bluemicrobyte
03-20-2005, 4:13 AM
Hello there! :wave: If your reading this, you're probably new to Warboards! (or maybe you were just curious about this thread :P) Before you start posting, or after you've started posting and suffered brutal insults, it would be to your benefit to reveiw the guide below.
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1) Joining a forum is like going to a new school. You don't know anyone yet, but everyone knows each other.
2) Just like going to a new school, you don't yet know everyones personalities, nor do you know the ways of the forum.
3) You may feel inclined to make a "Hello world!" thread to announce your presence. This is ok if you feel it is necessary, but be warned that here at Warboards, most people consider these threads spam, and you may get whacked on the head :twak:. Heres why:
Every thread should have a specific purpose; for example the purpose of this thread is to educate new members about the ways of the forum. Over time, you will learn what kinds of topics are considered non-spam.
Although one can argue that every thread does have a purpose, there is a point where that purpose becomes too broad, and then qualifies as spam. An example of these threads are "Hello world! I'm here!" threads. New users generally create these threads because they don't yet know what kinds of threads are valued at Warboards.
4) The hardest part of any forum is trying to remember that it is not a chat room. Each post should be well thought out. For example, if Joe writes "I think cookies are evil" then a bad reply would be something like "lol" or "thats stupid". A good reply would be something like "I disagree, cookies are delicious and therefore they are not evil!" or "If cookies are evil and you eat cookies, you must be evil." In short, for every post you make ask yourself "Does this post actually contribute to the discussion?"
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So how do you become educated in the ways of Warboards? Heres a good way to start:
Read threads for a while and don't make many posts until you feel you've got an idea for how things work.
Start by replying to existing threads and pretend your in a formal discussion with the president of the world.
Always remember: Anything you say can and will most likely be used against you in the court of spammers!
After you've got a feel for what kinds of threads people value, think of a good topic and create a thread of your own. Here are some ideas for good threads:
-A discussion question such as "Should school be held on saturdays?"
-An interesting or entertaining fact or website such as a good joke or an addicting flash game.
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Parting Words of Wisdom
Don't feel bad if your first few threads or posts are locked or deleted, every new member (including myself) has had to take the journey down the road of newbieism at least once...
Making a single post and never returning to warboards doesnt count as being a member! Add warboards to your favorites, NOW! or be like many of us and make it your home page!
There is a forum for everyone; the members lounge is a general forum where you can talk about ANYTHING (thats appropriate), and there are other forums for various games, as well as a few other topics.
This is a hack-free site! Do not post hacks, do not ask for hacks.
This is an illegalness-free site! Do not post illegal stuff, do not ask for illegal stuff.
This forum is *supposed* to be PG13. Please try to rember that
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Once again, Welcome to Warboards and I hope you join us as a regular member that actually stays and gets to know everyone just like at a new school when you stay and make friends and eventually welcome other new members!
:beer:
=================================================
A note to the members:
I wrote this in hopes of helping the newbies become members without being flamed away...as we've seen recently...
If you feel this is a worthy guide, sticky it or something so that all new members may learn from it.
edit: err...it seems the formating is messed up and I cant edit it to the way it should be...you may notice some extra blank lines in there...
edit: it seems to be fine now...:)
edit: nevermind lol
--------------------------------------------
1) Joining a forum is like going to a new school. You don't know anyone yet, but everyone knows each other.
2) Just like going to a new school, you don't yet know everyones personalities, nor do you know the ways of the forum.
3) You may feel inclined to make a "Hello world!" thread to announce your presence. This is ok if you feel it is necessary, but be warned that here at Warboards, most people consider these threads spam, and you may get whacked on the head :twak:. Heres why:
Every thread should have a specific purpose; for example the purpose of this thread is to educate new members about the ways of the forum. Over time, you will learn what kinds of topics are considered non-spam.
Although one can argue that every thread does have a purpose, there is a point where that purpose becomes too broad, and then qualifies as spam. An example of these threads are "Hello world! I'm here!" threads. New users generally create these threads because they don't yet know what kinds of threads are valued at Warboards.
4) The hardest part of any forum is trying to remember that it is not a chat room. Each post should be well thought out. For example, if Joe writes "I think cookies are evil" then a bad reply would be something like "lol" or "thats stupid". A good reply would be something like "I disagree, cookies are delicious and therefore they are not evil!" or "If cookies are evil and you eat cookies, you must be evil." In short, for every post you make ask yourself "Does this post actually contribute to the discussion?"
--------------------------------------------
So how do you become educated in the ways of Warboards? Heres a good way to start:
Read threads for a while and don't make many posts until you feel you've got an idea for how things work.
Start by replying to existing threads and pretend your in a formal discussion with the president of the world.
Always remember: Anything you say can and will most likely be used against you in the court of spammers!
After you've got a feel for what kinds of threads people value, think of a good topic and create a thread of your own. Here are some ideas for good threads:
-A discussion question such as "Should school be held on saturdays?"
-An interesting or entertaining fact or website such as a good joke or an addicting flash game.
--------------------------------------------
Parting Words of Wisdom
Don't feel bad if your first few threads or posts are locked or deleted, every new member (including myself) has had to take the journey down the road of newbieism at least once...
Making a single post and never returning to warboards doesnt count as being a member! Add warboards to your favorites, NOW! or be like many of us and make it your home page!
There is a forum for everyone; the members lounge is a general forum where you can talk about ANYTHING (thats appropriate), and there are other forums for various games, as well as a few other topics.
This is a hack-free site! Do not post hacks, do not ask for hacks.
This is an illegalness-free site! Do not post illegal stuff, do not ask for illegal stuff.
This forum is *supposed* to be PG13. Please try to rember that
----------------------------------------------
Once again, Welcome to Warboards and I hope you join us as a regular member that actually stays and gets to know everyone just like at a new school when you stay and make friends and eventually welcome other new members!
:beer:
=================================================
A note to the members:
I wrote this in hopes of helping the newbies become members without being flamed away...as we've seen recently...
If you feel this is a worthy guide, sticky it or something so that all new members may learn from it.
edit: err...it seems the formating is messed up and I cant edit it to the way it should be...you may notice some extra blank lines in there...
edit: it seems to be fine now...:)
edit: nevermind lol