Thread: Rules on Posting on Multiple Forums

  1. #1
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Posts
    16

    Rules on Posting on Multiple Forums

    Is there a rule about not posting the same post on here and on the devshed.com forum?

    I recently got a slap on the wrist for doing so, and was just wondering why. I guess maybe I missed something when I signed up for the forums.

  2. #2
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Posts
    16
    Thank you.

    Quote Originally Posted by anduril462 View Post
    Cross-posting (posting to multiple forums) is considered bad etiquette. Effectively, you are being selfish with and inconsiderate of our time. I understand this may not be your intention, but this is how it is often perceived, and the effect is the same. People over at Dev Shed or wherever, may be busy working on answering your question there, when you've already received an answer here. We help people out for free, in our spare time. We have jobs, families, hobbies of our own, etc, etc, and if we answer a question that is already answered, two things happen. First, we are not spending time on somebody else's answer, since we're busy duplicating (read: wasting) our effort on yours. Second, if we knew you were already getting help, we might prefer to spend our time on something else.

    Now, there are a few instances where it is acceptable to cross post, and there are right ways to do it. Usually this is when you have a very esoteric, multi-discipline problem, where there simply would not be sufficient expertise on any one forum. The correct way to handle this is, on each forum you are seeking help, to note that you have cross-posted, why you have done so, and to link to each cross-posted forum, so that people assisting you can stay apprised of the progress, and wont duplicate effort. Your situation does not apply, however.

    What really irks me, personally, beyond the above, is that cross-posting is explicitly forbidden in our forum guidelines. When you signed up for an account on this forum, you agreed to having read the rules, having understood them, and having agreed to abide by them. Could you imagine telling a police officer you didn't know there was such a thing as a speed limit, or that red lights mean stop? That would be absurd. Just like it's absurd for you to state that you have no idea cross posting is wrong.

    All this, on top of the fact that in your first thread over at Dev Shed (link), Salem referred you to a wonderful site on forum etiquette (that would be the catb.org link), that you apparently ignored. It clearly discusses why cross-posting is wrong. Just so you have it again: How To Ask Questions The Smart Way. Read it this time.

  3. #3
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Posts
    8,868
    Clearly, it could be good for the person asking the question, under ideal conditions, but it's a serious waste of the answerer's time, since both forums are trying to help solve the same problem, and are unaware of the other forums work (if any), on the problem.

  4. #4
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Posts
    16
    Quote Originally Posted by Adak View Post
    Clearly, it could be good for the person asking the question, under ideal conditions, but it's a serious waste of the answerer's time, since both forums are trying to help solve the same problem, and are unaware of the other forums work (if any), on the problem.
    I understand. I guess the better method would have been to try to get it resolved on one forum, and if I couldn't get it resolved there, to try the other forum.

  5. #5
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Posts
    16
    It's my fault for not reading the rules when I joined and not knowing the proper etiquette. I know now and am a better person for it. I'm sorry to anyone I may have offended.

Popular pages Recent additions subscribe to a feed

Similar Threads

  1. These forums
    By Korn1699 in forum A Brief History of Cprogramming.com
    Replies: 10
    Last Post: 03-21-2002, 11:10 AM
  2. what forums would you like to see
    By iain in forum A Brief History of Cprogramming.com
    Replies: 8
    Last Post: 01-07-2002, 03:14 PM
  3. old forums
    By oldcoyote in forum C Programming
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 12-26-2001, 07:21 PM
  4. Other Forums?
    By Fool in forum A Brief History of Cprogramming.com
    Replies: 21
    Last Post: 12-05-2001, 05:19 PM