DSXchange

Hi All,

Could someone clear up an etiquette issue for me? I sometimes stumble upon old postings for which there is no answer, but for which I feel I could make a worthwhile contribution. My question is, should I respond to these postings?

For example, I've just found a posting that is almost 1 year old consisting of a single question with no reponse. Now I appreciate the response is probably of not much use to the Original Poster, however people like me who trawl old posts looking for nuggets of wisdom might find the answer to a question useful.

I'm not planning on actively seeking out and replying to hundreds of old posts - That would just push more topical posts off the front page sooner, which wouldn't do recent posters much good. I just want to know what the etiquette is if I spot an old, unanswered post in my travels.

Looking forward to being set straight on this,
J.

You're free to post away. Of course, everyone will probably not look at the original date and assume it's a recent post and make answers like "that's been answered before, search the forum". In the case of a request for resumes, folks will ask questions about the position, which probably has been filled by now.

Either way, etiquette says Premium Posters should have answered it, so at least your answering will bring attention to the original post.

As noted, go for it. I'd suggest you make note of the fact that you are answering an old post, perhaps that will cut down on the followups that Ken mentions. Perhaps.

Thanks Guys,

Thanks for the clarification - I'll answer old posts as necessary, then, being clear that the OP is old.

As product-related forums (or is that "fora"?) go, DSXchange is fantastic, so the last thing I wanted to do was abuse it in any way. I wonder if IBM are aware of how much value this forum adds to their product!? I know from personal experience that (at least some of) their consultants suggest this as the first port of call when having a problem!

Keep up the excellent work,
J.

It feels nice when posters like you appreciate the work done at dsxchange. And feel free to throw in your opinion on whatever post.