Tips for Forum Newbies

[diana_eva]

I have complained about the Forum regulars attitude toward newcomers quite a few times, but the solution is probably to help them out with a few basic netiquette tips. I am rather new to all this myself, so please add your own tips and tricks for successful BBF-ing:

 

• Read the BBF Terms of Service
• Lurk more. Lurking is when you hang around without contributing so that when you are ready to contribute, you know what to do, and what not to do. This usually avoids getting sarcastic replies.
• Before posting something run a Search and make sure the subject you have in mind hasn't been covered already. There is a Search box at the top of the window. Google Search is even better. Click here to see How to use Google to search the BBF
• Don't type in CAPS. This is perceived as rude and it is the equivalent of "yelling".
• Don't abuse fonts, emoticons, suit symbols or memes.
• Don't post in specialized Forums unless you are qualified to do that. Sarcastic replies in the Expert Forums for example are not likely to be moderated.
• Get started in the Novice/Beginner or Intermediate/Advanced Forums if you have bridge questions. You will get thoughtful answers from the experts.
• If you feel like posting something silly please go ahead - there is a Water Cooler Forum just for that.
• When you get in trouble or run out of arguments post a cat picture.

Edit: This is already mentioned in the Forum Rules, but do not post Abuse issues in the Forums. If someone is rude, or if you suspect a pair is cheating, or if anything else bothers you about other BBO members send a mail to abuse@bridgebase.com. They have the tools to investigate and take the necessary measures.

[barmar]

Try to post in the most specific forum for your topic. The forums are divided into general categories:

 

Bridge-Related Discussion - for discussions about bridge that are not specific to BBO.

Bridge Base Online Discussion - for topics specific to BBO.

Bridge Base Technical Support Forum - for Bridge Base products other than BBO

International Forum - for non-English discussions

Off-Topic - here's where the Water Cooler is

International Bridge Laws Forum - for discussions of bridge laws, director rulings, appeals (this area is preferable to the General Bridge Discussion forum)

 

Your post may be moved by a moderator if there's a more appropriate place for it.

[Phil]

Don't approach a problem as trying to get justification for a position that you took. Learning and contributing on here is about being open minded and respecting the opinions of players that are better than you. Figuring out who actually is good and who just posts for fun and isn't that good may not be obvious to a new member so as Diana says you may want to lurk for awhile before you take someone on.

 

For instance, maybe you disagree with something that JLogic says. Maybe you don't even know who he is. There's at least a 98% chance that he's right and you're wrong. On the 2% that you are right, its for reasons that you don't understand anyway. :)

 

Sorry to sound harsh about this, but there's a reason that some people are really good at this game. They are talented and spend a lot of time getting better.

 

If you respect their opinions, instead of trying to get into a mental brawl with him, you'll do better and won't be scorned.

[gwnn]

Don't post old memes.

I don't understand this part. Could you explain it better?

[diana_eva]

Hmm i was half kidding when i wrote this, but i guess is sounds kinda authoritative, and that was not my intention. Edited OP to remove it.

 

To explain why i added that: I find answering a question with a meme, especially a cliche one, mildly annoying.

 

I don't understand this part. Could you explain it better?

 

Old meme

[Antrax]

If you're receptive of feedback, I'd say "getting sarcastic replies from forum regulars" should be the exception and not the rule, so if this is a common occurrence, the problem might lie with the regulars.

[diana_eva]

If you're receptive of feedback, I'd say "getting sarcastic replies from forum regulars" should be the exception and not the rule, so if this is a common occurrence, the problem might lie with the regulars.

 

Yes that too. But on the other hand i can understand them getting fed up with "Hi, I'm new here - let's have ratings" kind of post, when there's a big sticky right above their nose. So we should probably work both ways

 

- get the regulars to be more patient (if you cant say something nice/useful don't say anything)

- educate newcomers and provide better information about how to get around.

 

Many of the BBO and BBF newbies are not familiar at all with the online environment and are completely unaware that what they are doing may be unpleasant to others.

[Free]

Good initiative, although you make the forum regulars sound a little like criminals. ;)

 

[*]Before posting something run a Search and make sure the subject you have in mind hasn't been covered already. There is a Search box at the top of the window.

I would add that Google is perhaps an even better alternative if you want to find something quickly.

[helene_t]

I think we would need to build better search functions before we can reasonably expect newcomers to avoid asking questions that have been answered a zillion times.

 

By "search function" I do not necessarily mean keyword or phrase search. For newcomers who are not aware of BBF jargon (and especially those with limited knowledge of US-English bridge jargon and with the BBO interface), an index tree may be more useful for some queries.

 

The BBF search function is pretty useless. Google search is a lot better but still it may take some skills to write effective search terms for certain queries.

[diana_eva]

Good initiative, although you make the forum regulars sound a little like criminals. ;)

 

 

I would add that Google is perhaps an even better alternative if you want to find something quickly.

 

Very sorry, I didn't mean it to sound like that. I have a great respect for regular posters here and i am pretty sure most of the "conflicts" that may appear come from misunderstandings rather than bad will from either side.

 

Google search is better, indeed.

[Free]

Google search is a lot better but still it may take some skills to write effective search terms for certain queries.

Starting your query with "bridge" helps a lot. B-)

[barmar]

It helps a bit. But I still often get lots of web pages about bridges rather than the card game, unless the rest of the search string contains bridge jargon (e.g. convention names).

 

E.g. try "cohen bridge"; most of the first page of results are about a film "Cohen on the Bridge", but a few Larry Cohen pages slip in.

[helene_t]

ah, I meant using google to search the forum. For example, to find a forum post about prune juice, google

site:bridgebase.com "prune juice"

[1eyedjack]

ah, I meant using google to search the forum. For example, to find a forum post about prune juice, google

site:bridgebase.com "prune juice"

 

Using google to search the forum is an improvement on the forum's built in search engine, of that there is no doubt. And yet I find even the google method frustrating in the extreme.

 

I remember posting a scheme of responses to 2N and/or 2C openers, some time around 2004 or 2005, but I cannot find it now, even using google. It would help if there were some way of filtering by period and original poster to a thread. Google advanced search seems to have a feature that allows you to search by period but even that only allows you to select by drop down menu, not by specifying a custom start and end date.

 

21st century and we still seem to be in the dark ages.

[JLOGIC]

Using google to search the forum is an improvement on the forum's built in search engine, of that there is no doubt. And yet I find even the google method frustrating in the extreme.

 

I remember posting a scheme of responses to 2N and/or 2C openers, some time around 2004 or 2005, but I cannot find it now, even using google. It would help if there were some way of filtering by period and original poster to a thread. Google advanced search seems to have a feature that allows you to search by period but even that only allows you to select by drop down menu, not by specifying a custom start and end date.

 

21st century and we still seem to be in the dark ages.

 

Is this it? http://www.bridgebase.com/forums/topic/4797-bid-even-better-than-you-did-before-1n-responses/

 

Found that in about 2 seconds so probably not what you are looking for but you seem to have put in a ton of work, its a NT response structure, and its in late 2004.

[1eyedjack]

Is this it? http://www.bridgebas...e-1n-responses/

 

Found that in about 2 seconds so probably not what you are looking for but you seem to have put in a ton of work, its a NT response structure, and its in late 2004.

 

Thanks for trying, but no. It was a few weeks or months after that thread, and definitely was to do with the 2N opener (or possibly 2C) not the 1N opener.

(I am only confused about whether it was 2N or 2C because of similarities in the response structures of those openers)

[Bbradley62]

http://www.bridgebase.com/forums/topic/4276-responses-to-nat-2nt-openings/page__pid__33300#entry33300

 

Edit: I used the Forum search feature, searching for the word "structure" in a post by 1eyedjack.

Edited September 11, 2011 by Bbradley62

[1eyedjack]

http://www.bridgebas...3300#entry33300

 

Edit: I used the Forum search feature, searching for the word "structure" in a post by 1eyedjack.

 

Yup, that was it. Sorry for hijacking the thread.