in reply to Considering nodes for re-titling
Well said, VSarkiss. Let me enumerate some of the criteria that I look for before acting upon a retitle consideration. I generally look for one or more of the following:
- Is the node title a single word? These can be a problem for the search (find) button.
- Does the node title fail to describe the node's content? Titles like "Help please" may satisfy the 'more than one word' criteria, but fall desperately short of the 'be descriptive' criteria. If a node title completely fails to make the point I'll think about retitling.
- Is the title abusive? (This is pretty rare, enough said).
- Is the title really misleading? In other words, if the title is "DBI question" and the topic of the node is actually about regular expressions, it might warrant a change. Or it might warrant a little embellishment to something like "Using regular expressions to filter results of DBI queries."
- Is the consideration accurate, well thought out, and complete? I can't stress this enough. If someone considers a node for "Retitle", or "One word title", or "Not a DBI question", etc., I'm going to vote keep, because the consideration is not giving me something to vote 'edit' on. If someone feels strongly enough about retitling to consider a node, that person should give it enough thought that the consideration suggests a reasonable course of action. It's not that I disagree that something needs to be done, but you haven't given me an action to agree with. I don't sign blank checks.
- Finally, as a Janitor, when I look at the vote to determine if I'm going to act on it or not, when it comes to retitling I look for about a 2:1 vote in favor of retitling... plus I'm looking for it to meet some of the criteria listed above. If people don't feel strongly enough to vote predominantly in unison (with a few dissenters), I don't feel a mandate to take action.
I think it might also be time to remind people of two important nodes:
- On Responsible Considerations, by footpad: Every person with the power to consider a node, and vote on a consideration should read this entire thread.
- Composing effective node titles, by me (or its version that was adopted by SiteDocClan - How do I compose an effective node title?). Everyone who posts nodes should read this.
Above all, please think before considering, and remember to suggest a course of action. If there's a surefire way to get an uncompelling vote on a consideration, it's to say something like "Maybe retitle, or edit or something". Each consideration should address one problem, and should suggest one definate course of action.
And let's err on the side of inaction. Unless there really is a need, we should just leave things alone. The Janitors Thread Retitler should be looked upon like antibiotics; they work, but overuse can be bad for everyone.
Dave
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