Creating merit worthy threads on the local board

[Hatchy]

I want to once again Congratulate our Naija Local Board.  It's fantastic to see our local board grow and evolve, especially with the exciting new development. Last year we were approved of our own local board moderator and now we have our own merit sources. This is a huge win for the naija community, as it directly addresses the long standing concern of quality posts not receiving the recognition and merit they deserve. with the number of merit source now in our mist, good quality, valuable post will now earn the merit they deserve, encouraging even more insightful discussions..

With this positive change, many of our local board members will naturally want to create exciting new posts are that are deem "merit-worthy." So, to help everyone contribute effectively and earn the merit their efforts deserves, I decided to create a short guide to enable both the old and new members of the local board create good quality discussions. To cut the long story short, here are some key pointers on creating good discussions:

• Your topic should Have a Good Purpose and Be Worthy of Discussion
  Before you hit "New Topic," ask yourself: "What is the goal of this discussion?" Is it to share information, ask a question, gather opinions, or spark a debate? A good post aims to contribute something meaningful to the community. Avoid creating threads that are purely for personal gain (e.g., just seeking merit without substance) or that lack any real discussion potential. Think about topics that genuinely interest you and others, offering fresh perspectives or addressing relevant issues.
• Craft a Title that Best Fits the Discussion:
     Your thread title is the first thing people see, and it's very important for attracting the right audience and setting expectations. A clear, concise, and descriptive title immediately tells potential participants what your thread is about. Avoid vague or misleading titles. A well chosen title makes your thread discoverable and encourages engagement from users genuinely interested in the topic..
• Utilize the Sub Boards Appropriately:
     Our local board is organized into specific sub-boards to keep discussions streamlined and relevant. Posting in the correct section ensures your thread reaches the intended audience and helps maintain the board's orderliness, making the work more easier for our moderator, Igebotz.
  
  Here's a quick refresher on our main subboards:
       
  General or main board: This is the primary board for discussions relating to Nigeria and cryptocurrency. If your topic broadly touches on both (e.g., crypto adoption in Nigeria, local crypto news, general questions about digital assets from a Nigerian perspective), this is the place.
  
      Off-Topic: For anything not directly related to cryptocurrency but still worth discussing within the Nigerian context. This can include general life discussions, hobbies, personal experiences (as long as they are appropriate for a public forum), and other non-crypto-specific topics that contribute positively to community bonding…
  
      Politics & Society: This board is specifically for matters concerning the country and the government at large. Discussions about Nigerian politics, social issues, government policies, current events with a national impact, and other related topics belong here.
  
  By keeping these points in mind, we can collectively elevate the quality of discussions on our Naija local board and ensure that every valuable contribution receives the merit it deserves. Let's continue to build a vibrant and insightful community..
  
  You can check out my previous post on how to be a good quality poster on the forum(pidgin)
  Campaign to improve posting quality for local boards(NAIJA)
  
  

[Abbatty]

Great work Hatchy this is a good thing you have done here, a lot of newbies and some low rank members really get their topics moved because they lack the orientation of the suitable place to post their topics and some do wonder why the moderator had to move it. Posts on wrong boards would definitely be moved to where they belong so the local board will not be littered and disorganized. This post will definitely help a lot of people who find it difficult to understand the best place to make a post and how to make a quality post.

[Joy- maker]

Thanks alot @hatchy I really find this your thread Very helpful, from what I have read above I believe this your thread have given me enough guides on how a good and quality post should look like, if newbies and others members of the naija board will follow step by step of the things you have  Just said on this thread I believe this our local board will be loaded with good and quality posts that are merit worthy. Because mere looking at it from my own perspective I don't think if any of our merits source will see  good and quality posts that are merit worthy and just scroll pass the post, because that can only happen if they ran out of smerit to distribute to good and quality posts.

[AVE5]

Well drafted and while I'll give this post a remarkable value, I wouldn't want to point it at how users following the guides would earn merits but how users especially to the beginners can come up with good structuring potential posts that other users would be interested to involve on the discussion.
Already, it should be noted that merits only comes on well constructed posts with the contents of valuables.
You did well on this concern Op. Just high time members should understand merits aren't earned by favoritism rather than post qualities because I've seen lower ranks panting about inflow of merits without undermining their posts never Worth it in the first place.

For the approved of merit sources in our local board here's a welcomed one for us as it's noticeable that most members of the local board users  here lost appetites of being active here due to lack of merit flows. Atleast we now have added merit sources which will be encouraging and call users back to base. 

[Mia Chloe]

You've made a nice thread Hatchy. You are actually one of the best posters on the LB technical aside too. Anyways for a while now multiple threads have been popping up on the board for quite a while now and frankly speaking, activities have increased but on a concrete ground, quality still hasn't.

The low quality on the board is as a result of majorly 2 factors, the very first is lazy posters they do zero research and have zero knowledge of what they are even writing about and the second I believe is the education factor. One disgusting thing I've noticed about the board is people saying a post is nice but they can't merit it.

[Adbitco]

I don't think I have made a post since those merits sources were approved, but there is a reason for not creating post because I believe the already existing post and topic are good enough and there is no need littering the local board with same repetitive posts which I think it doesn't add any value or meaning to the board rather than spamming and shitposting. Yes, we know that they have been approved and it's a thing of Joy but that doesn't calls for random posting.. That is by the way<<_>>

Moved down to your subject matter.., well, I must say that you have tried and is not easy controlling crowd and if you must know, it is the hardest thing to do. Let me give you one words for free "It is easier to control animals than to control humans" because any place you keep them that is where they would remain till you uncaged them, but you can't try that with human. The more you gives instructions the more they disobey your instructions and do whatever that suits them. End!

I believe a word is enough for the wise!

Anyway, Congratulation to Charles-Tim, Mia Chloe and Smart for their source approval.

[Gooner0]

Rightly said Hatchy , you've said all that needs to be said.
This topic should be pinned so newbies especially and some old members too who are guilty of this would be able to see this.
Posting topics shouldn't only be about seeking merits but Topics should have good knowledge filled contents that would be beneficial to the community
These days many users think the just have to create and post topics in order to accumulate merits forgetting the need to bring something tangible to the table.

[Hewlet]

One thing that can be very tempting is it assume that because Thier might be a good amount of sendables merit in circulation, it's expected that everyone post just too much. As much as posting as much as one pleases to is not frawnd at on the forum, let's understand that excess of everything is bad and that when you're overdoing it, it might appear too obvious that you are chasing after merit.

Quality post is not only when you've created a fresh topic. Even when you're replying to an already created topic, it still counts as a quality post. It's best to think through a topic before creating it so we don't end up having a lot of junk topics that will end up being trashed out into off topic. The old members of the forum might have acquainted themselves with what quality posting entails but for those that are yet to gain full ground on the forum, it's best to still take things easy and learn first and then it will become much easier to become one of the quality posters in the forum.

[Fiatless]

Thank you, OP, for this impactful piece. Let me add a few words that might make sense.
1. After conceiving an idea about a thread, do a search on the forum to check if the topic has been discussed already. This would help you to abandon the idea or make some adjustments.

2. Consider the length of the thread. These days, people prefer reading straight-to-the-point content. Instead of beating around the bush, go straight to the point. But this shouldn't discourage long posts if the contents are necessary.

[Kelward]

@Hatchy, I appreciate dis your thread so dat our people wey de start topic go know di purpose why dem de start am, no be just for merit alone because dem fit go offtrack. No be by force to start a thread so if you decide to start one you suppose to reason di topic very well weda e de relevant for di board wey you want to start am and weda di content de quality so dat readers go benefit something from inside. Starting a thread de quite different from making posts on a thread, you fit to reply on a thread based on how you take reason di topic. But if you must start a thread e de important to research and get knowledge of wetin you want to start, except say di thread na about a question, even at dat di question suppose to be something worth asking.

Make we remember say di work of rewarding quality posts for di board no be for only our merit source dem, if we as none merit source see any posts wey we reason say e deserve our merit make we give am if we get. Also no be every of our members de very technical, if we see posts wey de constructive and wetin d person yan make sense and de relevant to di board make we also de appreciate dem with merit.

[Felicity_Tide]

Great thread @OP.
When it comes to quality thread AFAIK, It is very important that we try to compose/write things by considering how others can easily grasp. It's just like putting yourself in their shoes. Writing a thread from one view sometimes trigger confusion. I was reading a particular thread on this same board yesterday, and I wasn't even sure of what the OP was addressing because he pointed out two different problems while addressing only one. I had to re-edit my replies two times before finally giving up on the thread.

And one other thing is, we should try to avoid threads that we don't understand or have idea about. This has nothing to do with being lazy, but it helps a particular thread to maintain its sanity. And like a user said, fresh topics are not the only threads with quality. Replies that matches original threads and contributes something meaningful should also be seen as quality.

[CryptSafe]

OP, you have done well by putting up this thread so as to guide members to know how to coordinate their posts and replies as the case may be. However, many people would still not get this clear, as they might likely not really be the type that really flow with all these criteria you have mentioned but however, some are good at contribution and sharing ideas and opinion on something that is engaging in discussion with people, that is why most times we see long quotes on threads which shows a sign of a conversation going on between two people and if you read carefully their conversation, you will discover that they are having a good talk to say. So I will say that a merit worthy post should be that which is been able to share ideas, opinions, suggestions, and also make an input in a conversation. It must not only be creating posts or topics, but also being able to engage in conversation and contribute to the discussion of a topic of discussion.

[Doan9269]

I think this is also an avenue for me to advise other members too from this end, which i have some few observation/suggestion to give regarding how to create a merit worthy post or thread.

1. You don't have to create a topic before you could stand a chance to earn merits.

2. Don't spam a thread with unnecessary contents or what you don't know about.

3. Include reference links, pictures, charts or any other necessary contents to make your post attractive for reading

Lastly, i will like to remind us of the required standard needed for posting from the official forum posting pattern and etiquettes.

Topic title style guide

posting etiquettes

[Mate2237]

Nice one for creating this thread to remind us on the forum especially the newbies on how to create threads that is worthy of getting a merit because there are allot of threads that when you go through has no meaningful thing to add to the local board and again people just post topics in the board that it's not ment to be I believe that this thread will be useful because it address the issue of knowing how to creating a good quality post.


Creating post that is worthy of attracting merit should be the ultimate goal everyone so doing a proper research before posting is very important because that will give you a proper information and help you create a thread that will be informative enough for people to read and get educated from it another thing people should consider when creating threads is the clarity of the threads there are threads that full of a lengthy write-up but has little meaning and is only towards the ending of the thread that the information that is intended is there so making your message precise and clear is very important

[Abu-Naim]

Great thread.

This should serve as a reminder to us all, because just as you said, many users will be interested in creating new topic thinking it will be the requirement for merit since we have more sources forgetting that they can earn merits even by making good replies that is important and help the general public.
However, creating thread is good, but make sure the topic is important and can benefit the general public, and make sure you check the existing threads to avoid duplicate topics.

[Smartvirus]

My Nigerian people, Omo, una too much. Una Dey try no small for this forum and I must say big us to those of you that put effort to make sure say, we come out for anything way Dey sup on this forum. I never been really congratulate anyone via say, e get as e be me to Dey enter everybody thread dey write message and move to the next, omo, there was a lot of you, foreigners included, wouldn’t want to spam.
However, this is home and I go like borrow this thread to say, Congrats to all them newly appointed sources @Tim @Mia and @Gold. You all did good.

While on course, merit comes form the most unlikely of places. When you didn’t expect to be rewarded in some numbers is when you get them. Just ensure you are posting from the dept of knowledge and it would find you in a way, don’t have it at heart while creating a post.

[POPOLUV]

It is really a big congratulations to all the able men that pick up the courage to make sure that these great naija local board doesn't lack anything and i believe as life goes on more changes will surely take place and these local board will take another phase that will be beneficial to all members of these great local board.

All the big men the that has been so supportive in the growing of our local board should always continue with their good work and they will continue to excel in all their endeavors.

[Evergreenpost]

This is an achievement worth appreciating and celebrating. Kudos to the people who made it happen!
Nigerians no dey carry last, and what is interesting about Nigerians is that we always find a way, no matter how tough things get. It is a beautiful thing to see like-minded people coming together, understanding one another, and working together as a team to bring the best out of one another. One important thing is that:
We have to abide by the rules and regulations of the forum and create quality threads.
I have read on other boards that someone once complained to a moderator about the Naija board, claiming that merits were being shared to posts that did not deserved them. We have to be very cautious as well.

[Shadiq]

Do we really need to start a topic to get merit? I think it might create more garbage. The same topics can get repetitive and new posters will just repeat topics hoping to get merit even though the topics are worthy of merit.

It would be nice if posters could join the conversation and earn merit. Merit is rarely earned on our board by replying or quoting. Even if it is, it is based on very high level opinions. It is a bit difficult for a newbie to create such a good quality post in the beginning. If the merit sources here were a little more lenient and started giving small rewards (1 merit) for generally good posts, maybe both newbies and oldbies would be motivated to create better posts and maybe start researching and joining the conversation.

I only create a topic when I think it might be useful for someone else.

[Wiwo]

Do we really need to start a topic to get merit? I think it might create more garbage. The same topics can get repetitive and new posters will just repeat topics hoping to get merit even though the topics are worthy of merit.

When I was a senior member rank way back, @ Igebotz made one reply to my thread and I learned a lot of lot from that single statement he said and I quote. You don't need to start a topic for anything you want to discuss in the forum just to get attention, and everything one needs to say can be said in the comments and can still generate a lot of attention from forum members.

That lesson helps me a lot with this very rank and ongoing, although I am one person that always finds something that has not been discussed before so before I start a topic I make sure it is not a repetitive discussion.