Jet Aid

A guide to posting in the Bitcoin Talk forum

It's probably a bit late to state this, but I think that your forum identity is important. It gives a clue to your personality, and also your motivation. Don't use obscenities, or self-deprecating names, 'fat slob' may sound like fun when you are signing up late a night, but it can lead to insults later when you are an active poster. Don't go over the top either 'Bitcoin God' may be your ambition, but as a newbie starting to learn about Bitcoin, it probably won't help you to make friends. Try to find a name that is easy to remember, and has some meaning 'Polar Bear' or 'Night Cat' are reasonable examples. If you have a classics background, you might get away with a name like 'Trismegistus' , but don't forget that most board members will not have heard of him.

Try to avoid names that make you sound like a bot. A numeric suffix is often one clue. for example 'Sharky478345'. Alphanumeric mixes are even worse. Who is going to remember 'SL8947F90'. Leet names are so last century that I would avoid those as well.

Think seriously before you start a new thread. There is nothing more annoying than visiting a board, and finding that most of the threads have similar titles, and cover the same topic. Threads like 'What is Bitcoin?' and 'How to get merits' are all over the place, and starting yet another redundant thread will not help to build your reputation on the board. I believe that reputation is more important than post count or merits.If you build a reputation as a good and honest member of the forum, it will be an asset for you for many years to come.

If you decide that your topic is interesting, or it is interesting news, or perhaps it is a question that needs an answer, then you need to decide where to open your thread. There are quite a few boards on Bitcoin Talk, and if you aren't sure where to start your thread, then read the guidance posts in the stickies at the top of the board. Once you have selected your board, check to see that your topic hasn't already been posted, or your question has already been answered. The search function is a good way to check after a visual scan of the index.

Think about the title of your thread, and make it as descriptive as possible, but don't use too many words. 'Question' or 'Bitcoin' are pretty useless, and you thread will be skipped by many readers. A question such as 'How can I recognise a SegWit transaction' is likely to generate some caustic comments by senior members, and really you should have discovered the answer by using the search function. If you query is a bit more technical, then try to include that in the title. Don't capitalise the whole of your title, it is annoying for readers, and it makes you look like an amateur poster - it also reduces the number of characters you can use without the title becoming too long. Don't use glyphs, smilies or fancy text constructions, they make your post look as if it is low value spam.

The first post in your new thread is possibly the most important, and you should think of it as the shop window for your thread. You need to draw your viewer into your post, and make him feel that it is worth spending time reading it. A clearly written paragraph of 3 or 4 lines that explains the purpose and objectives of the thread will pique the interest of your reader, and encourage him to continue reading. Use further paragraphs to expand your point and to encourage replies.

Ensure that your posts are easy to read, and allow your reader to flow freely through the text. This means that you shouldn't create great walls of text that are hard to scan. Don't capitalise text - it looks very amateurish, and it slows down reading. I don't like posts that pretend to be web pages with heavy formatting, and it makes your post look like a spam announcement.