Mooclan
Forum God
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2012
- Messages
- 6,358
- Reaction score
- 12,666
What a misleading title. And yet, in a way it is somewhat true.
This is a small collection of knowledge that I've acquired over time. Whether it be from observing or learning from other people, or realizing things that I've been doing myself, these are little tips, tricks, and other clever ways to waltz your way around these not-so-elegant forums.
Disclaimer: This is not a 100% legitimate guide. This is NOT based off of hard facts or evidence, it's just my own... information? Don't be expecting some sort of official-looking guide with a bunch of fancy words. I'm pissed off and tired as I write this.
1:
CLASS>SWAG
Ever seen that meme, "Real men have class"? Or something like that?
Well, in this case,
"Swag is for noobs. Class is for pros."
That might sound arrogant, but seriously - In a setting that revolves around how professional and mature you can appear, would you rather be seen wearing a giant white shirt, gym shorts, and black sports sandals, or would you rather be wearing a suit and tie, holding a glass of wine and looking like the guy in the picture above?
Keep that in mind - How you present yourself and your views can mean the difference between getting a job as an executive in Apple or being the guy that puts the caps on toothpaste bottles. (Seriously, I know someone who's dad does that.)
2.
Big words implies a big brain
Ever seen me or someone else writing a huge essay? A PSA maybe, or a duckluv321-worthy guide? Take a guess, and think of the impression that those people make. Do they strike you as someone smart, or someone... not smart? (I'm trying to not use mean words here... it ain't easy.)
Using a large vocabulary will give a generally better impression. But make sure to use the proper words in the correct situations. Think about the connotation of the word - does it imply something other than what I mean? Can I use it as a sly hint that only the people involved would understand? (<--lol i've done this so many times its almost not funny anymore)
Consider the following meaning:
"I drove to the market to buy a loaf of bread."
And now think about which alternate version seems more professional:
"I drove myself, in my new SUV, to the local open-air market, and sought out a stall in which I could purchase a loaf of whole-grain bread, with which I intended to create a sandwich for my lovely pet Muscovy duck."
OR
"I went 2 market 2 buy bread."
Get what I mean? Good. Here's some more brief examples:
Admin V.S. Administrator.
Mod V.S. Moderator.
Sr. Mod V.S. Senior Moderator.
3.
Think about how people might react. lol this is more of a rant thing than an actual #3, but whatever. no ban pls.
Ever seen someone state something completely innocently, and then have someone who was involved completely fly off the handle and basically witch-slap the person over the internet, for no reason? Yeah, uh... that may have happened to me by a "certain" Administrator on a "certain" community. *cough cough evaD cough cough* so basically this was imprinted into my memory.
$5 says a staff member censors this. Not an actual $5, but you get my point. I just want to point out before I get banned that I'm just playfully teasing. Mostly.
Yeah okay, elaborating on a situation in which this could be useful:
But in whatever you do, make sure you don't offend anyone unless they deserve it. And even if you do decide to offend someone, make sure it's 1) In a way that you can defend yourself and escape consequences or B) In a way/against a person that won't get you in trouble, because trouble is no fun.
And above all, keep a level head. Flaming will get you nowhere and nothing except a forum-ban and/or a bad reputation.
4.
Be able to defend your views and statements.
I cannot tell how many times I've been approached because of something controversial that I've either supported or debated. (Mostly, I can't tell you because it's like classified information or something and would get this thread deleted LOL)
Make sure that no matter what, you can back up your opinions. Whether it be on a serious topic such as Abortion, or a silly thing like who deserves to go down the slide first. Be sure that you can support anything and everything you say - "Oh, I think that while the child may not have experienced much yet, aborting the baby would take away what could potentially be a very bright future." Or "I should go down the slide first because I'm the host of this party and thus I reserve the right to take preference for any activity that I choose." (Idk, these were both off the top of my head. It actually took longer to find a half-decent reasoning for the slide one xD And I'm not actually anti-abortion, but that's not really relevant to this thread.)
If you are unable to support your views, you could potentially face opposition. Whether it be someone who simply takes an opposite stance, or maybe someone who sides with the debater who can give logic for their statements, over someone who can't.
5.
Don't type too much - People don't like to read 5 pages for a single post.
THIS IS HONESTLY MY BIGGEST ISSUE ON THESE FORUMS. I THINK WE ALL KNOW I SUFFER FROM LIKE A LOVE OF TYPING OR SOMETHING.
Yeah, as you can tell by how much I've already written, I struggle with this quite a bit. I've been typing for the past... 48 minutes as of now on this one thread.
Make that 49.
People simply won't take the time to read your post unless it is something that they are very, very interested in, or they are super bored, or for some other bizarre reason. I've had enough people tell me to type less to know this.
Know when to stop writing. When it gets to the point that you simply can't remember what you wanted to write about in the first place, it's always a safe bet to just go back and delete the last 15 paragraphs that you wrote, and only keep the "bare" necessities - in other words, the other 7 pages. (lol I'm just teasing. You know I'm the only one that actually has to worry about this on a somewhat regular basis.)
6.
Organize your information.
Put it in a list, make a graph, or put it into paragraphs. But never, ever, ever make it a sheer wall of text. Include pictures if you have to, but make sure that there are definite breaks in the post that people can stop reading at and take a breather. Even I pass over those, unless I know that the writer is going to include something very important in it, like Blamph or G33ke's rare but super-duper-uber-long posts about saving humanity wit teh powurz of teh utubes and mscg leederboards. (I'm just kidding about the humanity thing. I don't think we're all going to die. Yet. Blazerboy123.)
Okay I have to stop, seriously I'm getting way too distracted and I KNOW I had something important to include but I didn't. :c I'll try to add it l8r.
This is a small collection of knowledge that I've acquired over time. Whether it be from observing or learning from other people, or realizing things that I've been doing myself, these are little tips, tricks, and other clever ways to waltz your way around these not-so-elegant forums.
Disclaimer: This is not a 100% legitimate guide. This is NOT based off of hard facts or evidence, it's just my own... information? Don't be expecting some sort of official-looking guide with a bunch of fancy words. I'm pissed off and tired as I write this.
1:
CLASS>SWAG
Ever seen that meme, "Real men have class"? Or something like that?
Yeah, that.
Well, in this case,
"Swag is for noobs. Class is for pros."
That might sound arrogant, but seriously - In a setting that revolves around how professional and mature you can appear, would you rather be seen wearing a giant white shirt, gym shorts, and black sports sandals, or would you rather be wearing a suit and tie, holding a glass of wine and looking like the guy in the picture above?
Keep that in mind - How you present yourself and your views can mean the difference between getting a job as an executive in Apple or being the guy that puts the caps on toothpaste bottles. (Seriously, I know someone who's dad does that.)
2.
Big words implies a big brain
Ever seen me or someone else writing a huge essay? A PSA maybe, or a duckluv321-worthy guide? Take a guess, and think of the impression that those people make. Do they strike you as someone smart, or someone... not smart? (I'm trying to not use mean words here... it ain't easy.)
Using a large vocabulary will give a generally better impression. But make sure to use the proper words in the correct situations. Think about the connotation of the word - does it imply something other than what I mean? Can I use it as a sly hint that only the people involved would understand? (<--lol i've done this so many times its almost not funny anymore)
Consider the following meaning:
"I drove to the market to buy a loaf of bread."
And now think about which alternate version seems more professional:
"I drove myself, in my new SUV, to the local open-air market, and sought out a stall in which I could purchase a loaf of whole-grain bread, with which I intended to create a sandwich for my lovely pet Muscovy duck."
OR
"I went 2 market 2 buy bread."
Get what I mean? Good. Here's some more brief examples:
Admin V.S. Administrator.
Mod V.S. Moderator.
Sr. Mod V.S. Senior Moderator.
3.
Think about how people might react. lol this is more of a rant thing than an actual #3, but whatever. no ban pls.
Ever seen someone state something completely innocently, and then have someone who was involved completely fly off the handle and basically witch-slap the person over the internet, for no reason? Yeah, uh... that may have happened to me by a "certain" Administrator on a "certain" community. *cough cough evaD cough cough* so basically this was imprinted into my memory.
$5 says a staff member censors this. Not an actual $5, but you get my point. I just want to point out before I get banned that I'm just playfully teasing. Mostly.
Yeah okay, elaborating on a situation in which this could be useful:
- Player 1: Oh, this goes {Here1}
- Player 2: Err, nope, I think it goes {Here2}. See? -> {Reason}
- Player 3: [Quotes Player 2] Yep, Player 2 was right.
- Player 1: I AM ___ YOU WILL NOT CRITICIZE ME I KNOW WHAT I'M DOING. TAKE IT TO A PM IF YOU HAVE AN ISSUE.
But in whatever you do, make sure you don't offend anyone unless they deserve it. And even if you do decide to offend someone, make sure it's 1) In a way that you can defend yourself and escape consequences or B) In a way/against a person that won't get you in trouble, because trouble is no fun.
And above all, keep a level head. Flaming will get you nowhere and nothing except a forum-ban and/or a bad reputation.
4.
Be able to defend your views and statements.
I cannot tell how many times I've been approached because of something controversial that I've either supported or debated. (Mostly, I can't tell you because it's like classified information or something and would get this thread deleted LOL)
Make sure that no matter what, you can back up your opinions. Whether it be on a serious topic such as Abortion, or a silly thing like who deserves to go down the slide first. Be sure that you can support anything and everything you say - "Oh, I think that while the child may not have experienced much yet, aborting the baby would take away what could potentially be a very bright future." Or "I should go down the slide first because I'm the host of this party and thus I reserve the right to take preference for any activity that I choose." (Idk, these were both off the top of my head. It actually took longer to find a half-decent reasoning for the slide one xD And I'm not actually anti-abortion, but that's not really relevant to this thread.)
If you are unable to support your views, you could potentially face opposition. Whether it be someone who simply takes an opposite stance, or maybe someone who sides with the debater who can give logic for their statements, over someone who can't.
5.
Don't type too much - People don't like to read 5 pages for a single post.
THIS IS HONESTLY MY BIGGEST ISSUE ON THESE FORUMS. I THINK WE ALL KNOW I SUFFER FROM LIKE A LOVE OF TYPING OR SOMETHING.
Yeah, as you can tell by how much I've already written, I struggle with this quite a bit. I've been typing for the past... 48 minutes as of now on this one thread.
Make that 49.
People simply won't take the time to read your post unless it is something that they are very, very interested in, or they are super bored, or for some other bizarre reason. I've had enough people tell me to type less to know this.
Know when to stop writing. When it gets to the point that you simply can't remember what you wanted to write about in the first place, it's always a safe bet to just go back and delete the last 15 paragraphs that you wrote, and only keep the "bare" necessities - in other words, the other 7 pages. (lol I'm just teasing. You know I'm the only one that actually has to worry about this on a somewhat regular basis.)
6.
Organize your information.
Put it in a list, make a graph, or put it into paragraphs. But never, ever, ever make it a sheer wall of text. Include pictures if you have to, but make sure that there are definite breaks in the post that people can stop reading at and take a breather. Even I pass over those, unless I know that the writer is going to include something very important in it, like Blamph or G33ke's rare but super-duper-uber-long posts about saving humanity wit teh powurz of teh utubes and mscg leederboards. (I'm just kidding about the humanity thing. I don't think we're all going to die. Yet. Blazerboy123.)
Okay I have to stop, seriously I'm getting way too distracted and I KNOW I had something important to include but I didn't. :c I'll try to add it l8r.
