Remember, before you consider, please, Please, PLEASE:

It's been said before, but as a reminder, please keep the following in mind when submitting posts for consideration:

If the post is a duplicate, first verify that the other instance hasn't already been considered.
If the post is a duplicate, provide the id or a link to the node it is a duplicate of. Nobody should be voting to delete a duplicate without first verifying, and if the duplicate isn't mentioned, this requires each person to search to find the missing original, until someone modifies the title of the post to point to it.
If submitting a node for a title change, supply an alternate title in the consideration. You've read the post--the editor who goes to correct it might not have, and if s/he isn't following the thread, s/he probably doesn't want to read the post to think of an appropriate title. If you can't think of a better title than the original author did, you have no business considering it for a title change.
Be very clear what the node is submitted for: edit or deletion and why. Something like "should be obvious" isn't. What's obvious to one person may not be obvious to another, especially if the second person hasn't read the message yet.
When considering for duplicate deletion, only consider real duplicates. This means that questions which have been asked time and time again should not be considered--rather, reply to the post with an explanation on the use of search and some results which would have answered the question. This won't stop the next person from asking the question (but neither will deleting the post), but it might teach one user how to use search instead of bewildering her/him with a vanished post.

All this and more is available in the Consideration FAQ.

Comment on Remember, before you consider, please, Please, PLEASE:

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re: Remember, before you consider, please, Please, PLEASE: by andye (Curate) on Apr 16, 2002 at 08:56 UTC
I've been seeing loads of posts Considered that, well, I wouldn't even have considered Considering. :) I'd like to draw people's attention to Level 6: Friar which describes bad reasons to Consider a node, including: The question has been resolved and, in your opinion, did not involve enough Perl. The monastery tolerates general off-topic questions occasionally, and some monks even know a little bit about operating systems, web servers, databases, and the like. Perl is a glue language, and occasionally it has to interact with other things. Sometimes the problem is with the poster's code, sometimes not. If the question has come up before, it will probably come up again. Let the archives take it. The only nodes I consider for deletion (apart from dups) are ad hominem attacks. Anything else, I might vote down, but I don't think is worth completely scrubbing from the records. Anyway, that's just me, but could people consider being a bit lighter with the Consider button? Cheers, Andy. Update: See also What is Consideration?: Request that a node be deleted. Please only do this for blatant trolls (egregiously offensive) and true duplicates (where a post consisting of "I gave the same answer as some other monk but was slower" is not a duplicate). For useless, stupid, off-topic, and annoying nodes: if it is a root node, then don't approve it for any section; if it is a reply, just ignore it.	[reply]
Re: Remember, before you consider, please, Please, PLEASE: by particle (Vicar) on Apr 15, 2002 at 14:42 UTC
When considering for duplicate deletion, only consider real duplicates i made this mistake only last week. it wasn't until i looked at nodes to consider the next day, and saw the keep and delete votes were even did i realize my mistake. thanks for the gentle reminder. ~Particle ;Þ	[reply]
Re: Remember, before you consider, please, Please, PLEASE: by rinceWind (Monsignor) on Apr 22, 2002 at 10:57 UTC
I've has a few thoughts about considering. Having accidentally considered a node by typing in the wrong box (drunk in charge of a keyboard, guilty as charged), I wonder whether there could be more options for the considerer. How about allowing the considerer to add text to their initial remark. Then, I could have put D'oh! or equivalent when I realised what I had done. Also, people suggesting changing the title without supplying a new title could be /MSGed and be able to add their title afterwards. This could also be used for circumstances where there is more than one reason to consider a node: e.g. it may need change of title and code tags, but the original considerer only thought of the title. Someone else cannot consider the node until it has been cleared by an editor. Under my proposal you /MSG the considerer and he adds your suggestion if he agrees with it. My $0.02, --rW	[reply]
Re: Remember, before you consider, please, Please, PLEASE: by RMGir (Prior) on Apr 15, 2002 at 20:57 UTC
Great post, thanks! I have to admit I had a hard time not typing should be obvious in the consider box :) But then again, I find puns funny too... Seriously, very informative, your ++ is in the mail (i.e., you'll get it tomorrow when I get new votes) -- Mike	[reply]