Since we have a lot of new members here, it may be a good idea to consider some of the basic rules of "Netiquette": the act of posting courteously. Even for us veteran posters, this bears notice.
1) Remember that above and beyond all things, this is a public forum. Your words are here for anyone who is a member OR visitor here to read. Please bear this in mind when making posts to the forum.
2) Remember that this is an international forum. We have valued members here from all over the world, not just the United States, even though Ironworks is hosted in the US. Consequently, not everyone's native language is English. Please refrain from making comments about people's grammar and spelling. Even if their native language is English, they may have problems typing or may have dyslexia. Grant them the courtesy you would wish to have. After all, we all make typos!
Conversely, do edit your posts. No one wants to straggle through a bunch of badly spelled words and improper grammar. If you know you have a problem with this, use a word processor to compose your posts, spell and grammar check them there, then copy and paste them into IW.
3) Along those same lines, also grant posters the "benefit of the doubt" when posting. There are vast cultural differences here; people with different senses of humor and points of view. Try not to automatically assume that someone is being insulting. It could be humor on their part. On the other hand, for humor, use the smilies. Annoying as they are, they help convey additional clarity and meaning in the posts.
4) Remember first and foremost that the other members here at IW are HUMAN BEINGS with feelings and sensitivities. We are not amorphous, faceless "blobs" in cyberspace or characters (bits and bytes) in an online game. Give everyone here the respect you would like to be shown. Have fun, but be courteous!
Simply stated, behave on-line as you would in person. Watch what you type and how you word potentially volatile statements. Assume that what you say will be taken in the worst possible way, and that if someone is upset enough by it, it will come back to haunt you.
5) Finally, be forgiving. Just as you are trying to balance your valuable time with a desire to get your point across as respectably as possible, so are others doing the same. Sometimes it's all-too-tempting to tear someone apart for an obvious grammatical error, misspelling, or blatant display of stupidity. What we must keep in mind, though, is that what we are reading is only one small piece of the person on the other end, who is typing away just like we are. Perhaps s/he was uninformed--or in a hurry--or simply made a mistake. Regardless, each person is deserving of more than one chance before judgment is passed. If someone initially strikes you as inept, allow him/her another opportunity to confirm your judgment. And if you can't suppress a response, a kind word or two of advice in a helpful tone will leave a much better impression than a verbal barrage will. Always give the benefit of the doubt, and be kind with criticism.
Cheers, and happy postings!
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