Forum Etiquette: How to avoid being banned.

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Forum Etiquette: How to avoid being banned.

By Administration | March 4, 2007

I’m writing this article because the internet community is degrading, and quite dramatically so. Every day it seems that the mechanics for proper spelling and grammar are slowly being forgotten, and people are content to blurt out words and phrases that have no literal, or even percieved, meaning. This trend, which I will call “e-tardedness”, can only be for the detriment of society.

Let’s think this through for a second: we will spend a good 18 years of our lives attending some form of educational institution. Whether you graduate or not is completely irrelevant, the fact remains that for at least the majority of your young adult life you have been subjected to constant gradings and evaluations regarding your academic ability. One of the main skills that has been constantly tested is your ability to read, write, punctuate, and communicate.

So what is the problem? There’s no reason that you need to spell or be grammatically correct 100% of the time. In fact, no one expects that of you. However, spewing out a barrage of incomprehensible posts and ramblings that completely lack any grammatical sense is more than likely going to irritate other forum members, as opposed to sending the message you want across.How do I get people to read my posts? Simple question, simple answer…

Check your spelling. You don’t have to spell correctly 100% of the time, but seriously, learn how to spell “school”, “there/their/they’re”, etc. No one, and I mean no one, will take you seriously if you don’t.

Does ne1 no how to get to skool frum here????!?!?1

Use punctuation. Don’t be afraid to put a comma or semi-colon where it is needed- they don’t bite. This makes your posts comprehensible, and a little bit easier to read.

Do you know what I mean or does none of this make sense to you cause I think I explained it pretty easily hey thats a nice car

Enough with the random (and irrelevant) emoticons! Why put six million smileys right next to each other for no reason? That’s just asking for a ban.

Hi!!!!!1111 :O :) :( :O :P :D

Recognize that, online, you aren’t tough. It doesn’t matter if you’re a NAVY Seal in real life. Online, you’re just another person behind a monitor. You can say and threaten as much as you want and no one is going to take you seriously. Just don’t become an e-Thug; don’t make threats about what would happen in real life, or how ripped you are, etc. No one cares, no one will care, and you can’t do anything. Just give it a rest.

Hey you wanna fight in real life?! LOL I didn’t think so… I would have owned you because Im 250 lb and ripped and I have two monkies with machine guns on their backs that launch missiles when I tell them to.

Quit bragging, you liar. No one cares if you drive a Ferrari F430 twin-turbo with a sugercharged air inlet; unless you can prove it, no one will believe you.

Lastly, stop lying to everyone. Why does it matter what some people on the internet think of you? Stop trying to impress people and just be yourself.

Just use your head when you are typing on a forum, okay? The world doesn’t need anymore half-brained posts from people rambling on about nothing.

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