I've been here a while. Not nearly as long as some people, but long enough to have lurked for a year or so before actually deciding to get in on the action and post. Since the time that I've joined, a number of people have joined that don't appear to know the basics of Forum Etiquette. It may be because these people are young, and simply haven't been introduced to the rules of posting in a way that leaves certain things unambiguous. It may be that CaravelNet is simply more civilized than the places that these people have gone to on the internet in the past. I don't know, nor does it matter that much. Regardless, I feel that there needs to be a simple set of guidelines written down somewhere as a reference of good Forum Etiquette.
1. Use correct spelling and grammar. I can't place enough emphasis on this one. It's annoying when you use all caps. It's even more annoying when you have no sentences in your entire post.
2. Think before you post. We here at CaravelNet love new ideas and discussing them, but if you only have the vaguest of ideas about what you're writing about, we certainly won't, which makes it more likely we'll misinterpret what you're saying, which is a Bad Thing.
3. Mod Points. It's been said that they don't mean anything. This is sort of true, and sort of not true. If someone likes your post, you might get modded up. Similarly, if someone dislikes your post, you might get modded down. It's just how it works, and there is no need to whine about getting modded down, or not getting modded up. What it is supposed to do is give you a general trend. If you've been getting a large number of downmods, it's likely something you're doing, and you might want to think about figuring out what that is, and rectifying that. On the other hand, if you're getting upmodded consistently, you're probably making a positive influence on the Forum.
4. Don't make comments on your post. I'm not sure how exactly to explain this, but don't write, "
I'm sorry for posting,"
or "
I'm not sure why I'm doing this."
If you're going to post, have some conviction, and let the post stand on it's own, for better or for worse. You can evaluate if the post was good or not later, and change your future postings if you messed up.
5. Respect other people. Everyone is here for the same reason. They love DROD and want to have interesting discussions with other people who similarly love DROD. Nobody wants to be harassed while they're here. I'm not saying you have to agree with everyone, but you should at least think carefully about their position before you discredit it outright.
6. Don't whine. While it may be that you don't like what someone said or did, complaining certainly won't make them want to retract it. In fact, when you whine, it tends to solidify what people think about you, instead of changing it. The only way to make people think differently about you is to actually be different.
I believe that about sums up basic Forum Etiquette. Suggestions would be awesome.
____________________________
In other news,
is a considerably more stylish way to express sarcasm than
, because everybody uses
and I am /indie/. INDIE, I TELL YOU.
/dy