Post by Dangeresque on Aug 6, 2010 12:38:43 GMT
There are a few intrinsic rules that seem to come with participating on a (decent) forum. there are also some things that people have requested be done that just make a world of sense. Don't know them? Well, here they are:
THREAD NECROMANCY
This refers to posting in a long dead thread that no one cares about anymore, thus catapulting it to the top of page 1. Only the person who posted cares, no one else does, so there's no point. If you really, really, really feel the need to express your opinion on something then make a new thread about it, preferably with a new purpose so people ain't just typing down the same stuff they did a month ago.
The necromancy limit is two weeks of complete inactivity. After that, leave the corpse alone so that it may rot or rest in peace.
DOUBLE POSTING
Double posting is posting a post, then posting another post directly under it.
There are few reasons why you should ever need to double post. For the most part pressing "edit" and adding whatever to the end of yout post (usually with a big ol' EDIT: to show people you've done so) will suffice to get whatever you forgot across.
Try not to double post. It gets annoying if everyone does it heaps...
DOUBLE THREADS
Simple, before making a thread, check to see that a similar one isn't already running.
Checking back a page or two is all that's needed to satisfy this. If there's already a thread then people know about it. Your thread will draw nothing but "Hey, don't we already have this?". I can then delete or lock it if you want, or, it can be left to die.
SERIOUS THREADS
The General board ain't all fun and games, you can talk about serious things there too. To show that that is indeed what you are wanting when posting a thread, just add *Serious Thread* to the top of the first post. The rest of us'll be all curteous and refrain from jokey posting, unless it's just a harmless quip or whatever. Quips never hurt anything.
The rest of the boards are exempt from this, I suppose. You can post *serious thread* if you want but they ain't as random as general by design, so it shouldn't matter.
FLOW OF CONVERSATION
Threads in general should stick to a topic. However, much of the time the topic is satisfied, or it evolves. This is not a problem at all, provided that any questions and stuff made by the creator have been answered or appraised. If this hasn't happened, then feel free to yell "BACK ON TOPIC PEOPLE!".
It'd be appreciated if you could change the name of your threads if they deviate from thier course significantly. If the name still makes sense then don't worry about it. This isn't a biggie, but it could make things easier to navigate.
THREAD LOCATION
It's fairly obvious to decide where things ought to go in our categories. Pretty much anything that doesn't fit them can go in general with no trouble at all.
However, a recent thread has caused me to make this addition, and I'll use it as an example. It was about Ventrilo, a voice chat program. A program of any sort is technology, and should go in that section.
HOWEVER, Vent is perhaps the most popular program used by gamers to communicate while gaming. If the purposes of a thread about Vent is primarily with gaming in mind, then there is no problem with you putting it in the gaming section. It'll get to it's audience far easier that way, and that's what we all want.
So, if you're in two minds about where to put a thread, choose the option that is most likely to suit the threads purpose. If you have no idea where to put it, slap it in general and appeal to have the thread evaluated. It'll be moved to a location that best suits it's purpose.
If something about art is posted in technology (or something equally obvious happens) then it'll be moved. Other than that, you retain the power to move lost threads to the location of your choice.
THREAD NECROMANCY
This refers to posting in a long dead thread that no one cares about anymore, thus catapulting it to the top of page 1. Only the person who posted cares, no one else does, so there's no point. If you really, really, really feel the need to express your opinion on something then make a new thread about it, preferably with a new purpose so people ain't just typing down the same stuff they did a month ago.
The necromancy limit is two weeks of complete inactivity. After that, leave the corpse alone so that it may rot or rest in peace.
DOUBLE POSTING
Double posting is posting a post, then posting another post directly under it.
There are few reasons why you should ever need to double post. For the most part pressing "edit" and adding whatever to the end of yout post (usually with a big ol' EDIT: to show people you've done so) will suffice to get whatever you forgot across.
Try not to double post. It gets annoying if everyone does it heaps...
DOUBLE THREADS
Simple, before making a thread, check to see that a similar one isn't already running.
Checking back a page or two is all that's needed to satisfy this. If there's already a thread then people know about it. Your thread will draw nothing but "Hey, don't we already have this?". I can then delete or lock it if you want, or, it can be left to die.
SERIOUS THREADS
The General board ain't all fun and games, you can talk about serious things there too. To show that that is indeed what you are wanting when posting a thread, just add *Serious Thread* to the top of the first post. The rest of us'll be all curteous and refrain from jokey posting, unless it's just a harmless quip or whatever. Quips never hurt anything.
The rest of the boards are exempt from this, I suppose. You can post *serious thread* if you want but they ain't as random as general by design, so it shouldn't matter.
FLOW OF CONVERSATION
Threads in general should stick to a topic. However, much of the time the topic is satisfied, or it evolves. This is not a problem at all, provided that any questions and stuff made by the creator have been answered or appraised. If this hasn't happened, then feel free to yell "BACK ON TOPIC PEOPLE!".
It'd be appreciated if you could change the name of your threads if they deviate from thier course significantly. If the name still makes sense then don't worry about it. This isn't a biggie, but it could make things easier to navigate.
THREAD LOCATION
It's fairly obvious to decide where things ought to go in our categories. Pretty much anything that doesn't fit them can go in general with no trouble at all.
However, a recent thread has caused me to make this addition, and I'll use it as an example. It was about Ventrilo, a voice chat program. A program of any sort is technology, and should go in that section.
HOWEVER, Vent is perhaps the most popular program used by gamers to communicate while gaming. If the purposes of a thread about Vent is primarily with gaming in mind, then there is no problem with you putting it in the gaming section. It'll get to it's audience far easier that way, and that's what we all want.
So, if you're in two minds about where to put a thread, choose the option that is most likely to suit the threads purpose. If you have no idea where to put it, slap it in general and appeal to have the thread evaluated. It'll be moved to a location that best suits it's purpose.
If something about art is posted in technology (or something equally obvious happens) then it'll be moved. Other than that, you retain the power to move lost threads to the location of your choice.