Thanks for putting together this little notice. I've been meaning to put out some guidelines, and will write up something more formal soon.
I'd add a few things--which mostly exist in one place or another on the forum--because I think they need to be said often for newbies to find them and process them:
Write Properly
Perhaps nothing correlates more closely with a low-value poster and/or troll than shitty grammar. This includes, but is not limited to, writing in all lower-case letters, not using apostrophes, abusing ellipses, and using textspeak (e.g., LMAO, FWIW). Even using carriage returns between every single sentence can be obnoxious to your reader. You don't need to be Shakespeare in your writing, just a
considerate writer who respects that this is an
intellectual community that places communication as paramount--verbal, written, and non-written. If English isn't your first language, that's fine; your prose doesn't have to be perfect. That's not expected of anyone. But if you claim to be a foreigner, but then are familiar with LMAO and lol!, which are English textspeak abbreviations, you should be familiar with the most basic of English grammar rules (e.g., capitalization).
Don't Start (Excessive) Personal or Weird Threads Early On
Another mistake newbies make are to come in and have 6 of their first 11 posts be new threads about their desperate personal problems, their "views" on pedestrian matters, or their convoluted
mental-masturbatory theories. Don't use the forum as
your personal journal or blog. Don't start entire threads to ask
simple factual information you could find with a tiny bit of effort, or to tell us about a "great game book" you discovered that's
a decade old. Look around
(use the search feature). Chances are your topic has been covered ad naseum. If you have a question about a particular girl, start a thread in the
newbie forum. In fact, any basic question should go there.
Read the Basic Rules
These are the forum's
commandments. Read them twice.
Follow Forum Practice in Sharing Stories and Links
This is a community that
looks upon self-promotion with suspicion, and with good reason. If you have a product or service to sell, be sure to establish yourself as a contributing member before starting to tell us all about it. Read the
rules on self promotion. Also, if you share news stories, make sure that it's thread-worthy, isn't a dupe
(use the search feature), and that you've tell us a little bit about what it's about. Don't just paste a link into a blank thread.
Take Warnings Like a Man
Think of the moderation team like referees in an NBA basketball game. If someone takes four steps without dribbling the ball, we have to blow the whistle. This isn't a personal matter. While senior members get a more benefit of the doubt and leeway (just like Lebron James gets away with walking in the paint sometimes),
no one is above the laws. If you get a warning,
don't start whining about it. If you have 10 posts to your name and then complain, your stay on the forum is likely to be short. If you have a genuine explanation, or we really missed something, feel free to point it out. Our mailboxes are open, but not for pissing and moaning--especially on small warnings.
Don't Be a Pussy in General
This is a community for masculine men. That doesn't mean you have to come in and try to out-"alpha" everyone--in fact,
don't do that. But it does mean we have a low tolerance for feminist apologists, exotic views on gender, and general cowardliness. If you come in with a snarky, sarcastic tone or insulting some of the fundamental principles behind a manly lifestyle, you probably don't belong here.
Learn the Forum Culture
You could never write down every single "rule" and guideline to thriving in any community. There's no law that says you can't go around New York all day screaming at people you make more money than them. But if you were to do that in real life, you're sooner or later gonna get punched in the face. Spend time reading threads and seeing how guys interact with one another, especially guys who have been here a long time and have earned "rep." Know
what's going on in the forum at a given time. This requires a little bit of work on your end.
Don't be lazy.
Remember the Signal-to-Noise Ratio
There are members on this forum who have been warned several times in the past, but remain unbanned. Why? Because their contributions
far outweigh their detraction. As a newbie, your contribution is nothing (so far). If you then come and start taking away, your signal-to-noise factor is going to plummet fast. This is also true forum-wide. Overall, the forum has to have a positive signal. If too many low-value posters were making shitty threads and posting one-word answers, in 15 different conversations, that would mean we weren't doing our jobs.
Use the search feature before starting new threads. Contribute to on-going conversations.
Respect the Forum
At the end of the day, it comes down to one thing: respecting this community. This place--while on its face a humble internet forum--has survived (and indeed improved) through dozens of calamities and attacks because a lot of guys care about it as a place to spend some time reading, laughing, sharing, and learning with and from one another. Most importantly, guys care enough to lend a hand in keeping things tidy. If you come in selfish, big-baller,
being a dick, or
humble-bragging, you're not respecting the people who made this place what it is. You, as a newbie, are the weakest link in that equation.
Don't Be Afraid to Post
Having said all that, you shouldn't simply
avoid posting (which is an instance of #6 above). If you follow these guidelines, not only will you be fine, you'll thrive here. Participate in existing conversations, bring something to the table, and engage others respectfully. Don't post for the sake of posting, and if you have nothing to say, but also don't think guys are auto-banned for the slightest infraction. This community continues to grow precisely because that isn't the case.
These are quick tips that will need to be formalized during calmer times, but an addition to what's already been said above.
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