Forum Etiquette & You

[Arie]

 

Let's sit down and have a small chat. Instead of sending off a thousand different PM's or even taking a Heronmark to every new thread, we're going to have a small little conversation about what Forum Etiquette is. And I don't mean spoilers, wokeness, and using the right acronyms. I'm talking about community conversation that isn't facebook, twitter, or reddit where threads taper off into multiple threads without interacting with each other. 

 

And I may toss in some random gif's to keep your attention, but sadly this is far more important then just a good laugh or a casual glance. Believe me, I am VERY well aware of how many of you have actually read our CoC so I will keep this brief. 

 

Right Foot Forward- It's really just Common Sense

One does not walk in on a party and a conversation and state a core reason of thought without reading the room first. It may feel like you can post anything, regardless of engagement or audience, but forums are far more give-and-take then simply tossing a post into the internet-aether. 

Basically, if your very first post is a new thread full of singular criticism or opinion on the TV Show and there are already threads in place for such conversations, expect it to be removed without warning. With the amount of new member sign up daily and new topics like this, we made threads for conversation to intentionally avoid this kind of commentary. 

 

Maybe start with a Hi, and Post an Introduction, and read the stickies of a given forum before starting your posting spree.

 

That said, should you read all 50+ pages of a conversation? Hell no. But it's important to read the first post that sets up the conversation and at least read a few posts up (or even the last few pages) to see where the conversations sits as you jump in. You will find yourself far more engaged in the conversation and people engaged with you in return.

 

AFTER looking about you find that the topic you are looking for isn't there, THEN start a new thread. If you are not sure, ask a Moderator. We are available both via PM or on our Discord Channel.

 

Why all the "Off Topic" warnings?

 

What do we mean by "Off Topic"? If the topic is "Episode 4", the conversation should stick to things that occur in Episode 4. Talking about the casting choice a character that doesn't appear in Episode 4, how it relates to GoT's casting foibles and social justice, isn't on-topic.

 

Mistakes happen, and sometimes we have the wrong tab open and we post in the wrong place. Just be mindful what you have open and scroll up a bit before hitting submit. We tend not to hit the disciplinary button for off-topic posts, but we will hide them and give warnings.

 

It's never about 'sides'.

 

**WARNING** If new topics are posted intentionally to troll-bait/start shit, it will be removed and Disciplinary action will be enforced!!

 

Whether we all read the books or watched the TV show, we're all fans. This is a 14 book series and there will ALWAYS be a difference of opinions, and perspectives. Think on it, the Bible is but one book and look how many segue religions there are due to interpretation and translation. This is NOT the space to tell someone they are wrong, or ignorant, or informing other fans that your opinion is the right one. Or even to convince someone that the show is bad, or that it is good.

 

It's not. 

 

Not even close.

 

Repetitive, and redundant, commentary isn't a conversation. It borderlines bullying, and instead forces an opinion on someone else without the respect of the opposing opinion in return. Excitement and Disappointment is absolutely natural but it doesn't mean inputting "Nynaeve is the worst character in the show!" every second post. 

 

Friendly Reminder: We are not anti-negative opinions about the Show or the Books. We are anti-asshole about it. 

 

 

Example of constructive criticism.

"The writers fridging Perrin's wife was a mistake. It goes against his character, and they could have given his character motivation without falling on that tired trope."

Example of trollish criticism.
"This show is woke liberal feminist trash. Rafe should go die in a gutter. I hope this stupid show is cancelled, and these SJW clowns stop trying to shove their trans feminist gay agenda down my throat."

 

If there are no sides..

 

There is no "winning", because we are not about facilitating arguments for the sake of being right or wrong. I am sure that we have all had our share of people intending to find a way to prove without a doubt that they are right. Or you feel ever so inclined to do so, but I hate to break it to you. That's not now conversations work. We all want to be heard and we all want to be right, but you can only have the one. Listen, and be heard as that is what builds a social community. The goal is to exchange ideas and share opinions. 

 

Gosh, you guys are so strict!

Yup. Welcome to moderation, where staff actively encourages conversation and keeps topics on track. Don't like it? There are many other social media forms where you can do as you like. 

 

We are a cultured community that has been established for over 20 years. We're older than Facebook! And we like the way we do things because it works. That and we are not paid to do any of this, this is a volunteer community, and frankly dealing with a lot of the nonsense that's on other places is way above our pay grade. 

 

So, if you have read this, give it a thumbs up!