Cross Posting 4

[BSVBD]

After reading the "Eng-Tips Posting Policies", i see that "Cross Posting" is a common offense.

Please help me understand why cross posting is an offense.

The person who can provide the "best" answer to a post may not frequent your typical forum.

Also, the post could be applicable to several forums.

I, personally, haven't done it, but, it was brought our attention in another post and i do not understand the offense.

Please explain...

Thank you!

 

[zdas04]

Easy, the site sees itself as both a long-term and a short-term asset. In the short term someone asks a question and people spend time answering it. Often times an answer will lead to further discussion that will tend (hopefully) to zero in on a "right" answer. If the discussion is broken up into many unconnected threads then that refinement process may not happen (i.e., there may be an individual who feels it is fun to make up an answer without any real knowledge and put it in an obscure forum that doesn't get much traffic, so the wrong information never gets challenged). This has actually led to some very dangerous advice standing on the site for some time before it was discovered.

For long term issues, Google seems to like eng-tips.com a lot and I for one rarely do a Google query on a technical issue that doesn't have eng-tips.com on the first page. What happens if I hit the wrong answer from Google, accept it as accurate (one thing these made-up answers have in common is that they are imminently plausible) and takes the nonsense since it supports his expectations and he starts down an unproductive (or dangerous) path. When his error is found out he will never use eng-tips.com again.

It is perfectly acceptable. to post a question in one forum, and then go to other forums, start a new thread with the same title, and post a link to the question in other forums (i.e., "I have posted a question about Bernoulli's equation in Mechanical Engineering Other (Thread xxxx), please follow the link there to participate in the discussion")

David Simpson, PE
MuleShoe Engineering

In questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual. Galileo Galilei, Italian Physicist

 

[KENAT]

Just minor addition to Zdas, rather than the full web path, you can just insert the thread reference under the title at the top of a thread to link them.

thread731*408011 (but keeping the - instead of the *) will give you:

thread731-408011

Posting guidelines faq731-376

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

(probably not aimed specifically at you)
What is Engineering anyway: faq1088-1484​

 

[Latexman]

Along the same lines of reasoning as zdas04, I store useful threads in My Thread Archive under the My Stuff tab (upper RHS). I would much rather store one long, thorough thread (no Cross Posting) than 10 short, disjointed threads (Cross Posting allowed).

Good luck,
Latexman

To a ChE, the glass is always full - 1/2 air and 1/2 water.

 

[Compositepro]

You have to realize that there are several points of view. Asking the same question in several forums may get you several answers that are all the same, which would be reassuring to you. However, we all participate in more than one forum and finding that three people have posted similar answers to one question is a waste of our time. It also makes any further discussion disjointed and hard to follow. So the no cross-posting rule has proven to be very valuable in making this website as good as it is.

 

[IRstuff]

If the person with the possible best answer doesn't frequent the forum you post in, then it's probably likely that you're not posting in the right forum altogether. Moreover, almost anyone who actually spends time answering questions subscribes to multiple forums, and will generally subscribe to at least the forums in which they have a modicum of expertise.

TTFN
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!
faq731-376 forum1529

 

[urgross]

It should be fine to cross post if you are asking about the Department of Redundancy Department.

 

[msquared48]

But it is never fine to post cross.

Mike McCann, PE, SE (WA)

 

[BSVBD]

Thank you all - I understand!