Hints and Tips Forum Posting

So, you've just signed up to a forum. You're ready to begin connecting with people and become part of an endless community. I myself am a member of numerous forums and believe that it is an excellent way to converse with like-minded users that you would not otherwise encounter. But before jumping into the deep end by creating your own threads, you might want to take a moment to consider the following:

Firstly, read into a few topics and find out a few basic things:
- What are the rules of this forum? Most forums will not be pleased if you flame other members and post spam in their forum. There may also be areas of the forum where you as a regular user are not allowed to post.
- What is the tone of the forum? Is there quite a relaxed feeling, or are there strict moderators handing out warnings like parking tickets.
- Another great reason to read a number of threads before making your first post is to find users that you agree with. Likewise, there will be users who you will not agree with.

Next, have a look around the entire forum. Most forums will have multiple sections covering many different subjects - some have sub-forums where you can post about very specific issues. You are now nearly ready to begin, but hold that first post!

It is repeated and repeated and repeated by forum users and admin alike, but the number one cause of annoyance remains to be the posting of threads or replies that are either posted in the wrong section, or have been posted before. Before making a new topic, always make sure that you are posting it in the correct section of the forum and conduct a search for similar threads.

No matter if you're posting on a 12 year-olds punk rock board, forum etiquette is still a must. Use of correct grammar, spelling, punctuation and capital letters can make a thousand times difference to how well you are received by a forum.

Right. This is it. Your first post. While you shouldn't be too wary of other users opinions of you, you should still be sure that your first few contributions don't make you appear to be aggressive or opinionated. Be friendly and approachable to other users: quoting other users is a great way to strike up conversation.

One final tip on forums: if you don't enjoy being a part of that forum, ditch it! There are thousands of excellent forums waiting for you to join. As an afterthought, here is a glossary of forum terms which might be of use to you.

- Forum Index: The forum homepage and location of all forums.
- Forum: A place for specific subjects, such as general chat or technical help
- Sub-Forum: A forum which is part of a larger forum
- Announcements/Stickies: Threads created by administrators for the attention of all users
- Threads: A user-created topic.
- Posts: Replies inside of a thread.
- Administrators/Moderators (Admin/Mods): Users who run specific forums and have authority over regular users.
- Flaming: The abuse of a user by another.
- Noob: A new user.
- Double-posting: Posting simultaneous posts (one after the other). Use the Edit button in your post box!
- Warnings/bans: A notification from a moderator that you are being monitored for bad behaviour, or you have been banned from the forum.