How to post smartly, and how to give back!

Hi everybody (read it with the same tone as Dr. Nick in Simpsons).
It's not often I start a new thread here at GTPlanet. I've got my gallery, some weird stuff and a couple of threads in Site Feedback. In fact, there's under 24 hours since I made a new topic here in the Site Feedback-section. However, after using my Saturday only to be on several forums, especially this, I've picked up some interesting thoughts I want to share with you, please do not just take me as a posting whore.

Basically, this thread is about how to post correctly in these forums. Alternativly, you can also look at it as how to give back to the administrators and the moderators. Well, how to contribute.

Postcount doesnt tell anything
Well, of course it does. But is a user with 200 posts necessarily a much worse user than a one with 2000 posts? If you've got 2000 posts with only off topic comments, false/wrong information, hijacking of threads and simple comments not even appropriate in kindergarden, no one will in the end listen to you.
Let me quote the user K9jetta on VWVortex

K9jetta

It's not the size of your post count, it's how you use it that matters.

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This sentence is glued to my mind, it's the key to posting on a forum. Will the post contribute, if not, drop it. If you're proud of having a postcount, be proud of having a stylish postcount, not a rubbish one.


Has it been posted before?
The first thing you should do before creating a new thread, is to read the stickys, then to search. We've got lot's of stickys and useful information here, one of the reasons I hang out here. It's a really big source of information. We've got the Game Guides, Leaderboards, and of course the forums with a growing 90.000+ memberbase, and it's pretty certain we've got what you're looking for here.


Write correctly
Here at GTPlanet, we've got many young users, because the forums are about PlayStation games. Basically, most of the GTPlanet users has between six to twelve years of school under them. If you don't use English everyday, you will have it as a secondary language. Personally, I'm from Norway, a country know for Petter Solberg and his great English. Yes, there are more than Solberg talking like that. I'm on several International forums, and it's expected of me to write like a person having English as mother tongue. I try my best, even if I don't always catch all the slangs presented.
After six years of school, you learn a lot. Grammar, how to build your sentences and how to write correctly. It's a big difference between "though" and "through", even if it's just a "r" on paper. Spelling is incredibly important.


Don't be a douchebag
Nobody like douchebags. There's no reason to just spam, make aggrovation, cause problems or trash a thread. Douchebags sooner or later ends up in the cellar, banned, often permanently. So why use hours of your precious life making meaningless comments? Exactly, it's a waste.


Do criticise, but behave
It's a big difference between constructive critisism and pointless critisism. Let's say a new user sets up a gallery, he has some fine shots, and some not so great shots, of say, a Honda Civic EG. With pointless critisism, I mean comments like "Fag.. Get that ricer out of here, you n00b". I think you all understand what I mean with constructive critisism, but I can make an example here too. With constructive critisism, you can for example make some tips for the newcomer to improve "You could try angling it like that", or "The EG is best shown from the front lights, in white, which beautifully brings out the nice shape".
Constructive critisism has never hurt anyone, and it's something I expect from the veterans of GTP.


Get the facts straight
When making a statement or a comment, get your facts straight, the sooner the better. Use a couple of sources, and post the right facts. It's pretty boring for us users when you've had a ten pages fight about something, and you eventually find out the other person had it wrong all the time. Boring for the opponent, boring for you and even more importantly - for us.



So, in other words, contribute to this great forums. I hadn't written this if I really hadn't loved it (again, don't look at this as spamming/whoring). I get something from you, you get this back from me. It's like a well kept treasure. We know it's there, and we want it to last this way. I would really like to see GTP with 100.000 users, but at the same time clean, effective and superbly informational!

Thank you, all 90.000 users for making GTP what it is today.

And remember, like Rob Zombie says, "More Human Than Human". Nobodys perfect.


Eirik

Great post, again 👍, theres a lot of thought gone into that.

This guy has "Quality Post" written all over him. Great post. 👍

+ Rep

First of all, + Rep 👍

Please don't tell us to "not take you as a postwhore" if you make thse kinds of posts.

Everything you've said is pretty much what most of us have been trying to accomplish here at GTP. The staff have tried different ways to "enforce" your thoughts, and GTP would be heaven if we all followed your guidelines here.
But I just hope we keep writing these kind of posts so the newcomers see what the site is about and gain a better image.

Very well written post. 👍





or...you could click on the linky on my sig
Ciao!

Alot of thought went into that matey. Cheers allround!

This guy just screams future moderator.

I don't think it's possible. We have an intelligent newbie that we don't have to whip into shape! It's a conspiracy I tell you.

Maybe PS is playing a mean joke on us?

Nomination for sticky in this subforum. 👍

I can only second what everyone else has said, you've really done a good job of summarizing exactly what everyone needs to do to create a quality, long-term, established community.

+rep for the awesome post. You truly deserve it!

I couldn't have said it better myself! You obviously spent some time composing this summary:tup: & keep it up!

FormulaGT

Each words were the reality, great post man.

I myself have been posting lots of BS on GTP (in the past), that refreshed my mind

An excellent post mate, one for all new members to see, read and take into their own to follow and obey it to the best of their abilities. I agree with all of your thoughts strongly, and they have been well-written and well-presented.
An excellent impression of things to come.
👍 To you buddy.

I smell a future quality posts member...

+rep

PERFECT BALANCE

I don't know what to think of this post. If you look at it one way, it is a great post, but on the other hand, nothing posted was new to me or something I wouldn't figure out with common sense. I never bothered making threads like this because I figured everyone would react somewhat like "You just rephrased the AUP" or "Your just sucking up to rack up more rep points."

That is sort of the way I'm thinking right now. Sure, it's not a bad post, but was it necessary? I think not.

My 2 cents.

EDIT: Also, I'm almost positive a new user (one that will need to read this) will not read it. He/she will just skip to the GT4 section and make a new thread, skipping the new search feature as well.

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It was never ment that way. It's more like my way to contribute, to give back to the forums. It's one great place to be, and I'm yet to be flamed..
Something always have to sides. I like what I do, and as I said, it's my way to contribute. I would have lied if I said I wasn't happy for the rep points, though, it's nice to be appreciated.
But I can assure you, I've done much free for several forums before, Lancer Evo infothreads, Golf infothreads, write-ups and more. I've done a lot for forums, wheter they have rep points or not.
But hey, I really do understand your arguments. They are good and yes, it should be common sense, but some people lack some common sense and some just doesn't care. And most people don't care for writing so much about it. There are professors in common sense, you know.
Besides, I've seen users with 6000 posts on forums totally, which only post crap. If you don't have anything constructive to say, don't say it.

Thanks for all the good comments. As I said, this is one good place to hang out!

By the way, I do hope most new users read it.


Eirik

Great post, If only there was a way to drill that into people's heads. + rep

+ REP for an excellent post! 👍

I'll give you some props, eirik, because you understand what most newer members don't, along with some establihed members. I'm glad you decided to join here, and I hope you're here for a long time, helping make GTP the best froum on the net.

PERFECT BALANCE

I don't know what to think of this post. If you look at it one way, it is a great post, but on the other hand, nothing posted was new to me or something I wouldn't figure out with common sense. I never bothered making threads like this because I figured everyone would react somewhat like "You just rephrased the AUP" or "Your just sucking up to rack up more rep points."

That is sort of the way I'm thinking right now. Sure, it's not a bad post, but was it necessary? I think not.

My 2 cents.

EDIT: Also, I'm almost positive a new user (one that will need to read this) will not read it. He/she will just skip to the GT4 section and make a new thread, skipping the new search feature as well.

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You know Alex, these were my thoughts exactly.

I'm not accusing the poster of wanting more rep points by any means... it just seems redundant to me.

I'm sure it has a good use for someone, though...

I have now seen evidence on my first point, that poustcount doesn't tell everything. I made a thread, and a user reported that there were two AUP violations in the thread. However, he didn't report it using the report button like he should have done. Instead, he posted it as a reply in the thread. Not a very good manner of posting.
This would have been a typically new user post. Although, here it wasn't. This particular user has got over 2.500 posts, since May last year. This scared me, 2.500 posts is a lot, and how many of them are good? Of course, "More human than human", everybody can make mistakes. However, it seems to me like this user is regarded as a spammer, and I can see he has done several bad posts the last couple of days.
This is no "pointing-at-someone", it's just a thought. This can be anyone, with over 2.500 posts. But the point is, this proves that poustcount has nothing to do with quality.


Eirik

eiriksmil

I made a thread, and a user reported that there were two AUP violations in the thread. However, he didn't report it using the report button like he should have done. Instead, he posted it as a reply in the thread. Not a very good manner of posting.

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Actually, he did report it, as well as making the useless post in the thread.

daan

Actually, he did report it, as well as making the useless post in the thread.

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Still, it's needless to say he did, or to post it in such a terrible manner as he did.


Eirik

I know who you are talking about and even I have personally told him via PM to relax and stop making really meanless idiotic posts, but you have to understand that there will always be not 1 but many rubbish members among us and the best we can do is to give the example and try to make this site better, you cannot directly fight each one of them and sometimes some of those members will eventually ban themselves. It maybe just a matter of time.

It'd be nice if we all started posting following your guidelines written in the first post, but sadly I don't think it will ever happen. And that's why we have moderators.





Ciao!

Ozzy.

I know who you are talking about and even I have personally told him via PM to relax and stop making really meanless idiotic posts, but you have to understand that there will always be not 1 but many rubbish members among us and the best we can do is to give the example and try to make this site better, you cannot directly fight each one of them and sometimes some of those members will eventually ban themselves. It maybe just a matter of time.

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Of course, you are very right here, indeed. However, the only thing I was "proving" was that a user (spammer) with many posts can be as bad as someone with 250, if not worse. I'm not fighting anyone, as you said also, it's guidelines.
However, I do think these guidelines have got a positive effect.


Eirik