Please read the following
dos and
don'ts when you're posting on the Ober website. It's all here to make your time, and that of others, a happy llama existence.
1.
Beware of your language.This goes to more than curse words. When humans are communicating outside of the net, you have body language to fall back on. When communicating on the Net, sometimes that emoticon just doesn't go far enough to make up for a poorly worded post that could set others unintentionally off-side. So before you post, consider if your words can be harmful, wonder if you are actually saying what you mean. If you're unsure, don't be frightened to say in the post "look, I'm having a hard time phrasing this argument" or "I'm not sure how to go about saying this". A little caution and consideration can go a long way. Obviously as time goes on, you'll be better able to understand your fellow Obernetters and be able to push boundaries a bit more in your jokes. But even the Older obernetters need to be careful when it comes to talking to Newbies so they don' alienate these people before they've even started to enjoy Obernet.
2.
Be careful with your wordsLiekcuzwekanallunnerstanwotimsayin. If you want people to respond to your post, post it in a way they can read. Spaces and paragraphing are not to be shrugged off as some out-dated way to type. They can actually help people understand what you're saying. Maybe try leaving one line space between paragraphs so even more people can follow your post, especially if it's long. Stream of consciousness writing (where a person writes in one giant paragraph with little to no full-stops - essentially one long sentence with no capitalisation of words) can be incredibly off-putting and most people will simply pass your post by without looking.
(note the space here, between paragraphs)
Never underestimate the power of a properly structured post. You'll be getting more attention before you know it.
3.
DON'T SCREAM YOUR POINT. In Netspeak, writing a word in entire capitals is SCREAMING. There is no need to write continually in capitals. It doesn't go anywhere towards making you look good or nice. If you wish to emphasis a point
italics go a long way. I'm not saying never use this device to write, just be careful with its use. Let people know that when you're using it, it really is something to be excited/angry about; not something for them to say "oh, there's so and so squealing again, I'll go read another post until she gets over her/himself."
4.
Be nice, respect those who have come before, don't be an egotistical know-it-all.You don' know everything. No one does. Be free and share your advice, but be willing to take as much as you get. You never know who you might be talking to anyway. On Obernet, we have several professional writers, doctors-in-training, computer technicians, etc. Before you know it you could be alienating a group of people by saying a person is wrong even though they've got the years of experience and you might not even be out of high school yet. Just the same, if you are that older person, don't think or say you know everything. Here at Obernet we respect all people, regardless of your age. The opinion of a 12 year-old counts as much as a 30 year-old.
We all like to share advice and read stories and perspectives of other people, but please don't put anyone down. You won't be endearing yourself to anyone, and such behaviour can often also be in violation of the
Message Board Lore if it continues to be abrasive.
So basically, be nice, respect each other's opinions and we'll all get along lovely-like.
5.
So you now want to give advice...There are plenty of places in Obernet where we encourage people to share not only their ideas, but also their artwork or stories. When you are commenting on these, please make the comments constructive, but also at the level the person desires. Do not give a person a Level Red critique when they only wanted a Level Green.

.
This works both ways, though. If you are placing up your work to be commented on, please accept the comments. They are not personal insults, they are critiques. If someone's comment feels like an insult,
report the post to Elspeth (see below) and do not retaliate, for you may have simply misunderstood their meaning.
We like to read new people's work, and see their artwork, and if they want comments, you will generally find people on the boards willing to give some. But please, whether you're the owner of the work, or the person giving the critique, be courteous and kind, and really take into consideration point four.
6.
Make it look prettyNot all of us are blessed enough to have the world of broadband or higher. For this reason we ask that you keep all your images no larger than
500px x 500px and to keep your sigs no higher than
200px and no wider than
500px. Please also keep their file size low, so as not to break people's download limits for those using the internet from places other than home. Signatures should be no more than 75kb and avatars 4-40kb.
Also, no one wants to have an epileptic fit. It's not pretty inducing headaches in your fellow Obernetters. So please keep animations to a minimum. If you have them, don' make them flash or move too fast. Smooth transitions or dull colours are better for animation sigs as they ensure people won't be getting a headache.
Another point is to respect other people's work. Don't steal images. If you are caught using someone else's image on another site, it won't be appreciated by anyone on Obernet. A lot of people on Ober design their own images, and they are thus their property. You take it, you're stealing. If you are using an image from someone else from another site, try to acknowledge it somewhere on your sig. Maybe a link back to their site below the image. No one likes stealing. Give credit where credit is due.
For more information on image matters, please see the
Message Board Lore7.
If it's dead, let it stay deadThe Internet moves faster than you do, topical threads today are usually three pages back the next. Unless you have something truely of interest to add to a thread that hasn't been touched in 6 months, don't post there. A simple "wow that's interesting" will earn you a disgruntled "I clicked onto this thread for what??" from your fellow Obernetters.
The only area where you can get away with dredging up old threads is on the Obernet Theories board. But here too, it would be appreciated if you wrote more than one line.
The general rule is if it isn't on the first page, write more than one sentence. If it hasn't been touched in over a year, it had better be three paragraphs.
8.
We Love our Guilds, but we don't hate the othersShare the love around, my fair Obernetters. Guilds are in place to help you, to help take some of the organising burden off the MoOs and Guardians. They are there to help us organise competitions and add a bit of fun and flavour to the whole Obernet experience. It's all fun and games. Please remember this. This isn' Harry Potter, there is no specific 'evil' Guild, no one steals anything from others, and there's no need to alienate people purely based on their Guild. Keep the Guild competitions fun and light, and you'll start seeing they serve you better.
9.
Talk to you MoOs and Guardians.We're here to help. Really, we are. If you don't understand anything, if you are having a problem with someone, talk to us. If there is a post you're worried about, why not run it past one of us first? If someone's posted something you find offensive, and aren' sure if you should, why not "Report" it?
All reports are confidential. If your report raises an issue that needs to be discussed with another member,
your name will not be mentioned.

<-- this button appears at the top of every post. Click it to report any particular post to Elspeth.
This will let the local MoOs and Guardians where you're having problems. You can even send us a PM yourself, or chat to one of us on MSN if you catch us there. If you're having a problem, we really do want to help you fix it. We really do wish to make your time on Obernet happy and fun.
This netiquette guideline has been designed in order to minimise conflict and maximise your enjoyment of the site. Our MoOs and Guardians have the power to enforce such rules and act on behalf of Obernewtyn.net's best interests.