Proper use of help in thread titles

It seems that there has been a major upswing in the use of HELP in the thread TITLES, this only makes members think that this is a 911 call, an emergency, someone in NEED of immediate help.

We have tried to get members NOT to use HELP in there titles unless it is a EMERGENCEY, it looks like these efforts are just being INGNORED, so I see thread DELETIONS along with WARNINGS or INFRACTIONS being given for the CARELESS use of HELP, 911, ECT.

The use of an EMERGENCY call brings out the SS immediate help response team, WE will be there if needed so please do not be afraid to post a 911, so think twice before a 911 call is posted, not HELP my dog pi$$ed on my deuce seat

This is another if you do not like this, TOUGH it is the way it is.

Well, I can see "help needed with..." but if you Have it capitalized, "HELP needed" that might be another story. I had always considered it an unwritten, generally accepted, "rule". I did not think that was in our rules. The arguement for "why don't you use "BROKEDOWN, need help" could be argued.

gimpyrobb said:

Well, I can see "help needed with..." but if you Have it capitalized, "HELP needed" that might be another story. I had always considered it an unwritten, generally accepted, "rule". I did not think that was in our rules. The arguement for "why don't you use "BROKEDOWN, need help" could be argued.

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Bad titles to threads is one of the biggest problems all around , especially when it comes to searching. But HELP and EMERGENCY seems to be the most abused .

A follow up of my first post,
With the way HELP is being used, it is starting to turm into the boy who cried wolf and HELP may not be there if needed.

gimpyrobb said:

Well, I can see "help needed with..." but if you Have it capitalized, "HELP needed" that might be another story. I had always considered it an unwritten, generally accepted, "rule". I did not think that was in our rules. The arguement for "why don't you use "BROKEDOWN, need help" could be argued.

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This is true to a point but as a FAMILY, SSers come to the aid of other members besides BREAKDOWNS

Beside if you are asking some thing the "help" part is implied. If you didn't need help why are you asking? There is no need to make a title longer, I.E. I can't find X vs Help I can't find X or I can't find X I need help.

Well, this makes sense. Generally all upper case characters have been accepted as more urgent and/or yelling.

Would it not be more helpful to add this to the Forum Rules, or FAQ?

Not to critizise, but perhaps a helpful suggestion:

I think more mileage would be gained, more training of the community of Steel Soldiers would be garnered if when enforcing a rule that the Moderator/Administrator simply rename the thread title and post a comment:

"Please do not create threads with titles in all upper case."
or
"Please do not use 'Help' in the subject unless it is an emergency."
or
"I've changed the subject of this thread since it was not an emergency. Please only use 'Help' in such cases."
or
"The topic of the thread has long since been derailed and I'm locking this thread."
or
"Please keep things civil in here, but I'm going to let things continue because there has been some very good discussion."

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What this does is inform the thread creator, other posters, and anyone else who reads the thread now or years in the future. It's a nice warning to help keep everyone on the up-and-up. It shows at what point in behavior or language you draw the line. Any other action or infractions or however you deem to manage things can be taken care of behind the scenes.

Otherwise a thread like this one comes across more as a vent about the behavior of others rather than training, correcting, and informing the community.

As a recent guilty party on this I apologize if my use of help in the title on my locked up brakes was incorrect. I was literally stuck and needed the advice I got in order to be able to move the truck from the event location.

That said after the immediate situation was resolved (ie the truck didnt catch on fire and could be towed) I did try to edit the thread to remove the 'help'. I hoped to keep the thread open for reference while making it clear that the immediate need was handled. Unfortunately the title edit i did had no effect on the title that shows in listings.

I agree there should be some education to limit the use of 'help' to time sensitive needs. But there is still a need for it...

Maybe an option for the OP to pull the word afterwards. Maybe add a flag on the form for creating a thread which adds 'HELP' to the beginning of the title. It could cause a popup explaining the proper usage and then give the OP the option to easily drop it later when things are stable.

Personally I would say do not use help for roadside problems. Instead use 911 (emergency) or AAA (roadside assistance).

mactiredearg,

If you need to get a thread title edited, just PM one of the mods and we can take care of that for you. I don't remember ever being able to edit a title with standard user privilages.

Speddmon said:

I don't remember ever being able to edit a title with standard user privilages.

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I'm pretty sure members still can edit thread titles. Hit "edit" on the first thread. Then got to "advanced". In the advanced screen you can edit the thread title. I just checked one of my threads and the option is still there.

Do not think you can edit titles

Valence said:

I think more mileage would be gained, more training of the community of Steel Soldiers would be garnered if when enforcing a rule that the Moderator/Administrator simply rename the thread title and post a comment:

"Please do not create threads with titles in all upper case."
or
"Please do not use 'Help' in the subject unless it is an emergency."
or
"I've changed the subject of this thread since it was not an emergency. Please only use 'Help' in such cases."
or
"The topic of the thread has long since been derailed and I'm locking this thread."
or
"Please keep things civil in here, but I'm going to let things continue because there has been some very good discussion."

Click to expand...

What this does is inform the thread creator, other posters, and anyone else who reads the thread now or years in the future. It's a nice warning to help keep everyone on the up-and-up. It shows at what point in behavior or language you draw the line. Any other action or infractions or however you deem to manage things can be taken care of behind the scenes

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ALL ready being done, still we get HELP my dog pi$$ed in my deuce seat

73m819 said:

Do not think you can edit titles

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Yes I can. I just did it over in the testing forum. The thread title was originally "test" and I changed it to "test edit".

m16ty said:

I'm pretty sure members still can edit thread titles. Hit "edit" on the first thread. Then got to "advanced". In the advanced screen you can edit the thread title. I just checked one of my threads and the option is still there.

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That's good to know, I'll store that away for future reference. Thanks

Speddmon said:

That's good to know, I'll store that away for future reference. Thanks

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In my Classified ad for the Valve Stem extenders, I misspelled "Stem" as "Steam" in the thread title. I tried editing it and in the Classified's forum it still shows "Steam", however, if the ad is opened, the title of the thread is properly spelled "Stem".

Valence said:

In my Classified ad for the Valve Stem extenders, I misspelled "Stem" as "Steam" in the thread title. I tried editing it and in the Classified's forum it still shows "Steam", however, if the ad is opened, the title of the thread is properly spelled "Stem".

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You can only edit for a certain amount of time. After that, you cannot.