After some heated debate among the moderators and an even more heated debate in the forums I’ve decided to put together a little pep talk on the subject of forum etiquette.
The internet can be a particularly negative place when it comes to commenting. Search any of the top forums or websites that feature anonymous commenting and you’ll quickly come to the same conclusion. It would seem that certain people love nothing more than to look at someone else’s efforts, no matter how ambitious, and suggest that they could have done better... frequently in a rude manner. While some commenters can be constructive, others take the opportunity just to be insulting. Everyone’s a critic when it comes to commenting.
Here at the 405th forums we have noticed a sharp trend towards negative comments in work-in-progress threads in recent months. This is both a sign of our growth as a forum and an indication of success on the goal of gathering a widely distributed community of like minded Halo costumers. But as our numbers grow, so does the need for supervising the group.
From the establishment of the moderating team at the 405th, we strived to preserve freedom of expression in the forums, putting very few rules in place to govern. The intent was to allow people to behave as they felt was appropriate, and to only correct the offenses that ruined the experience for others.
As times changed we enacted some rules to help keep the peace. The
“Guidelines for a Better Forum” was my first attempt to explain and reinforce the type of conduct we ask members to exercise on this board. I did my very best to represent the same spirit of freedom that Adam wanted to preserve while trying to imply some level of order.
Once again we have reached a critical point in our growth as a forum, and have discovered new levels of order that are required. This does not mean that all the rules are changing, only that we have found loopholes that we feel the need to correct.
In the original “Guidelines for a Better Forum” rule #1 may have been too vague:
1. Be nice… Treat your fellow members and moderators with respect.
Beyond this we’d like you to consider that when you join this website, you are joining the forum ‘team’. Teammates should not be shooting at each other, in Halo, or on in the forums of the 405th.
We’re all here because we want to collaborate, contribute, and learn. If that’s the case then we should all have some consideration for others on our ‘team’. We’re all entitled to our opinions, unpopular or not. But before you post a harsh criticism of someone else’s work, you should ask yourself this:
“would I be offended if someone said this about me?”
We’re not expecting miracles, but we would like you all to treat each other with a little more respect and dignity. Everything here is essentially volunteer work. Every model, every tutorial, every WIP-to-Complete thread in this forum was posted from a members blood, sweat and generosity to share with us. It is inherent to all volunteer projects done out of the goodness of someone's heart that they should be treated with appropriate respect. We are all volunteers here, and our goal is to share our knowledge for the benefit of our growing community. Those who have not vested their own time, money, and effort to share their knowledge do not have the right to criticize, harass, or otherwise suggest that someone who has been generous enough to share with us is in the wrong.
Constructive criticism is welcome… but destructive criticism is not.
We don't expect anyone here to change who they are as a person. Productivity is directly related to positivity, so perhaps some self-control is necessary for people who refuse to change for the betterment of our community. I don't like the idea of censoring anyone here, but I refuse to let anyone be insulted for the work that they have done for our collective benefit.
We’re all here to cooperate with each other, and to work towards a greater goal. If you aren’t here for that goal, then perhaps this isn’t the right place for you. I personally question why anyone who doesn't work well with others would want to be a part of our group in the first place.
This is a team, and we are Spartans. Every Spartan knows that his defense is only as good as the soldier next to him. If you do not protect your fellow teammate, that person will not do the same for you. Our strength is in our teamwork.
Only nice people get Halos..
Offer help before scorn
Encourage each other, courteously
Keep your criticism constructive
Attack your ally and you will face the Hammer
And most importantly:
Rule #1: Be nice… Treat your fellow members and moderators with respect.
That is all.
