The next-best thing to gaming is reading about gaming. That’s why you’re here, right? Blogs and forums are a big part of the gaming hobby, and a lot of fun. Which is how I came to be Lead Mod on the D20 forums. Based on my experiences, here’s how to have lots of cool discussions about games–without me or some other Inquisitor with Mod-permissions interrupting.
1 – Read the Code of Conduct, Forum Guides, Welcome Thread/PM or whatever the site calls its rules for how to behave. These vary from site to site. While D20radio.com bans posts about the “The Big Three” (politics, sexuality, religion), other sites may be fine with one or more, judge case-by-case, or limit them to certain areas. The venerable Star Wars RPG Net Holonet Forum, for example, is more liberal about post content in the Play by Post area than other forums. Other rules are less about avoiding offense than practicalities. There are some D20 forums I am more strict with than others, because I am the sole mod, which means if a problem comes up, it might be hours before it gets dealt with, if I am at work or internet is out in my area. And it should go without saying–don’t just read the rules, follow them! If you can’t, either stick to lurking or find a site where the rules don’t clash with your style.
2 – Lurk first. You will find out what the community is really like and get clues as to whether this might be a good site for you. Are they polite, helpful and welcoming? Does it look like the site isn’t being maintained or not many people have been by in the last year? Is there a lot going on in forums for the games and other geek stuff that you are into? This last may not be a problem, if you don’t mind being the one who tries to drum up interest in a system, but if you need fast answers to a couple questions, you may be better off going to a site where there a lot of active users who talk about that system. Do you like the tone(s) of the frequent posters? Do some posts or individual users seem downright misogynistic or otherwise hateful? (I hate to bring this up, but this is a nasty problem that needs stamped out ASAP.) Even if the site is okay with (some) profanity or posts about The Big Three, you shouldn’t be seeing disrespect–with or without vulgarity–directed at women, adherents of religions or any other group.
Related to this, do the Mods seem to be on the site, paying attention and dealing with any issues? It can sometimes be hard to figure out if Mods are taking action, as much of it may be done in private. D20 Mod Staff only use public warning posts–what I call “Play Nicely Posts”–for minor issues, such as discussions that look like they are headed towards nasty arguments. More serious problems–thankfully extremely rare because it is a very good community–we deal with by PM, email or editing out a few words. So all you may have to go on is how often do the Mods appear to be on the forums, taking part in discussions, where they will also be able to see what is happening. Plus, it really is a case of “No news is good news.”
3 – D-BAD (Don’t be a dick!) applies not just to playing games but posting about them as well. Be polite. If someone else is being a dick, troll, etc., don’t reply in kind, either in the thread or via PM. Let a Mod know so they can handle it. What if someone has annoyed you so much you don’t want to read anything they post, ever again? Ignore them. Most forums will have an option to ignore posts by given forum users; it’s called Foe on D20.
4 – Agree to disagree. There are some topics where you are never going to change someone’s mind–the merits of D&D4e comes to mind. This can also happen with less, ah, polarizing topics. If there’s a cycle of “Widgeteer can’t fix hammers because they are weapons”/”Nope, they’re tools”/”Uh, warhammers?”… then it is time to go on to another topic because no one has been moved by anyone else’s points.
These are just a few ways to make your forum experiences–on whatever webpage–pleasanter. For you, for other posters, and most of all for the moderators. We’d rather spend our time on the sites we moderate reading and replying to posts, enjoying one of our hobbies–not telling people to behave themselves.
Linda Whitson
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