Let me begin by saying these are mainly things I'm concerned with. If you don't like what's here, it's all opinion. Except for the ones that coincide with the forum rules.
HOW TO NOT BE ANNOYING ON FORUMS TO BLUEBARON
But a lot of people would agree, I'm sure
Forum Etiquette
DO press the +1 button on posts you find worthy of recognition. DON'T ask for +1's in your post. That is obnoxious.
DO read the entire topic before making a response to it. DON'T only read what you find interesting. Unless you're short on time. But if you're going to reply to it, you probably need to know everything they said.
DO quote posts you are replying to. DON'T quote the original post. It is implied that you are speaking to the original poster and if the original post is really long (like this) then it just takes up a bunch of page space.
DO use proper formatting in the right places. DON'T make every post of your bright green and Comic Sans. No one cares how unique you are, it's hard to read and makes it look like your grandmother just discovered how to use different fonts on Word.
DO get your own avatar. It helps people identify you quickly. DON'T use a picture of a creeper that thousands of people are already using. That's not clever at all. It's the mascot of Minecraft.
DO post things that are relevant to the original topic. DON'T put your name at the bottom of the post. It's obnoxious and we can already see your username, genius.
DO advertise your server in the appropriate servers section.
For the love of God, DON'T POST IT IN BETA - SURVIVAL MODE. We don't care that not everyone's looking for servers all the time and you want more people to see it, it only makes you look like a COMPLETE MORON when you post it in the wrong section. Posting in the wrong section isn't the worst sin ever committed, but it's really obvious that there's a server section and everyone knows it's supposed to go there.
DO make relevant references that may incite a hearty chuckle. DON'T say "the cake is a lie." Yes, we know. You're super cool for playing Portal and reading things. Yes, we know there is cake in Minecraft. It's not funny.
DO act like a proper human being. DON'T act like some angsty teenager.
DO Use "your," "you're," "their," "they're," and "there" in the right ways. You will find links related to this in the appendix. DON'T get mad when people correct your grammar mistakes and poor attempts at using the keyboard to convey a coherent message.
DO check your facts before you make a weighty statement. DON'T go flinging around statistics like you just found out how to use the percent button on your calculator.
DO use Notch's face and other emoticons SPARINGLY. DON'T overload your post with smileys, zombies, Notch, diamonds, etc. I want to rip off your fingers when I see that. No one likes seven Notch faces in a row (sorry, Notch, we want variety).
DO capitalize proper nouns and the first letter of a sentence. DON'T Talk Like This, It's Really Stupid And Makes My Mind Accentuate Every Word And Slows My Reading Speed.
DO use ellipses when indicating a pause in speech. DON'T use ellipses like "............."
DO post something that hasn't been said and you feel needs to be known. DON'T post "yes" or "no" on a topic you agree/disagree with. Post why you feel that way. One-word posts are useless.
DO be reasonable with the tone of your posts. Poking fun at people isn't bad, it's just a joke. DON'T take personal offense to anything anyone says to you. They do not know you. This is the internet. Just because someone said you're a worthless piece of gravel is no reason to reply, "Hey, be nice, you hurt my feelings, BAWW." Get over yourself. Come up with a witty, clever response back. But if it deters from the point of the original post, wait until you have an opportune time to post something relevant and then make it a sidenote. People don't want their topics overtaken by two dudes that are tard-raging at each other.
Minecraft-Specific Things
DO post things related to 1.8 (or whatever the future release is at the time) in the 1.8 Discoveries and Discussion topic, or look there when you don't know something about the next update. DON'T post "I FOUND A BUG," "WHAT'S AN ENDERMAN," or "I FOUND A NEW FEATURE," in your own topic because you think nobody will see it if it's just a reply to the main thread. No one cares. Put it in the right spot or look like an idiot.
DO check to see if your "invention" has already been made. DON'T post your water gate you made with pistons.
DO take screenshots of things that you want to show us. DON'T post a topic on Beta - Survival mode that says, "Hey, this cake was flying around and shooting flames at me, but I don't know how to take screenshots because I'm dumb, so yeah cakes fly now." You want to know how to take a screenshot? Press print screen or F2. Toughy, right? Yeah, takes a real computer guru to do that.
DO tell people the seed (and the coordinates) you used when you post a marvelous screenshot with your house in the middle of a valley with floating islands, pumpkins, and a metric ton of diamonds just frolicking in the stone. They want to know, and you can spare them the eventual, "Seed/coords?" DON'T say, "It was a random seed." There are sites that will tell you the seed of the level, even if you left it blank. Link in Appendix.
DO Tell people the seed/coords of an odd, unexpected feature in your map (like a weird terrain generation bug). DON'T say it was a random seed and you don't understand the coordinates. Stop being stupid and get proof.
DO say which mods you're using when you post something about a wonky thing happening during gameplay. DON'T say you're using vanilla Minecraft when honestly you've got SPC, TooManyItems, and OptiFine (all of which are excellent mods and I recommend their use highly)
DO buy Minecraft to play it. DON'T make an idiotic post that begins with, "So I don't have a legit minecraft account, my parents don't trust the internet, I don't have enough money, I don't want to buy something I may not like, etc." You don't have enough money? It's not morally acceptable to steal a car because you didn't have enough money to buy it.
That's the end for now, I may add things later. I hope this allows you to have a better forum experience and be more liked by your peers.
DO - make useful threads
DON'T - try to control people's lives by making threads about how not to make threads when you cannot make a thread about how you should post a thread.
DO - make useful threads
DON'T - try to control people's lives by making threads about how not to make threads when you cannot make a thread about how you should post a thread.
Are you confused now? :biggrin.gif:
Not quite confused, though that was a nice attempt at being confusing. Is there a certain part of this you object to, or do you just enjoy doing all the things I think people shouldn't do that I have posted?
should be pinned in this section and beta survival
moving this to the correct section will keep the people who need to see it from seeing it
although those people usually pay no heed to the pinned threads either
Thanks, but I do feel sort of bad for posting this in the wrong section, and _illusionist is right, at least about the second thing he said. It's going against what I just stated.
I understand what you are trying to do. A few things need to be addressed here. Firstly, anything you think is based on your personal opinion, and not general forum etiquette, take out.
TO be honest, if I want to know someone, I know their handle, not their bloody avatar.
Some of the stuff here is quite helpful, but other things youve listed scream, personal preference and nothing ive ever seen being enforced on a forum.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
M: Did you hear something?
T: No
C: Tssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
M: Aww damn
I understand what you are trying to do. A few things need to be addressed here. Firstly, anything you think is based on your personal opinion, and not general forum etiquette, take out.
TO be honest, if I want to know someone, I know their handle, not their bloody avatar.
Some of the stuff here is quite helpful, but other things youve listed scream, personal preference and nothing ive ever seen being enforced on a forum.
I understand what you are trying to do. A few things need to be addressed here. Firstly, anything you think is based on your personal opinion, and not general forum etiquette, take out.
TO be honest, if I want to know someone, I know their handle, not their bloody avatar.
Some of the stuff here is quite helpful, but other things youve listed scream, personal preference and nothing ive ever seen being enforced on a forum.
I understand what you are trying to do. A few things need to be addressed here. Firstly, anything you think is based on your personal opinion, and not general forum etiquette, take out.
TO be honest, if I want to know someone, I know their handle, not their bloody avatar.
Some of the stuff here is quite helpful, but other things youve listed scream, personal preference and nothing ive ever seen being enforced on a forum.
What do you mean take out? Take out what? I'm sorry if I'm not grasping the "obvious" meaning of that sentence, but it's oddly worded. And I'm not sure if this goes with/contradicts what you're saying but I did say that this is mainly my opinion.
Okay, well the avatar idea. Honestly, I know people by their name, npt their picture. Picture is a reflection of their interest. If someone finds a creeper hilarious and finds it appropriate they make it their Avatar.
I am a fan of Villains, love villains. All of them, which is why I use the Witch King. Typical, cookie cutter villain. Its a picture, dont like it? Ignore it?
As far as I know, grammar Nazi's whom correct proper spelling are usually actually the ones whom are least appreciated on forums. Its funny to do it once, to catch someone off guard a bit and have a chuckle, but generally, someone who does go around correcting people is usually seen as heavily demeaning. People get mad at people whom correct them for using the inproper your, their, there, they are, they have because most English speakers get the idea being said behind the words despite their usage or misusage.
Dot dot dot as a usage is usually a good way to make effect. In certain situations it can be used well to indicate the suspense someone was feeling at the time. Its great and probably best usage is either to show sarcasm, suspense or surprise.
Also, your very last rule. (Would like to say first I have a legit copy of Minecraft). Pirating is reaching a gray zone in video game sales right now. While many companies such as EA do not condone the pirating of video games whatsoever, other companies have found the pirating games is only cotributing to their sales by giving gamers a taste of their games. Gamers who respect the developers will go out and buy games they really enjoy to support the developer and some developers are seeing the merit in this.
I know you want to act like a moral regulator in saying that pirating is wrong and while those of us (in my personal opinion) who can afford games should buy them, gaming, like many other things is monetary. This should not mean that those with less income should have less of an ability to enjoy video games. However, as we all are seeing some game developers (sorry Bethesda but the recent article on Rage comes to mind) are trying to put new purchases over used purchases, which is absolutely wrong.
TL:DR - I dont think you have a right to judge peoples monetary situations.
You will not change the opinion of people who are freely pirating and never buying games. No point in trying to sway their opinions. They will keep doing it. Better to not shove it down the throats on an indie game developers forum. If you want to have an open forum on the ethics of pirating games, make another post and argue it there. That is not forum etiquette, that is an ethical issue.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
M: Did you hear something?
T: No
C: Tssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
M: Aww damn
I understand people want to use ellipses, but when there's like 10 or 20 periods, it's absurd. Just use three.
I don't see how your Witch King avatar is relevant at all. And I identify people by their usernames as well, but it's quicker when they have an avatar that's unique. I didn't say that you can't use creepers in your avatar, because that's a ludicrous imposition. I said that you should at least use a unique picture of a creeper.
And on the piracy issue, I didn't mean to come off like that. What I intended to say is that you shouldn't pirate it, come on the forums, and complain about a game you DIDN'T BUY and TELL everyone you DIDN'T buy it. It's like complaining that the soup doesn't taste good in a homeless shelter. Except more of a hotel than a homeless shelter because you're supposed to pay for it. Also, grammar nazis will be grammar nazis. It almost brings me physical pain to read so many misuses of those homophones. The Oatmeal does quite a good job of fixing it.
EDIT:
On the last line of your reply, I would like to note that it's under "Minecraft-Specific Things" and not forum etiquette.
Witch King avatar was an example. Example why I chose the photo. Someone people take the time to choose a photo on the forums others are here to post, not look at photos.
In what I see on forums, stickies love being objective. Commonly known and followed parts of forum etiquette are valued. In my opinion, some of the other ideas you have about etiquette seem more personal opinions on how forums should be run, rather then how forums are run. Theres some good stuff here on posting effective posts.
Just it seems there are certain ideals you have which others, like me, would oppose if they became stickied, golden rules on the forums because they arent commonly held values.
I liked your rules on capitalizing every word. It reads like if I was talking like James T Kirk. As I read that one, thats whose voice was in my head. And yes, we all hate people capitalizing Every. Bloody. Single Word.
Scotty. I need. more. warp power!
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
M: Did you hear something?
T: No
C: Tssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
M: Aww damn
I don't think this is really going to be stickied. It'd be nice for me, I guess, but it's not going to happen in all likelihood. And these wouldn't be made into "golden rules." The title of this is "How to Not Be Annoying on Forums to Bluebaron." So this isn't really something that tells users what they can and can't do, it's just a guide that will probably help you be a better poster overall.
ON FORUMSTO BLUEBARONBut a lot of people would agree, I'm sure
Forum Etiquette
DO press the +1 button on posts you find worthy of recognition.
DON'T ask for +1's in your post. That is obnoxious.
DO read the entire topic before making a response to it.
DON'T only read what you find interesting. Unless you're short on time. But if you're going to reply to it, you probably need to know everything they said.
DO quote posts you are replying to.
DON'T quote the original post. It is implied that you are speaking to the original poster and if the original post is really long (like this) then it just takes up a bunch of page space.
DO use proper formatting in the right places.
DON'T make every post of your bright green and Comic Sans. No one cares how unique you are, it's hard to read and makes it look like your grandmother just discovered how to use different fonts on Word.
DO get your own avatar. It helps people identify you quickly.
DON'T use a picture of a creeper that thousands of people are already using. That's not clever at all. It's the mascot of Minecraft.
DO post things that are relevant to the original topic.
DON'T put your name at the bottom of the post. It's obnoxious and we can already see your username, genius.
DO advertise your server in the appropriate servers section.
For the love of God, DON'T POST IT IN BETA - SURVIVAL MODE. We don't care that not everyone's looking for servers all the time and you want more people to see it, it only makes you look like a COMPLETE MORON when you post it in the wrong section. Posting in the wrong section isn't the worst sin ever committed, but it's really obvious that there's a server section and everyone knows it's supposed to go there.
DO make relevant references that may incite a hearty chuckle.
DON'T say "the cake is a lie." Yes, we know. You're super cool for playing Portal and reading things. Yes, we know there is cake in Minecraft. It's not funny.
DO act like a proper human being.
DON'T act like some angsty teenager.
DO Use "your," "you're," "their," "they're," and "there" in the right ways. You will find links related to this in the appendix.
DON'T get mad when people correct your grammar mistakes and poor attempts at using the keyboard to convey a coherent message.
DO check your facts before you make a weighty statement.
DON'T go flinging around statistics like you just found out how to use the percent button on your calculator.
DO use Notch's face and other emoticons SPARINGLY.
DON'T overload your post with smileys, zombies, Notch, diamonds, etc. I want to rip off your fingers when I see that. No one likes seven Notch faces in a row (sorry, Notch, we want variety).
DO capitalize proper nouns and the first letter of a sentence.
DON'T Talk Like This, It's Really Stupid And Makes My Mind Accentuate Every Word And Slows My Reading Speed.
DO use ellipses when indicating a pause in speech.
DON'T use ellipses like "............."
DO post something that hasn't been said and you feel needs to be known.
DON'T post "yes" or "no" on a topic you agree/disagree with. Post why you feel that way. One-word posts are useless.
DO be reasonable with the tone of your posts. Poking fun at people isn't bad, it's just a joke.
DON'T take personal offense to anything anyone says to you. They do not know you. This is the internet. Just because someone said you're a worthless piece of gravel is no reason to reply, "Hey, be nice, you hurt my feelings, BAWW." Get over yourself. Come up with a witty, clever response back. But if it deters from the point of the original post, wait until you have an opportune time to post something relevant and then make it a sidenote. People don't want their topics overtaken by two dudes that are tard-raging at each other.
Minecraft-Specific Things
DO post things related to 1.8 (or whatever the future release is at the time) in the 1.8 Discoveries and Discussion topic, or look there when you don't know something about the next update.
DON'T post "I FOUND A BUG," "WHAT'S AN ENDERMAN," or "I FOUND A NEW FEATURE," in your own topic because you think nobody will see it if it's just a reply to the main thread. No one cares. Put it in the right spot or look like an idiot.
DO check to see if your "invention" has already been made.
DON'T post your water gate you made with pistons.
DO take screenshots of things that you want to show us.
DON'T post a topic on Beta - Survival mode that says, "Hey, this cake was flying around and shooting flames at me, but I don't know how to take screenshots because I'm dumb, so yeah cakes fly now." You want to know how to take a screenshot? Press print screen or F2. Toughy, right? Yeah, takes a real computer guru to do that.
DO tell people the seed (and the coordinates) you used when you post a marvelous screenshot with your house in the middle of a valley with floating islands, pumpkins, and a metric ton of diamonds just frolicking in the stone. They want to know, and you can spare them the eventual, "Seed/coords?"
DON'T say, "It was a random seed." There are sites that will tell you the seed of the level, even if you left it blank. Link in Appendix.
DO Tell people the seed/coords of an odd, unexpected feature in your map (like a weird terrain generation bug).
DON'T say it was a random seed and you don't understand the coordinates. Stop being stupid and get proof.
DO say which mods you're using when you post something about a wonky thing happening during gameplay.
DON'T say you're using vanilla Minecraft when honestly you've got SPC, TooManyItems, and OptiFine (all of which are excellent mods and I recommend their use highly)
DO buy Minecraft to play it.
DON'T make an idiotic post that begins with, "So I don't have a legit minecraft account, my parents don't trust the internet, I don't have enough money, I don't want to buy something I may not like, etc." You don't have enough money? It's not morally acceptable to steal a car because you didn't have enough money to buy it.
That's the end for now, I may add things later. I hope this allows you to have a better forum experience and be more liked by your peers.
Appendix
Link to site detailing the correct use of commonly-misused words: The Oatmeal -- 10 Words You Need to Stop Misspelling
Link to site that will reveal your seed: Seedscope.net
DON'T - try to control people's lives by making threads about how not to make threads when you cannot make a thread about how you should post a thread.
Are you confused now? :biggrin.gif:
And this is in the wrong section, it should be in forum discussion.
I'm sorry about the wrong section thing. Also, I like your classy avatar.
Not quite confused, though that was a nice attempt at being confusing. Is there a certain part of this you object to, or do you just enjoy doing all the things I think people shouldn't do that I have posted?
it does
go pm a mod this should be part of the forum rules
Click for penguins in minecraft!
moving this to the correct section will keep the people who need to see it from seeing it
although those people usually pay no heed to the pinned threads either
Thanks, but I do feel sort of bad for posting this in the wrong section, and _illusionist is right, at least about the second thing he said. It's going against what I just stated.
My friend, you deserve this.
Chariots Chariots
TO be honest, if I want to know someone, I know their handle, not their bloody avatar.
Some of the stuff here is quite helpful, but other things youve listed scream, personal preference and nothing ive ever seen being enforced on a forum.
T: No
C: Tssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
M: Aww damn
Chariots Chariots
These express my thoughts.
What do you mean take out? Take out what? I'm sorry if I'm not grasping the "obvious" meaning of that sentence, but it's oddly worded. And I'm not sure if this goes with/contradicts what you're saying but I did say that this is mainly my opinion.
I am a fan of Villains, love villains. All of them, which is why I use the Witch King. Typical, cookie cutter villain. Its a picture, dont like it? Ignore it?
As far as I know, grammar Nazi's whom correct proper spelling are usually actually the ones whom are least appreciated on forums. Its funny to do it once, to catch someone off guard a bit and have a chuckle, but generally, someone who does go around correcting people is usually seen as heavily demeaning. People get mad at people whom correct them for using the inproper your, their, there, they are, they have because most English speakers get the idea being said behind the words despite their usage or misusage.
Dot dot dot as a usage is usually a good way to make effect. In certain situations it can be used well to indicate the suspense someone was feeling at the time. Its great and probably best usage is either to show sarcasm, suspense or surprise.
Also, your very last rule. (Would like to say first I have a legit copy of Minecraft). Pirating is reaching a gray zone in video game sales right now. While many companies such as EA do not condone the pirating of video games whatsoever, other companies have found the pirating games is only cotributing to their sales by giving gamers a taste of their games. Gamers who respect the developers will go out and buy games they really enjoy to support the developer and some developers are seeing the merit in this.
I know you want to act like a moral regulator in saying that pirating is wrong and while those of us (in my personal opinion) who can afford games should buy them, gaming, like many other things is monetary. This should not mean that those with less income should have less of an ability to enjoy video games. However, as we all are seeing some game developers (sorry Bethesda but the recent article on Rage comes to mind) are trying to put new purchases over used purchases, which is absolutely wrong.
TL:DR - I dont think you have a right to judge peoples monetary situations.
You will not change the opinion of people who are freely pirating and never buying games. No point in trying to sway their opinions. They will keep doing it. Better to not shove it down the throats on an indie game developers forum. If you want to have an open forum on the ethics of pirating games, make another post and argue it there. That is not forum etiquette, that is an ethical issue.
T: No
C: Tssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
M: Aww damn
I don't see how your Witch King avatar is relevant at all. And I identify people by their usernames as well, but it's quicker when they have an avatar that's unique. I didn't say that you can't use creepers in your avatar, because that's a ludicrous imposition. I said that you should at least use a unique picture of a creeper.
And on the piracy issue, I didn't mean to come off like that. What I intended to say is that you shouldn't pirate it, come on the forums, and complain about a game you DIDN'T BUY and TELL everyone you DIDN'T buy it. It's like complaining that the soup doesn't taste good in a homeless shelter. Except more of a hotel than a homeless shelter because you're supposed to pay for it. Also, grammar nazis will be grammar nazis. It almost brings me physical pain to read so many misuses of those homophones. The Oatmeal does quite a good job of fixing it.
EDIT:
On the last line of your reply, I would like to note that it's under "Minecraft-Specific Things" and not forum etiquette.
In what I see on forums, stickies love being objective. Commonly known and followed parts of forum etiquette are valued. In my opinion, some of the other ideas you have about etiquette seem more personal opinions on how forums should be run, rather then how forums are run. Theres some good stuff here on posting effective posts.
Just it seems there are certain ideals you have which others, like me, would oppose if they became stickied, golden rules on the forums because they arent commonly held values.
I liked your rules on capitalizing every word. It reads like if I was talking like James T Kirk. As I read that one, thats whose voice was in my head. And yes, we all hate people capitalizing Every. Bloody. Single Word.
Scotty. I need. more. warp power!
T: No
C: Tssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
M: Aww damn
on Forumsto Bluebaron." So this isn't really something that tells users what they can and can't do, it's just a guide that will probably help you be a better poster overall.