Title: The Newbie's Guide to Blackhawk's Board
Post by: devils_angel on November 10, 2003, 10:27:57
AM
Well, considering that we've had a recent surge in
the amount of fresh meat....er, that is, newbies ;)...lately, I
figured I'd make a topic that answers some of the common questions
newbies have. I'm gonna skip signing up and all that jazz, since
that's not board-specific, and move on to FAQ about posting and
such.
FAQ 1: What can I post on? When should I
post?
Answer: You can post on any board you want, and you
can do it anytime you want. Go wild! ^^ Well...maybe not completely
wild....try to keep your posting relevant to the topics at hand as
much as possible. ^^
FAQ 2: How do I join an
RPG?
Answer 2: First, you need a character to post with.
Browse the RPGs first to see which ones you're interested in, and
use that to help plan your characters. That'll help you not only
make characters that are different from existing ones, but also to
give you an idea of what your character should be like(for example,
you shouldn't create a character that relies on technology in a
medieval RPG). Then start creating and naming your character(Angel's
hint: www.babynames.com is an RPer's best friend ;D). Try to avoid
making cliché characters; add your own quirks to them to make them
original! Once you've got your character all figured out, post his
or her profile in the Character Profiles section. If you have any
trouble creating or posting your character, talk to Half Breed(she's
the Chara. Profile mod). You can also read "The Newbie's Guide to
Character Creation" in the Profiles section for help. After that,
look for an opening in an RPG to post in. Be aggressive! The rest of
us are lazy and most likely will not specifically give your
character a place to jump in, so make opportunities for yourself.
Just make sure it doesn't mess with continuity. ^^
FAQ
3: I messed up on/need to add something to a post, but I don't
want to delete it completely. What do I do??
Answer 3: You
know that "modify" button that appears on your posts after you post
them? Make it your best friend. ^^ Don't be afraid to edit your
posts, either; it's better to change it than to have to repost it or
just leave your mistake up there.
FAQ 4: No one's
talking to me/my character! What can I do to start some
interaction?
Answer 4: I can't stress this point enough:
make your own opportunities! If your character's all alone, start
moving him/her toward the other characters! If you aren't interested
in any of the board topics, start one of your own! Don't be afraid
to post on topics that seem to be abandoned, either...sometimes that
one new post is all something needs to get started again.
^^
FAQ 5: What's a PM?
Answer 5: PM stands
for Private Message. Basically, it's a short message that one board
member sends to another without posting on one of the boards.
Okay...to send or read one, look up at the very top of your browser
window when you sign on to the board. It should say a greeting;
e.g., mine says "Hey, devils_angel, you have 3 messages, 0 are new."
Click on the "messages" link to view your inbox, which is where all
the messages you have received will be. Click on the "new msg" to
send a message.
FAQ 6: What's a flame?
Answer
6: Flaming has a lot of different definitions. Some people
define a flame as simply expressing displeasure at something; others
define it as being profane without cause. My personal definition of
a flame is complaining about or bashing something without cause.
Profanity doesn't necessarily make a flame; there can be posts with
profanity that aren't flames as well as flames without profanity.
Anyway, flaming someone is cause for you to be considered for being
banned from the board, so DON'T DO IT. Practice tolerance,
and think before you post.
FAQ 7: The RPG I want to
join is really long. How much of it do I have to read in order to
join?
Answer 7: Technically, you don't have to read
any of it. We can't tie you down and force you to. If you don't
read, though, you take the risk of not knowing what the RPG is
about/what's been going on. That would mean that whatever you post
has a pretty good chance of messing up/with the story, which is not
recommended. If your RPG is super-long(like, 60 pages), try reading
the first few pages and the last few pages. You can also ask other
members for clarifications or to summarize the important parts of
the RPG. Either way, trust me on this one: do your research
before posting!!! It may take a bit longer than just joining it
right off the bat, but it'll save you embarrassment and possible
conflict. (Oh, and in the event that you do slip up and post
something that conflicts with part of an RPG, don't make trouble
over it. We won't hate you because of it! Please just apologize and
start over. A simple "Oops! Sorry, I didn't realize that that didn't
match part of the story" will suffice and would be much appreciated.
:))
FAQ 8: The people in my RPG aren't posting! What
can I do to keep it going?
Answer 8: All RPGs,
unfortunately, go through a stagnant stage like that. No matter how
good the plot, the story's bound to lull a little bit at some point.
That doesn't mean that there's nothing you can do, though. The first
thing you should do is give it some time. People might not have time
to post every day, so if you give your RPG a few days, someone might
post in it. If no one's posted even after 2 or 3 days, you can make
an OOC(Out Of Character) post in said RPG reminding people to reply.
Just make sure it's not rude or anything. ^^ You can also remind
people through the tagboard at the bottom of the page. If you've
tried all this and still no one's responded, you can double-post.
Sometimes people won't post because they aren't sure how to respond
to whatever's going on at the time. If you move things along a
little bit, then people might get some inspiration and join in
again. Just don't make a habit of double-posting unless it's
necessary....it gets annoying after a while, and it's easier to just
post everything in one big response, after all.
I'll add more
as more stuff comes up. As for the rest of you, don't be afraid to
post in response to this, either! I love feedback. ^^
Last
addition posted 5-16-04. Moved from the General Discussions board on
9-10-03 because it should be here. ^^;;
Special thanks to
Nightblade and Spoit for providing suggestions!
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