What is meant by a Substantive Post?

One of the rules we are establishing for admission into a SIG is that someone must have made a few substantive posts on our forum. While we have no intention of setting a policy as stringent as those found within online schools, we do admit to examining the policies set by such organizations to serve as a guildline for our own. To state this policy as briefly as we can, a substantive post should increase the understanding of the reader about the topic under discussion. In general this is usually done through written content, however links to external sites (references) are certainly helpful too. There is also an expectation for professional writing quality in so far as spelling and grammar.

One factor we will not get too hung up on relates to minimal word lengths. Within the confines of this site, quality of what is said will always matter more than the amount of words it takes to say something. From the perspective of those of us reviewing posts here, one that is short yet well-written will be far more welcome than one that takes a long time to make a point.

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