I'll be merging this into the official Forum Guidelines once we've sorted everything out.
----
Before you post, have you...
- ...searched for the application you are requesting?
- ...checked to make sure the application's license (such as GNU GPL) is listed on the open source licenses list?
- ...checked to make sure the application is available to all users for free?
- ...had a quick check of the Request Apps forum to make sure it hasn't been mentioned recently?
- ...had a quick search for "[Application] Portable" on Google?
Once you have completed the above checklist and are absolutely sure that the application has not been requested before and is licensed under a suitable license, you may procede to create a forum topic. Please copy the following template, fill it out and put it at the top of your request:
<strong>Application Name:</strong> [Fill in application name here] <strong>Application License:</strong> [Fill in license here, such as GPL, BSD, etc. If you don't know, leave this blank] <strong>Application Website:</strong> [Fill in website here, such as http://sourceforge.net/portableapps] <strong>Application Description:</strong> [Fill in a short summary here of the application and what it does] <strong>Further Notes:</strong> (optional) [Fill in any further notes you wish to add, such as requirements or technical information]
Thanks for following these guidelines. By doing this, you have assured that we will be able to read and process your request as soon as possible. Please, do understand that we read many requests everyday and that the more information you can give us, the more likely we are to take your request seriously.
Thanks again,
Ryan McCue.
[Improved license wording - 2007-12-21]
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if people follow that requests will become much easier to read
but isn't 3. included in 2. ??? I mean if its open source, why shouldn't it be free for all users?
"What about Love?" - "Overrated. Biochemically no different than eating large quantities of chocolate." - Al Pacino in The Devils Advocate
are some open source apps that are not free (gratis), you receive the source when you buy the product...
Who wants to bet that this excellent post will not affect the amount of not-previously-searched-and-non-gpl daily requests?
If a packet hits a pocket on a socket on a port,
and the bus is interrupted as a very last resort,
and the address of the memory makes your floppy disk abort,
then the socket packet pocket has an error to report
There is the little matter of licences and legality.
The question here is about whether the licence for the software actually allows any and all use of it, in any and all circumstances.
For example, there are a lot of apps out there that are free for non-commercial use, and even many like that for which source code is publicly available.
However, unless their licence permits you to distribute and use them, you are still in breach of copyright law if you do so.
The parent post is correct though, if it is under an OSI approved open source licence, then that does rather imply that it is free for all users, so far as I know.
However, given the level of understanding of such issues among the people making the requests, it is probably well worth leaving the point in place to make them stop and think.... after all, how many people really undertsand the differences between the various licences out there?
Hopefully it'll work.
Are you kidding me!! Why not summarize the requirements to be:
Unless you're a regular and have posted at least 100 times you can not open a new topic.
Yes, many of the topics are redundant but that is to be expected from newbies, people who do not have the experience and expertise of the resident techs. In order to get your university degree you start at the lower levels and progress up the learning tree. Your rules will require newbies to be degree holders before posting.
If you want to keep this place an "old boys club" you can but you should just take it off the 'net altogether then.
Ed
That was as easy as I can make it. I made the steps simple and concise and put exact instructions.
If you are going to criticise it, please make it constructive criticism.
"If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate."
You don't know Ed very well do you?
Tim
Things have got to get better, they can't get worse, or can they?
I didn't really want to say that
"If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate."
I have to admit, I've been posting on this for a while - although only as replies to other posts - and I had not read the Forum Guidelines until today!
Most of the time, I've discovered the rules by seeing the responses of moderators to offenders. Of course, I try to use common sense, respect and humor in my posts, which keeps me from making the worst mistakes.
Sorry, Ryan, but it seems that lots of newbies jump right in and start requesting without using the guidelines or common sense.
The guidelines need to be more in-your-face, in a nice way.
It's been a while since I registered at this site - could you find a way to make sure that people see or read these guidelines DURING the sign-up process? Maybe that would help.
I made this half-pony, half-monkey monster to please you.
The forum guidelines are kind of long. Most people will unfortunately probably just skip it and hit "Sign me up!"
Don't do it.
That's as constructive as I can make it.
If you are proposing the change as a suggestion to be in the Guidelines rather than a coding change that enforces the rule that's better but it's a waste of time. People don't read Guidelines any more than they read EULAs. They are usually too long, take too much time to read, and are designed to only be understood by lawyers, or at least that is what most people think, based on their experiences and what they have been told by friends, so when they see one they automatically click on the Accept button. Whatever msg is intended is lost.
If you want people to search before posting that's nice but it's not going to happen either. It either takes too long or the visitor's experience with searches has proven them not to be accurate and therefore not very useful. (Useless searches applies to some forum's search function and to Windows itself.)
Lastly, if you prevent newbies from starting new topics some (most?) will simply add their questions and requests to existing topics, usually the 1st one they find so that will just make matters worst cause as we all know how easy it is to find new postings in existing threads on this board.
Ed
Don't do it.
That's as constructive as I can make it.
Still not very constructive
If you are proposing the change as a suggestion to be in the Guidelines rather than a coding change that enforces the rule that's better but it's a waste of time. People don't read Guidelines any more than they read EULAs. They are usually too long, take too much time to read, and are designed to only be understood by lawyers, or at least that is what most people think, based on their experiences and what they have been told by friends, so when they see one they automatically click on the Accept button. Whatever msg is intended is lost.
They are only guidelines. We aren't forcing anyone to use them, but if they do, it helps us immensely. A little bit goes a long way.
If you want people to search before posting that's nice but it's not going to happen either. It either takes too long or the visitor's experience with searches has proven them not to be accurate and therefore not very useful. (Useless searches applies to some forum's search function and to Windows itself.)
What I'd really like to have is something similar to the bug tracker on Launchpad.net. When you hit post, it searches the title automatically and returns the results. The user then hits continue if none of the posts are similar.
John, if you're willing to implement it, I'll have a go at writing a module for it.
Lastly, if you prevent newbies from starting new topics some (most?) will simply add their questions and requests to existing topics, usually the 1st one they find so that will just make matters worst cause as we all know how easy it is to find new postings in existing threads on this board.
We are preventing them from creating new topics. We are trying to reduce the amount of duplicate requests.
"If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate."
We must do the guidelines as simple and easy to understand as possible.
And I think that:
1. We must show a simplified forum guidelines when the new user enters in the specific forum the first time.
2. We should standout the search bar.
3. Change the request forum thread creator page, for example, create forms for the template. Those would appear instead of the normal new thread.
3.1.And here is the nice part:
-The name thread would be compared with the other ones to see if the app already exists;
-The License would have a drop down box with some default licenses, in here we could inform the user previously that the app can't be portabilized;
-And make some forms mandatory, so they don't leave us an useless info about an app.
4. And I agree with Ed P about his last topic, newbies would just leave some threads impossible to navigate if they can't create new threads.
Blue is everything.
newbies would just leave some threads impossible to navigate if they can't create new threads.
Many newbie new threads are requests that have already been answered. If they would search first, they would find their answers and often not have to post at all.
I made this half-pony, half-monkey monster to please you.
I totally agree with 3, however I doubt John will do it, as it involves a lot of hacking of the forum module (AFAIK).
"If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate."
They are only guidelines. We aren't forcing anyone to use them, but if they do, it helps us immensely. A little bit goes a long way.
Ok, so long as they are only guidelines I'm not as opposed as before.
I do however believe no matter how well intended, and they should be proposed that way, that few people are going to see them and few are going to follow them as a result. And for the few that do try some will be overwhelmed at trying to answer the requirements because they will be technical novices.
What I'd really like to have is something similar to the bug tracker on Launchpad.net. When you hit post, it searches the title automatically and returns the results. The user then hits continue if none of the posts are similar.
Bug tracker sounds great but I doubt this board would implement something like that.
Have a great holiday.
Ed
Bug tracker sounds great but I doubt this board would implement something like that.
I was actually just suggesting that the forums should search for the title before posting, because there's already a bug tracker module installed on here
Unfortunately, I don't read or write access to it
Happy holidays to you too
"If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate."