Guide to good posting habits!

**Alkenchurch** Tue Aug 24, 2010 11:34 pm

The BBBKAT Pointers

I've been roaming about in EpicDuel Forums for quite a while now, and I've noticed that several people can do with a few handy tips about how to properly respond to others with good posting habits.

- Be comprehensible.

People are far less likely to take someone seriously if they typed like "tiz, cuz itz so0000oo @NOYING! HAHAHA!"
No, this doesn't mean you need to know how to type perfectly with infallible grammar and syntax. This only means you should try your best to type when attempting to convey a feeling. Chances are, if you type "legibly," you'll have way more spectators appraising your comments rather than just a rare few who have already mastered the art of Internet slang. Being incomprehensible includes using "big and mighty" words that probably 80% of the general academic discourse community would fail to recognize, and using "eye-straining" font colors.

- Be helpful, but don't overdo it.

Helping others voluntarily is always a good thing; such actions are commendable and highly appreciated by the ED Forums Staff. However, there are times when people "overdo" it by failing to acknowledge the prior responses of others, thereby repeating (in a rephrased manner, generally) identical responses to a question. When this happens, anyone who sees your repeated response won't think you're helpful - they'll think you're just another being who wants another egoistic post. "Overly helping" occasionally nears the ranks of "mini-modding" as well, so be careful what you type - if you see content that violates a forum rule, there's no need to take on the role of a moderator and give them a good hollering for it: simply reporting the post (with a detailed explanation as to why it infringes the rules) or waiting for a moderator to deal with the post should suffice.

- Be a good citizen and follow the Forum Rules!

Obviously, adhering to the forum rules will also earn you merits. Those who are more rebel-like have a tendency of finding themselves dropping from the wannabe-famous ranks to being citizens of the Land of No Return - and no, that doesn't mean they've been exiled as Baelius exiled the Exiles and Legions. It literally means they're gone. EpicDuel Forums is a community in which we're all given the privilege to share our ethical thoughts and opinions; don't abuse that privilege! Alongside with the Spam and All-Caps Titles Policy, another commonly infringed rule includes staying on topic. If the original topic of a thread was appropriately answered and finished a long time ago, then that's when the thread deserves a resounding lock. Placed simply, that means don't maintain the life of the thread by creating an entirely different "sub-topic" afterward that does not have any relation whatsoever to the original intended purpose of the designated thread.

Commonly Infringed Forum Rule(s)

-Spam Policy
-Thread Titles Policy

- Know when to stop.

No one likes to be proved incorrect (even if they really are incorrect) or told what to do, especially if presumably proved incorrect/instructed on what to do by a provocative responder. If you think someone is trying to provoke you by throwing out comments such as "Your thread makes no sense," or "Your thread is pointless," then it's advised for you to stay your retorts and allow a moderator to handle the situation. If the alleged provocative responder really is flaming, then the responder will be dealt with accordingly. If you respond to the provoking comments, you'll do nothing but bury yourself further into the mess (and perhaps earn yourself a warning as well), thus complying to the provoker's wish. Knowing when to stop also includes those who absolutely love "leaning over the red line, but never crossing it." In other words, don't stretch the rules to their utmost peak by "taunting" others, or you just may find you've lost the respect of your forums community.

- Adapt to the forum, don't make "silly" common mistakes.

We're human beings - it's our nature and our curse to remain in an endless cycle of repeating horrid mistakes. However, most mistakes people frequently make in ED Forums aren't inevitable - if anything, they're caused by failing to properly adapt to the forums. A common mistake is misplacing a thread in the inappropriate forum section. This error can be only so easily avoided if one were to simply read the descriptions of each and every forum section rather than placing any new subject immediately into "General Discussion." Another common mistake is establishing a thread with a repeated idea. This error is also very much correctable by simply using the forums' Search Bar on the top-right corner of the forum.

Relevant Thread(s):
-How using Search can save you (and us) time!

- Those who do not know (or have nothing to add) should not speak.

If you do not know what a thread is ranting on about (or have nothing else to add to the original subject), then please do try to refrain from responding to the author's thread. If someone asks a question (e.g. How to buy varium with BattleOn Master Account points?) and you merely responded with "i dunt know sorry wish i can help u more but i never bought varium so i dunno," then not only have you wasted precious bandwidth, but you've also proved yourself to be nothing more than another member with a lust for yet more egoistic post counts. Appraising a subject in a thread is perfectly fine, but commenting with nothing more than "idk" is just asking to be secretly jeered at.

And that concludes my long rant. If anyone has any suggestion(s) as to what else should be added here (e.g. other important pointers, an extended description of a pointer, or a helpful already-existing forum thread to be included with a pointer), please feel free to comment about it.