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Hey Castle Age players, forumites & lurkers. zserg here. I've been spamming these forums since march 2010 and there are a few things I'd like to say.
Outside of the forums, and on the forums, and on iOS...these forums have a bad reputation(partly my fault for sometimes spamming too much, partly the mods for not banning me already
). I do know this. These forums have personality. I've been on other forums, forums where, probably even posting this would be deleted as off topic. They're boring. Mods being lenient is what has helped build this wonderful community; for every player that is afraid to come to the forums, there is also one that claims he/she would've quit if not for the forum community, myself amongst them. (though there are still clear lines you just can't pass, I know trust me ) Oh and for each of these 2, there's 20 people that have not ever considered the possibility of going to a game's forum, because forums are for nerds and ppl with no life
Here's the thing. Other than "do not directly insult other ppl" there are no real rules here. This is not a slow kill group. This is not your facebook friend list. All the people you blocked on FB? They have as much right to be here as you do. Your friends, your enemies (and lots of strangers) they're all here. Also, some of these people are quite smart, if you come in being sarcastic and aggressive they will fight back, if you wanna start a fight, it's really easy to do it. You might think you're clever and people won't notice your insults, or cut you slack because you're a newbie. Some might, but if a fight is what you want, a fight is what you'll get.
This is where our wonderful moderator crew comes in. If you think you've been wronged, they are the people who can help you. They're the sheriffs of this place. While sometimes they might arrive late to the scene, rejoice, you can not be mortally wounded like in the real wild west, this is just the interwebz. Keep in mind though that there are literally dozens of active threads at any one time, so they can't read everything, which means they might need a little prodding to see a certain thread. Also keep in mind that they are impartial, if you have been dishing it out as much as you've been getting it, you're just as likely to get an infraction as the other guy.
Moving on.
When you post an opinion on the forum, you'll probably meet some naysayers. You have a couple options when it comes to people who don't agree with you (which does not make them trolls btw):
This has gotten kinda long(I could've posted 15 smartass one liners in this time!), but all I really want to say is that despite all its flaws, the forums can be a great fun place, if you give everyone a chance. I've been in several different guilds, and there's always a time, at first, when you feel awkward being there. The difference between joining a guild and the forums, is that the guild you join wants your strength and help so they will be nicer. On the forums, this veil of polite niceties is mostly lifted. Most forumites however are nice people, I've been here long enough to know this, and frankly you would be surprised who some of these people are outside of the forums and what they do to help other people. Don't just come here during times of crisis either, wander to other sections too, and you'll have a chance to (maybe) start to love the forums as much as I do.
Outside of the forums, and on the forums, and on iOS...these forums have a bad reputation(partly my fault for sometimes spamming too much, partly the mods for not banning me already
). I do know this. These forums have personality. I've been on other forums, forums where, probably even posting this would be deleted as off topic. They're boring. Mods being lenient is what has helped build this wonderful community; for every player that is afraid to come to the forums, there is also one that claims he/she would've quit if not for the forum community, myself amongst them. (though there are still clear lines you just can't pass, I know trust me ) Oh and for each of these 2, there's 20 people that have not ever considered the possibility of going to a game's forum, because forums are for nerds and ppl with no life Here's the thing. Other than "do not directly insult other ppl" there are no real rules here. This is not a slow kill group. This is not your facebook friend list. All the people you blocked on FB? They have as much right to be here as you do. Your friends, your enemies (and lots of strangers) they're all here. Also, some of these people are quite smart, if you come in being sarcastic and aggressive they will fight back, if you wanna start a fight, it's really easy to do it. You might think you're clever and people won't notice your insults, or cut you slack because you're a newbie. Some might, but if a fight is what you want, a fight is what you'll get.
This is where our wonderful moderator crew comes in. If you think you've been wronged, they are the people who can help you. They're the sheriffs of this place. While sometimes they might arrive late to the scene, rejoice, you can not be mortally wounded like in the real wild west, this is just the interwebz
. Keep in mind though that there are literally dozens of active threads at any one time, so they can't read everything, which means they might need a little prodding to see a certain thread. Also keep in mind that they are impartial, if you have been dishing it out as much as you've been getting it, you're just as likely to get an infraction as the other guy. Moving on.
When you post an opinion on the forum, you'll probably meet some naysayers. You have a couple options when it comes to people who don't agree with you (which does not make them trolls btw):
- Ignore them. There is an option on the forum to ignore specific posters which can help you in this (I have currently 3 people on my ignore list, though I don't perma ignore anyone - that's why there's only 3 people there)
- Respond in kind and potentially start a flame war in which you are just as likely to get infracted as they are.
- Try to see from their point of view. Like Obi Wan would say "many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view." Maybe you think you are being wrongfully attacked, but is it possible that your own post might come across as aggressive, presumptous...dismissive of the forum community where you make your post? (thinking of threads that address -only- the devs; while I have in the past made threads where i ask for dev posts, I would NEVER, dismiss the opinions of my fellow forumites)
- Lastly if you think they are breaking some forum rules, I urge you to click the report (
) button. I've been using it with great success lately, and there's nothing I like more than seeing someone's flaming post get deleted.
This has gotten kinda long(I could've posted 15 smartass one liners in this time!), but all I really want to say is that despite all its flaws, the forums can be a great fun place, if you give everyone a chance. I've been in several different guilds, and there's always a time, at first, when you feel awkward being there. The difference between joining a guild and the forums, is that the guild you join wants your strength and help so they will be nicer. On the forums, this veil of polite niceties is mostly lifted. Most forumites however are nice people, I've been here long enough to know this, and frankly you would be surprised who some of these people are outside of the forums and what they do to help other people. Don't just come here during times of crisis either, wander to other sections too, and you'll have a chance to (maybe) start to love the forums as much as I do.
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