Only you can prevent forest fires...
 

But only MB can prevent newb flamming.

I was going to write this last night, but I figured it would come out...wrong.

Theres somethings you have to learn over time, but heres some quick "cut to the chase" things you can do to not appear so green:

1. Your location: No one thinks its funny or interesting if you have something other than your actual location. Everyones first inclination is to put something mysterious or poetic. But you know what, we've seen it all. "Trapped in my own mind", "Hell", or "song reference that is non-specific". If you don't want to put where you live, then don't. I don't know what the point of that other crap is, but people either ignore it, or think its stupid.

2. If there was a misunderstanding, or you are trying to dig yourself out of a hole, don't end your responce thread with incindeary. People aren't ever going to get "burned" bad enough to stop fighitng back. More people will get fed up with you and go on the attack. You're new remember, you don't have friends yet.

3. On topic is always a good idea for your first month here, get established as someone credible and sane before you go off the deep end attacking people with non-sensical gibberish. Most times people here are referencing inside jokes or stuff like that. Everyone here is sarcastic. Don't take offence to something someone said to you, if you "get the joke" or at least pretend to and laugh at it, we'll like you more.

4. For god's sake be open minded. Or at least don't empire build with your closed mindedness. We all like most of the major bands. We're heard what we like, we're not going to be persuaded by someone who likes something alot and rams it down our throat on a constant basis. We are apparently rid of one of those, we'd like not to see anymore.

If you can think of anymore, please help the community in giving our newblets some insight. That idiot telling me that The Knack is the greatest band ever may one day contribute something intelligent to the conversation.

Great points there Big3. The best being

well its true, and to elaborate on that, there aren't people who know you're not a ****head. If thats wall we'e going on, then thats what we think.

I don't know about the location thing. I mean, I don't really give a toss where someone lives. The only people that I'd honestly care about where they lived are the ones that stick around. And if they do stick around, we all find out eventually.

And I don't mind if they put a joke or something witty in their location. It's almost showing that they have a personality to look forward to. Kinda ties in with the sarcasm statement you made. As in, you'll be in better light if you can laugh something off. I'm all for humour. More so then knowing someone lives 6 seas away.

But I agree, if you're going to put "hell" please don't. It's not worth the effort of writing those four letters.

i nominate this for being stickied. good thread. definitely a good "welcome" sign for the newbies.

as for the location....well..i thought mine was funny when i joined.. and i just havent bothered to change it.

But I think the thing that Big3 was trying to get accross is that this is something which can make or break your reputation. So if some respected member starts flaming a newb because he has something witty in his location then everybody is going to go with the Respected Member. So just don't put it there or put your proper one in.

I also nominate this for being stickied, would have been good to have when I joined (even though I am still new)

personally i have no inclination to change it. ive never been flamed for it. in fact no ones ever said anything to me about it. and if people dont already know that i live in san diego, california.....then they dont deserve to know...or dont care.

My point in that was, some people have things that only compound their newbality. That humerous location is one of them. If I have something stupid and I write logical things, no one is going to care. But rare is the newb that writes something intelligent. Be honest. This thread was designed to get the heat off of them.

Now post more information to help them out and quit btiching at eash other.

That was a very well thought out post containing good points.I just wish it were here when I joined.Anyway what's done is done.
I'm not sucking up either.

I too nominate it to be stickied.

Sorry but that doesn't happen.

I can't think of any respected member here that would wander into a thread, see a crap attempt at a location and flame them for it. It just doesn't happen and if it did, there would be no mass swarming of respected members. We aren't that elitest here. I don't think thats what the big3 meant at all.

Especially after the upheavel this forum has gone through in the last month in an attempt to make the joining of a new person more welcoming.