Navigating the Discussion Groups

(I know I said I would be quiet this month, but posting distracts me from pre-wedding twirliness)

If you are a real C3D newbie there are a few things to know about the discussion groups. Allow me to offer some advice.

http://discussion.autodesk.com/forum.jspa?forumID=66

DO's:

• Research your problem a first. The Lord helps those who help themselves...and so do other Civil 3D users. Hit F1 for context-sensitive help from the program itself. If you can't find the answer - at the very least you'll have more exposure to the lingo. In the discussion groups, look for other posts that might help you before you post your own. If you navigate via webpage , the search is in the upper left hand corner. Use quotes to find phrases. Once you have a search complete, I recommend sorting the results by post date.

• Be as specific as possible. Tell the group what version and service pack you are using. Operating system helps. What were you doing when the error occurred? What are you trying to accomplish?
  

• Tell people what you've tried. "I've audited the drawing and placed a burning bundle of sage in front of my monitor."

Don'ts:

• Be rude. The people who answer your questions are not getting paid for their time. Be respectful. Thank them for their help. A little heinie smooching goes a long way.
  
• Ask lame-ass questions. It's ok to be a newbie, but here are some examples of stupid questions that will invoke sarcasm within the posters:
• How do I build a surface? (answer: "Get some training." or "Read the tutorial")
  
• What's a corridor? (answer: "Get some training." or "Read the tutorial")
• Why does Autodesk hate me? (answer: "It's not just Autodesk. We all hate you.")
  
• How can I get Civil 3D to behave more like Terramodel? (answer: "Did you mother drop you when you were a child?")
  
• What happens when I push this button? (answer: "To find out, push it.")
  
• Rant. Fine, we get it. You are not happy with the software. Don't spread your negative karma to people who are trying to get work done. Flaming posts are not constructive to anyone. You are more likely to be seen as a loose cannon than someone anyone would actually listen to. If you think you've seen a bug or have a wish-list item, post it here.
• Promote your fly-by-night software company. Other people disagree with this one, but I think its a little tacky to say, "You, know...I've got this script I'll charge you $500 for - but it will work around the feature gap for now." Odds are this new program will be pointless in future versions of Civil 3D. If you wrote a script thats handy for the masses - give it away as shareware.