost all desire to answer the questions, "is this board too
long for me", "is this board too short for me", and "what length board
should I get". As the FAQ says, you might want a 155 in one model, a
165 in another, and a 185 in a third. (Yes, even a lighter rider
might ride a big long swallowtail in powder or Super G boar in a
competition!) At one point, I was thinking up putting up a website with
progressively more complex answers to the question "what length board
should I get". It would start with "one that comes up to your chin"
and go all the way though my personal opinion which is "total length is
irrelevant, what you really care about is sidecut radius and then
effective edge" and then go into detail about when certain values might
be appropriate. Maybe I should go ahead and do it anyway!

Mike T

"Mike T" wrote..
"is this board too long for me"

No.

"is this board too short for me"

Yes

"what length board should I get".

http://www.bomberonline.com/Forums/A...chment_ID=1002

"what length board should I get".


http://www.bomberonline.com/Forums/A...chment_ID=1002

Ah, yes! Das Amputator, 201 cm.

"Mike T" wrote in message ...
Another issue with repeated questions is that people start to not
answer. Then you get questions that yield no response and people
think
that the group is a waste of time, or they think it's run by a clique
because the newbie questions aren't good enough for them.

Even I've lost all desire to answer the questions, "is this board too
long for me", "is this board too short for me", and "what length board
should I get". As the FAQ says, you might want a 155 in one model, a
165 in another, and a 185 in a third. (Yes, even a lighter rider
might ride a big long swallowtail in powder or Super G boar in a
competition!) At one point, I was thinking up putting up a website with
progressively more complex answers to the question "what length board
should I get". It would start with "one that comes up to your chin"
and go all the way though my personal opinion which is "total length is
irrelevant, what you really care about is sidecut radius and then
effective edge" and then go into detail about when certain values might
be appropriate. Maybe I should go ahead and do it anyway!

Mike T

It's just one of those Catch-22's (a book I'm trying to read right
now), by the time you know that a FAQ even exists... you've already
know most of what it has and therefore don't need it. Most people
don't like manuals in general as prefer asking a human for help (else
they would have done a web search and not posted on a live forum).

It would be something if this was a website with a "getting started"
link... but a newsgroup just doesn't have the type of pre-post
notification mechanism to tell the user to "check out the FAQ and/or
do a search before posting a new question."

Personally, I'd much rather have a "board length" question than seeing
someone continually post "Please read the FAQ" over and over again
(just don't like that solution to the problem).

Personally, I'd much rather have a "board length" question than seeing
someone continually post "Please read the FAQ" over and over again
(just don't like that solution to the problem).

The "board length" question is such a can of worms. Every once in a
while the question is asked in a way such that it can be answered...
witness Joseph's question about the 135, I just added to the fray on
that one. Often times I don't answer because I think there's little
chance I can add anything that is useful.

I think the "board length" discussion becomes more interesting if the
person asking it knows enough to ask the right question. It's difficult
to answer to "I'm 5'10", 180 pounds, what size board should I get", but
it's easier to answer if someone adds in their shoe size, what kind of
riding they want to do, what kind of conditions they usually encounter,
what brands they prefer or have access to, how many days on the snow
they have and how many days they think they're going to get, how much
"natural athletic aptitude" they have and do they want "room to grow
into it" or not. With that much information, it becomes a very lively
discussion!

Mike T