Forum Etiquette

Savanja's Guide to Proper Posting

By: Savanja

As one who frequently enjoys the benefits of the various forums that the Internet has to offer, I have personally seen the desperate need for forum etiquette. Not to say that I, myself, have always followed these rules. The fact is, that I don’t. I make all the typical faux pas on a regular basis, and I might even occasionally step over the line purposely.

But that doesn’t mean, that in the forum realm, we should totally discount general guidelines for posting. After all, what would forums, such as SOE’s EQ2 forums, be like if it weren’t for the rules and regulations enforced by the mighty Blackguard, the honorable Raijinn, and the stealthy MiB? It would be, in short, pure and utter chaos.

The Nublet (and no, I don’t mean Moon)

We all have to start somewhere, right? When one wanders onto a forum, there are a couple things that they need to keep in mind.

First of all, know your audience. Don’t just go in and start posting like you belong, because the fact is, you don’t. People tend to form bonds on forums, and new people coming in and just throwing stuff out there, it isn’t always the best way to make your entrance. Make an intro, say “Hi”, watch, and choose your posting carefully. Let them sniff your hand, and if they don’t feel threatened, they might just lick you and wag their tails in acceptance.

One word for newb posters; SEARCH. Oh yeah. That search feature is your friend, and will continue to be, for your entire forum going life. I still use it frequently. No one wants to see the eleventybillionth post on “soe r teh suxxors”, when you simply could have searched for similar posts, and added your 2 cents, or nickel (depending on how long winded you are) to an existing thread. Plus it saves the mods the annoyances of having to lock, move, or redirect your thread, and we all wanna make life easier for the mods.

The Flamer

The old rule, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all”, echoes in my mind here. And this is likely the rule that I have the biggest trouble with. When someone says something that is just so completely outrageous, it’s very hard to NOT say anything. You sit there, fingers over the keyboard, ready to pounce, your mind racing, emotions seething, and before you know it, the words “Dood! You are sucha tool!!!” have managed to fly up there, and are posted before you even realize it. I’m sorry Raijinn! I didn’t mean to! It’s just that, he was all sayin’ stuff and he is, omg, SUCHA TOOL!

Okay, so don’t follow my example on this one, but truly, it’s always better to let it go and notify your friendly neighborhood mods, than to say something that you, and everyone else, may regret later. Besides that, letting the proverbial fur fly, it tends to make things worse, then you’ll see an all out flame war, and that’s never good. Then things have to get locked, mods have to yell, and it’s all just a big ole mess.

The Troll

These are the bane of my forum existence. The horrid creatures browse forums, with the sole purpose of causing disruption. And because of the previously mentioned flamers, it’s not too hard to do. They come in, talk some well turned smack, and sit back and watch the hate ensue.

DON’T FEED THE TROLLS. Typically, if you ignore them, they go away. And if they don’t, their constant need to cause trouble becomes apparent, and the mods will slap down that awesome ban hammer. FYI. Obnoxious ninja posting to rile people up is bad, mmk?

The Whiner

You have something to complain about, so you decide to hop on your nearest forum and voice that complaint. This is so very wrong. Forums are a meeting place for people with a common interests, NOT a place for you to moan and gripe about whatever it is, that has gotten your manties in a twist. There are appropriate places for that. SOE has customer service, in game petitions, and bug reports; please use them. Making a visit to forums only when you want to complain, it’s not all that likely you will be able to sway people to your cause anyway because, 1) they don’t know who the heck you are, and 2) anything you complain about has likely been complained about before. And you’d know all this if you followed the Nublet rules, but you didn’t, so now no one wants to listen! Now see what you’ve done? I almost flamed you for that.

The Spammer

*coughs* We have NONE of these in the NGD… Really. Okay, we might have a few, but most definitely, not me. All my posts are insightful and helpful.

But there are a few people who take spamming to all new heights. And, in the case of the NGD, the “know your audience” thing comes into play. In a forum such as that, multitudes of posts aren’t unusual. It’s a forum dedicated to off topic discussion, and gets used as such. But myself, and other high post-count posters, you will notice, try to keep it in the NGD (and other fluff forums) out of respect for the other forums. That sort of behavior in the Gameplay section, would be completely unacceptable because of the nature of that forum. One needs to keep in topic, and keep posts relevant to the thread.

Forum Guru Savanja Wraps It Up

So basically, what it all comes down to is respect and common sense, and just plain playing nice with the other kiddies. Be kind, make friends, and have fun. Or if you post in those other forums that I hear exist outside of the NGD, post to have deep and meaningful conversations and sharing of intellectual thoughts, that will enlighten and enrich your life.

I personally will be sticking with my “cake>pie>ass>m00fins” and “w0rd” discussions, but that’s just me. Hey! I didn’t get to 7k+ posts by actually sayin’ something worthwhile. Sheesh.

Thoughts, feelings, general comments on my writing? Send me an email!