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Nov 20, 2009, 10:26pm

CM Forum :: CM Boards :: Forum and Rules :: What you have to know before posting

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Topic: What you have to know before posting (Read 3,839 times)

HP Zoner
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What you have to know before posting
« Thread Started on Nov 20, 2008, 6:39pm »

Welcome to the CM Forum. Here you can discuss not only what goes on in the Crash Bandicoot series and the main site but also other video-games and topics in general.

The main thing you have to remember when posting is to have common sense. That would have been the finishing sentence in this message, were it not for the fact that a lot of people on the Internet do not have common sense. We're not going to give you a lowdown of all the things that constitute it (if you really need such a list, this forum is not for you), but here is what most newcomers forget/instinctively lack more often:

- First things first. Should you be unable to comply with these pointers, you will be kicked out. This a temporary process that takes away your ability to post, and the time it lasts depends on how badly you behave. This can be permanent for particularly troublesome/stubborn members. We also ban people when it comes to more extreme cases. A ban is the worst possible punishment in this forum - it takes away not just your ability to post, but also to view the forum altogether, permanently. Unless you screw up very badly, this will not likely occur.

- If you lack common sense, you will be kicked out. If you are annoying, you will be kicked out. As annoyance is a somewhat subjective trait, we will sometimes (but never solely) base that on the number of people who complain about you. It also counts if a member of the staff deems you annoying (needless to say you needn't worry about bias).

- Be respectful. You're not going to win any points by making other people feel bad. All we ask is that you don't get into fights with other members of offend them on purpose.

- Forums are based on opinions, so when you say "Subject A is good in my opinion", you're just being redundant. Everyone knows it's your opinion. A worse thing to do is make snappy comments at someone just to point out it's their opinion. We don't need you pointing out the obvious. Moreover, we definitely don't need you to order people to stop making their opinions seem like facts. If you get upset about this kind of things, please do us all a favour and stay out. There are plenty of forums out there where you can get angry at people who don't state the obvious.

- Don't tell staff members how to do their own jobs, because considering they're part of the staff and you're not, they know about staff obligations better than you.

- Don't make topics to introduce yourself, especially if all you're going to say is "Hi, I'm new." We know you're new, but that doesn't mean we have nothing better to do than making multiple inane posts to welcome you. People will notice you if you contribute to discussions without the need of you pointing out your own existence.

- If you're going to create a topic, do remember to explain what it's about.
"I love this series! Does anyone else watch it?"
That is not how you start a topic. That is how you encourage people to participate in a beefless poll about who likes the subject in question. It's not the start to a discussion, so don't even bother posting it, because it will be locked. Different example:
" http://something.com That's messed up."
This is another way you do not start a topic. If all you're going to post is a link to something and don't bother to give a proper explanation as to why you posted it, why you care about it and/or why it's relevant, then don't do it at all.

- Don't advertise your stuff. You may link to your own sites or whatever in your signature, but this forum is not an ad bulletin.

- Do not make "What's your favourite _______?" topics. Those only lead to tons of empty posts from people who only bother to point out their choices, without explaining why.

- If you're going to edit your display name, don't change it to something completely different from what it was before. Other people have to be able to recognize you. Frequent display name changes are annoying too.

- Avoid quoting large posts, especially if they're right above yours. No one wants to read the same large wall of text more than once. Likewise, no one wants to read the same message twice in a row, so use quotes appropriately, like when you want to reply to a message that has floated on top of several newer ones.

- Avoid posting in topics that haven't been active for a long time. Unless you have a really good reason to bump the topic (posting your opinion about something people have stopped discussing over a month ago is grating, especially if you do it often).

- If it came from your account, you did it. There's no such thing as "my brother got into my account" or "I got hacked". Even if someone does get into your account, you'll still have to take full responsibility for the damage, both because you weren't careful enough to protect it and because we shouldn't have to deal with it.

- Avoid making several consecutive posts in the same topic unless it's been a while between them. Either use the edit button to add something you've forgotten or wait until someone else posts after you.

- And finally, your posts must be coherent, especially if English is your first language, because that's the language we use in this forum. If English is not your first language, just type the best way you can. If your posts convey a relevant and intelligent message regardless of your English skills, no one is going to bother you just because you have a different first language. Likewise, if your English is bad, there's no need to apologize for it.

The rest you already know about, or at least you should if didn't skip the Proboards Terms of Service when you joined the forum. I hope you didn't, because it's not our job to remind you of them.

If you have questions about the forums or any features in particular, read the FAQ. If it's not covered there, ask here.

« Last Edit: Nov 7, 2009, 11:00am by HP Zoner »

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