MAJOR RAKAL'S BBS TIPS #5: WRITING SUBJECT LINES

What do you put in your subject lines? It's not a trivial question, because what you put in the subject will determine, to a large extent, whether your message gets read. Subject lines may be too long, too short, uninformative, misleading, or contain the entire message. What should a subject line contain?

• Include enough information in your subject line so the browser of the board can tell if he's interested in reading your message. The following (real) subject lines are uninformative or misleading (I don't mean to pick on anyone, but I think genuine examples are more convincing than made-up ones):
  
  >Just a question
  (About what?)
  > ST CCG
  (I sure hope so, this isn't the Star Wars board)
  >Lookin' for a hint
  (About what?)
  >Nullify?
  (???)
  >Whew, it's been a while since I've been here. Cool question inside!
  (About what?)
  >Hey, hey, it's a SURVEY!!
  (Another one? What's this one about?)
  >Anthology???????????????????????????????
  (What about it?)
  
  Do you want to read these messages? Who knows? But what if they had these for subject lines (which express their real intent):
  
  >>How does Birth of Junior work?
  >>Hi! (nt)
  >>Need help with Romulan deck strategy
  >>Do you discard a card when you nullify it?
  >>Who is Star Trek's best villain?
  >>Survey on affiliations and deck strategies
  >>Where can I get the Anthology in the Chicago area?
  
  ...you'd know if you were interested, or if you could answer their question.
  

  Some actual BBS subject lines that are brief but informative:

  >The Sword of Kahless Dream Card
  >If they make a 6-skilled Romulan, who would it be? nt
  >What happens if you counter Red Alert when someone is playing personnel?
  >Here's the handle list...(link inside)
  >Survey: I want to get to know everyone, I'm new
  >How does everyone preserve their cards?
  >Mot, could you do a useless card review on Ensign Tuvok?
  >Romulan space decks will not work
  >Does each ship in a fleet need a leader to attack? nt
  
  
  

• Consider prefacing your subject line with one or two words categorizing the post, such as STRATEGY, QUESTION, DREAM CARD, SURVEY, HOUSE RULE, and so on. Although not everything fits into this scheme, it lets readers know instantly what the message's basic topic is. Ongoing series such as card reviews or BBS Tips ;-) are generally titled as such and are self-explanatory.
  
  

• Don't try to put your whole message in the subject line unless it's genuinely short. If you have that much to say, use the message box. It's a lot easier to edit, and keeps the size of the board down.
  
  

• If your subject line is your whole message, put (nt) at the end of it. It stands for "no text," and keeps board browsers from wasting time downloading a message only to find it contains no message.
  
  

• If your subject line is meant to be amusing or tongue-in cheek, use an "emoticon" (typographic sideways smily face) to indicate it, such as :-) or ;-) (that's a wink).
  
  

• DON'T USE ALL CAPS (or even MOST caps). It is almost universally considered rude, the online equivalent of shouting. It's also difficult to read. Contrary to popular belief, it is more likely to make people skip your message in annoyance than to attract attention. Excessive use of asterisks or exclamation points as an attention-getting ploy is just as annoying and also wastes space.
  
  

• If your message contains "spoiler" information (giving away details of the storyline) about a recent episode, it's polite to say so in the subject line, e.g., "Dream Card from Latest DS9 (spoiler inside)." Not everyone sees the episodes on the same schedule, especially outside the U.S. where they may be delayed for months. Anyone who has not seen that episode may prefer not to read anything that will spoil the story for them.
  
  

• "Spoiler" information may also concern new card releases, when players have had a sneak preview of an upcoming expansion at a preview tournament. Not everyone wants to be "spoiled;" many would rather be surprised when they get the cards. Respect their wishes, and indicate clearly in your subject that there is spoiler information in your message (and confine the actual information to the message rather than putting it in the subject!).
  
  

• When you post a response to an existing message, the Subject Line box is already filled in with "Re: (previous subject line quoted)." While it may not be obvious, you can edit this subject line. If the original subject line was short and to the point, changing it may be unnecessary. But you should change it if: .....The original subject is unnecessarily wordy. Make up a brief, appropriate subject line according to the above guidelines, prefaced with Re:.
  
  .....The original subject is uninformative or misleading.
  .....The original subject indicates (nt). Presumably your reply contains text. Not only should you delete the (nt), but it helps to add (text).
  .....You are changing the subject of the thread somewhat by asking a related question, or commenting on only one aspect of a multi-part question. Create an appropriate subject. For example, if the thread is about "Nullifying Borg Ship attack with Hugh," and it brings up a question about Hugh's other use, your reply might be headed, "Re: Nullifying Rogue Borg."
  .....Your answer can be contained solely in a single-line subject (nt), particularly a Yes or No answer.
  

Jolan tru,

Major Rakal

MESSAGE BOARD TOPIC CHOICES

YOUNG JEDI
gameplay
trading
card auctions
miscellany
deck designs and
dream cards

STAR WARS CCG
gameplay
trading
card auctions
miscellany
deck designs
and dream cards

STAR TREK CCG
gameplay
trading
card auctions
miscellany
deck designs and
dream cards