Good Forum Etiquette

cloudy

New Member
Hello everyone! I am new to the 405th and also forums in general (I mostly use discord). Because of that, I am not super familiar with the etiquette of forums. I looked it up on google and the things I found said:

Don't doxx people (obviously)
Don't make a whole post in all caps
Don't be rude

My question is, are there any other unspoken rules that I (or any newcomers) should know? Thank you!
 
Welcome!
Those are certainly some good ones. Others guidelines generally would include

  • Avoid necroposting - check the post before yours and if it's old (good rule of thumb is if it's > 3mo and not your thread it's likely a necropost. Doesn't mean you can't reply, just be aware and ask yourself if what you have to add to the thread is wort pushing down other, newer content.
    • We have a nice little banner that warns you about it too when you go to post.
    • Example
      1712766257474.png
  • If you forgot something or want to add to something in your post and no one has commented since then consider editing your post rather than adding a new one.
    • This is especially true if your last post was recent
    • Obviously new posts on your build thread for progress or splitting sections of the build (e.g. post for forearms, post for shins, etc.) are fine

I'm sure you'll be fine. You'll pick up on any etiquette as you use and learn more about the forums.
 
Biggest thing, Take your time.


Unlike Discord or other Social Media applications there is not truly a sense of immediacy here and as such there is less of a feeling of urgency. You can take the time to craft your submissions or responses.

One aspect of this is that making multiple posts in rapid succession is most often viewed as "Spamming" and is frowned upon. This can happen in two instances:
1. Making multiple posts in a row in the same Topic is viewed as poor etiquette, as Fallen already said, if you have another thought and no one else has responded you can always edit your post to include any updated thoughts or ideas.

2. It is also considered poor etiquette to go through and make a bunch of posts in a row in multiple topics, especially if you are not making substantial contributions to the thread, only posting something like "Looks Good." Making a bunch of posts in a row pushes down other active threads, and if the comments are simplistic remarks like this, it can cause other more helpful comments or posts to get lost in the noise. As mentioned, a Forum is a longer form text based, and so if you are going to respond to someone else's thread, take the time to craft a well thought out, substantial reply.

Additionally, while it isn't outright frowned or thought of as poor etiquette, it also isn't necessary to use internet shorthand or acronyms as this format allows for complete thoughts. That said, it can be poor etiquette to end literally every single post or sentence with "lol" or "rofl" when you are just discussing a build and not actually sharing a joke or humorous anecdote.


Since everything is categorized and organized via the various sub-forums, it is good to keep things in the appropriate areas. Discuss your Helldiver costume in the "Non-Halo Costumes" section and ask about how to modify a model in Blender or Armorsmith in the "Halo 3D Modeling" section. Posting the appropriate area will also mean you will get more eyes on your topic and that people who are interested in that aspect of the Forum will have a better chance of seeing your thread.

Going along with that, since you have the time to craft your responses and posts, it is also a good idea to be informative when creating the Title of your thread. Just naming your thread "Costume Help" does not give anyone an idea of what kind of help you need. If you need help with your 3D printer, putting that in the title of your thread is a better way to get the attention of folks who are 3D printer experts and are best informed to offer advice.

It is also a good idea to always search for an answer to your question before making a new thread. With literally thousands of build threads and work in progress threads, there is a good chance someone has encountered and talked about your question, topic, problem, or idea. You might be tempted to think you are the first person to need Foam optimized files for Chief's armor in Infinite or wanted to make an ODST visor without a vacuum form table, but with the thousands of Man Hours poured into the thousands of topics and threads here, odds are good someone else has had the same thought. So, it's always good to utilize the search function here if you have a question, before creating a whole new topic:

You can also use Google; with the application of Boolean Search Operators, you can find responses that prioritize threads here on the Forums.

For example, you can go on Google, or Bing or another search engine, and type in, "ODST Visors AND 405th" and first page of results will be threads here on the Forum about how members made their own ODST visors:

Finally, keep in mind that all our free Pepakura and EVA Foam Optimized Templates are in the Armory:

Our curated list of Free 3D print files is in the Index here:

Our Tutorial Index can be found here:
 

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