BS: How do you write a good post?

Subject: BS: How do you write a good post?
From: greg stephens
Date: 16 Mar 04 - 07:05 AM

It is hugely difficult (especially if you are a beginner) to write good emails or posts to Mudcat threads.By good I mean things that say what you mean, and provoke discussion in the direction you would like it go, I suppose. I dont mean "good" as in Shakespeare or something.
   We all have trouble making jokes and people not spotting they are jokes. And sometimes Iseem to be able to write something that gets everyone chatting, but then other things I say seem to stop conversation stone dead. Or just get ignored.
   Anybody come up with some good guidelines in this difficult area? I think the main problem is you cant include "tone of voice" easily when typing. But some people manage to come up with something very like it.

Subject: RE: BS: How do you write a good post?
From: kendall
Date: 16 Mar 04 - 07:39 AM

Clarity of thought. Organize what you want to say in some kind of order. Avoid shortcuts and regional idioms. Try to read it as someone else will. Spelling and punctuation are very important, one little mistake can change the whole meaning of what you are trying to say. For instance, if you want to ask..but is it legal? and you actually say..yes, but it is legal.. switching those two little words changes the whole thing.
Getting really picky, many people have trouble with the difference among, to, two and too. They are not interchangable, and mixing them up causes confusion to the reader.
Lastly, do not ramble.

Subject: RE: BS: How do you write a good post?
From: GUEST
Date: 16 Mar 04 - 07:54 AM

Most peeple underand exacly wat is witten, but certan pople alwayss wunt tu sho of theere litewacy scils at thu expance off uthers.

Subject: RE: BS: How do you write a good post?
From: Rt Revd Sir jOhn from Hull
Date: 16 Mar 04 - 07:59 AM

i agree with kendall spelinng and punchuation is very impotrant the thinhg waht annoys me most hear is bad spelinng.

Subject: RE: BS: How do you write a good post?
From: kendall
Date: 16 Mar 04 - 08:05 AM

No man ever need be a total failure; he can always serve as a bad example.

Subject: RE: BS: How do you write a good post?
From: greg stephens
Date: 16 Mar 04 - 08:07 AM

Who said that? Apart from Kendall, I mean. it's rather good.

Subject: RE: BS: How do you write a good post?
From: freda underhill
Date: 16 Mar 04 - 08:16 AM

i always forget to check my spelling & typing - maybe this'll help me remeber!

oops

remember!

Subject: RE: BS: How do you write a good post?
From: GUEST
Date: 16 Mar 04 - 08:29 AM

it also depends on the mood of the person reading the post.

Subject: RE: BS: How do you write a good post?
From: kendall
Date: 16 Mar 04 - 09:26 AM

I got that from Roger Miller.

What's the mood of the reader to do with correct spelling or puncuation?

Subject: RE: BS: How do you write a good post?
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 16 Mar 04 - 09:41 AM

Timing has a lot to do with it. If you come into a thread late, after most people are losing interest in it, it's less likely anyone will even read your post.

You say, "other things I say seem to stop conversation stone dead." I really don't think that's possible. More likely your post came at a point where the thread was about ready to die anyway. In every thread, SOMEONE has to be last.

Spelling is important if you're posting something that someone else is likely to search for. Therefore I think it's important to get names and places and the words that define your topic spelled right. And if every third word is misspelled, it makes it awfully hard to read. But it's obvious that Mudcat is very tolerant of misspelling.

Someone once told me my style of writing was too formal for Mudcat. I guess some people equate formality with arrogance and take offense at it. Well, I can't comfortably change my style, so now I just try to stay out of controversies.

Subject: RE: BS: How do you write a good post?
From: Raptor
Date: 16 Mar 04 - 09:44 AM

I have yet to write anything good so don't ask me!

Raptor

Subject: RE: BS: How do you write a good post?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 16 Mar 04 - 09:44 AM

One thing that I believe adds a lot is to make an effort to provide relevant links - so if you mention a song, link to it on the DT, or in another thread, or elsewhere. If it's a document you want to cite, the chances are that a search engine will it to exist, somewhere on the net.

And it's very easy to use a search engine to check up on quotes and facts, and that's a good idea.

It's also very easy to post in haste and repent at leisure, and that's not so good an idea. If someone posts something that really annoys us, you it's much better to wait till we've cooled down to reply - maybe, anyway, some later post by then will show we had got hold of the wrong end of the stick. (That particularly applies when there is irony in the locality...)

Subject: RE: BS: How do you write a good post?
From: mooman
Date: 16 Mar 04 - 09:50 AM

It depends what one means by "good".

In any case some forethought never does any harm and it helps if it is constructive rather than totally negative.

Peace

moo

Subject: RE: BS: How do you write a good post?
From: Bobert
Date: 16 Mar 04 - 09:53 AM

Mornin' to my ol'hard drinking, cigarette rollin', cajun playin' buddy.

Ahhhh, danged if I know, Gregster. I either piss everyone off everyone is lined up to whack me 'er they ignore me like radiation. Would be nice to find that middle ground but I reackon I'd have to be a lot smarter and better seller' to make it to that level...

Hey to Kate an' danged if me an' the P-Vine ever catch out breath we'll get over to see you all. It's on the A list...

Yer drinkin' bud,

Bobert

Subject: RE: BS: How do you write a good post?
From: greg stephens
Date: 16 Mar 04 - 09:57 AM

A useful rule I have discovered is to avoid Mudcat on return from a heavy night in the pub. Your witticisms, and stinging ripostes about George Bush and the Dorian mode, never seem quite so appropriate the following morning. JOhn from Hull can get away with it, the rest of us cant.

Subject: RE: BS: How do you write a good post?
From: Bill D
Date: 16 Mar 04 - 10:10 AM

" Avoid shortcuts and regional idioms"...amen, I say, and again, AMEN!

Breaking up long posts with paragraphs is also important. I sometimes totally avoid a post that first appears as a mass of letters that my poor overworked brain can't scan easily.

I will also go out on a limb and admit that I really am put off by those who treat punctuation marks and the *SHIFT* key as an imposition on their busy lives!
it is just too much when i see a post about america or other countries or proper names like george bush or osama thrown into a sentence no matter how long or short with no attempt to break up thoughts or signal proper nouns with any sort of identifying characters and still expect anyone to read much less care what in the hell they are talking about youknowhatimean?

I, personally, spice up my posts with use ofitalics or underlinings to emphasize a word, in order to give you, the *important* reader some idea of what I'd sound like if I were speaking to you.

(I just misspelled 'emphacize' in the previous paragraph, but my handy, dandy little 'spell check as you go' program went 'ding' and told me to look at it it, and gave me a list of words that I might have meant, then fixed it for me.) You too can have this program if you are a PC user...TinySpell

Subject: RE: BS: How do you write a good post?
From: Amos
Date: 16 Mar 04 - 10:15 AM

Cleave to the concrete, the active, and the Anglo-Saxon. Above all, seek brevity.

A

Subject: RE: BS: How do you write a good post?
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 16 Mar 04 - 10:49 AM

If you read something that really angers you, save your response to a WP program and wait an hour to see if you still feel the same way. More often than not you will have calmed down a little and will want to at least soften the response somewhat, if not delete it all together.

Bruce

Subject: RE: BS: How do you write a good post?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 16 Mar 04 - 10:51 AM

"Avoid ... regional idioms"

No way, that kind of thing is one of the main delights of the Cat. Just be willing to explain, and patient enough to ask for teh explanation. ("Regional" meaning anything from South-East Dorset to North America.)

Subject: RE: BS: How do you write a good post?
From: Peace
Date: 16 Mar 04 - 10:58 AM

Like, when you say things to do with stuff about items for like ya know, discussion, it's uh, well, let me say this. People who like write need to remember the things they're writing about it on the thread they are writing on. It's of paramount pictures to state of the union very clear. Anyway, that's the thing.

Subject: RE: BS: How do you write a good post?
From: Ben Dover
Date: 16 Mar 04 - 11:00 AM

My name is also my hobby. Oh, sorry, wrong thread.

Subject: RE: BS: How do you write a good post?
From: Bill D
Date: 16 Mar 04 - 11:52 AM

"that kind of thing is one of the main delights of the Cat."

*grin*...scholars differ. (well, it *does* depend on the context)

Subject: RE: BS: How do you write a good post?
From: Peace
Date: 16 Mar 04 - 11:55 AM

"Avoid regional idiots":

That's very, very good advice.

Subject: RE: BS: How do you write a good post?
From: Bill D
Date: 16 Mar 04 - 12:04 PM

but, in Hull, almost impossible....

*ducking for cover*

Subject: RE: BS: How do you write a good post?
From: kendall
Date: 16 Mar 04 - 12:31 PM

Let me clarify. Regional idioms are fun in regular banter, but if somone is looking for information, or it's a serious thread, they simply muddy the waters.

Subject: RE: BS: How do you write a good post?
From: kendall
Date: 16 Mar 04 - 12:33 PM

1. Spelling
2. Punctuation
3. grammar

Subject: RE: BS: How do you write a good post?
From: GUEST,Cretinous Yahoo
Date: 16 Mar 04 - 12:35 PM

Those who can, do,
Those who can't, justify their lack of skill.

Subject: RE: BS: How do you write a good post?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 16 Mar 04 - 12:42 PM

What I mean is, it's through people saying things the way they say them where they live that you get to know that they say them differently from where you live, and how the same words can mean different things; and you might never have known otherwise.

And I like doing that.

Subject: RE: BS: How do you write a good post?
From: Peace
Date: 16 Mar 04 - 02:11 PM

Idioms are cool. Use 'em, and if someone requires/needs a clarification, he or she will ask.

Subject: RE: BS: How do you write a good post?
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 16 Mar 04 - 02:43 PM

I agree with Kendall. Idioms, colloquialisms and spelled out regional pronunciation variants are fun in light creative writing but have no place in a serious post.

I use 'em alluh time in lotsa threads an' anyone don' lack it kin go piss up a rope.

They also add to the multiregional/multicultural flavor of the place. One can usually only wear the hat of one's own region. I can't do New England Yankee worth a damn, but there's nobody out there that can beat me at southern, Redman chewin', 4WD drivin', Rebel flag wavin' good ole boy.

Yeah, every now and then somebody gets all torqued out of shape and accuses some of us of using stereotypical caricatures but, you know what? Let 'em come down here t' Floribama an' spen' about fifteen minutes listenin' t' th' conversations bein' carried on while sittin' on th' tailgates of pickup trucks in th' parkin' lot of Bubba's Store an' then tell me they's caricatures.

Bruce

Subject: RE: BS: How do you write a good post?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 16 Mar 04 - 03:09 PM

How do you know that other people don't use the same idioms as you do if you avoid using them? For example, how would you know that "cute" means something totally different in Ireland from what it means in England (and I believe in the United States).

Subject: RE: BS: How do you write a good post?
From: Donuel
Date: 16 Mar 04 - 05:31 PM

copy - paste

:@

Subject: RE: BS: How do you write a good post?
From: C-flat
Date: 16 Mar 04 - 05:55 PM

Well Greg, you seem to have got this thread going nicely. 33 postings so far in one day!
Nothing to worry about! :-)
C-flat.

Subject: RE: BS: How do you write a good post?
From: GUEST,John Hardly
Date: 16 Mar 04 - 06:27 PM

I think it's a bit like peeling off tape that's REALLY stuck down. You gotta work around the corners, then the edges, then you may be able to pull off a good post.

First the corners...

you have a short grace period. The 'cat likes new posters -BUT- if, within the first few posts you make no impact, it's best to change your forum name and start over again. This is because on the mudcat the threads are so long that hardly anyone reads all the posts. If you blend into the morass early on, your name will be the signal to move to the next post. (and note: LOTS of folks here respond to the question that heads the thread -- NOT any subsequent posts. That's why here on the mudcat, more than any other forum I've ever participated in, there is HUGE duplication in the content of posts in a thread. I used to take this personally -- as if I was being ignored. Now I know that, for whatever reason, it's how things are done here)

During this grace period it is essential that your posts be no more than three sentences (and those should be broken by paragraph lines if they are long). It is also important to grammarize and puncturate as mentioned above.

The above is true UNLESS you have really different, enlightening material to offer, or you are a VERY good writer, or you are a very funny writer.

next the edges....

If you survived the grace period, you may have noticed a small circle of people that actually notice and respond to your posts. If that's the case, you need to continue to respond in kind (use the "trace" device). A small circle of people noticing your posts will cause an exponential growth in others noticing because, as mentioned before, since hardly anyone reads posts from people they don't already know, it is only by the occasional acknowledgement by another poster that one might return upthread to read a post that gets referrenced further down the thread.

finally you can peel off a good post...

You can then take the chance to post a bit more involved post as long as you break the post into LOTS of paragraphs and follow the advice mentioned by the others in this thread.

Subject: RE: BS: How do you write a good post?
From: freightdawg
Date: 16 Mar 04 - 08:28 PM

Above all, never hit submit until you

Subject: RE: BS: How do you write a good post?
From: Benjamin
Date: 17 Mar 04 - 12:49 AM

Honestly, spelling really does help people take you seriously. However, if you want to know how to get a discussion of some sorts going, I'm not the guy to ask since people usually just want to attack a view of mine it seems, although people are usually nice when your replying to a discussion that's already started.

Subject: RE: BS: How do you write a good post?
From: catspaw49
Date: 17 Mar 04 - 12:55 AM

Ya' know Greg, prior to this I had always credited you with a high intelligence but now I rescind all statements I have ever made to that effect. Assuming your question is serious in nature and you would really like to know, let me ask you this..........Why the hell would you have any reason to believe that any of us brokedick mamaluccas around here would have even the tiniest clue? Writing a good post is an alien concept at the 'Cat. Mostly the postings here are at best, a rambling assortment of pseudo folk wisdoms, obscure and silly song lyrics, banal questions of musicianship, and half-assed comments made as a representation of political thought.

Like the rendition of "Take 5" that I am listening to which is done in 4/4 time, your question too is equally fucked up.

Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: How do you write a good post?
From: Rustic Rebel
Date: 17 Mar 04 - 04:42 AM

Know this about me, I am very rarely serious. If you know that I am very rarely serious, you know that what ever I say should be taken with a grain of sodium chloride (NaCL).
Rustic(rebelrouser)

Subject: RE: BS: How do you write a good post?
From: greg stephens
Date: 17 Mar 04 - 04:58 AM

Well, I suppose the main thing is not to insult people. And as for your comments, Spaw, you can blow them out of your arse(or possibly ass, in case you dont understand my quaint regional idioms).And as for that bill d, words fail me. what is a shift key anyway?

Subject: RE: BS: How do you write a good post?
From: Roger the Skiffler
Date: 18 Mar 04 - 03:53 AM

1)Engage brain before typing
2)Preview before submitting

RtS
(never knowingly takes own advice!)

Subject: RE: BS: How do you write a good post?
From: bbc
Date: 18 Mar 04 - 08:01 AM

Avoid the CapsLock key (I hope that hasn't already been said.). For some reason, I really find it difficult to concentrate on meaning WHEN SOMEONE IS SHOUTING AT ME! I would concur w/ those who suggested a cooling off period before posting, if you are upset w/ something. I'd rather have you delete, than need to apologize later. Composing in a word processor can save frustration. I've lost lengthy posts due to not following that advice!

bbc

Subject: RE: BS: How do you write a good post?
From: Wolfgang
Date: 18 Mar 04 - 08:01 AM

Ve leik se eidia wis se ritschional idschum.

Wulfgeng

Subject: RE: BS: How do you write a good post?
From: Peace
Date: 18 Mar 04 - 12:00 PM

Hey, Spaw, Take 5 is a 5/4 time. Who the heck did it in 4/4? Don't mess with my mind. I will send people with bulges in their armpits and nicknames like "The Lump'" or "Slash" to visit. Don't paly with my mind. Don't play with my mind.

The Dave Brubeck Quartet did it originally, I think. Who the heck did it in 4/4?

Subject: RE: BS: How do you write a good post?
From: GUEST,Martin Gibson
Date: 18 Mar 04 - 12:59 PM

Say what you mean.
Mean what you say.

Be brutally honest.

Use whatever language it takes to emphasize your point.

Don't be a pussy if the person you don't agree with is a jagoff.

Realize it's only an Internet forum and you can do something else on your computer in just a few seconds.

Have fun.

Subject: RE: BS: How do you write a good post?
From: Bill D
Date: 18 Mar 04 - 01:17 PM

greg...I have some vague jest about you being 'shiftless', but I can't really refine it well enough to bother with..

Martin Gibson..."Be brutally honest."....interesting modifier in your case...

Subject: RE: BS: How do you write a good post?
From: Strick
Date: 18 Mar 04 - 02:18 PM

"How do you write a good post?"

Briefly.

(And never follow my example.)