Posting Rules
1) Be familiar with the stuff you are posting to before you post. you may not be familiar with the conventions and themes of the subject. One normally does not join a conversation by just walking up and talking. Instead, you listen first and then join in if you have something pertinent to contribute.
2) Keep on topic: If in a Herb thread your post should be about herbs. but please be reasonable on what your topic is, and do not make any posts which may offend people. ~Generalizations almost people always going to offend someone: stay well clear of them
3)Please do not make your title in ALL CAPS, or even worse your entire message. This is the equivalent to shouting, and many of us have sensitive ears ^^
4)Use Descriptive Titles. The subject line of an article enables people to decide whether or not to read your article. Tell people what the article is about before they read it. A title like ''magic'' does not help as much as ''How magic is use in everyday life'' Don't expect people to read your article to find out what it's about --many won't bother. This sites limit the length of the subject line so keep your subjects short and to the point.
5)Please post in real English. If English is not your first language (or even if it is), we do not mind spelling or grammatical errors...we do not mind typos from anyone either. However, we do not appreciate '|337 5|o33|- WDALYIC, common abbreviations such as lol or brb are fine though. Not everyone speaks your language natively. Writing in short sentences will be a great aid to them, and help to reduce misunderstandings.
6) For the love of deity, use paragraphs If you don't it makes your post incredibly difficult to read: you'll get a better response if it's easy to read
7) Cite appropriate references - If you are using facts to support a cause, state where they came from. Don't take someone else's ideas and use them as your own. You don't want someone pretending that your ideas are theirs; show them the same respect like this topic for example I 'borrow' it from my other coven
8) Be Careful with Humor and Sarcasm. Without the voice inflections and body language of personal communications, it's easy for remarks meant to be funny to be misinterpreted. Subtle humor tends to get lost.
Take steps to make sure that people realize you are trying to be funny. The net has developed a symbol called the smiley face, which looks like this :-) It points out sections of articles with humorous intent. No matter how broad the humor or satire, it is safer to remind people that you are being funny.
But also be aware that frequently satire is posted without explicit indications. If an article outrages you strongly, ask yourself if it may have been unmarked satire. Several self- proclaimed connoisseurs refuse to use smiley faces, so take heed or you may make a temporary fool of yourself
9) If you are making a reply to a post, please make your reply to the post you are actually replying too - this may seem obvious, but there is nothing more annoying than reading a reply made to the wrong post, thus confusing the whole issue. These forums are threaded (for some of us), so your reply will be shown where you made the reply, perhaps not at the bottom of the thread. It may help to include some way of knowing who/which post you are replying to for those who do not use the threaded view: we get some long threads at times, and they could get VERY confused!
10) Your Postings Reflect Upon You--Be Proud of Them. Most people will know you only by what you say and how well you say it. Take some time to make sure each posting won't embarrass you later. Minimize your spelling errors and make sure that the article is easy to read and to understand.
11)Be Brief. Say what you have to say succinctly and it will have a greater impact. Remember that the longer you make your article, the fewer people will bother to read it.
Creating a tread
1) Do not make new threads if there is another thread on the same topic in the first few pages of any forum - most regulars will read up to five pages back, and we all sort threads in different ways too. Try searching the current AND old forum too: odds are we have already answered that question a hundred times before
2) When you make a new thread, only make one new thread on a single forum, do not bump it, and give it at least 24 hours: we live all around the world, so your post might be made at a bad time for those who know the answer. If you do not get an answer, it is most likely no one knows - this is a perfect invitation to test yourself and expand everyone's knowledge.
Asking questions:
1) Read over posts and all replies to them before asking a question, making a comment, or having a rant - often your answer will be there, or someone has a similar topic, and this saves you getting flamed or ignored. New threads kill 'old' threads and stress the server, so doing so really bugs the regulars if it was not needed.
2) If you have a question, please be polite about it. You are more likely to get a good response with 'Can anyone help me with...' than 'Tell me how do u d00dz do that!'
Avoiding unneeded conflict:
1) Don't start calling any regulars 'Trolls' unless they really deserve it: don't you think they'd be banned already if they were a real troll?
2)Please do not start flame wars: there have been quite a few protests about the damage to old growth. Also, if your thread is nuked, do not make a new post to complain about the mods: this will only get you flamed and probably nuked too.
3)Every few months a plague descends on the network called the spelling flame. It starts out when someone posts an article correcting the spelling or grammar in some article. The immediate result seems to be for everyone on the net to turn into a sixth grade English teacher and pick apart each other's posting.
This is not productive and tends to cause people to get angry with each other. It is important to remember that we all make mistakes, and that there are many users on the net who use English as a second language. There are also a number of people who suffer from dyslexia and who have difficulty noticing their spelling mistakes. If you feel that you must make a comment on the quality of a posting, please do so by mail, not in public
4) Be Careful What You Say About Other. Please remember--thousands of people may read your message. Information posted on the net can come back to haunt you or the person you are talking about. Think twice before you post personal information about yourself or others
5) Do not discuss who's doing what at other boards
the Person on the Other Side
1)Because your interaction with the network is through a computer, it is easy to forget that there are people ''out there.'' Situations arise where emotions erupt into a verbal free-for-all that can lead to hurt feelings. Strongly critical messages on the network are called ''flames.''
2) Try not to say anything to others that you would not say to them in person in a room full of people. Please remember that when you send a message to a bulletin board or mailing list, people all over the world are reading your words.
3) Don't attack people--try to persuade them by presenting facts. Cursing and abuse only make people less willing to help when you need it.
4) If you are upset at something or someone, wait until you have had a chance to calm down and think about it. A cup of coffee or a good night's sleep works wonders on your perspective. Hasty words create more problems than they solve
Read Me
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