Do you want to become a forum god?  Do you want to avoid being humiliated when you post in the “Deviants” forum for the first time?  Do you hate the idea of being called a “n00b”?    

If you don’t know the rules of the forum (official and unofficial), the “regulars” will happily eat you alive.   With this in mind, I asked the forum regulars to give all the n00bs some friendly forum advice.   Don’t say we never did anything for you.

*Note:  Every forum is different.  While this advice may be helpful in other forums, it was created with the “Deviants” (General Discussion) forum in mind.*


Don’t:

  Ask people to give “serious replies only,” “stop replying please,” or “just be nice”.  It won’t happen, and you’re much more likely to get the opposite.

Take anyone seriously, or take anything personally.  

Type “lyk dis” or “LiKe ThIs” or “LIKE THIS” or “like this!!!!!!!11 omg u so funny!!!!”  We prefer complete sentences and words that are not spelled with numbers in them.  And, trust me, one exclamation point is enough.

  Touch !OpiateTart’s skim milk.

  Ask for help with homework, your boyfriend, or your art skills.

  Post a “deep” forum topic (ie “what is art?” “what’s the meaning of life” etc) unless you’re ok with the answers being really dumb and/or mean, because that’s what you’ll get.  

  Expect people to automatically respect you, or even like you.  You have to earn it.

Try to be random or crazy.  Starting a thread that simply says “OMG PIE!!!!”  isn’t funny.  You have a brain, please use it.

Expect people to be nicer to you just because you’re new.  It won’t happen.  

Ask us to tell you how wonderful you or your art is.    

  Use itty bitty tiny font size all the time.

Overuse emoticons or plz accounts.  



Do:

Read all the “sticky” threads and lurk for a while to get an idea of how other people are posting and replying.

  Learn the difference between the forums.  Deviants forum is mainly for useless conversations about stupid stuff.  Help with Life is for sympathetic help with personal issues.  If you can’t figure out what the “Complaints” and “Suggestions” forums are for, you have more problems than I can help you with.  Better yet, read the descriptions of ALL the forums before you decide where to post a topic, and remember that there’s a forum for each gallery (Photography, Literature, etc).

  Use proper grammar and spelling.  If English isn’t your first language, tell us that, so we don’t think you’re just lazy or dumb.  For maximum benefit, post something like, “English is not my native language.  I apologize in advance for any mistakes.” in your signature.  

  Tell the forum “regulars” how awesome they are.  They secretly enjoy it.  

  Kiss `Danium’s arse.

Use the “reply” button to reply to someone’s comment.

  Become awesome.

  Have a sense of humor.

  Realize that if you’re not `littlefishey, you’re probably wrong.  

  Read the FAQ.


I hope you enjoyed this advice!  Any questions?

Thanks to all the people that contributed advice!  You know who you are.