Forum Etiquette
Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2010 1:41 pm
Forum Etiquette
This topic is intended to help you post relevant and understandable text and photos that do not disrupt the operation of others' browsers (or lock up their computers) regardless of their screen resolution and speed of internet connection (bandwidth).
Do not use All Capitals
Do not use all capitals because it looks like shouting. The doll forum is a quiet room. That applies to topic titles as well as to body text. See Netiquette and What is Forum Etiquette?
Use the Preview Facility
Always preview your work before publishing it. If you have a malformed link or other typing errors, you will see them.
The 'So what?' Test
This forum is not a replacement for your personal diary. It is for communicating to others. When you have written something, ask yourself 'So what?' For example, if you agree strongly with a point of view in a topic titled 'Realdoll bum repair' and you feel the urge to say so with a reply that consists only of the text "I agree," look at it from the point of view of someone browsing the forum:
Creating a Topic Title
When you create a topic, expend some effort in making the title meaningful. For example, a topic titled 'Question' will likely be ignored by the person who knows the answer and is willing to explain it, but who does not have time to waste investigating topics with meaningless titles.
Write in Clear English
English might not be your first language. However, it is the language of this forum, so you need to make youself understood.
(Added after input from others):
English spelling is problematic even for those of us brought up with that language. As long as the spelling is reasonable enough that the words are understandable, that seems to me sufficient. (Not everybody has a convenient spell checker on their computer.) However, the spelling in some posts is so atrocious that many sentences are incomprehensible.
Avoid Unnecessary Abbreviations
Abbreviations might be quick to type, but they are often meaningless. For example, a topic titled 'PIB VS RD VS LD' is likely meaningless to new visitors. Even the abbreviation PIB in the Private Island Beauties forum (or RD in the Realdoll forum or LD in the Lovable Dolls forum) is likely to stump new visitors.
Including Photos in a Forum Post
Do not post a huge photo directly in the forum. It renders the topic unreadable on low resolution monitors (horizontal scroll bars appear). At the moment, we think 800 pixels is the maximum width of an image you should display directly in a topic. (However, I am still looking into that, so that figure might change.)
If you want to reduce the size of your photos and you cannot afford PhotoShop or a similar program, I reccommend IrfanView (free for non commercial use).
(See also Large Files farther on.)
If you have a high-resolution image to display that is wider than that, post a 'thumbnail' size photo that links to the full size photo. (There are several topics on this subject in the Help forum.)
If you are posting your newest photo of your doll, add it as a reply to the topic containing your previous photos unless there is something specific about it that needs to be brought to other members' attentions. Consider going one further: If the last reply in your topic was yours, simply edit the reply and add the link to your new photo.
Large Files
An exceptionally large file (such as some animated GIFs) in a forum post can cause older computers and those with slow internet connections to grind to a halt. As a rough guide, do not include an image file larger than 1MB in a post. Use a link instead.
Do not cause sound files to play automatically. That can cause slower computers to lock up. Always provide a link instead so that others with less powerful computers can avoid videos and sound (at least until they have time to spare).
This topic is intended to help you post relevant and understandable text and photos that do not disrupt the operation of others' browsers (or lock up their computers) regardless of their screen resolution and speed of internet connection (bandwidth).
Do not use All Capitals
Do not use all capitals because it looks like shouting. The doll forum is a quiet room. That applies to topic titles as well as to body text. See Netiquette and What is Forum Etiquette?
Use the Preview Facility
Always preview your work before publishing it. If you have a malformed link or other typing errors, you will see them.
The 'So what?' Test
This forum is not a replacement for your personal diary. It is for communicating to others. When you have written something, ask yourself 'So what?' For example, if you agree strongly with a point of view in a topic titled 'Realdoll bum repair' and you feel the urge to say so with a reply that consists only of the text "I agree," look at it from the point of view of someone browsing the forum:
- He (or she) sees the Repair and Maintenance forum has new posts after he last visited, so he visits that forum.
The browser refreshes to display new topics and topics with new posts. - He notices the 'Realdoll bum repair' has a new post and so he visits that topic.
The browser refreshes to display new replies. (That might take a while if he has an old computer and/or a dial-up internet connection.) - He then sees that the only new reply is an anonymous forum member (you) agrees with a preceding post.
What a waste of people's time!
Creating a Topic Title
When you create a topic, expend some effort in making the title meaningful. For example, a topic titled 'Question' will likely be ignored by the person who knows the answer and is willing to explain it, but who does not have time to waste investigating topics with meaningless titles.
Write in Clear English
English might not be your first language. However, it is the language of this forum, so you need to make youself understood.
(Added after input from others):
English spelling is problematic even for those of us brought up with that language. As long as the spelling is reasonable enough that the words are understandable, that seems to me sufficient. (Not everybody has a convenient spell checker on their computer.) However, the spelling in some posts is so atrocious that many sentences are incomprehensible.
Avoid Unnecessary Abbreviations
Abbreviations might be quick to type, but they are often meaningless. For example, a topic titled 'PIB VS RD VS LD' is likely meaningless to new visitors. Even the abbreviation PIB in the Private Island Beauties forum (or RD in the Realdoll forum or LD in the Lovable Dolls forum) is likely to stump new visitors.
Including Photos in a Forum Post
Do not post a huge photo directly in the forum. It renders the topic unreadable on low resolution monitors (horizontal scroll bars appear). At the moment, we think 800 pixels is the maximum width of an image you should display directly in a topic. (However, I am still looking into that, so that figure might change.)
If you want to reduce the size of your photos and you cannot afford PhotoShop or a similar program, I reccommend IrfanView (free for non commercial use).
(See also Large Files farther on.)
If you have a high-resolution image to display that is wider than that, post a 'thumbnail' size photo that links to the full size photo. (There are several topics on this subject in the Help forum.)
If you are posting your newest photo of your doll, add it as a reply to the topic containing your previous photos unless there is something specific about it that needs to be brought to other members' attentions. Consider going one further: If the last reply in your topic was yours, simply edit the reply and add the link to your new photo.
Large Files
An exceptionally large file (such as some animated GIFs) in a forum post can cause older computers and those with slow internet connections to grind to a halt. As a rough guide, do not include an image file larger than 1MB in a post. Use a link instead.
Do not cause sound files to play automatically. That can cause slower computers to lock up. Always provide a link instead so that others with less powerful computers can avoid videos and sound (at least until they have time to spare).
