[David Brinza]

Please excuse my prior sarcastic post. I wondered if I could actually rite like that...

I've PM'd a few CD newbies in the past to help them get better results from their posts. Here's the basic content of my message (or is it a sermon?):

ChiefDelphi is an open forum for exchanging ideas, asking questions and tapping into the expertise of some true experts. Many of the mentors who actively participate in CD discussions are professional engineers (such as myself) or business people. We have high standards for almost everything, because it is the nature of our world. Time and communication skills are highly valued in our "real world", so try to respect that.

You need to take a little more time with your posts. If you have a question, please search the forums (I do this all the time). If you don't find any prior threads that address your question, then go ahead and post it. If you want to get the best responses to your question, take the time to ask it correctly. By correctly I mean, use proper grammar, punctuation and spelling to ask the question as clearly as possible. If that seems to difficult to do, keep in mind that the people who might give you the best answer might not have the time or desire to try to understand what you are asking.

CD has a lot to offer because it isn't a lightweight chat-room, instead it's a forum to tap into incredible resources of expert knowledge. Used properly, CD can save you a lot of time, frustration and even money.

Posting on CD shouldn't be intimidating, but if you have a serious question, how you ask it can determine the quality of the answers. This thread: How to Ask Questions the Smart Way is well worth perusing. The article Brandon cites was written for hackers, but applies more generally.