Tips on how to post a killer reply - Forum Team building

[Ben]

Hi All,

I am starting this thread so we can discuss what comprises a really GREAT reply. Here are my thoughts on this subject.

1) A short statement summarizing the thought you are sharing.

It does not have to be a complete sentence, or use proper grammer or spelling. Of course complete sentances etc. will make it easier for others to understand. A lack of text associated with your reply introduces some issues;

A) You are making other casual readers WORK TO HARD to appreciate your reply. There are many time when I review a thread quickly to see if there is anything to learn or if the question was answered.

B) Text makes it possible for you to search for your previous reply if the only thing you wrote was "see here" or "try this".

C) Add a tag with your reply to earn bonus points.

2) Include an image

"A picture is worth a thousand words" applies to the forums as well as "G". Images have a number of benefits;

A) They illustrate the solution and do not require LV to view them.

B) As LV evolves, VIs developed in old version will not open in the newer versions. An image will survive these upgrades.

C) They demonstrate (hopefully) good style. As reular contributors to this forum we have an oppertunity to "lead by example". (Think Christian)

Yair exaplains in post #48 of this thread how to include an image in your post.

To make it even easier Yair and Ton (with help from Rolf) developed the Code Capture Tool.

Also ensure the image is not too large. Crop it down to fit a 1024X768 screen.

3) Include an example and record what version of LV was used.

It is very frustrating to down load an example only to find that you dod not have the right version of LV to view it. Make sure you include all of the sub-VIs that are required or note if an LV add-on is required (DSC, DB, RT, ...). Use a Source Distribution (if in LV 8 and above) or "Save with options... Single Prompt.... Preserve Hiarchy" to collect up all of the sub-VIs in a single folder. Think twice about posting passowrd protected VIs. The Forum is all about sharing and passworded protected VIs aren't really sharing. IF you do use a PW protected VI in your example, declare as much in your post and include the BD so the example can be used in other versions of LV.

4) Include an URL

If the question has already been answered in another thread, include alink and (see #1 above) note what the reader will find when they go to that link. If the link is not on the NI-Forum, please note that as well.

5) Do NOT over-use emoticons!

After abusing this rule I discovered (duh) that a lot of emoticons on a screen can kill your CPU. If you want to include more emoticons than what the NI-Forum offers, see post #94 of this thread for the Tool CC created to make it easy (reply #97 has a preview and an enhanced set of images).

So that is the extent of the suggestions I wanted to share. Please feel free to comment on any of the above or add other suggestions.

Just trying to help build the community!

Ben

Disclaimer: I am not claiming to be an expert at good posts. I violate many of these suggestion myself on a regular basis. I'll accuse Christian of deserving the title "Postmaster Wizard"

Message Edited by Ben on 08-02-2008 09:41 AM

Message Edited by Ben on 08-02-2008 09:42 AM

[TCPlomp]

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@Ben wrote:

4) Include an URL

If the question has already been answered in another thread, include alink and (see #1 above) note what the reader will find when they go to that link. If the link is not on the NI-Forum, please note that as well.

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Short pointer, the LabVIEW online help, including the property, method and event reference.

Ton

[altenbach]

Thanks Ben! Even more important would be a similar post to show:

How to post a killer question 🙂

Many of your excellent points can be recycled without modification. In addition, we would need a section on how to compose a catchy title for the post.

[altenbach]

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Ben wrote:

3) Include an example and record what version of LV was used.

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If you are modifying a VI attached to the original question, consider the following before attaching your "solution":

• Don't attach your modification without changing it to a new and unique filename (e.g. add "mod" or your initials: example.vi -> exampleMOD3.vi; exampleCA.vi). Other readers might download both and look at them side-by side. Not easy if both have the same name.
• Clean up the filename of any browser added "decorations" (e..g. my%20example[1].vi)
• Remove any spaces in the filename (e.g. replace them with "_", the browser will change spaces to %20 or similar, making the filename difficult to read.
• Add a comment to the FP or diagram containing a link to the thread.
• Add diagram comments to anything that might not be clear.
• Populate all important controls with typical default data so the VI can be run immediately after loading and gives reasonable results. (Of course within reason: don't include gigabytes of array data, for example).
• Don't place default data in indicators (charts, graphs, arrays, etc) unless it is important for the question. You could add the expected result, for example.
• If the original VI contains author information or other personal modification histories, add a note that you have changed the VI. I've had people chop up a perfectly great VI that I attached earlier and repost a frankenstein monstrosity of it with all my credentials still intact. I don't want to take credit/blame unless I wrote the code myself. (I am CA, and I approve this VI!)
• Attach the VI in the same (or lower) version of the original example, else the OP will not be able to open it.
• If the code consists of multiple VIs, zip them up.
• Use an .llb if suitable.
• Don't attach anything from vi.lib or anyhing else that is part of LabVIEW.
• Use default colors for FP and diagram. Sure that "hot pink" on "periwinkle" diagram looks so cool, but most likely some wires will be difficult to see.
• ...

[tst]

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Ben wrote:

Yair exaplains in post #48 of this thread how to include an image in your post.

Do this whenever possible. Having to click the link for the attached image can take readers out of the reading sequence and will even cause you to lose your place if you're using the link to the newest unread post and open the image not in a new window in multi-page threads.

Don't do this if your image is large (see Ben's next point about image size). Additionally, use PNG (not JPEG or BMP) and make sure to crop the image to only show the relevant information).

To make it even easier Yair and Ton (with help from Rolf) developed the Code Capture Tool.

As a minor point, the original code (although very little of it remains, if any) was written by CC, Altenbach and JP. The new version was written by Ton and myself and we used some VIs which Rolf wrote much earlier to interact with the clipboard.

[Ben]

Christian, Ton and Yair,

Thanks for helping out! As usual, I have to do is pass you the puck and Y'all take from there.

Christian,

The LAVA Wiki has a link to Steven Raymond's article that can be found here on catb.org.

The chances that a random questioner, off-the-street will read that first would require that Laura get Lithium to include the link in the Q posting process. We'll have to let her drive that objective.

Ben

[Ray.R]

Thanks Ben for the tips.

I will apply your tip #5.  😉   and use the tools that you guys provide to improve the posting experience.

I strongly agree with Altenbach concerning: How to post a killer question

[chilly_charly]

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Ben a écrit: (...)The LAVA Wiki has a link to Steven Raymond's article that can be found here on catb.org.(...)

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Ben, Thanks for the link to Steven Raymond's remarquable tutorial. Something I'll try to remember ! 😮 🙂

[Ben]

It has been two years so maybe time to bump this thread.

If you have ideas or comments, feel free to reply.

Ben

[Ray.R]

does it involve hurting the OP?

maybe "killer" should be defined..  😉