This guide is written by Kakuloo! Its a wonderful introduction and guidebook to navigating your way around the intricate diplomatic channels that are the Forums!

This page was last updated on February 25th 2005.

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Forum Etiquette

Now, down to the unwritten rules of forum niceties.

Lesson One: Proper Grammar and Spelling

If there is one thing that bugs many people it is other people’s deliberate misuse of grammar. Granted, there are shortcuts such as "u" instead of "you" or "r" instead of "are" but these are not the problem. You want to avoid running all your words together in a single string, without any spaces or punctuation. It makes it hard for others to read your words, and usually just ends up making them dislike you for your lack of "intelligence". Also try not to misspell every word, this makes you seem like you aren’t very smart, and people are less likely to listen to anything you have to say. If you look, you will notice that the credible & "popular" forum goers use easy to read English. Trust me, a little attention to grammar & spelling goes a long way. Uppercase is sometimes needed, using it is the online way of shouting or yelling. It’s good for when you want to really make sure someone notices a part of your post, but when you use uppercase too much it is considered rude by other forum users.

Note: Don’t fret over not being able to spell harder words, as long as you give it an honest shot people will generally forgive you. If you are really that worried, just put a little "(sp?)" after the word in question, it shows that you were not really sure you knew how to spell the word. Typos are also forgivable. If you feel an inexplicable urge to correct it, then using an asterisk (*) and retyping the word is the acceptable way to do so.

Lesson Two: Smilie Usage

Smilies are a great way of expressing an emotion or emphasizing a point while chatting. If used correctly, they can really change the mood of your post. Some people will really abuse smilies, placing ten or more of the same smilie in a row. While this may seem like it is attention grabbing, it is really not the attention that you want. For one thing, smilie-spam is the web equivalent of getting up into someone’s face while talking in a normal conversation. For another, it slows down the servers. Smilies should be used sparingly; save them for when you really want to get the point across.

Lesson Three: Spammage

This is probably the most difficult problem on the forums, people who treat the forums like a chat board. Do not expect instant replies from others when you start a thread, people will not always be surfing all of the threads at once. Plus, people are more likely to reply to a thread that has had 0 replies, rather than a thread with 17. If you need help, state your exact question, fully, in your thread. Don’t just say, "I need help, I’m new! ?" It annoys people, the most common reply to a post like that is, "Here are the rules, read them. Have you read the start page? That is very helpful too!" Telling exactly what you need help with is a sure-fire way to get a complete and helpful answer. When you start a thread, don’t just put, "Hi! I’m bored"O.o Talk to me someone?" Try having a topic of conversation, "I had a cool dream last night! I was riding a large purple and pink slime mold!" or, "Have you seen that one movie yet? It was really good!" If you feel like you have done nothing exciting, try "passing out" some treats to get people to talk with you, "Passes out marshmallow snowmen* Hi everyone! Have a marshmallowy snowman treat! ^.^" Bumping is pointless. It wastes valuable Zeta bandwidth and gets forum goers angry with you. If your thread dies, let it die. Go join someone else’s thread, or make a new one about something else. If you really want to bump, bump with something interesting or thoughtful, like a quote or limerick!

Lesson Four: Catching Flies

Have you ever heard of the saying, "You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar"? Your first thought is, "Well, who wants to catch flies anyway?" You must look closer at the meaning, and let the words slip away. It means that when you are nice, people are more likely to want to be your friend. When you are trying to gather Zetapals, don’t just say, "Hey! Who wants to be my friend?" Try making friends through conversation first. If you get to know someone and find that you both have similar interests then you should send them a Zetapal request. Flaming is a stupid, wasteful, annoying thing to do. If you don’t like some one, don’t rant about how they make you want to yak. Just stop speaking to them. Ignore them. When you see a post by them, just pass it by, they’ll get the picture soon enough. Taking the high road is ALWAYS the better way to go.

Lesson Five: Fonts

Fonts are an important part of your forum identity, people can generally tell who is posting by seeing their font. When making a font be sure to make it readable by other players. For instance, white font with yellow glow is NOT a good choice. White font with black or blue font is a good choice. There are plenty of people on the forums who love to make fonts, if you are having trouble just ask for someone to help!

Note: Dragonpaw has a simply wonderful site that helps with fonts, why don’t you visit? Krystal Light