Getting Started

This is for members of the forum who have just joined forums in general and will probably help them get started.

In this guide, you will find.

1: What is the importance of rules?
2: How do I reply to someone’s post?
3: What is a PM and how do I use it?
4: What is a post count?
5: How do I post a thread?
6: What is S.P.A.M and why is it bad?
7: Who owns this joint?
8: What are moderators?
9: What are administrators?
10: How can I become a moderator?
11: What is wrong with posting a lot of smileys in a post?
12: What is a locked topic?



Now, to open up this guide

Joining a forum on the internet for the first time can be hard. It is hard to realize why some things are bad to do and it the more help a new person can get, the better. The person must feel welcomed in a forum in order to want to be better at posting. If the person is treated like they do not matter, there is no longer to continue to post in that forum. A person should welcome the person and not shove rules in their mouth just yet. The person needs to get a feel for it. Once the person is used to how a forum works, showing the person the rules will be a lot easier. A new person to an internet people connecter can get confused if you shove rules at them too fast.

Let’s get this thing started!

1: What is the importance of the rules?

I see that this is a commonly asked question of a new person to a forum. The rules are here to help keep the forum in order and to reduce the amount of S.P.A.M “You will see the topic of S.P.A.M on this guide as (number 6)’’ The rules keep the forum from becoming sloppy so the place looks nicer. Moderators are selected to lock topics and ban users that do not listen to the rules. Without rules, a place would crumble because everyone would end up getting ticked off at each other because of disagreements and it would be a big mess. Rules prevent fights.

2: How do I reply to someone’s post?

This is easy!

All you have to do is press the button on the lower left hand corner of the forum thread. If you want to post faster however, you can just start typing in the box below the last post that was posted in the thread. Post is a way to say. ''A comment was added'' A post is really a comment but it is called a post for the thread to keep it up and running.


3: What is a PM and how do I use it?

The term “PM” stands for Private Message. This is how you can privately talk to another member of the forum you are on. If you want to Private Message someone, “We will use Chewy in this example” You simply click the word “Messages” Below the large picture at the top of the page. The “Messages” button is the fifth button from the left. Click on it and it will take you to your messages. At the top of your messages, you will see a button that says “New Topic.” You will see a space where you can Type in a username. If you do not know how to spell the person’s name, click ‘’Find A Username’’ and it will take you to a search bar and you can type in the best you can the person’s name and it will show up the results. Simply click on the person you want and it takes you back to the previous page where you can type in your message. “Don’t forget to put a subject” The subject isn’t that advanced, just put in a subject to what you are talking about in your message.

4: What is a post count?

The post count displays under your user name and shows how many posts you have made on the forum. The post count doesn’t matter so do not S.P.A.M to get it higher or you will be banned way before you get it to a high level.

5: How do I post a thread?

When clicking on a Sub Forum, there is the option to post a new topic by clicking the button that says, “New Topic.” Simply add a subject like you would on a Private Message and ask a question, rant, or anything else you can think of. It can even be a simple wish me luck thread. Just make sure you do not make it a pointless thread that doesn’t help anything.

6: What is S.P.A.M and why is it bad?

S.P.A.M can be easily summed up as…

S.t.u.p.i.d- Doesn’t make any since and is wasting space on the forum.
Pointless- No message to come across.
Annoying- Repeats subjects over and over
Message- It’s a message!

Flooding which is posting too many smileys or repeating the same word over again is S.P.A.M also. Try to avoid doing this also or you can be banned.


7: Who owns this joint?

Currently, the forum owner is Chewy. He is the lead administrator and does a good job at leading. Listen to him and you will be fine.


8: What are moderators?

Moderators are members of the forum that have been chosen to make sure people in the forum are listening to the rules. A moderator can lock threads, ban people, and can tell you to do something. ALWAYS LISTEN TO A MODERATOR UNLESS ONE TELLS YOU TO DO SOMETHING AGAINST THE GIVEN RULES MADE BY THE ADMINISTRATOR!

9: What are administrators?

Administrators are like moderators but are more powerful: they can actually add or delete sub forums on the forum. The administrators are also ahead of the moderators. Super moderators are between Moderator and Administrator.

10: How do I become a moderator?

This is something that a lot of people ask. Luckily, I have created a guide all on that also.

It can be found here: http://www.dojopenguins.net/suggestions-help-f8/the-can-i-be-a-moderator-question-t3873.htm

11: What is wrong with posting a lot of smileys in a post?

The problem is that it can count as flooding and flooding is against the rules here. Flooding is overdose of smileys or the same word or set of words over and over and just makes the post much longer than it really has to be. This is considered annoying for a lot of people and it counts as S.P.A.M which can get you banned.

12: What is a locked topic?

A locked topic is a thread that a moderator has closed and has made it so no users but staff can post there. This is so no further S.P.A.M can be posted in a thread full of S.P.A.M or to prepare it to move to the recycling bin where all the old unneeded threads go.

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Extra:


The true question every single time you are about to press that “send” button, a little saying pops into your head. Post: or not to post?



A good way to tell if it would be a good post or thread is that it listens to the rules to the fullest extent. You may want to ask yourself these questions.



1: Does this make sense?

2: Is what I am posting following the rules?

3: Is this S.P.A.Ming?

4: Is this on topic of the thread or the sub-forum?

5: Will this benefit the thread at all or will it ruin it?



If any of those questions are a no, it may not be a good idea for that post/thread to be posted.





I hope this will help you get started and I look forward to seeing you post as you become familier with the forum!

HAPPY POSTING!



(You see some words like S.T.U.P.I.D and S.P.A.M have dots in them because this forum blocks those two words for whatever reason.)