Please understand that I have no official capacity here (at least that I am aware of), but have been around the block a few times. For the record, have been various sorts of associate minister, computer network manager and a host of other things. Hence, have seen pretty much the entire range of communication in a variety of ways. Some of this has been written in other ways/means/places, so precious little of this is new. I do not get into the blame/shame game and certainly don't point fingers. I am simply here to help, without overstepping my bounds.
All that notwithstanding, there are some general rules of thumb for communicating on forums that I have gleaned over the years and I would like to start here today and allow others to add to them as they feel so inclined. Not sure these are in any particular order, but here goes:
- ASK, not demand -- Questions/language issues are ok, (spelling/grammar checking would be helpful at times also) but we need to understand the full nature of the question. Sometimes we get into situations where we hardly understand enough to even form the proper question. This is fine and if admitted, can go a long ways toward getting the help we need. Pics would be nice, as would part numbers to help us to help you. In other words, the more information you give us, the more help we can be to you.
- BALANCE, not brag -- if you are really a newb, then it is ok to admit (not vaunt) that fact and prepare to move forward. Telling us that you were drunk, got stupid on the forum and were happy about it is not going to win many friends. Rather, admitting you messed up and are willing to learn from it and move on can be critical.
- CHANGE, not cower -- Admittedly, this is arguably the toughest on the list, but might just be the most important. Are we willing to change (grow) beyond where we are to where we want to be? If we want to be different, then we need to be different.
- DECIDE, not destroy -- Perhaps a 1,000 decisions are to be made in the course of any given project. Some of those are bigger and more important and even more obvious than others. Arguably the most important one is your role at any given forum: is it to control something? Is it to vaunt yourself and your abilities? God forbid, is it to see how many forums you can get kicked off of in your lifetime?
- EXPLORE, not explode -- some of us are more brave and have bigger budgets and whatever than others. We are all different. Yet, the love of odd sounds and getting our hands dirty is what binds us together. Communication will get us moving towards our dreams.
The list could go on, but think this is enough to get us started here towards usable communications. Again, hope I did not go too far over my bounds.
