Post by Calico Jones on Dec 24, 2009 15:17:50 GMT
This guide was originally written for another forum by one of our admins, Beth. I have adapted it for this forum and posted it with Beth's permission. 
__________________________________________________________
Typing
Right, so back to basics on this one.
Messaging Others or Disobeying Someone's Preferences
Constantly messaging other members asking them to reply to a thread is unhelpful and irritating, be it MSN or forum PMs. If you ask once and they still don't reply, perhaps they're busy or don't have very much muse. The more you nag them, the less likely they will be to reply to threads.
Ask people before starting a closed thread with them. They may not have the time to reply or may not want to. This especially goes for people who you have not RPed before. They may well not even notice the thread unless you tell them.
If people do not want to start a new thread with you, do not go ahead and start it anyway. Obviously, any necessary follow-up threads will have to be played out at some point, but otherwise don't. Bear in mind that other members may have more characters and threads to reply to than just yours.
Nagging Others
Yet another sure-fire way to lose another's respect, related to the one above. If someone is RPing with you, it is not polite to ask repetitively as to when you'll get a reply, especially if you have only just posted. Good posts take time - as we all know - and it will just take even longer if you constantly bug them
Patience
Sometimes it's possible to get excited about maybe getting a new character or horse. Patience is a virtue - it is one of the many qualities that people look for in an RPer or a friend, and posting every 2 minutes because no-one's replied yet isn't going to exhibit it.
What not to do:
Original post:
2mins later:
Bumppp someone reply, plzz!!
Another minute later:
why hasnt anyone replied???!!
Posting excessively like that is seen as very impatient and immature, and gets on peoples' nerves easily.
If no one replies to your posts, maybe think of why that might be - it might be the way you've typed it, or it might be because you've left an ending that's very hard to reply to.
However, on the other hand, it isn't polite to leave people hanging on for ages waiting for a reply. Do attempt to post at least once a week. If you are going away or won't be able to reply for some time, try to wrap up threads before you leave. If that is not possible, make sure you let people know you are going. This will save threads getting locked without your knowledge. If threads are locked too early, admins then have to move them back. At least one of us* is very lazy and does not like extra work, so please let us know beforehand. Also, letting us know about threads you want locked and moved when they are done is helpful.
(*two of us, as edited by Beth ;D)
Common Sense
Stick to what you know
Sometimes in life you've just gotta accept that there are people who know better than you, whether its on ABS, about RL horse issues or just within a community. Part of common sense is knowing when to stop claiming that you know something - if you're not sure about something then ask politely. I'm sure there'll always be someone happy to help. If you're not sure who to ask, look for the word "Admin" before the house in a profile. All staff members will be happy to offer help or guidance.
Read the Rules
Rules are usually set for a reason - either to make sure there's harmony within the forums or simply for peoples' convenience, e.g. people will not appreciate it if you reply to a closed thread with an uninvited charrie (a character whose name is not in the thread title).
Also within the forums - the whole point of boards on the forum is so that other forumers can find what they're looking for quickly. It isn't useful when you post a lesson thread in the Corridors board; it creates more work for the admins because they have to move it and generally annoys other people. The fact that your post isn't being looked at isn't an excuse to post it in a more widely used section.
Manners
Please and thank you - three of the most appreciated words for someone who's doing you a favour. Always be polite to people; it gives a good impression along with other good things and will help you to make new friends and enjoy the forum more.
Personal Image
Signatures, avatars and personal text are what represents you on the forums and the internet. These can be used to your advantage, or to the opposite.
Although you might like your bright pink sparkly signatures with hundreds of banners and icons clogging up the page, no one else does. It makes scrolling down to look at posts incredibly boring - its usually a lot more bother than it's worth. Lots of large signature images and avatars especially just clutter the forum and stretch pages for people with smaller screens. Also please only put sensible text in your profile. Although it is meant to relate to your charrie, not you, bad grammar or spelling will reflect on your appearance as a forum user.
_________________________________________________________
I'll add more as it comes to me. I'm leaving this thread open because it's not rules and other people are welcome to suggest ideas.
Thanks Beth,
Pip
__________________________________________________________
Typing
Right, so back to basics on this one.
Chat speak
Communication on ABS is all completely through typing, so chat speak is definitely not a good move - it makes you seem immature and usually people will not want to RP with you nearly so much. It's not an appealing prospect, having to wade through fifteen sentences all of which have to be translated.
This is an example of chat speak:heyyy im new i hav a new open thred plz reply!!!!!!1!
This is an example of how you should approach someone with the same question:Hello, I'm new to the forum. I've just started an open thread and I'd really appreciate it if someone would reply.
Punctuation and Spelling
Like chat speak, lack of good grammar gives any new person who reads your post a bad impression, and they won't want to RP with you. Yes, typos happen, but the least you can do to give a decent first impression is make an attempt to correct it.
This is bad use of grammar:hi im new arond hre and i want help becuz i dont no wat too do
This is how the same question should be said:Hi, I'm new around here and I was wondering if anybody could answer a few questions I've got about the forum?
You're much more likely to get an answer when you type properly, so use spell check. Obviously we allow for national differences and anyone RPing in English when it isn't their first language may not find it as easy to write and spell as others.
Paragraphing
Many humans are more likely to read a piece of writing if it's not going to be hard to read. Paragraphs are designed to split up chunks of information and make a block of text much easier and more inviting to read or just quickly scan through.
Messaging Others or Disobeying Someone's Preferences
Constantly messaging other members asking them to reply to a thread is unhelpful and irritating, be it MSN or forum PMs. If you ask once and they still don't reply, perhaps they're busy or don't have very much muse. The more you nag them, the less likely they will be to reply to threads.
Ask people before starting a closed thread with them. They may not have the time to reply or may not want to. This especially goes for people who you have not RPed before. They may well not even notice the thread unless you tell them.
If people do not want to start a new thread with you, do not go ahead and start it anyway. Obviously, any necessary follow-up threads will have to be played out at some point, but otherwise don't. Bear in mind that other members may have more characters and threads to reply to than just yours.
Nagging Others
Yet another sure-fire way to lose another's respect, related to the one above. If someone is RPing with you, it is not polite to ask repetitively as to when you'll get a reply, especially if you have only just posted. Good posts take time - as we all know - and it will just take even longer if you constantly bug them
Patience
Sometimes it's possible to get excited about maybe getting a new character or horse. Patience is a virtue - it is one of the many qualities that people look for in an RPer or a friend, and posting every 2 minutes because no-one's replied yet isn't going to exhibit it.
What not to do:
Original post:
Wuld someone be able to 2 new charrie plz?
2mins later:
Bumppp someone reply, plzz!!
Another minute later:
why hasnt anyone replied???!! Posting excessively like that is seen as very impatient and immature, and gets on peoples' nerves easily.
If no one replies to your posts, maybe think of why that might be - it might be the way you've typed it, or it might be because you've left an ending that's very hard to reply to.
However, on the other hand, it isn't polite to leave people hanging on for ages waiting for a reply. Do attempt to post at least once a week. If you are going away or won't be able to reply for some time, try to wrap up threads before you leave. If that is not possible, make sure you let people know you are going. This will save threads getting locked without your knowledge. If threads are locked too early, admins then have to move them back. At least one of us* is very lazy and does not like extra work, so please let us know beforehand. Also, letting us know about threads you want locked and moved when they are done is helpful.
(*two of us, as edited by Beth ;D)
Common Sense
Stick to what you know
Sometimes in life you've just gotta accept that there are people who know better than you, whether its on ABS, about RL horse issues or just within a community. Part of common sense is knowing when to stop claiming that you know something - if you're not sure about something then ask politely. I'm sure there'll always be someone happy to help. If you're not sure who to ask, look for the word "Admin" before the house in a profile. All staff members will be happy to offer help or guidance.
Read the Rules
Rules are usually set for a reason - either to make sure there's harmony within the forums or simply for peoples' convenience, e.g. people will not appreciate it if you reply to a closed thread with an uninvited charrie (a character whose name is not in the thread title).
Also within the forums - the whole point of boards on the forum is so that other forumers can find what they're looking for quickly. It isn't useful when you post a lesson thread in the Corridors board; it creates more work for the admins because they have to move it and generally annoys other people. The fact that your post isn't being looked at isn't an excuse to post it in a more widely used section.
Manners
Please and thank you - three of the most appreciated words for someone who's doing you a favour. Always be polite to people; it gives a good impression along with other good things and will help you to make new friends and enjoy the forum more.
Personal Image
Signatures, avatars and personal text are what represents you on the forums and the internet. These can be used to your advantage, or to the opposite.
Although you might like your bright pink sparkly signatures with hundreds of banners and icons clogging up the page, no one else does. It makes scrolling down to look at posts incredibly boring - its usually a lot more bother than it's worth. Lots of large signature images and avatars especially just clutter the forum and stretch pages for people with smaller screens. Also please only put sensible text in your profile. Although it is meant to relate to your charrie, not you, bad grammar or spelling will reflect on your appearance as a forum user.
_________________________________________________________
I'll add more as it comes to me. I'm leaving this thread open because it's not rules and other people are welcome to suggest ideas.
Thanks Beth,
Pip
