Suggestions on Tips and Tricks 'Etiquette'

So here's the deal. I'm a big fan of the Tips/Tricks section here at The Code Project - and why wouldn't I be? ;o)

I think it's a gem and a great forum for everyone to share little bits of wisdom they've gained throughout their career.

There are a few things that I feel denote a better tip than others:

• The tip is short, descriptive, appropriately tagged and useful to others. In other words, follow The Code Project guidelines.

• It's not just a knowingly re-hashed version of someone else's tip.

• You've searched for a similar tip before you post. If you appropriately tag your tip and are descriptive in your tip, chances are that it won't be dup'd.

• You haven't just posted well-known features of a product, or used literature from their marketing materials.

• You've taken time to review the tip for grammar, spelling and errors or omissions so that others can easily find your tip.

• If applicable, you're following best practices or at least stated why it's not relevant to your tip.

As far as voting goes, I think it's a shame we don't have forced-comments on low votes. That said, there are a couple of things I think we can do if we don't think a tip is worth it's weight in kilobytes:

• Use the voting system fairly. As far as I can tell, it's meant to RATE the tip, not RANK the tip. A tip in and of itself might be a great tip even if it's not as advanced as a similar tip. Perhaps it's a beginner who is targeted, so, ask yourself "who is the audience?" If it's not you, don't vote: just move on.

• If you think you are the intended audience, reserve judgement! Leave a comment and ask for a clarification, or better yet, suggest an alternative.

• If you are going to low-vote a tip/trick then have the courtesy to leave a comment and say why. If some hack dumps a lame tip with no explanation, then go ahead and leave a low vote. And then say why.

There are some great tips popping up in here and I think a little trove of goodies is quickly forming. I don't want to see the process derailed by a group of hosers. This site is one of the few places on the web that doesn't degrade into flame wars at every turn and yes I just used 'hosers' on a programming web site. Great White North, represent.

I would venture to guess that the majority of folks on this site are professionals, so let's treat each other as such. If you're not a professional (or aren't one yet), it's a good place to act like one.

Cheers, and happy tipping.