TABLE OF CONTENTS:
I. INTRODUCTION
Forum Boredom is different from most other forums. It is simply the nature of the board. This section shows why this forum has different etiquitte.
II. DON'Ts
This is a list of actions will get you nowhere. Don't do these things and people won't hate you.
III. DOs
If you want to make progress, then these are a few things that will help you gain respect.
IV. ANNOYING BEHAVIOR
While not shunned on by all, there are little behaviors here and there that agitate some people. Note that these are opinions, and not everyone gets mad at these behaviors.
I. INTRODUCTION
First, an introduction to a board like Forum Boredom. One might consider description of this board to be misleading. To quote, it says that FB is a board to "Talk about anything. This includes generic polls, quizzes, and random crap." To some, this infers that serious discussion does take place in Forum Boredom. Whether or not FB was intended to have serious discussion or not, a vast majority of the threads do not contain serious discussion. Now, with the idea of "non-serious discussion" in mind, there's a rather generic structure to forums of this sort.
Point: There is a hierarchy/social structure on boards like Forum Boredom.
When you first join, a majority of the FB population has no clue who you are. Because this is so, you are at the bottom of that hierarchy. I'm simply stating it how it is. If you have an inferiority complex or just find that unfair, then you shouldn't post here. The sooner you recognize your place in the broader scheme of things, the better off you'll be. People that outwardly express their dislike of "being at the bottom" are the ones that generally stay there.
Warning: If you dislike the structure, yet decide to post anyway, just keep these things in mind-
Life is unfair, and so are these forums.
There are certain things that more respected members can do that a new member would get flamed for. As stated, we don't have a fucking clue who you are. As an example, see
this thread. I'm not considering myself an "elite member" or anything, but that thread would be much different if it were my first post. This is the internet. We can't tell whether or not you're posting something stupid to be funny or you're just stupid. It is evident that a new member is posting something stupid to be funny in only one occasion- when they're trying too hard. Refrain from the use of stupid humor as a new member.
This is how it is, and your words will not change it.
Complaining about this structure is not an intelligent move. People like things the way they are. These forums are Social Darwinism at work- those who simply do not fit in here will be flamed off or banned. If you are recieving large ammounts of flames, you should take it as a warning that you are just not the type of person for these forums. In time you might or might not change, but it's in your best interest to take a break for a while after getting severely flamed.
This is the internet. Anonymity brings forth assholes.
As with any hierarchy, there are elitists. In fact, the top of the hierarchy is looming with these. Please, make sure you have a sense of humor, good sarcasm detection, and are not offended easily. There are small little agitating behaviors that you might do here or there that will attract a sarcastic comment or small flame from an experienced user. Showing signs of offense will attract more. If you are offended by comments on the internet, then you won't be a good poster here in FB. If you are not a good poster, then no one care about the lasting impressions they put on you. There are quite slim chances that your lives will cross paths, and even if, most people have different personalities in real life than on the internet.
You only get one shot at a first impression, no matter who you are.
Age is not a factor. If you are old, you are not automatically accepted, if you are young, you are not automatically shunned. Opinions also are not based on the forum you come from either, so users at looked-down-upon forums get a fair chance as well. People base their opinions on you off of your first few posts, and it is difficult to change their opinions after that. That is why it is vital to read this FAQ through.
-submitted by L.H.L
II. DON'Ts
Hating respected members will just get more people against you.
Say you had a bad start, but you're gradually getting better. Some people's first impressions of you last a long time. While they may recognize the fact that you are becoming better, they still may take every open opportunity to flame you. Do not turn this into a feud by trying to point out the fact that so-and-so is a complete asshole and telling everyone to not like him. They already have their opinions of the poster, and all you are doing is attracting flames. If you tell everyone that a popular member is an asshole and isn't funny, then yeah, you may think that, but everyone else doesn't. If this member is getting completely out of line by flaming you at every opportunity, let the more responsible users sort it out. Someone will be there to tell them of if they're being unreasonable.
Avoid posting new topics.
Posting new topics by no means is a privelage reserved to more experienced posters, but new topics posted by newer users usually do not end well. It's a subconcious expectation that new users will post something that isn't to the board's standards. People like to see topics from more experienced users, not from newer users. This can be prevented by lurking. Once you're confident that you know how the board works, then you can try your hand at posting a new topic. If you get a negative response, then reevaluate your understanding before doing it again.
Just because you're funny to your friends doesn't mean you're funny to us.
It's not as if there's only one form of humor that's accepted here, but don't come in here thinking that everyone is going to think that your jokes are funny. In reality, you most likely aren't funny. Sad, but it's the truth. Just because people don't find you funny doesn't automatically mean that you're never going to be accepted here. You're in good shape if you like the jokes that everyone else likes. In a small sense, you're required to be a conformist here. As I said before, if you don't find anything here to be funny, then you do not belong here. Live, post, learn.
Do not come in here thinking you're hot shit.
Throw away all personal images of yourself before you post. You're not at the top yet, don't act that way. We do not feel intimidated by your presence. We do not think that you're trying to steal our audience. People that come in here believing that their presence is so charming that everyone will immediately like them as a poster will have their dreams shattered. With the internet, you do not have any presence when you first post. Your personality does not immediately eminate through your computer screen to everyone else's. Therefore, don't post anything that implies that everyone should immidiately fall in love with you (or can be interpereted in such a way), because it will be greeted with flames. It's just one of those subjects in which most people dislike being told what "the right thing" and "the wrong thing" is. You should understand why.
If you do something that people don't like, stop doing it.
In one of the IRC channels I talk in, there's this one kid that always talks about Linux. The problem is, it's a known fact that only one or two other users in the channel use Linux as well. Therefore, when he brings up a conversation about if he should use KDE or Gnome, everyone realizes that he's just trying to strike up a conversation that will go over 95% of the chatters' heads. Now, he also realizes that the topics that he brings up would be tons more appropriate in a Linux IRC channel, but he likes feeling smarter than everyone in the channel. Why is this relevant? Every time he mentions Linux in the channel now, people tell him to shut up. He keeps complaining that no one's listening to him, but seems to miss the fact that no one there wants to talk about Linux. He also seems to not realize that a community is not based on the individual. If you enjoy a community, then you should be able to willingly supress the behaviors that they dislike. Just stop doing it if people ask you to stop doing it. It'll do wonders.
Don't suck up to the more respected members and expect to raise in ranks.
Countless times, I'll see a new member start praising a member of the forum that everyone else likes. Contrary to what you might have thought I was saying before, worshipping a popular member like a god will not make people like you more. What you're trying to do is obvious, so stop kissing ass.
If you are new, avoid partaking in forum memes/fads.
More experienced users will know when they are able to use certain fads, while newer members won't. It ends up making the joke unfunny, and will probably will get you flamed. Basically, make sure you know when it is appropriate to use a fad before you use it, and don't overuse it.
-submitted by Excel Don't post in a forum game unless you know how to play.
That is how games die. Read the rules of the game first before posting in it.
-submitted by Dewgy
III. DOs
Lurk.
Lurking is one of the most neglected acts by new members. Instead of taking your first instinct and posting, read existing posts to get a feel of the overall atmosphere of this board. This doesn't mean you should sign up and then just not post for a month and then a month later, start posting. It actually requires you to read threads. If you do this, you have an advantage.
Have basic English skills.
This really only applies to those with their first language being English. It's painful to read a post if it's written like a stereotypical first grader. There are a few different reasons why people dislike this. Permitting that you've been being taught English your entire life, if you're too stupid to get a concept as simple as there, their, and they're, then people won't expect you to understand any concepts. A majority of the population here dislikes stupid people. Get over it. If you don't want to be considered stupid, then you should educate yourself. Bad English is also a common trait among the most disliked personalities of the internet. That is, teenagers that think that the internet consists of AIM and Livejournal, little kids who find it cool to talk like a retard, et cetera. If you want to save time typing, then learn how to type faster. Every second that you save by excluding letters or replacing letters with numbers while typing makes it that much harder to read. If you want to get a point across, then make it presentable.
Please, be original with your humor.
Also, do not attempt to post a "funny flash video/movie/audio clip/image" unless you/the thing you are posting fits this criteria:
- You spend on average 6 hours on the internet per day.
- You obtain the material straight from the author's website, and not from a site that contains large collections of other people's work (ex. Ebaum's World).
- The humorous item in question is not from a
popular site that updates with new content at least one time weekly, such as a webcomic. If you have discovered a relatively new (less than a month old) site like this, then it is most likely acceptable.
- The humorous item is not in a series that has existed for a fair ammount of time.
- You're sure that it's funny enough to warrant a thread.
Generally- just try to be original. There is such thing as overusing a joke, so don't be the one to kill it.
Realize that even though the forum's name is "Forum Boredom", the people here are not bored.
Saying something about the lack of boredom in this forum is not funny. The point of this forum is not to tell everyone how bored you are. Read the description of the forums under the name to learn what the forum is about. "Forum Boredom" is simply a name, not a description.
IV. ANNOYING BEHAVIORS
Overuse of periods of ellipsis (...)
Some people misuse these as commas/semicolons, or just like breaking each sentence up. However, it completely ruins the continuity. It makes is visually disgusting, and the general appearance of the post is slow. It seems as if the words were said audibly that they would be annunciated very slowly, and at the end of each sentence, the speaker had to gather their thoughts up before starting a new sentence. Kind of like the black kid from Malcom in the Middle.
No signature/avatar.
I don't expect anyone else to really share these thoughts, and I have never flamed someone for simply not having a signature and avatar, but it gets on my nerves for some reason. It feels like there's something missing. I suppose I just don't find it visually appealing to read all that text. Most other people probably won't have a problem with this, but I'm just putting forward my 2 cents.
Joke Accounts.
Aren't funny.
~edited by m335h73r~
quote trees
Aren't ok. I am sick and tired of people quoting someone, and not adding on to the conversation. It isn't that hard to make a point, and to simply quote something that someone else said proves that you don't have enough brain cells to make a valid post here. If you're going to quote someone, only quote the sentence you're going to address. Everything else is not necessary, and should be omitted.
Changing specific words in a quote
You're trying to be cute? Think that you can make someone laugh, by changing "TaQ" to "Penis"? You can't, and you wont. I will be taking action if I see this in a thread.
NSFW STUFF: Many people who frequent FB and Bemanistyle as a whole, visit here during school/work hours as well as home. If you absolutely must show the world this picture of one thousand exposed penises in a single room, provide a link and give it an NSFW tag. That's not so hard, is it?
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by m335h73r of /flex NSFW STUFF: Many people who frequent FB and Bemanistyle as a whole, visit here during school/work hours as well as home. If you absolutely must show the world this picture of one thousand exposed penises in a single room, provide a link and give it an NSFW tag. That's not so hard, is it? |
I'd just like to emphasize this one, because even though FB is technically marked with a 'potentially NSFW' tag that doesn't mean you can all run around posting wangs all over the place and such. Nobody needs to see that, and if it's funny enough you can live with just linking it.
If you are going to break the h-scroll with an image- for a guideline let's be safe and say wider than 800 pixels- use spoiler tags.
Which is to say:
[spoiler]image[/spoiler]
which will create:
image
--rules compiled by dougk_ff7
08-14-2006 until 08-14-2012
