Why do we have this policy? Sending a "PM Sent!" type message basically wastes everybody else's time by making them having to scroll past a post in a thread that looks to be updated, when the update is not meaningful. ": This is a very specific and directed question that is not of interest to anybody else.
the forum software will tell the other person that they have a PM waiting. "PM Sent!": Do not tell the rest of us that you sent a PM.Here are some obvious examples of when you should not reply to a thread and use the PM system instead: In short, if you are going to reply to a thread and that reply is targeted to a specific individual and not of interest to anybody else (either now or in the future) then send a private message instead. This forum has a private message feature that we want people to use for messages that are not of general interest to other members.
Rule 4: "PM Sent!" messages (or, how to use the Private Message system) Use the Private Message system for posts that are targeted at a specific person.Just start a new thread for your related topic. And even then, that person may have moved on. Do not "necro-post" unless you are following up to a specific person on a specific thread.Worse yet, they will stop visiting and we'll lose their experience and contributions. If people read your posts and feel that their time as been wasted, they will stop reading your posts. A post should be on topic, clear, and contribute something meaningful to the discussion. If you are taking less than 30 seconds to make a post then you are probably doing something wrong.
Coming here should not be a waste of time.
To put things in engineering terms, we value a high signal to noise ratio. You can always start a new thread instead of potentially "hijacking" an existing thread.
This forum is part of our mission to promote the preservation of vintage computers through education and outreach.