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| Beware, sister, beware! YADDA YADDA The Blue Peter for chatting |
| Some hermits living in the woods aside, the homo sapiens is a very communicative species, and within the fandom, the urge to discuss the latest episodes, spoilers, actor news, convention tidbits or the measles of your offspring is ever present. For the interested, a plethora of message boards, mailing lists, forums (fori? fores? darn the Latin!) are available and offer a platform to do just this: chat. Some are dedicated to sci-fi in general, others are specific for Stargate, and the number of those dedicated to one character/actor/actress are countless. To find the right place for you to post is not easy. Not everybody feels comfortable and at home everywhere in real life, and cyberspace makes no exception. |
| Dept. for Chatterboxes |
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| IF THERE'S A HOST, YOU ARE A GUEST: As a guest, you got to follow the rules, if these rules are none you can agree with, then it's not the right place for you. Don't start posting on a forum where you know from the beginning that you will not be able to stick to the guidelines. BEFORE YOU START TO POST, LURK: Check out who posts and what is posted. Do you feel comfortable with the "tone" of the board? Are you interested in the discussions that are going on? How are "newbies" welcomed? Do you think you could contribute something? HOSTS AND MODERATORS ... ... can make or break a message board. Do you feel comfortable with their way of moderating the board? How do they handle disputes? Are they fair? Do they listen? If in doubt, don't hesitate to ask them - but do so off list. YOU'VE ALREADY MADE SOME CYBER FRIENDS? Great! Ask them where they post - there might be a lovely message board out there with lotsa kewl folks you've never heard of. |
| So, you finally found THE board, and you decided to start posting. Here are some tips: |
| INTRODUCE YOURSELF You don't have to write your full biography; "Hi, my name is Woofy, I'm new here, followed the discussion for quite a while and I'm looking forward to join in" is just fine. You can also add further information like "I watch Stargate for two years" or "I write fanfic" or "I train race snails" - just don't post any personal details like your address or phone number. DISCUSSIONS You wouldn't slap a complete stranger on the back and say "oy mate, we never met before, but I really got to tell you, you jest ain't got no idea what you're talking about". It's just *not* the right way to start posting, and it's not polite, either. If you don't agree with a post, read it again, make sure you really understood correctly what the other tried to say (irony travels badly online) and if you still disagree, you got every right to say so. But do so in a polite way. Never forget that, behind every nickname and addy, there's a human being with feelings. Don't write anything you wouldn't tell the other person exactly the same way if you'd talk face to face. Manners are all for free, so don't be tight fisted when it comes to use them. DISAGREEMENTS Not every disagreement with one of your statements is automatically an attack. It's just a different point of view. You can try to convince the other of your own, but if all's said and done, and you still disagree, all there is left to do is accept and tolerate. Don't bring up the same old arguments again and again. It's boring boring boring, to say it with Urgo. KEEP PERSONAL DISPUTES OFF THE BOARD You might hate Snuffywuffy_014 for the best of reasons, but also if you think this is the most important thing in the world, your list siblings will most probably not agree. If you got dirty laundry to wash, do so off list or at home. Don't try to win "supporters" on the board - it's a foolproof way to ruin the fun for yourself and anybody else. |
| There is no such thing like a trouble-free message board. You'll always run across the occasional goof. Here's a short list of the most common troublemakers and how to deal with them. |
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| THE TROLL A troll will post a message with the only purpose to kick up a stink. He'll post on a Stargate board that Stargate sucks, on a Jonas Quinn board that he thinks Jonas is a loser, and will post on a Daniel Jackson board that Daniel is a whimp. Then he'll sit back and have the time of his life watching how people blow their tops. A bit like a child who steps in an anthill and watches the ants go nuts. A troll is most of the time not involved with the fandom at all - he just has fun causing trouble. Funny enough, most trolls of this kind are male (now *this* would deserve some in-depth research!). |
| TREATMENT: Ignore. Trolls live on attention, if they don't get it, they'll leave and be annoying somewher else. Never argue with a troll, you'll only make his day. |
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| L'AGENT PROVOCATEUR She (yes, mostly female) is more subtle than a troll. The agent provocateur is mostly well spoken and specialized in barbed comments. She's made her degree in cattiness. You could compare her with somebody who pokes a dog for days and days, and when the dog finally bites back, she will run around and scream "see? see? I always told you it's a bad dog!" Clever dogs will not jump for that bait but yawn and keep on sleeping. TREATMENT: ignore. |
| THE SPELL CHECKER The spell checker will never answer to your post, but keep tabs on your typos and grammar mistakes. Unlike popular belief, spell checkers are not retired teachers or unemployed university professors. They are just goofs. Unfortunately, they can really ruin the fun in posting for newbies who are a little insecure. TREATMENT: ignore or tell them that your way of using grammar is part of your cult. |
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| THE STARGATE GURUS They are the experts. They know every plot hole. They've seen all episodes, read all the magazines and could tell you the name of all the director's dogs. And you are unworthy, because you don't. Just keep one thing in mind: as they spend all of their time watching, studying and breathing Stargate, they most probably don't have much time for their social life, so you shouldn't feel intimidated - ok, they might know what makes a death glider fly, but you have a date on Saturday night. TREATMENT: ignore. And post about your date. |
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| THE LOUIS The Louis got their names from "Louis XIV", the sun king (not to be confused with Ra), who, among many other things, got famous for his quote "L'Etat, c'est moi" - freely translated: I am the state/country. The Louis would say "La Porte des �toiles, c'est moi" - because without them, neither the show nor the fandom could exist, at least from their own point of view. They might be watching Stargate since day one, they once shook hands with the extra who walked thru the gateroom in episode 22, they have a website, they post a lot, they go to every convention, they - a heck, the list is endless. This species will be more patronising than your mother in law, and make it clear that their word weighs more than yours. Don't be fooled: there is no such thing as "good" fans or "bad" fans. And most definitely no such thing as "better" fans. We all watch the same show, that's it. TREATMENT: ignore them. Or, if you feel like it, take the mickie out of them. |
| Now you'll most probably shake your head - but hey, we all can be one of the above once in a while. So don't lash out the first time round somebody steps on your toes - maybe it wasn't meant in a rude way. But if it happens several times - put the person on ignore and save yourself the trouble. |
| There is one thing you should never forget: chatting is supposed to be fun, if unpleasant experiences have a negative influence on your real life, it's time to leave. |
| Before you start to look for a nice corner on the web, you might want to consider the following: |
| LAST BUT NOT LEAST: RECOMMENDED CHATTER PLAYGROUNDS |
| There are so many boards out there: unofficial ones, official ones, unofficial but somehow official ones, boring, funny, dead serious, informative - well, I chose two places I know, where I post and feel comfortable and you might not have come across yet. So it's completely subjective and no judgement on other, not mentioned boards. If you know of a good place - keep us posted, and tell us why you think this is where the geese rock. These are general chats, if you're looking for something else or more specific, like message boards about an actor or character, spoiler- or fanfic lists, please check out the listings on YAHOO GROUPS, DELPHI FORUMS and other places where people gather. |
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| This place is great - mostly friendly people, great discussions (at times, in even gets philosophical! woah!), fab layout, lots of nifty additional services like text formating and picture attachments, and also if you're not exclusively into Stargate, this is the place for you: from Angel to X-Files, every sci-fi or fantasy show has its own place. The mods are doing a fab job, too - so give it a try! |