What do you want to know when joining ENWorld?

[Blue]

We have a strong list of community guidelines which should always be the first place to send new members.

But, let's face it, we have a huge variety of posters. Worldwide reach with different cultures represented. People who played Chainmail when it came out to people who are just joining our hobby. A wide variety of neurodivergent and neurotypical posters and readers, some of whom will do better with a hard list of rules.

So I put this together as a question thread, where you can post your thoughts and they can be voted up and down by others. Reading the Community Guidelines is assumed, everyone is presented those when creating a new account. But what else should folks know?

EDIT: Hmm, can a question thread only have one solution to be voted on per poster?

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

1. People like what they like.

2. Elves are dead-eyed, soulless abominations.

3. It is always a better idea to try and convince someone to try something by telling them that this new thing is good and fun instead of trying to convince them that they are bad or ignorant for liking what they like.

4. There are only two things in the world that I cannot abide; people who are intolerant of the roleplaying choices of others, and bards.

5. You should try and understand why people like what they like instead of assuming people don't know better.

6. I don't know about you, but I take comfort knowing that he's out there. The Dude. Takin' er easy for all us sinners arguing on enworld.

 

[schneeland]

If someone puts you on Ignore, you should probably take a minute to think about why. Sometimes it's a you problem. Sometimes it's a them problem. Sometimes it's a both of you problem.

I agree with most of what you wrote, but this one might pose a challenge. Or rather two.

1. You might not know when someone ignores you (as far as I know you can only check indirectly).
2. If someone ignores you and has two-way ignore as well as hiding ignored content enabled, their content will be hidden for you - so if a discussion seems odd and it appears that you are missing parts of it, that might actually be the case (as I learned only recently).

 

[payn]

Don’t hold onto things to tightly here. This is a great place to hash out ideas or discourse in the Hobby but not to be rude or angry about it.

 

[Tonguez]

2. Elves are dead-eyed, soulless abominations.

how do I up-vote this?

 

[MGibster]

Yup. Dare us to ban you, we’ll do it immediately. No exceptions.

A wise man once told me, "Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball," and the older I get the more I understand what he meant.

 

[The Firebird]

This forum has a different vibe than any I've been in because of the Pineapple thread. There are places where conflict is overt, and places where that kind of criticism is a no go. But I haven't seen a place where subtweets are allowed/encouraged but cordoned off into their own zone.

The (+) thread is another thing I've never seen before, and it took me a while to find a definition. I'm not sure if that was even the right one.

Then, there is the house style and house opinions on any issue (meaning, held by a majority of posters). Every forum has these and they change from time to time so you can't enumerate them, but you do have to hang around a place to learn what they are. And it is nice to know to learn to bounds of what is worth talking about. It reminds me a post, seen elsewhere:

 

[payn]

This forum has a different vibe than any I've been in because of the Pineapple thread. There are places where conflict is overt, and places where that kind of criticism is a no go. But I haven't seen a place where subtweets are allowed/encouraged but cordoned off into their own zone.

The (+) thread is another thing I've never seen before, and it took me a while to find a definition. I'm not sure if that was even the right one.

Then, there is the house style and house opinions on any issue (meaning, held by a majority of posters). Every forum has these and they change from time to time so you can't enumerate them, but you do have to hang around a place to learn what they are. And it is nice to know to learn to bounds of what is worth talking about. It reminds me a post, seen elsewhere:

View attachment 417210

I think EN World not being the home base of D&D (not being run by the devs of the game or the company that publishes it) has made a lot of difference. I feel a unique balance between folks who really enjoy D&D and those who really dislike it exist here. Not only that, but you can discuss quite a few other RPGs here in a similar fashion. Often times forums run by game companies, player run reddits/discords, end up being pretty singular in thoughts and opinions. Which if you are a die hard fan is great, but if you are more a connoisseur of the hobby in general, it can lack nuance.

I've seen the differences actually between sites. There was a poster that had opinions about game X. They went over to the forums for game X run by the publishers of game X. Started a thread that was very provocative about how the game was to mired in tradition and that it sucked balls and needed all these changes and that these objective opinions would soon be assaulted by rabid fanbois who also suck. Then, after the poster was bounced out of X forums, came here to EN World. They posted a well thought out and reasonable essay on their opinions on game X. The difference was night and day in tone and civility. I would have let it slide but after the essay the poster went on to complain about how they were "assaulted" for the opinions at game X home forums. I couldnt help but point hat out at the time.

Last but not least, the moderation is pretty good here. I think EN World mods do their best to guide conversations into more civil places and give folks chances to correct when they are approaching incivility. If the brief description of the moderation is not enough, they are willing to take it to DM. Many sites wont give any explanation of why something is being moderated (either they dont have the staff to do it properly or just dont see the value) and will simply delete and eventually ban. I've also seen sites where the mods will cuss and insult folks they are moderating showing considerable bias against them; I avoid such sites the most. EN World has curated a collection of enthusiasts and experts that are enjoyable to engage with as a result of their practices. An internet rarity.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

This forum has a different vibe than any I've been in because of the Pineapple thread. There are places where conflict is overt, and places where that kind of criticism is a no go. But I haven't seen a place where subtweets are allowed/encouraged but cordoned off into their own zone.

I think I should address this, since it was brought up- I started the thread and created a specific and bold warning about that specific issue.

The Pineapple Express is a best darn hootenanny on the internet- heavy on the hoot, light on the nanny. While I haven't been posting there a lot recently (I haven't been posting a lot recently, period), it's basically just a place for people to hang out and shoot the breeze. I love it almost as much as I hate bards.

Sometimes people that are on the thread need to unload- about something in their life, about something frustrating, or about the creeping horror at the realization that the only thing that will outlive the heat-death of the universe is the two people arguing about the merits of 4e. Whatever.

But all forum rules apply to that thread. The Pineapple Express is NOT a sidechannel to attack specific identifiable threads and people on enworld, and if that occurs you should report it.

 

[GMMichael]

4. There are only two things in the world that I cannot abide; people who are intolerant of the roleplaying choices of others, and bards.

There it is. Some of us hate bards, and that's okay. But secretly, we love them.

When a reply page capped at 10 replies only shows 7, it's because someone has ignored you.

Before you click "post reply," make sure the previous reply occurred in the last 365 days. Preferably sooner.

 

[The Firebird]

But all forum rules apply to that thread. The Pineapple Express is NOT a sidechannel to attack specific identifiable threads and people on enworld, and if that occurs you should report it.

I guess, as someone who has only been active here over the past several months, I've never gotten where the line regarding "identifiable" is. I've never seen someone call someone out by name. But I often see terms like "that thread", where the context is clear to anyone following the forum. In fact that is often the point of the post--for the reader to understand without saying names. It happens often enough that it appeared to me to be all good.