Quote: Original post by Kazgoroth
I'd like to suggest that this thread be linked as an excellent example of posting within the guidelines of the format creatively and in such a way as to make the post really stand out (perhaps with a note that it's an active thread, not just an example).

<3 (being stickied, in a roundabout sort of way) <3

As for the templates suggestion (as well as the earlier suggestion to have sort of a "fill-in-the-blank" recruiting post creation tool)- I've been working on a little ditty, as I find the time:



I actually did something very similar to this about three or four months back, but it was in a different format. Essentially, this isn't intended to be the end-all "professional post creation tool": it's just something for people who need some nudges in the right direction.

If there's actually any interest in this, I can try to finish it up by... Wednesday night. If someone else beats me to it, or would like to do a web interface (<3), more power to them. If enough people throw discouraging arguments towards the notion of letting lazy people have nice-looking posts, I'll drop it, and we can let "nice looking posts" continue to stand out. ;)

[Edited by - TheArtifex on April 4, 2005 6:24:23 PM]

I have recently had my thread affected because of these rules, and I don't think it is fair to force people to adhere to this format. The template cannot possibly apply to everyone's post. I mean, what if you are asking for help other than a recruitment topic?

Although this format may be helpful to some who need help posting, it is a bit insulting to some of the longer term members who are perfectly able to structure their posts creatively whilst still being effective. To me, as a writer looking for work, I am honestly going to skip through all the unwanted crap that is forced upon someone's thread by this template, and get to the meat portion where the job is described.

I suggest that this "experiment" with a better posting template cease, and it can remain as a guideline for those who need it. I personally would prefer to structure my posts in the way I see most fit.

Quote: Original post by golar
I have recently had my thread affected because of these rules, and I don't think it is fair to force people to adhere to this format. The template cannot possibly apply to everyone's post. I mean, what if you are asking for help other than a recruitment topic?

Then you probably won't be posting in Help Wanted. It is, after all, a forum for recruitment.

Quote: To me, as a writer looking for work, I am honestly going to skip through all the unwanted crap that is forced upon someone's thread by this template, and get to the meat portion where the job is described.

Bingo. Now you can speed through the parts that you don't care about and read the parts you do, since they are now organized in a standard fashion. Meanwhile, someone who wants to know stuff that you don't can read it. I'm glad you've had the opportunity to benefit from the new format like this. [grin]

Quote: Original post by Sneftel

Quote: Original post by golar
I have recently had my thread affected because of these rules, and I don't think it is fair to force people to adhere to this format. The template cannot possibly apply to everyone's post. I mean, what if you are asking for help other than a recruitment topic?

Then you probably won't be posting in Help Wanted. It is, after all, a forum for recruitment.

Quote: To me, as a writer looking for work, I am honestly going to skip through all the unwanted crap that is forced upon someone's thread by this template, and get to the meat portion where the job is described.

Bingo. Now you can speed through the parts that you don't care about and read the parts you do, since they are now organized in a standard fashion. Meanwhile, someone who wants to know stuff that you don't can read it. I'm glad you've had the opportunity to benefit from the new format like this. [grin]

I understand what you are saying about this being beneficial, but I think to make it compulsory for people to structure posts like this is unnecessary. If someone's post is illegible, then by all means delete it or force them to use this template, but for those of us that don't want to fill in a form every time we post a topic, I think we should be entitled to be creative with our posts, and structure them how we want to. Deleting perfectly acceptable threads just because they don't follow the template is likely only to get peoples' backs up.

Might I mention that I was originally on Golar's side of the fence, until I realized how much you can expand on the "Additional Information".

The template really isn't restricting as it seems. Heck, if you absolutely can't stand it, then just make your recruiting post as you would, and then go back and add in the "fill-in-the-blank" stuff as a header, distinctly seperated from the "meat" of the post by some horizontal rules. Shrink the font down, use a lower-contrast font...

There's a lot of room to play, simply because Marc never said we were limited to filling out the form. It's just a required prerequisite. Once you get the form done, you can do pretty much whatever you'd like: and you can get as creative as you'd like, thanks to the "Additional Information" section.

Heck. If you're picky (like I was), just use something along the lines of:

Skip to the good stuffFORM INFORMATIONGOOD STUFF

To get your viewers where you want 'em.

(Also, as a side note: you might be surprised by how helpful the form is for getting the ball rolling, or putting things in perspective. As previous mentioned- it's sort of humbling to strip away your PR skills, and just look at your game in black and white.)