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Wed 7 Jun, 2006 05:29 am
Lately, there has been an influx of new members, many from China. A lot of the threads are concerning English word usage. I am noticing that there are a number of titles like, "Please help me", "Help!", or "I Need Your Help".
The problem with these titles is that a member who is looking down the list of new questions has absolutely no idea about the the question that is being asked. In addition, there are so many "Help Me" questions, that after awhile, if a member wants to respond, it is difficult to figure out which question is which.
A thread (question) title, needs to give members an idea of the subject of the question. For instance, a title, "What are the 'Great Lakes'" gives a member a lot more information than "Help".
When writing your thread, it would be far better to give other members a clue as to what information you are seeking. You are more likely to get more responses of you incorporate what you are looking for in the title of the thread.
We want to help. Please try to make it easier for us to assist you!!!
double bump! Obviously, not many people are reading this, because I am seeing more and more questions with the title, "Help!!
Phoenix--
Remember, these kids are ESL, not terribly computer savvy, not trained for touch typing in English and of an age to cut corners.
Over the last three weeks I've had some luck with gentle suggestions and I'm going to start explaining that "Help" and "?" aren't terribly informative topic headings.
In many ways our farm boys headed off to fight WW I and see Gay Paree are more sophisticated in the ways of the modern world than these kids are.
Hold your dominion.
PHX If i were a non english speaker the volume of words in your post would scare me of.
May I suggest
Thread title
Chinese people look here!!
first post in the thread
? and Help! are no good for titles
Have good words about your question in your title.
then just keep bumping.
Why not jsut do an auto check for a Chinese IP adress, and start them off in a special Chinese help forum thread?
This is also right in the reply box, right below the subject:
Quote:The subject should be relevant to the topic or question. Ideally the subject line should be able to summarize the question. Using a relevant title will greatly increase the chances of an answer. An example of a bad title is: "HELP ME!" An example of a good title is: "How do I reinstall Windows XP?" Using all caps and screaming for help will usually mean most people ignore you. If you use a relevant title with relevant keywords more people will find your topic.
If they don't see the above, they won't see this topic, Phoenix. Plus I have the impression that a lot of them arrive via Google (or equivalent) -- it's not like they browse a forum first, they just jump right in. Nice of you to want to help, though, and who knows, maybe someone will see it. :-)
Link to the faq on each post that may work.
The specific population we're talking about have a very tenuous grasp on English -- I really don't think that linking to the faq will accomplish anything!
I'm getting the impression that A2K is the first time many of these kids have actually connected with native English speakers.
The student body at CUMT is not drawn from the affluent west.
So who really cares about their titles. They're just having some fun and trying to learn some English.
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