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How to Write Well in the
Forums



By Darkgolem



When writing in the forums for any game, or, for that matter, for any
setting, there are certain key methods you should use to get your views
listened to and responded to.  There is a lot of enjoyment to be
found in writing in the forums.  



You can not only contribute by providing information for other people
to use, you can learn things that are hard to find out otherwise. 
In some cases you can assist the developers of games to learn what
their customers want.  You can foster a sense of community which
can make games much more enjoyable.



It can be hard to get your voice heard when writing in the
forums.  However, by writing articles using the tips given below,
you can increase the likelihood that people will take your views
seriously, respond to you, and href="http://ddo.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=425">hear
your views.

Writing clearly is key:

If you write your views
clearly, you are going to be better understood.  Pretty obvious in
the face of it, but if your views are open to interpretation, the
likelihood is that some people are going to answer things you didn't
ask, comment on things you didn't say.



You should think about anything your write as not a single thought, but
several thoughts at once.  Words that have multiple meanings can
distort your message.  An example is the use of the phrase “care
bear”.  In MMORG circles, care bears are people who don't like
pvp.  It often is used in a derogatory way.  By using this
term, anyone who feels they are being insulted will immedeatly start
looking at your message in a negative way, or even stop reading and
simply be looking for a retort to respond with.  This further
response from the alienated person can divert your thread to something
you don't want, or even start a flame war.



Ninety percent of communication is non verbal.  People look for
the hidden meanings in your written words as much as they do in face to
face.  So by writing in ways that lack a clear meaning, you give
people the opportunity to find meanings you did not't intend.

Grammar and spelling
count:

While it pains me to
remember how poor my writing can be upon occasion, this point is very
true.  The validity of your statements are going to be judged in
part upon how well you form your sentences and how correct your
spelling is.  Always size="-1"> href="http://ddo.tentonhammer.com/modules.php?full=1&set_albumName=album40&id=Explaining_ones_point_of_view&op=modload&name=Gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php"> alt="Explaining one's point of view"
src="http://ddo.tentonhammer.com/files/gallery/albums/album40/Explaining_ones_point_of_view.jpg"
style="border: 2px solid ; width: 250px; height: 188px;" align="right"> style="font-family: tahoma;" size="-1"> run a spell check before you
post, if possible, and take the time to review your posts for errors
and poorly formed sentences before you post them.  By making your
writing clearly understandable, you encourage people to accept your
message as true.

Don't take it
personally

When someone responds to
your posts in a hostile manner, examine it to see if your reading it
wrongly.  Just as people are likely to somewhat misinterperate
your writing, you are likely to misinterperate theirs.  The reason
you want to do this is because your goal with responding to others
posts is to keep to the point of your thread.  If you allow the
discussion you are fostering to turn away from that discussion, than
you are not accomplishing anything.



As a general rule, you can bring a thread that is going out of control
by answering posts that seem seditious with responses that are
not.  The person who wrote in a way that inspires a negative
response will often respond to a level post will allow the message to
be diverted back to the subject at hand, sometimes because they never
intended a negative response in the first place.



When someone does respond to your post in a truly negative way, you
have to decide whether your going to take the bait and respond in kind,
or instead ignore them and respond to others who are being
reasonable.  Remember that no matter whether a response to a
negative post is fair or not, you have lost… after all, you will get no
more information, nor be able to give any good information  once a
thread has devolved to a flame war.  Worse still, you can end up
being banned.

Keep your points short
and to the point.

Posts don't have to be
short, but they should only contain the information you need to give,
and be delivered in way that is delivers this information as quickly as
possible while still being clear.  If you have so much information
to contribute that it is going to be a very long post, instead explain
that your going to post segments and have two posts.  Note in the
title that a post is going to be long.



People don't care to spend a lot of time reading a post.  The
longer they spend reading something, the more likely they are to stop
reading, skim to the end, and respond to what they got from their
abridged understanding of your post.  This just makes it less
likely you will get a response that addresses what you were truly
trying to say.

Organize your
information

When you have lists of
information or multiple points to deliver, try using bullets or
numbering.  This makes your writing easier to read, both by
burying your information among words which simply connect your pieces
of information to each other, and by accenting your information for
readers.



When responding to others comments, quote them and do the same
thing.  Separate the key points of their comments (and make sure
to be fair, not keeping what you want to hear, but what is relevant
whether you agree or not), and use bullets or quotes to make those
points clear.  Then respond point by point to their comments.

Be fair; you don't
have all the brains on the forums

href="http://ddo.tentonhammer.com/modules.php?full=1&set_albumName=album40&id=Talking&op=modload&name=Gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php"> alt="Talking in the marketplace"
src="http://ddo.tentonhammer.com/files/gallery/albums/album40/Talking.jpg"
style="border: 2px solid ; width: 250px; height: 188px;" align="left">People
respect that you show them respect, and they are more likely to listen
if you complement them by acknowledging when they are right.  If
you accept when you are mistaken, and note in your posts when you are
wrong and someone else is right, they are much more likely to listen to
other things to say.



This is really the point of a forum.. to reach an agreement by href="http://ddo.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=245">pooling
the experience of many people.  You can make sure your point is
understood by accepting the views of others as having as much value as
your own.

There you go, it's
actually not hard

The nice part about
writing over conversation is that your not going to have to worry about
taking back something foolish, if your cautious.  When you say
something, it doesn't matter if you regret it… it's out there. 
When your writing, you can reviews your points and change things before
posting them.  So take advantage of this.  Follow the points
above and review your href="http://ddo.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=248">writing
before you post.  You will find that you get better information,
be able to share information better, and find the forums a more
pleasant place to be when your reading them.