Message Boards: Netiquette - Helpful Hints for a Pleasant Experience

A lot of folks often jump right onto the forums two feet first and can sometimes receive a backlash from long time posters if they're not following certain protocols. Most folks are OK, but if you don't have much experience with web forums, these hints should help you adapt quickly.

• These are privately owned message boards - You do not have "freedom of speech" here. We expect you to behave as if you are a guest in a friend's home, and imagine that you are speaking face-to-face with those with whom you interact. Our boards are read by college administrators, coaches, coaches' families, players and players' families, as well as recruits and their families. Please mind your Ps and Qs.
• Take a moment to familiarize yourself with the various message boards on the site so you will know what posts belong where.
• If you are a first-time poster, don't jump in with both feet and make a dozens of posts on your first day. You will only annoy people and make the old-timers suspicious. Also, don't launch immediately into negative or hypercritical posts. Let people get to know you a little first.
• New to the Internet? Many first time Internet users make the mistake of posting in ALL UPPERCASE CHARACTERS when they start posting or interacting with other users. Please understand that, on the Internet, USING ALL CAPS IS CONSIDERED SHOUTING and deemed by the Internet community as very rude. If you post in ALL CAPS, 'expect' to be slammed by your peers. If you're just plain lazy, don't use any capital letters at all. Many in the Internet business type in all lowercase.
• Don't believe everything (anything?) you read. These are only message boards, and are not at all part of the journalistic content on the rest of the website. It doesn't take long to figure out who knows what they're talking about on these boards and who does not. By default, you should assume unsubstantiated posts are untrue and work from there.
• Criticize respectfully, but do NOT attack people. "Coach Doe sucks!" or "Player X needs to transfer to U. of X!" are not acceptable posts. Calm, well-reasoned criticism is encouraged.
• Have a thick skin and don't take things too seriously. PLEASE do not respond to posters who flame the board or flame you personally. This only makes the situation worse, and may cause you to lose your account. We're not sure who makes more unnecessary work for us, the original flamer or the 50 people who feel they have to "set him straight" by lowering themselves to his level. If you choose to wrestle with a pig, he will get you both dirty and only he will enjoy it! If someone is out of line, please email us and let us take care of it.
• Do a quick check of the board before posting to see if the question you are about to ask or the article you just read and were about to post has already been posted. Far too many folks don't read past the first 5 lines of the board before posting. In a nutshell, that is rather selfish behavior to force ALL of us to read the same stuff over and over.
• Familiarize yourself with the rest of BoneyardBanter.com. There is a lot of easily accessible information here, so please don't be lazy and waste space by asking questions when the answers are one or two clicks away.
• Do NOT use HTML in the subject line of your post. BoneyardBanter.com alone reserves the right to do this for important announcements
• Keep your posts on-topic and on the proper board. The Banter Board is not the place to discuss politics, video games or religion. We have a board for general discussion (Golden Tankard Lounge) as well as a board for discussing live games and scores (Score Board). Please use them appropriately.
• If you can make your entire post fit in the subject line, then do so! This saves people an unnecessary couple of clicks.
• Do not make posts such as "hey, so-and-so, check your email!" or similar posts. This is not your personal message board, and making such posts only causes posts of interest and value to the rest of the community to roll off the board.
• The vast majority of people who visit the BoneyardBanter.com boards are interested in information and discussion on UGA sports. Please understand that most people don't give a darn about teh WolfPack, Tar Heels and/or other topics that come up far too frequently. Please limit your posts on these topics!

Thank you for reading the above and helping to make the BoneyardBanter.com message boards a fun and informative place to be.

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