Thread titles - ideas for getting people to use good ones?

[G]

This has been a pet-peeve of mine for ages; dodgy thread titles that don't really tell you anything about the thread.

Yes, it was amusing the first time some one put an ambiguous non-related title, when it's most of the thread titles it just seems to make the forum harder to use; the joke has worn a tad thin..

I appreciate that we have the quick preview of the thread, but can't help feeling that this problem leads to a lot of duplicated threads and 'repost' arguments.

For isntance, doing 'view all' at the mo...

XJ600 1993 helpHelp about what?
'Johnny's CAPTION COMPCaption for what?
HELP ... please !!! ANYONE...Help you get your socks on in the morning?
So if you were going to proclaim something illegal...I presumed the next bit would be 'what would it be' and be a completely different topic
Call to Ride Sunday 26th NovAnywhere specific, or just in general in your area?
peugeot speedfightWhat about it?
New US Drama - Day BreakTelling us about it, asking, reccomding?
Bike Stolen - Someones in BIG trouble
Petrol CapsWhat about them
Mini-roundabout priorities? (with a pic)reasonable
Sunday 19th Nov- OffyI wondered if this meant 'off-licence'.
A question for the coppers.A question about the colour of socks they wear?
Never dropped a bike YET. Can I test ride your R6?Fairly descriptive, actually!
my new weapon of choice for the coming year.A new bike, we presume C-
The male pill!!So, we can tell you think it's exciting, but a bit more detail would be nice
9/11 question...What colour socks did you wear that day?
(Cool) Photography *non bike related*What about it?
does anyone live near mitcham cr4?Good description, but lack of capitals; B+
I need a (physically) bigger bike...So, you want one reccomended, or you've just bought one, or...
bugger f*ck c*ntSo, we can work out you're not happy, but should I bother to read?
recommend me a van...Quite descriptive considering the rest
£2 Coins.Well, it was prefixed with 'poll' but we can't really work out the reasoning behind it
Happy Birthday Killa!Fairly Obvious

Ok, I'm being a bit picky; but you get the idea; there doesn't seem to be much reason for a lot of the titles. We could probably just as well randomly threads with only the number displayed and be just as likely to find what we want.

Anyway, I don't see any real way that would reasonably work for encouraging people to use related thread titles; anyone else got any ideas?


And don't worry, that's me rant for this month done, you may go now!

[instigator]

How about an obligatory ebay style sub title? I share your grief although am certainly not a role model.

Something like:

Help with SV650
Gearbox issues

Perhaps only useful though if applied to the workshop section. Might look a little too 'busy'. Or why not all bike related sections. Or ALL sections.

[veeeffarr]

In the workshop it'd be a good idea to have dropdowns with "make", "model" "submodel/year" and a text field with a short description of the issue that forms the thread title when it's posted.

Can't think of anything for the others

[extreme3d]

I've noticed this quite a lot in the workshop section. Perhaps a sticky describing what approach works best? Might also be worth making the sticky's title informative itself so it serves as an instruction/reminder to everyone even if they don't actually open the post and read it:

"Remember to use a descriptive title - plain 'help!!' won't do"

However it must not come across as a rule, merely a suggestion. We don't want to start putting people (particularly newcomers) off with loads of forum rules and regulations. At the end of the day, all that happens is their post receives less response. It's not as if they are disturbing the peace in any way

[tokarev]

In another forum I used to be a member of, if there was any dodgy thread titles, then the Mod used to edit it themselves to what they thought was a more informative title.

I see one of mine is in your list!

[Silver]

It doesn't bother me much, except when someone posts a video (for example) in a thread they've called "R6 lapping the Nurburgring" and then some muppet will get upset and point to their post three days before, showing the same video, but in a thread entitled "Wow, awsome!"

[stinkwheel]

I'm sure it would be possible to add a script to the karma-bot which removes Karma for using the word 'help' as a thread title in the workshop section.

Similar for using more than one exclamation mark in a row. Actually, make that anywhere, not just thread titles.

[Mr.Everready]

Surely that's where the preview box comes in and helps ?
____________________
the undemocratically unelected mod of the Scottish section

[killa]

The idea of the sub heading like Ebay is a great idea.

If the preview box hasn't told you enough about the subject then you might ignore it.

Example

Girlfriend troubles

That could be the usual, girlfriend wont kiss me kinda thing....

It could be

Girlfriend troubles

She wont stop getting her kit off (pics)
____________________
Cleverly disguised as a responsible adult.
Bike:- Yamaha TRX850 | Killas Biking History | Killas Gaming History | Killas autmotive history

[thx1138]

I don't like threads which don't use the character space avaialble, and start thus "Does anyone...." or "Does anyone know?"

[CortezTheKill...]

Christ G I can't believe you took the time to type that out. Do you have too much spare time?
____________________
SV650 - TRASHED
ZX636R C6F - SOLD
Current number of wheels: 0 (not including a bicycle).

[G]

Not really.

If I had 'too much' spare time I'd have typed it a year or two ago when it first started to annoy me .

As it is, I decided to look at a few less badly titled threads and type that instead .

I believe I've mentioned the subtitle bit before as another forum I use has them.
While it wouldn't force people to write useful titles, it does seem to end up with thread titles making more sense.

[CortezTheKill...]

You should try having kids mate. Little things like that seem so insignificant when you haven't got the time to worry about them.

It's like my father, who is now retired. He spends all his time worrying about the smallest insignificant stuff.

I'm a major pedant, but I save it for between the hours of 8.55am and 3.15pm, when I'm being paid to be pedantic.
____________________
SV650 - TRASHED
ZX636R C6F - SOLD
Current number of wheels: 0 (not including a bicycle).

[G]

One of the reasons I don't have any plans to have kids .

[CortezTheKill...]

It's probably a wise decision, G
____________________
SV650 - TRASHED
ZX636R C6F - SOLD
Current number of wheels: 0 (not including a bicycle).