Forum Etiquette: These days I see lots of new people entering the forums. New both to Entrecard and forum posting in general they make the same mistakes. Without a sticky function to post rules, anything goes. So here are 10 rules to consider. Judging by what I’ve seen of my readers, none of you would violate these rules.
- Do not post affiliate links, ever. Opinions and A-holes are tolerated, affiliate links are not. If I was a forum mod, I’d ban your account for a month. Instead, say something like “I use Bluehost, you can find a link to them on my site”. That way anyone who wants you give you money for signing up can do so. It’s rude to the other 70,000,000 Internet users who don’t spam the forums with their affiliate crap.
- Do not post a link to your site, unless there is a topic there you can’t sum up in 3 sentences. The forums are not an RSS feed; it is for discussion. We can’t discuss something if we leave the forum to visit your site. It’s rude and inconsiderate to the other 3000 blogs that don’t post links to every new article they write. Posting a link to another site is usually OK if it’s relevant to the discussion. It’s also OK if the original post requested links posted.
- Go easy on the linkbait forum titles. Funny how this usually is related to #2 above. No, your article isn’t the hottest topic in town. If it was, Graham would post a link in his own blog. Your poorly thought out opinion is going to reflect badly upon you once others correct your flawed idea. So don’t shout it publicly, present it logically.
- Do not add a signature to your post. Entrecard forums provide 2 links to your site already. Interested people see both your card and your site’s name above your post. Half the idiots that violate this manage to misspell their own URL, and that’s even with the new edit function.
- Do not run promotions, contests, begathons, and requests in the community or Entrecard sections. The reason nobody reads the promotion section is because of people just like you. Deal with it.
- Do not post stupid pictures just to get noticed. All it takes are 2 morons in the same day doing this to ruin the board. When Saphrym changes his card it’s funny, because we recognize his brand. When you change your card to look like a monkeys backside with lips and teeth, we assume that’s really your self portrait.
- The Internet is not as anonymous as you think. Act like a jackass in the forum and I remove your site from my bookmarks, block you, IP ban you from my site, report you to Entrecard TOS, Google AdSense TOS, and any other violations I see. Paybacks are a bitch and I relish in squashing little forum rodents. Argue intelligently and I may reward you with a link and article discussing the difference in opinions. Spam my site with profanity, or a friends site and see what happens. I’m also one of the nice guys. Imagine what someone could do to your reputation once they have your real name, address, phone number, place of employment. For this reason I don’t share personal details unless I trust the other individual. A recent example of this was when an A-Lister’s Fanboy made some nasty comments about one of Saphrym’s family members, and Saphrym was the innocent party!
- Make an attempt to answer a person’s question or add something meaningful to the discussion. Nobody is forcing you to read, and you aren’t required to post. Posting “No idea!” doesn’t benefit anyone. Why not Google an answer for them, at least it’s a starting point for further discussion.
- Don’t take a private argument public unless you really need help or advice. If there is a controversy on your blog, keep it there unless it is directly related to Entrecard. Even then, is it something that an email to Graham, Phirate, or the other people involved can clear up? I wrote this entire article before I ended up in some forum controversy the other day.
- Don’t Hijack Threads: Hijacking occurs when you ask a new question before the original poster’s question was answered. It’s rude to the thread starter. Forum regs who break out into silliness midway through the discussion are also guilty. I know I violate rule #10 the most out of all the rules.
Did I miss anything new forum posters should know?
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19 users commented in " 10 Rules Of Forum Etiquette "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a Trackback **********And so say most of us. It is things like this that has kept me away from forums for years now. A list like this is long overdue. Maybe I should try visiting a forum or two again and hope the guys using the forum have the same attitude as you.
Emailing EC did nothing for me- I was left to defend myself in my little “forum war,” with one who shall not be named. But what if I really have “no idea”- can I say no idea and wish I could help but I don’t wanna Google your question about the dumbest forum topic ever?
Beth, like I said, you don’t have to post if you don’t know the answer to something. I know you like to comment, and that’s fine if that’s your style. Wait until Entrecard gets real forums, then you will see 2 word posts from the original poster’s friends designed to “Bump” the topic to the top.
As for “you know who”, I don’t know who he was more annoyed with, those who stayed out of the argument, or those who joined. The fact that Entrecard took no position and closed the topic told you all you needed to know. They saw it, read it, and closed it because it wasn’t an Entrecard issue. Entrecarders were involved, but it wasn’t something they could take sides in. Because the argument took place on your blog, you had all the control you needed to moderate the discussion.
Was gonna try and break all ten in this one post but I got lazy, so here’s three:
No idea! Did you see the TechCrunch brouhaha?! Insane! Wait, what were we talking about? Oh, yeah, forum rules… No idea! Check out my new contest! Best contest ever!
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Best blog ever! My rulez! You have no idea!
My forum has different rules Stan. I allow my regulars to get away breaking all the rules except #1, and even then I might make an exception if you paid me! All the self promotion in the world couldn’t get me to visit your blog. Get a new one.
Rule #11 - You do not talk about fight club
oh wait - never mind
SB
[...] EntreCarder] 5. youshouldown.com/2008/01/dont-buy-new-puppy.asp [Help prevent animal abuse] 6. turnipofpower.com/2008/02/13/10-rules-of-forum-etiquette [Good Codes of Conduct] 7. hochstadt.com/do-you-see-the-footsteps-in-front-of-mount-everest [...]
I have largely avoided forums for these very reasons. Perhaps it should be posted at the very top of all forums everywhere.
Nice set of guidelines and great post as usual. It would be great if more people followed your tips and acted productive in forums.
Yes good guidelines to go by! Thank you.
@Turnip:
I guess you failed to get my sarcasm regarding #8.
As for the “you know who” remark, there is more to it than you or others know, so yes it was EntreCard related.
If I ever saw private information like that on a site I frequent, I would call for public shunning and shaming of the poster. There’s no reason, outside of child rape and murder, to post someone’s private info like that. I’ve seen it way too frequently in the political ’sphere and outing like that just makes my blood boil.
All in all, though, I pretty much agree with your rules. Mostly.
Not sure you understand Jenny. I’m not talking about somebody publicly “outing” somebody else by revealing their private details. I’m talking about people who are naive to the internet and post their own details online. Once these things become public record, they are very hard to remove. For example, someone makes a post on their own blog and says “call me at this phone number”. years later they get into a forum argument with some kid and he finds that number and abuses it.
The reverse of this is people who think they are anonymous and say things they couldn’t otherwaise get away with. One idiot in college with me sent a death threat to the president using someone elses name. Well, the Secret Service didn’t take long to find the real person. That’s what I’m saying.
Beth: Yes, I missed the sarcasm. My fault. I used to jokingly put all sarcastic comments in bold “For my European readers”. I may have to resume that tradition for my own commentors so I don;t blow a gasket mistakenly. Also, I know you know who can do some behind the scenes things as well. Thats why I tried to stay out of it without knowing all the details.
I hope I didn’t offend or break any of the “rules” by my post about Entrecard Forums the other day. I apologize if I offended. These are great rules to forum by.
You can also add: Do not copy other web site’s articles word for word as your post. Quote a small part of the original post and then tell us why you liked it or how it will solve my problem. Then link to the original post.
Kex, I agree about not reposting entire articles. I can’t remember any violations from anyvody yesterday, so don’t fear. I’m also not a forum mod, so what I “think” doesn’t really matter. Rules are debatable, but some people just seem clueless.
I personally love #6.
As a mod of a forum, I wish your rules could be used there. They are definitely needed.
I remember the incidents and also beth’s blog war. I decided to stay out of it. Why? because at that moment I don’t want pain.
Instead of saying ‘nnice post’, i’ll say this: entrecard is a bid to get noticed. If you get annoyed with people who show transgression of these rules, they probably will love it because you noticed.
“let his post be the last on a thread, do not defend or support him. do not go against him… and he will spit the dummy and leave.” -said by a guy who’s nice to me but turnip dislikes
(First of all, how am I supposed to keep up with all of these conversations if I can’t e-mail subscribe to them Mr. King of All Knowledge Regarding Wordpress Plugins?!
)
Now that I got THAT out of the way, I’m glad you thought my EC card was funny. And I know exactly who you speak of as the other one. People kept thinking -I- made that card. Argh.
These are great rules and need to be put at the top of the EC forums.
Oh, and don’t forget rule number 12 since we have this feature now: Before asking a question, search the forums for the answer. That way Quotes (or IQ, whichever floats your vegetable) doesn’t have to keep putting “Your question has already been answered here: “
First of all? Duh! You see that stupid green rss thing at the bottom of the post? That let’s you subscribe without jumping through hoops.
http://turnipofpower.com/2008/02/13/10-rules-of-forum-etiquette/feed/
is the feed for this particular post. (no, this isn’t the angry turnip, just the tired 5:00 am turnip talking in the 3rd person simply to annoy those few who even know what 3rd person means.)
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