Etsy's Handmade Blog
Forum Decorum: For the Love of Mr. Ed!
Story by Community, RobWhite, stellaloella
Published on December 6, 2007 in Etsy News 		Photo by ellhoisa on Flickr

With enough repetition, you can wind up driving someone a little crazy.  If you say the same thing over and over again, you might really frustrate a person.  If you repeat yourself often enough, there's a chance that you might be seen as a little aggravating.  This week's Forum Decorum is all about repetition (repetition) and redundancy (redundancy) on the Forums, and some of the challenges that can arise as you repeat (repeat) yourself!

We're all familiar with that little "lightbulb" moment: you're thinking something through and an answer, the right answer just pops into your head to light up everything.  It can often happen on the Forums as you nail down the way that you want to express a question, suggestion or observation.  You type it all out; there it is, your magnum opus!  You hit Post – there it is in the thread!  You're a hero, a champion, you can see the ticker tape parades now!  ...wait!  How are you getting misunderstood!  You had it just right!  Restating it seems like a good idea; everyone likes a little clarity, right?  Sure!

When you get to the fourth time or so that you're restating a point, or maybe even the fourth thread in which you're cutting loose with variations on the post-to-end-all-posts, it's time to stop and ask yourself: what is this repetition of my point doing?  Maybe you establish this particular issue, viewpoint or cause as part of your own personal reputation.  That's not immediately so bad, but who wants to be seen as a one-trick pony, or far worse, as someone who beats a dead horse?  You might aggravate others as your well-established remarks crop up again and again. The same people who might've been inclined to help others understand or otherwise spread the word could instead just start looking past your persistent message.

Everyone deserves a chance to get their message across, and to step back and give it another shot if that message is initially misundersood.  With all that said, there comes a time at which your point is better served by letting it stand in the boundless Forums for others to see and take up on your behalf.  Put the focus of your writing on clarity the first time around and be rewarded with other community members immediately understanding you.  Don't let the topic you're so passionate about turn you into someone beating a dead horse; let your first post be your best and earn that ticker-tape parade!

(No actual horses were harmed in the writing of this Storque article.)

In the Forum Decorum series, Lauren (stellaloella) and RobWhite of the Community team explain some of the finer points of cultural etiquette in Etsy's community spaces. When something is an official site rule, we'll be sure to link you up to the DOs and DON'Ts or Terms of Use. Simply consider these as tips for avoiding a forum faux pas.

Tags community, etiquette, Forum Decorum, Forums, repetition
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24 comments     Login to add your own!

Dec. 6, 2007 at 11:19 a.m. anndouglas

I'm new to etsy and loving The Storque. Thanks for your great blend of helpful tips, fun-to-read writing, and things I have to check out (and possibly buy).

Dec. 6, 2007 at 11:51 a.m. sheridesthelion

love the beating the horse link to wikipedia

Dec. 6, 2007 at 1:29 p.m. femputer

Haha, I love your description of the light bulb moment! It's so true.

Dec. 6, 2007 at 1:42 p.m. Sarahkat

Poor horses!

It's the the boundless nature of the forums that often cause people to feel the need to repeat themselves.

Dec. 6, 2007 at 1:43 p.m. KarmaRox

*titter!*

Dec. 6, 2007 at 1:43 p.m. LoveGemma

Interesting.

Dec. 6, 2007 at 1:44 p.m. boodlesofbeads

Amen!! Thanks!

Dec. 6, 2007 at 1:48 p.m. JustAnotherDay

awesome article. :D thanks for the links ;)

Dec. 6, 2007 at 2:37 p.m. expressyourself

very intersting

Dec. 6, 2007 at 2:38 p.m. strawberryanarchy

haha

Dec. 6, 2007 at 3:06 p.m. gemmafactrix

I think a lot of repetition comes from people not bothering to read an entire thread, and thus the issue has to be rehashed, ad nauseum, until the original post is on every page so no one has to actually go back and read.

Dec. 6, 2007 at 3:24 p.m. PoPkO

gemma, that just made me remember when the original post could be read at the top of each page of a thread. i wish that was still there so everyone was sure to be responding to the first idea.

Dec. 6, 2007 at 3:28 p.m. gemmafactrix

Yep. :) And it's important for people to read the whole thread, not just pop in and post, which can further derail a thread.

Dec. 6, 2007 at 3:46 p.m. ebbandflo

constant presentation by etsy of ex-equines to flog would be highly appreciated

Dec. 6, 2007 at 4:20 p.m. SalmonStreetStudio

you can (all) that again!

(he he, couldn't resist, sorry)

Dec. 6, 2007 at 4:32 p.m. hobbledehoy

okay...

I agree that having original posts appear on the tops of every page in threadswould seriously limit repetitiveness.

Dec. 6, 2007 at 6:19 p.m. Sweet15

I think a lot of the repitition is from the frustration of feeling like admin is not listening, or doesn't care. Perhaps a bit more input from you guys would stop people from shouting into the wind so much.

Dec. 6, 2007 at 6:21 p.m. hellome

Oh that poor poor dead horsie! Though I must say, he photographs very well.

Dec. 6, 2007 at 7 p.m. xiane

My favourite comment in threads? "I haven't read all the comments yet, but..."

And of course it's the same thing a bunch of people have already said. Whoopsie!

Dec. 6, 2007 at 8:04 p.m. kibbles

Ohhhhhh Wilburrrrrrr........

Dec. 6, 2007 at 9:03 p.m. eclipse

When threads routinely reach 50 pages, it's not always possible to read the whole thing before commenting. People can't spend their whole life on the forums. But you also run the risk that whatever you say in your reply was already said on page 5! (and with a 50 page thread, the probability is close to 100% that someone has already said it)

Even most of the new threads in Ideas are repeats of suggestions that someone else made a year ago, but that is not one person repeating themselves, that's a lot of people just wanting the same thing.
Probably the best way to prevent repeated questions/complaints/suggestions is to resolve the problem they are asking/complaining/suggesting about. :)

Dec. 6, 2007 at 9:08 p.m. LittleMissMeshell

Well said Eclipse.

Dec. 6, 2007 at 9:49 p.m. xiane

I can understand posting about an issue that's been brought up before, if you're not getting the answer you need/are looking for.
The point of this article isn't to criticize someone creating a new post about an issue brought up previously in the forums. It's about reposting your point over and over in a thread.

[as for not reading through a 50 page thread before posting... I'm sorry. I just don't agree. But that's probably a debate for another time.]

Dec. 7, 2007 at 10 a.m. gemmafactrix

It's about reposting your point over and over in a thread.

----

Whether purposely or genuinely, often people just don't get what you're saying. Sometimes they're trying to muddy up the thread, sometimes they haven't read it and don't care to, sometimes they really don't understand. Repetition, in these cases, is necessary. :)

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