Rule for informative titles

[mjr]

Looking through Active Topics today, there are various unhelpful vague titles:

'What's going on here then?'
'Anyone still using this stuff?'
'Can you see it?'
'first post, first off, some advice if possible '

Should a rule be added for the topic title to actually describe the content of the topic? For example, any products or brands involved in the opening post should be named.

Most of us will have neither experience or opinion on Spargletron Foobwarbler 300 levers, so it's a waste of our time reading a topic asking for help on it and the opening poster may well complain that we're wasting their time if we post about it.

It's also needless cognitive load to have to remember that "Has this happened to you?" is a post about something we neither know nor care about, and not click on it and waste time every time it's highlighted as unread. We can bookmark or subscribe to topics, but we can't ignore topics. Ignoring the most frequent vague titlers is possible but not obvious (click their name then Add Foe... and even that wouldn't work if they are a moderator)

Adopting this rule would also enable mods to add descriptions to the titles and to offer guidance to posters.

[mattheus]

:like:

[Carlton green]

With no disrespect to other posters intended it’s really helpful to have meaningful tittles - meaningful to more than the OP ‘cause they’re probably looking for responses and that means getting people to read the original post. Tittles do let folk know whether something is worth reading and they do show up in searches for information.

[mattheus]

I've just seen a really good one ( on another forum where mjr lurks):
"I know this has been discussed before but........"

[Paulatic]

It has Guess the subject of the following before clicking the link. What about this? viewtopic.php?t=130426

[Audax67]

Oh, leave it be. There are enough picky divots on here without giving them another needle to poke at the innocent.

[mattheus]

Oh, leave it be. There are enough picky divots on here without giving them another needle to poke at the innocent.

Is that a spoonerism? It's over my head :-/

[Psamathe]

It would certainly be helpful. There seem loads of subject these days that give no suggestion of the subject. Those listed above are just recent but it's an ongoing unhelpful habit. Surprising the those creating threads do think about makin g life easier for others reading the forum.

I'd agree - good idea.

Ian

[thirdcrank]

I hope this suggestion is actively considered and a decision reached, rather than it just drifting on

[admin]

If anyone has any practical ideas for how this could be done, I'd be happy to consider them.

[thirdcrank]

I doubt that this may be dealt with as an IT issue. Rather, its about moderation.

I'd draw a parallel with the rule about including frame size in bike adverts. IIRC, somebody volunteered as a mod to enforce this and one way or another, compliance seems generally good