AC Forum Etiquette: Advice for New Contributors on Posting in the AC Forums

When I first joined Associated Content back in August of '09, I wanted to make myself and my work known to the community right away. The AC Forums are the perfect place to introduce yourself and become friends with other seasoned writers and contributors. Here are a few tips for newbies at Associated Content on what to do and what not to do on the AC forums.

Welcome Wagon

First things first, if you are brand new to Associated Content, introduce yourself to the community via the 'Welcome Wagon' forum. This forum is designated for making yourself known right away to the community. Give a brief introduction about yourself and what you specialize in writing or contributing and you will be warmly welcomed by many of the friendly contributors.

Establish Yourself

Once you have introduced yourself to the AC Community, start making posts in the other forums. Many contributors create positive, goal oriented threads and this is a perfect place to share your ultimate goals and ambitions with the AC community and in turn receive helpful advice on how to achieve them. Also, whenever another contributor reaches a certain personal goal, it is always polite and courteous to congratulate them on their achievement.

Show Some Dignity

Just some logical advice, when you post in the AC forums, you are in the company of many, many seasoned writers who are excellent at what they do and have the goods to back it up. Don't go into the AC forums right off the bat and boast about how good a writer/photographer/contributor you are with only 5 or 6 articles published. This will only put you in a very unflattering light and make yourself look foolish to the professionals. Work on building your library and climbing the clout ladder before you brag and boast about your work.

Common Courtesy

This is really self explanatory, but when you start posting in the AC forums, show some respect and courtesy for the other writers. When a new person comes into an establishment, they are going to be critiqued and watched carefully. For instance, if you go into a forum and start a thread that bashes AC or one of its contributors, this will ruffle the feathers of the veterans and in turn you will probably be told a few words that are damaging to your ego. Also, don't purposely create a controversial thread just for the hopes of getting loads of PVs. This will only backfire and eventually get you banned from posting in the AC forums.