Forum Moralities: Don't be like cans!
A guide for Forum Etiquette: Don't Be like Empty Cans!
Made specially for new forum users
Have you ever tried knocking on empty tin cans? or throwing it from a height? Yep. CLAAANK!!!
Then, when you drop a filled can, the noise is much more muffled, clearly. That's the difference between a filled can and an empty can - one with substances and the other without.
Now, I would like to provide an important guideline for the use of the forums as this issue that I am about to address is something that can be pretty hard to enforce by administrators, and may or may not be against the rules. However, as far as etiquette is concerned, this is a serious issue. And you probably guessed it - posting for the sake of posting.
The issue: What's wrong with that?
1. Contaminates the conducive environment meant for discussions
If you have noticed players who rush to comment on posts or threads and their response clearly shows no evidence of understanding, then you'll know these are like the cans I mentioned earlier. These posts flooded by those who post with the intent to reply do not contribute to the discussions, but they do help to add to confusion, misconstrue ideas and spread falsehoods, which makes discussions extremely difficult and this is harmful for the forums as a platform meant to facilitate debates.
Moreover, some of their posts fill up precious spaces on threads, which makes the thread less reader-friendly and this once again does a great deal of blow to the forums as a platform for expression.
2. Erodes the legitimacy of threads
Those who give mindless comments ruin the credibility of threads as they alter the purpose or tone of the thread, just imagine if an admin is making a serious announcement regarding say, a server bug, and one of these players mindlessly makes an inflammatory remark that led to many reactions. The focus would then be diverted to these attention-deprived individuals and not to the main message itself. It ruins the communication effectiveness when the credibility of threads stand on shaky grounds.
Some characteristics of posting without thinking
1. Short and quick comments that are irrelevant
Take for example, if a player out of nowhere starts commenting "/closethread" on threads, this is a classic example of poor forums etiquette. It does no respect to the thread starter, nor those to who have participated in the discussion. Just imagine, if you were in a group discussion and suddenly, someone comes into the room and say , "shut up and stop the discussions." Yes, its rude. Very rude.
2. A tendency to comment on every and all threads
Attention-deprived people have a habit of commenting on every single thread. They just have to do it, every thread should have him/her in it as a poster. This urge to comment of threads, while appearing to be in line with forum rules, undermines the intent of posting - is he/she posting for the sake of doing so? or is he/she out to contribute constructively?
While those who comment on every thread may not be one of those attention-deprived, a good proportion of them are. Why so? Because they seek to get noticed - every post is an opportunity to get noticed - which goes to show their desperation for attention. Being a nice community, we should give these people some attention, but at the individual level, if it goes beyond your tolerable limits, place these people on the ignore list. It's your right and those who have been posting mindlessly should get the social cue.
3. Unconstructive criticisms
Criticisms are good, and they are meant to help sharpen ideas for the better. However some forum users have resorted to unconstructive criticisms. Unconstructive criticisms are those that seek not to contribute to discussions, but seek to find faults in other aspects (some forum users are especially good at disguising this). Take for example, a comment on a user's name or a comment on a user's signature. While these may appear to be relevant, they are in actual fact not and do not seek to add value to debates. I would say that unconstructive criticisms are born out of poor argumentative competencies, and users should exercise some discretion in ignoring them in order to ensure that discussions are effective.
What to do when faced with a user who posts for the sake of posting
1. Never retaliate
Hurtful or bad comments may surface every now and then, though they are moderated. Do not retaliate because this may run the risk of starting a flame war, and put yourself in violation of forum rules as well.
2. Give a gentle reminder
Kindly ask the user to give something helpful. You could say something like "Please mind your language" or "Please give something constructive, or do not post at all" And remember, no profanities or anything hurtful of that sorts!
3. Ignore
It gets extremely frustrating when some users refuse to cooperate, and this leaves you with the last option - to ignore. Giving these attention-seeking people would fuel them to do more and it becomes a vicious cycle. Those who have been posting with the intent to reply needs to learn to accept the social cues that they are getting and stop accordingly, lest it turns into harassment.
4. Report
If users continuously violate the forum rules, report them. The moderators will tend to these reports at the first opportunity, and these perpetrators will be punished.
Here's a quote:
"Speak only if it improves upon the silence" - Mahatma Gandhi
That concludes the end of my guide. As it is for informational purposes, I ask that no one posts on this thread and the thread be closed. Moderators, please also delete any posts to this thread, Thank you and I hope this will help to make the forums a much less toxic place for all :) Remember, don't be an empty can!
