Post by Onus on Sept 30, 2023 21:25:31 GMT
Never fear intrepid user, this guide is for you!
"Forum" started as a Latin word that described an open area for people to assemble, and when English adopted it, it kept that meaning. In the context of the internet, Forums are public areas to discuss topics. Many forums, such as this one, center around a certain theme, but remain available for anyone to read, join, or archive.
1) persistence and reliability: Forums are one of the earliest types of public communication the internet developed, and are therefore time-tested means of interacting with the public at large.
2) Easy-going: Forums are focused on long term communication. Conversations are meant to play out over days, weeks, or even years. Go to work, take a free day, and return. Your conversation will be waiting for you.
3) Community focused: Forums encourage thoughtful, quality conversations, which in turn aid in the cultivation of long term relations. The specialty topics forums often cater to also help forge bonds through the power of shared hobbies and communal interests.
4) Searchable and archivable: Unlike discord, which exists out of reach from search engines like Google, forums can actually be found and read without having to make an account or receive an invite. They are also much more Receptible to archive crawlers, which means information can be backed up and stored separate from the forum itself.
Furthermore, the Dpfanforum has implemented tags! Just wrap a standard hastag (#) between a pair of brackets [] and you can create a tumblr-like tagging system that helps users search through all your most [HASH]ImportantPosts.
A bit like an office water cooler. Forums are not a place you strictly come to with a goal in mind, but are great places to hear all the latest gossip, with an atmosphere that makes it easy to chime in whenever you feel like you have something to say.
As some general advice:
If you want to post about a WIP in the WIP section, try making a single thread per topic. A single thread titled "My multichapter story", instead of making a new thread for each chapter like "my multichapter story p.1," "my multichapter story p.2", is much neater and clogs up the board much less. You will also likely get more engagement and have an excuse to bump your thread more often.
As forums are public, people will often chime in with slightly off topic matters, get engaged with another user for a while in your thread, or otherwise get slightly distracted from the subject at hand. This is a normal aspect of casual conversation, and barring something like a roleplay thread, where character break ruins the immersion, not something to get too mad about. If all else fails and the thread completely veers off topic, grab an admin and ask for help.
Which unfortunately means there's a bit of a learning curve when it comes to making things work. My advice is to use the buttons you see at the top to their fullest, as they'll help a lot with formatting. Don't be afraid to explore!
As I said earlier on, forums as a slow form of communication are intended as a benefit, not a demerit. It can be easy to get caught up in drama, especially fandom drama, but try to remember there's no algorithm here, you will not have your posts utterly buried if you wait a little while, and it is completely okay to back off if you're feeling heated. If in doubt, pause, walk away from the keyboard, and eat a sandwich or something. If your post still looks like something a sane and rational person would tell another human being, then go ahead. If it doesn't, know one will know if you delete what what you wrote and try again.
I'm putting this in the general advice section because shipping wars are a plague and I'm pretty sure they were a major factor in the last Danny Phantom forums ultimate destruction. DPfanforums does not allow explicit content or romance between adults and minors in any capacity (It's also against the host's TOS). If it's anything else, trying to make it stop will probably just cause an unholy game of shit flinging and it's better for everyone if you write your preferred romances and ignore the ones you don't like.
Thinking of shipping wars.
If you spend any time on A03, you're likely familiar with this concept. Just do your level best to be clear about what your subject and intent in the title, the description, or the beginning of your post. Avoid duplicity and make it as clear as possible what you're up to. Trying to lure in users with inaccurate thread titles or trying to hide how controversial what your saying actually is Will cause problems that admin (Which at the time of writing, is really just me,) will be forced to clean up. Say what you mean, mean what you say, and be up front about it.
And that's a wrap! These should be the basics, and if you have any further questions feel free to check out the DPfanforum's rules post.
[HASH]Important [HASH]Adminpost [HASH]guide [HASH]Help
What is a Forum?
"Forum" started as a Latin word that described an open area for people to assemble, and when English adopted it, it kept that meaning. In the context of the internet, Forums are public areas to discuss topics. Many forums, such as this one, center around a certain theme, but remain available for anyone to read, join, or archive.
Why should I use them?
1) persistence and reliability: Forums are one of the earliest types of public communication the internet developed, and are therefore time-tested means of interacting with the public at large.
2) Easy-going: Forums are focused on long term communication. Conversations are meant to play out over days, weeks, or even years. Go to work, take a free day, and return. Your conversation will be waiting for you.
3) Community focused: Forums encourage thoughtful, quality conversations, which in turn aid in the cultivation of long term relations. The specialty topics forums often cater to also help forge bonds through the power of shared hobbies and communal interests.
4) Searchable and archivable: Unlike discord, which exists out of reach from search engines like Google, forums can actually be found and read without having to make an account or receive an invite. They are also much more Receptible to archive crawlers, which means information can be backed up and stored separate from the forum itself.
Furthermore, the Dpfanforum has implemented tags! Just wrap a standard hastag (#) between a pair of brackets [] and you can create a tumblr-like tagging system that helps users search through all your most [HASH]ImportantPosts.
How Should I use them?
A bit like an office water cooler. Forums are not a place you strictly come to with a goal in mind, but are great places to hear all the latest gossip, with an atmosphere that makes it easy to chime in whenever you feel like you have something to say.
As some general advice:
Make a topic particular, but not too particular.
If you want to post about a WIP in the WIP section, try making a single thread per topic. A single thread titled "My multichapter story", instead of making a new thread for each chapter like "my multichapter story p.1," "my multichapter story p.2", is much neater and clogs up the board much less. You will also likely get more engagement and have an excuse to bump your thread more often.
Allow some wiggle room
As forums are public, people will often chime in with slightly off topic matters, get engaged with another user for a while in your thread, or otherwise get slightly distracted from the subject at hand. This is a normal aspect of casual conversation, and barring something like a roleplay thread, where character break ruins the immersion, not something to get too mad about. If all else fails and the thread completely veers off topic, grab an admin and ask for help.
Forums are old-school.
Which unfortunately means there's a bit of a learning curve when it comes to making things work. My advice is to use the buttons you see at the top to their fullest, as they'll help a lot with formatting. Don't be afraid to explore!
Take it slowly.
As I said earlier on, forums as a slow form of communication are intended as a benefit, not a demerit. It can be easy to get caught up in drama, especially fandom drama, but try to remember there's no algorithm here, you will not have your posts utterly buried if you wait a little while, and it is completely okay to back off if you're feeling heated. If in doubt, pause, walk away from the keyboard, and eat a sandwich or something. If your post still looks like something a sane and rational person would tell another human being, then go ahead. If it doesn't, know one will know if you delete what what you wrote and try again.
Avoid shipping wars
I'm putting this in the general advice section because shipping wars are a plague and I'm pretty sure they were a major factor in the last Danny Phantom forums ultimate destruction. DPfanforums does not allow explicit content or romance between adults and minors in any capacity (It's also against the host's TOS). If it's anything else, trying to make it stop will probably just cause an unholy game of shit flinging and it's better for everyone if you write your preferred romances and ignore the ones you don't like.
Be clear about your content
Thinking of shipping wars.
If you spend any time on A03, you're likely familiar with this concept. Just do your level best to be clear about what your subject and intent in the title, the description, or the beginning of your post. Avoid duplicity and make it as clear as possible what you're up to. Trying to lure in users with inaccurate thread titles or trying to hide how controversial what your saying actually is Will cause problems that admin (Which at the time of writing, is really just me,) will be forced to clean up. Say what you mean, mean what you say, and be up front about it.
And that's a wrap! These should be the basics, and if you have any further questions feel free to check out the DPfanforum's rules post.
[HASH]Important [HASH]Adminpost [HASH]guide [HASH]Help