How to properly use a forum.

[ramius_michael]

This is a forum guide on how to use a forum. It will be a short and too the point as can be made. It is not intended to be a place to flame those who are ignorant of forums nor in any way to discourage use of this forum. It is the intent of this guide to help making the forum more productive and efficient. If this guide leaves anything out that would also be helpful to newby's feel free to express it but do it in a constructive manner.

The first thing you should know about a forum is that there are many forums. Forums could be about politics, personal relation ships, and family issues, or technical issues with online gaming, computing, and/or improvement features and support issues. Learning the purpose of a forum will go a long way toward knowing whether or not you are in the proper community or not.

Secondly before anything else a user should read all stickies that are posted by the moderators. This would include forum rules and announcements and even guides. This will give you a good idea of what you can say and what is best left unsaid and a sticky could very well answer a question without you even having to make a new post.

Thirdly the user should use search functions. Now many will say but I used the search function but it didn't have the answer I was looking for. Actually just putting in one word isn't a very effective search. You can use phrases and other words that could well be contained in the titles of the threads you are looking for also you can limit to newly posted thread or look for older posts and there are other search parameters you can use in your search. You can also search for specific authors to help to limit the threads you want even more.

After all other options have been exhausted. You have read the stickies and ran the searches and discovered about what you are looking for. Your going to post your first thread. Stop make sure you post your thread in the proper venue and make sure the area of your posting is not only in the proper thread area but also in an approved section by the moderators.

Lastly put some thought into your posts and how you should write them. Make sure you phrase your post properly. Try to use correct spelling and make your communications as clear as possible. For technical questions be as specific as possible about the problem you are addressing. Also make sure to know what you are talking about in the discussion. If web links are part of your communication make sure to put them at the beginning of the discussion or at the end of the discussion. so as not to confuse what your communicating.

Though this guide will not keep you 100 pct flame free it will insure that someone of commonsense will read your post and take it seriously and maybe help you.

summary
1 know what community your posting in
2. read all community forum stickies
3. do thorough searches so you don't post topics in a new thread that are already covered in an existing one.
4. if and only if you have exhausted all recourse then make a new thread and do attempt to communicate in an intelligent manner. so as to convey the message or desired question and get respectable response.

I hope this didn't try your patience to badly and I hope that each of you will read this and try to improve the forum by communicating clearly and being more efficient with the resources contained here in. Now maybe you can enjoy your forum time.
ps do visit my forum poll so we can have tutorials that are closed to questions so we can read them without the guides and tutorials being thrown off topic.

[GhostRider]

Waste of time dont read it its ****!

[DarkMaster000]

eh.... no

[a1blaster]

:idea: Good effort ramius_michael. :idea:

@GhostRider> Your post would be small flame and spam. Doesn't Add to thread.
@DarkMaster000> Your post would be spamm. Doesn't Add to thread.
@Asanine> Your post would be spammm too. Doesn't Add to thread.

He's just trying to help forums out. He's in the right section, CO2 Guides & Templates. Time to clean up these forums.

Goto last link in my siggy, and read.

[Asanine]

It was a good attempt, but I seriously doubt people will want to follow the guidelines of it. :/

[ramius_michael]

Originally posted by a1blaster@Dec 25 2006, 14:09
:idea: Good effort ramius_michael. :idea:

@GhostRider> Your post would be small flame and spam. Doesn't Add to thread.
@DarkMaster000> Your post would be spamm. Doesn't Add to thread.
@Asanine> Your post would be spammm too. Doesn't Add to thread.

He's just trying to help forums out. He's in the right section, CO2 Guides & Templates. Time to clean up these forums.

Goto last link in my siggy, and read.

now you understand what i been trying to do a1. people like dark master and asanine and others just dont get it read the post and do what it says. me and a1blaster who normally are at odds agree in this topic. in order for a forum to work efficiently it must be organized. otherwise those who visit the thread looking for answers are just as confused as before they started looking through it.

[GhostRider]

lmao such a bad attempt at getting karma or trying to learn ''the noobs'' i bet they wont even read this ****.. and you must stop posting that link in almost all ur posts actually it amazes me u didnt posted it here =O

[Asanine]

Originally posted by ramius_michael+Dec 25 2006, 23:31--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (ramius_michael @ Dec 25 2006, 23:31)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin--a1blaster@Dec 25 2006, 14:09
:idea: Good effort ramius_michael. :idea:

@GhostRider> Your post would be small flame and spam. Doesn't Add to thread.
@DarkMaster000> Your post would be spamm. Doesn't Add to thread.
@Asanine> Your post would be spammm too. Doesn't Add to thread.

He's just trying to help forums out. He's in the right section, CO2 Guides & Templates. Time to clean up these forums.

Goto last link in my siggy, and read.

now you understand what i been trying to do a1. people like dark master and asanine and others just dont get it read the post and do what it says. me and a1blaster who normally are at odds agree in this topic. in order for a forum to work efficiently it must be organized. otherwise those who visit the thread looking for answers are just as confused as before they started looking through it. [/b][/quote]
Don't get it? I was just saying that people won't want to follow these simple guidelines because they prefer to be jerks, I agree with you.

[DM2000]

#move

[QqZ]

u just wasted a few minutes of ur life buddy

[Lays_Stax]

-.- I will be lucky if i post and coder dont give me a warning.... I still have no clue on what post he gave me a "SPAMMING" Warning on... Abunch of bullshit i think... well Everyone! Needs to learn how to use the forum properly!

[LordLosChaos]

Originally posted by ramius_michael+Dec 25 2006, 23:31--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (ramius_michael @ Dec 25 2006, 23:31)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin--a1blaster@Dec 25 2006, 14:09
:idea: Good effort ramius_michael. :idea:

@GhostRider> Your post would be small flame and spam. Doesn't Add to thread.
@DarkMaster000> Your post would be spamm. Doesn't Add to thread.
@Asanine> Your post would be spammm too. Doesn't Add to thread.

He's just trying to help forums out. He's in the right section, CO2 Guides & Templates. Time to clean up these forums.

Goto last link in my siggy, and read.

now you understand what i been trying to do a1. people like dark master and asanine and others just dont get it read the post and do what it says. me and a1blaster who normally are at odds agree in this topic. in order for a forum to work efficiently it must be organized. otherwise those who visit the thread looking for answers are just as confused as before they started looking through it. [/b][/quote]
But you don't seem to understand that you are NOT a mod. Leave it to them. If you really want to help, try something constructive other than posting that age-old flash about "Posting and YOU" because that is completely irrelevant. It would make so much more sense to the people you try to help if you just said do this or that because that video is... well old and stupid.

[DM2000]

#close

DM