Hey guys,
I just wanted to take a moment to mention a few things that I'd like you to be mindful of when making posts:
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The Forum Rules
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Just in case you don't remember what they are,
here's a link to the forum rules. Why should you be mindful of the forum rules? Well, firstly, when you signed up to this forum you agreed to be. Secondly, consider
something Steve said in his blog when he first announced that a forum was in the works for his site:
Quote:
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I want these forums to become a high-quality resource for people who genuinely want to help each other grow. [...] This won’t be a place for unrestrained free speech, but it will be a place where you can discuss important topics intelligently and make like-minded friends. I don’t care whether forum members agree or disagree with my personal views — I don’t always agree with me anyway. I want the forums to be a place for sharing ideas, advice, and stories; helping each other grow; enjoying stimulating conversation; and making new friends. And of course plenty of laughs are welcome too.
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What does the quote have to do with anything? I'd like to leave you to ponder such things. Think of the quote as "food for thought". If anything, consider how you might come in with what Steve was talking about in the above quote.
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How you write your posts
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The way you express yourself is equally important as what you are expressing when making a post or thread. In communications theory, the message is not actually what the sender is trying to send, it’s only what the receiver interprets it to be. Using that logic and the ideas from Steve’s article,
The Medium vs. the Message, what you are trying to say in your posts/threads (the message) needs to be transmitted via a suitable medium. For example, consider the following statements:
1) You suck and need to get better.
2) I definitely enjoyed reading your article and find humour to be one of your strengths, however I believe if you improved your vocabulary you would more effectively reach your target audience.
Both #1 and #2 express the same message, but it is likely they would both be interpreted very differently. Most people would probably ignore or get offended by #1, while most people would probably find #2 to be helpful. What makes them different? The answer is the medium. Neither are “good" or “bad”, “right” or “wrong” -- it's just that some ways of doing things are more effective/suitable in certain situations then others (ie. you don't use a hammer to unscrew something. That doesn't make the hammer “bad” or “wrong”, it just means that another tool -- a screwdriver -- is more effective in that particular scenario).
Likewise, when posting on the forums, some ways of writing and the particular wording you use (which is actually the medium) are more effective then others, and in this example, this is clearly the case. So when you are writing posts, keep in mind both the message (
what you want to say and
why you want to say it) as well as the medium (
how you say what you want to say, which is dependent on how you write your post, ie. the wording you use, the tone, the style, the format, etc).
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Who or what you are addressing with your posts
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When posting, you are more then welcome to discuss/debate ideas, concepts, perspectives, or beliefs, but please refrain from getting personal when doing so. For example, if you were watching TV and didn’t like the channel you were watching, what would you do? Would you pick up a baseball bat and smash your TV to pieces? Would you start yelling at the TV and tell it that it’s wrong? Or would you simply change the channel to a channel you enjoy watching? (Don't think too hard on this one.
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While people can “have” ideas, concepts, perspectives, or beliefs, people are not defined by these things. All those things may come and go, but the person who “has” those things generally remains. So instead of taking a baseball bat to your “TV”, or telling it that it’s wrong until your throat is hoarse, I’d recommend you choose option three and simply change the channel. Try to remember that when you are “watching” the forums and you find a “channel” you don’t like.
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Thanks for reading.
