Over the years, I have often seen members start new topics with a question to the general membership of the Downs. Questions are not bad in themselves, of course. We encourage people to ask lots of them. But the topics I am talking about, usually in Mirth, have the potential to be humorous but are often hobbled from their inception by the way they are presented.
When starting a topic, you should first be careful not to begin a dreaded 'list topic'* They are detrimental to the forum and your overall mental health. Next, starting a topic with a question, you should always answer it yourself and give a detailed reason for your answer, encouraging others to do the same. Simply asking a question and waiting for others to discuss it is a little lazy and will probably result in a ‘list’.
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If Hobbits formed rock bands, what would they be like?
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Better
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Imagine that the old gaffers in Hobbiton woke up one morning to a frightening new noise: Rock’n’Roll. Across the Shire, young tweeners were growing their hair long and shaking their hips in immoral, Elf-like gyrations. A respectable hobbit gentleman couldn’t sit down to a pint in his favorite pub without being drowned in racket of such hooligan music groups as the The Hoom, Prince (of Dol Amroth), Flogging Merry, and Sheryl Crebain
Performing tonight in the Green Dragon: Nob Dylan (all the way from Bree!)
He’ll sing such great songs as:
Like A Rolling Stone of Erech
All Along The Watchtower of Amon Sul
Tangled Up In Lhûn
(Hey! Give me a break! This is an example, not an actual post!  )
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Without creating a list, tell us about another band that might perform in the new rockin’ Shire. What are they like and what songs do they play?
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In the better example, the poster presented an idea and gave a good example of the type of post he was looking for. That's what everyone should strive to do when creating a new thread. If you start the thread, be the first one to show us how it's done. Don't just throw ideas out.
Thanks
* List Topic: A statement/question inciting a perpetual string of self-clones.