The CUF Protocol Thread

[cowboy]

We need one of these, imo. We do things a little differently here than other boards, and I think it would be useful to make this the place to post user tips for new members. This will help them make an easier transition to the format here and help them more quickly assimilate. I'll start with a few, but hopefully others will add their opinions as well

1) Threads are like government programs: a new one shouldn't be started unless absolutely necessary. There are a lot of topics in a lot of threads already in existence here. Particularly with religion and current events, whatever you have to say has likely been discussed. Instead of starting a new thread, find the one that exists and add to it. Jeff loves a tidy house.

2) Don't use the subject line to begin a post. Nobody reads it here, and it confuses those of us who have been away from cougarboard to see the body of a post begin midway through the first sentence.

3) (this is just my personal preference) The best way to keep up with different threads is by viewing them in linear mode. Every post is chronological in this mode so you don't miss anything. If you view in linear mode, you're bound to miss new posts in larger threads. Along with this, since most people view in linear mode, please quote whomever you are replying to so we can know what you're talking about.

4) The best button on this site is the New Posts button. With one click you can see every thread that has been updated since you last checked in. It takes the place of the "Message Board" button at cb.

There's more, and some may want to edit what I've started, but it's a start.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Good for you, cowboy. A few more:

5) Most threads are started by a long post describing a situation or posing a question. When you add a post to the thread, you do not need to quote the entire first post. If you are replying to the thread, we already know what the topic is. If you want to respond to a specific post inside the thread, go ahead and use the quote feature. This results in less clutter and reduces the size of the database that we have to host and maintain (including backups - which always get bigger and bigger).

6) In the spirit of the previous item, when quoting a particularly long post, please try to edit out the superfluous portions of the quote if possible. In some cases, please consider snipping all but the first few lines and adding "..." (or something) if your only purpose in quoting is to clarify to whom you are responding. Long quotes following by 1-2 sentence replies are particularly annoying and gobble up space in the database.

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

4) The best button on this site is the New Posts button. With one click you can see every thread that has been updated since you last checked in. It takes the place of the "Message Board" button at cb.

I have never used the "New Post" button. I always just look at the highlighted threads and click to go to newest unready post, unless I have been away a couple of days.

PS, I've been RTing all your beef updates. My 2 followers are confused.

[TripletDaddy]

7) It is not necessary to announce that you have arrived here as the result of a suspension on Cougarboard

[old_gregg]

if you're quoting a post that originally included a large picture, remove the duplicate picture from the new post.

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

7) It is not necessary to announce that you have arrived here as the result of a suspension on Cougarboard

In fact if you feel the need to post that you might be better off just waiting out your suspension and returning to CB.