An appeal for more informative thread titles

[Mitchell Andrus]

There's smoke pouring out of your planer:

This is a bad thread title: "What do you think....?"

This is a good thread title: "Help with smoke coming from my planer"

I try to stay up on the content of some threads where I might be of service or that might be interesting to follow. But every now and then I need to click into an ambiguous title like "Suggestions needed" just because I don't remember what the main point was - sometimes days later.

Just a small suggestion to help keep the bandwidth down and to attract more people who can tell you which fire extinguisher to use. Quickly.

All good literature starts with a good first sentence, except the novel "Paul Clifford" of course. Look it up.
.

[Chris Nolin]

I've thought the exact same thing, Mitchell. Thanks for verbalizing it! Oh, and isn't that Snoopy's favorite first line???

[Adam Strong]

I will join in the plea for your same reasons... I have noticed there seems to be a lot of this vague subjected threads.

[Mitchell Andrus]

I've thought the exact same thing, Mitchell. Thanks for verbalizing it! Oh, and isn't that Snoopy's favorite first line???

You get the grand prize.

Actually:

The first 'dark and stormy night' was conjured up by the English Victorian novelist, playwright and politician who rejoiced in the name of Sir Edward George Earle Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton. It has become synonymous with the Victorian melodramatic style, of which Bulwer-Lytton's many works provide numerous examples. This style has long been out of fashion and considered kitsch and risible. So much so that, since 1982, an annual Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest has been sponsored by the English Department of San José State University, California. Contestants are required "to compose the opening sentence to the worst of all possible novels". Bulwer-Lytton's own florid pre-contest attempt, in his novel Paul Clifford, 1830, began:

"It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents - except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness."
http://www.phrases.org.uk/images/snoopy.jpgThe phrase has been used frequently as a comic device by Charles M. Schulz in the popular comic strip Peanuts. The aspiring author Snoopy is often portrayed typing 'a dark and stormy night'.


Bulwer-Lytton's literary efforts weren't entirely in vain. His work was highly popular during his lifetime and he has left us more than 'a dark and stormy night'. For instance, " the great unwashed" and "the pen is mightier than the sword" are also his gifts.

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[Dave Gaul]

It makes sense to me that if the title is more informative, more people will look at the thread => more possible replies!

This could also help reduce the number of "topic-duplicated" threads...

[Brian Effinger]

I couldn't agree more, Mitchell. :)

[Richard Dragin]

You get the grand prize.

Actually:

The first 'dark and stormy night' was conjured up by the English Victorian novelist, playwright and politician who rejoiced in the name of Sir Edward George Earle Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton. It has become synonymous with the Victorian melodramatic style, of which Bulwer-Lytton's many works provide numerous examples. This style has long been out of fashion and considered kitsch and risible. So much so that, since 1982, an annual Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest has been sponsored by the English Department of San José State University, California. Contestants are required "to compose the opening sentence to the worst of all possible novels". Bulwer-Lytton's own florid pre-contest attempt, in his novel Paul Clifford, 1830, began:

"It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents - except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness."
http://www.phrases.org.uk/images/snoopy.jpgThe phrase has been used frequently as a comic device by Charles M. Schulz in the popular comic strip Peanuts. The aspiring author Snoopy is often portrayed typing 'a dark and stormy night'.


Bulwer-Lytton's literary efforts weren't entirely in vain. His work was highly popular during his lifetime and he has left us more than 'a dark and stormy night'. For instance, " the great unwashed" and "the pen is mightier than the sword" are also his gifts.

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Maybe you need to start a thread about staying on topic.:) I do agree with the title of this thread.

[Matt Stiegler]

And informative titles make it much, much easier to find what you're looking for when searching old threads.

[Myk Rian]

How about the current thread;
"Does anyone see a problem?"

A problem with what?

[Robert Reece]

I agree to.

The only way though that we are going to make this work is if we get the moderators to comment in the thread that the title is not expressive enough. We could also police this to some extent by commenting ourselves and making suggestions for new titles, to which the original poster could edit their post (hopefully they can edit a title). If the community stayed on top of the offenders, we would get it under control. But it would be a continual battle as new people come on and would need to learn that we hate unexpressive subject lines.

I remember a while back somebody made a plea to not just post a machine model number like Grizzly G0X550999!#4...a# because we all haven't memorized all the manufacturer catalogs. But still we have people posting these numbers without telling us what the thing actually is.

[Mr. Jeff Smith]

+1

I've got to the point where I just ignore threads without descriptive titles. So, more evidence for people looking for feedback to provide some detail in the title.

[Cliff Holmes]

From what I see, the vast, vast majority of posts have perfectly informative titles. Things must be pretty darn nice around here if that's the biggest concern we have.

[Josh Reet]

Good luck on getting this to change. Bad thread titles is an issue that has been around since before the invention of forum software. People were using listservs and sending out subjects like "HELP!" or "Which one?" in 1994.

You can't push a string.

[Brian Tymchak]

Good luck on getting this to change.....




I vote to make this thread a sticky. The thread title says it all.

How does one get a thread to "stick"?

Brian

[Mitchell Andrus]

Maybe you need to start a thread about staying on topic.:) I do agree with the title of this thread.

I would but I'd just drag it off topic.... What were we discussing again?

Ah, yes. Victoria era literature.
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[Brian D Anderson]

Good point.

Don't forget you can hover your mouse over the thread title and see the first XXX number of characters of the first post.

It works on Firefox. I imagine it works in IE as well.

-Brian

[Don Morris]

Agree, think I've been guilty so I'll try to be better in the future. Thanks for the reminder. If no one says it, it goes on and on without getting corrected. Should try to put a Key word in the tittle. That also allows for better "searches" later. Wow, just thought of that. I've been frustrated in some of my searches. KEY words!!!

[Mitchell Andrus]

KEY words!!!

Helps with Google searches too. Hadn't thought of that til now... Good point.
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[Mike Cruz]

Curiousity killed the cat, and many folks (I believe) do the ambiguous title on purpose to lure you in. Don't get me wrong, I'm with you 100 million thousand gabillion percent...sorry, I've been watching American Idol and Randy is rubbling off on me...

[Mike Cruz]

What, no off thread pics to link to? Wouldn't that have been easier?

[Mike Cruz]

Ok, Mitchell, you've been successful with two appeals. Let's keep going.

1: Wood peple pleeze chick there speling?

2: Can we get a subject area dedicated to GOATS? Oops, I mean GLOATS? That way those of us who like seeing successful steal, I mean deals, can see 'em, and those who just get upset by them can pass 'em by...

Mitchell, you have to start these appeals. They'll never work if I try it.

[Mitchell Andrus]

1: Wood peple pleeze chick there speling?

Mitchell, you have to start these appeals. They'll never work if I try it.

Soon. Timing is not quite right yet.

I'm really getting kind of tired of deciphering stuff like:

i relly need help so you if you can please tell me whato do it wood be grate thanks abunch lol :0

I get this kind of stuff from my website's 'contact us' page once in a while, so it's not just forum-haunts.
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[Brian Effinger]

Ok, Mitchell, you've been successful with two appeals. Let's keep going.

Mitchell, you have to start these appeals. They'll never work if I try it.

Hey!!! That other one was mine! :p :D




Soon. Timing is not quite right yet.

I'm really getting kind of tired of deciphering stuff like:

i relly need help so you if you can please tell me whato do it wood be grate thanks abunch lol :0

I get this kind of stuff from my website's 'contact us' page once in a while, so it's not just forum-haunts.
.

Yeah, I couldn't agree with you and Mike more. This stuff drives me nuts. You're trying to have a nice conversation, and someone drops this stuff in like they are texting (which is another thing I really hate).

[Mike Cruz]

+1 on making it a sticky!

[jim gossage]

I just ignore threads with uninformative titles - I don't have time to waste on them. What about putting a suggestion for more informative titles in the forum usage section? It might at least help the newbies who read it.

[Mitchell Andrus]

Yeah, I couldn't agree with you and Mike more. This stuff drives me nuts. You're trying to have a nice conversation, and someone drops this stuff in like they are texting (which is another thing I really hate).

Just wondering... I've never texted. Is there a shift key to make caps on those new-fangled contraptions? Are we growing a generation of lower-case-only nitwits?
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[David Helm]

Maybe we're just growing a bunch of e.e. cummings. Not likely. I don't see anything poetic in texting.

[Jim Rimmer]

Just wondering... I've never texted. Is there a shift key to make caps on those new-fangled contraptions? Are we growing a generation of lower-case-only nitwits?
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I don't text much but I do some. I have a Blackberry and if you hit the space bar twice it automatically puts in a period and starts the next word with a capital letter. And yes, there is a shift key. It's beginning to look like Newspeak.

[Steve Clardy]

Having a name to a broken tool, along with their posted model # sure would help.

Most times I have no idea what model # they are referencing. :confused: