First, the cardinal rule of AW:
Respect your fellow writers!
Remember that. It's true that you can't always maintain civility when others are egging you on or being confrontational but do keep the snarkiness and the rudeness to a minimum. Posts crossing the boundary *may be* deleted. If you want to engage in arguments and debates, there are other boards on this forum for that. This board is simply for helping people.
Second:
Read the thread carefully.
Do not post here simply for the sake of upping your post count or to show others how smart you are. Posts which are not relevant to the original question and which seem to be posted just for the "me too!" factor *might be* deleted. If you have a new question that is not answered in the thread, please start a new thread unless it has a bearing on the original question.
Third:
Make sure that you provide accurate information.
This is a technical help forum and there might be those reading your posts who might not be as technically savvy as you. So do not provide mis-information or simply opinions. If you are not sure, please verify your facts before posting, it just takes a minute and may help a lot of others. Be clear in specifying what's opinion and what's fact.
Fourth:
Search is your friend.
A simple board search (using the provided Search tool) or a Google search might help you find answers to some of your questions. Please do a search before you ask a question since it might have been asked several times before. Also check the FAQ sub-board since it contains some of the more frequently asked questions.
Fifth:
We are not a tech support hotline.
The people on this board are happy to help out and will do their best to help you. But if the query is not directly writing related (or related to any of your writing tools like computer, printer etc.) you might be better off asking for support on a site/forum which is dedicated to the subject at hand. You will find a lot more people knowledgeable on the subject over at a dedicated site/forum than here.
Sixth:
Do not mass-resuscitate
Mass-resuscitation of dead threads just to show how clever you are is not really the done thing. If you simply go on a posting rampage and revive threads and post inane replies to threads where the issue has already been resolved or the question answered, your posts *might be* deleted without warning. Of course, if you have something insightful or new to add or have a new question related to the topic to ask, do feel free to resuscitate a thread
Seventh:
This is not Bewares and Background Checks
While you can certainly post bewares about organizations providing tech services or certain software, please ensure that you have the proof to back up your accusations. Unfounded claims *might* result in your posts/thread being deleted. Additionally, please note that all opinions expressed about software is that of the respective authors. If you're going to try a certain application, you do so at your own risk. So do the necessary checks on your own before accepting anybody's word for it
Eighth:
Leave the bad language at the door
I know AW has a general rule of letting people say what they want and let the posters self-moderate but on the Tech Help forums, if you can't say it without using language which would get your mouth washed out with soap by your mother, don't say it. And if you do say it, you might find your post edited or even deleted depending on how relevant the post is.
Ninth:
Please, no betas!
Please do not suggest using beta software in answer to a question unless that beta software actually fixes the issue when the stable version would not. This ties into rule three and also to the fact that at least some of the people frequenting this board might not realize the significance of the software being beta and might simply be following your advice. So if it is really necessary to suggest beta software, then also add in a caveat about what beta software is and how it might have its own issues.
Respect your fellow writers!
Remember that. It's true that you can't always maintain civility when others are egging you on or being confrontational but do keep the snarkiness and the rudeness to a minimum. Posts crossing the boundary *may be* deleted. If you want to engage in arguments and debates, there are other boards on this forum for that. This board is simply for helping people.
Second:
Read the thread carefully.
Do not post here simply for the sake of upping your post count or to show others how smart you are. Posts which are not relevant to the original question and which seem to be posted just for the "me too!" factor *might be* deleted. If you have a new question that is not answered in the thread, please start a new thread unless it has a bearing on the original question.
Third:
Make sure that you provide accurate information.
This is a technical help forum and there might be those reading your posts who might not be as technically savvy as you. So do not provide mis-information or simply opinions. If you are not sure, please verify your facts before posting, it just takes a minute and may help a lot of others. Be clear in specifying what's opinion and what's fact.
Fourth:
Search is your friend.
A simple board search (using the provided Search tool) or a Google search might help you find answers to some of your questions. Please do a search before you ask a question since it might have been asked several times before. Also check the FAQ sub-board since it contains some of the more frequently asked questions.
Fifth:
We are not a tech support hotline.
The people on this board are happy to help out and will do their best to help you. But if the query is not directly writing related (or related to any of your writing tools like computer, printer etc.) you might be better off asking for support on a site/forum which is dedicated to the subject at hand. You will find a lot more people knowledgeable on the subject over at a dedicated site/forum than here.
Sixth:
Do not mass-resuscitate
Mass-resuscitation of dead threads just to show how clever you are is not really the done thing. If you simply go on a posting rampage and revive threads and post inane replies to threads where the issue has already been resolved or the question answered, your posts *might be* deleted without warning. Of course, if you have something insightful or new to add or have a new question related to the topic to ask, do feel free to resuscitate a thread
Seventh:
This is not Bewares and Background Checks
While you can certainly post bewares about organizations providing tech services or certain software, please ensure that you have the proof to back up your accusations. Unfounded claims *might* result in your posts/thread being deleted. Additionally, please note that all opinions expressed about software is that of the respective authors. If you're going to try a certain application, you do so at your own risk. So do the necessary checks on your own before accepting anybody's word for it
Eighth:
Leave the bad language at the door
I know AW has a general rule of letting people say what they want and let the posters self-moderate but on the Tech Help forums, if you can't say it without using language which would get your mouth washed out with soap by your mother, don't say it. And if you do say it, you might find your post edited or even deleted depending on how relevant the post is.
Ninth:
Please, no betas!
Please do not suggest using beta software in answer to a question unless that beta software actually fixes the issue when the stable version would not. This ties into rule three and also to the fact that at least some of the people frequenting this board might not realize the significance of the software being beta and might simply be following your advice. So if it is really necessary to suggest beta software, then also add in a caveat about what beta software is and how it might have its own issues.
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