Post by monokr0me on Feb 17, 2011 2:14:15 GMT
Introduction
Hello, and welcome to the Exclusive Guide to Arguing and Other Etiquette, written by Monokr0me. Here, you will learn when and when not to argue, how to correctly argue, how to become a respected member, and much more. I guarantee that once you start following this guide, you should quickly find yourself with more friends and karma than you can manage, as well as being a better person in general.
Arguing: Do's and Don'ts
We've all been there. An opinion has been stated, and you just can't agree with it. But, wait! Don't go rushing in with your contradictory opinion, or you could be in for a serious zing! First of all, formulate a valid reason of why you disagree. "That's not how ur sposed to" is not a valid reason for anything and will get you zing!ed faster than the speed of light. First, cut open their opinion with the scalpel of observation and cross-reference it with your opinion to discover just what exactly you are differing on. Now you must prepare yourself to take an unbiased stance and, using as much factual support as possible, discover who's opinion is truly the correct one.
Now, if you've come this far and your opinion is still superior, do not run to your opponent in chat, screaming "YOUR OPINION IS WRONG AND I HAVE PROVEN IT TO BE SO, YOU ARROGANT FOOL!" at the top of your microphone. This will not only lessen others opinions of you, but may even lead them to ignore you completely, shunned as a member of the despised Community. To avoid this sticky situation, you must carefully and politely call out your opponent. I suggest doing this in a manner similar to the following example: "My dear fellow, I have taken your opinion and, upon further research, I believe it is not so." Now that you have their attention, you should lead them through your research as to why they are wrong. Remember to stay polite and friendly, no matter what the circumstances ("I must disagree with your rather crude statement against my late grandmother, and here is why...") keeping your calm is the key to coming out on top of the situation.
In the event that your opponent goes into an inexplicable rage, I suggest you stop any contact with him, and let him cool down. If he presses the matter further, respectfully tell him your refusal to continue this madness and contact a staff member immediately. This will usually end with the enraged hooligan being banned from the forum/chat, and you gaining respect for staying mature in a heated situation. Remember that, no matter how obviously the facts stand, some out there will not budge on their opinion if it means defying the laws of the universe.
Posting Etiquette
Now, you may be a successful arguer at this point, but why are people still treating you like slime? The answer may lie in the way you post. When arriving on the internet, a mature individual will soon realize that the majority of annoying hooligans will not make any attempt to properly utilize the English language, and instead will butcher it in any ways imaginable (and some that are not). So if your English is less than perfect, it may lead others to instantly look down upon you no matter what the context of your butchered speech is. Thus, I will present to you some simple, nearly foolproof solutions.
The first step you should take is to utilize a feature implemented in all modern browsers: the spellcheck. Whenever you, by mistake or otherwise, misspell an English word, your browser will kindly point you to this mistake by way of a red squiggle lying beneath it. Using a device running Windows, you can simply right-click the squiggle and select from a list of suggestions the word you were trying to spell. This simple tool will ensure that, for the most part, your post remains error free, spelling wise.
But that's not all there is to grammar. The next important part of English is your punctuation. This group of characters includes, but is not limited to,
But, you may ask, I do use punctuation, and I am still lacking respect!!!!!!!!!!!! The secret here is to not overdo it; One or two "!" marks will do. In fact, some may even consider you as a spammer or even a troll if you overuse these powerful symbols. So the next time you are tempted to hold down Shift+1, just remember that it may cost you some respect.
Following the previous two articles, you should now have quite a stack of karma racked up. But that isn't all their is to it. Soon, I shall have guides on further increasing your standing in the community, and may even go as far as having yourself nominated for staff! I hope this guide has helped you as much as it hasn't helped the ones who didn't read it.
Regarding: Trolls
Now, the first and most important thing about trolls, is that they solely exist to make you angry. This means the more you argue, flame, or respond in any way, the more they laugh at you. You cannot win against a troll. They always have a comeback, and if you try to argue you will look like a fool. If you see a troll topic, or you are being trolled, ignore them and report the incident to staff. Replying to a troll topic, no matter what you say, means they win again. And once trolls see how weak-minded a community is, more will come with more and and generate more spam and idiocy.
How to identify a troll
A troll will attack in several ways. Many trolls will either use absolutely atrocious grammar or a finely tuned "mature" style of grammar. Either way, their words will nearly always be full of satire, sarcasm, majorly illogical statements, or just plain stupidity. Another popular method of trolling is to post something that sounds debatably true, so that those weak-minded fools who want to look smart will start a massive flaming debate, despite the troll only making a single post in the entire incident. Such are the ways of a master troll.
Sincerely,
Monokr0me
[MORE TO COME]
Hello, and welcome to the Exclusive Guide to Arguing and Other Etiquette, written by Monokr0me. Here, you will learn when and when not to argue, how to correctly argue, how to become a respected member, and much more. I guarantee that once you start following this guide, you should quickly find yourself with more friends and karma than you can manage, as well as being a better person in general.
Arguing: Do's and Don'ts
We've all been there. An opinion has been stated, and you just can't agree with it. But, wait! Don't go rushing in with your contradictory opinion, or you could be in for a serious zing! First of all, formulate a valid reason of why you disagree. "That's not how ur sposed to" is not a valid reason for anything and will get you zing!ed faster than the speed of light. First, cut open their opinion with the scalpel of observation and cross-reference it with your opinion to discover just what exactly you are differing on. Now you must prepare yourself to take an unbiased stance and, using as much factual support as possible, discover who's opinion is truly the correct one.
Now, if you've come this far and your opinion is still superior, do not run to your opponent in chat, screaming "YOUR OPINION IS WRONG AND I HAVE PROVEN IT TO BE SO, YOU ARROGANT FOOL!" at the top of your microphone. This will not only lessen others opinions of you, but may even lead them to ignore you completely, shunned as a member of the despised Community. To avoid this sticky situation, you must carefully and politely call out your opponent. I suggest doing this in a manner similar to the following example: "My dear fellow, I have taken your opinion and, upon further research, I believe it is not so." Now that you have their attention, you should lead them through your research as to why they are wrong. Remember to stay polite and friendly, no matter what the circumstances ("I must disagree with your rather crude statement against my late grandmother, and here is why...") keeping your calm is the key to coming out on top of the situation.
In the event that your opponent goes into an inexplicable rage, I suggest you stop any contact with him, and let him cool down. If he presses the matter further, respectfully tell him your refusal to continue this madness and contact a staff member immediately. This will usually end with the enraged hooligan being banned from the forum/chat, and you gaining respect for staying mature in a heated situation. Remember that, no matter how obviously the facts stand, some out there will not budge on their opinion if it means defying the laws of the universe.
Posting Etiquette
Now, you may be a successful arguer at this point, but why are people still treating you like slime? The answer may lie in the way you post. When arriving on the internet, a mature individual will soon realize that the majority of annoying hooligans will not make any attempt to properly utilize the English language, and instead will butcher it in any ways imaginable (and some that are not). So if your English is less than perfect, it may lead others to instantly look down upon you no matter what the context of your butchered speech is. Thus, I will present to you some simple, nearly foolproof solutions.
The first step you should take is to utilize a feature implemented in all modern browsers: the spellcheck. Whenever you, by mistake or otherwise, misspell an English word, your browser will kindly point you to this mistake by way of a red squiggle lying beneath it. Using a device running Windows, you can simply right-click the squiggle and select from a list of suggestions the word you were trying to spell. This simple tool will ensure that, for the most part, your post remains error free, spelling wise.
But that's not all there is to grammar. The next important part of English is your punctuation. This group of characters includes, but is not limited to,
. , ? ! ; :
But, you may ask, I do use punctuation, and I am still lacking respect!!!!!!!!!!!! The secret here is to not overdo it; One or two "!" marks will do. In fact, some may even consider you as a spammer or even a troll if you overuse these powerful symbols. So the next time you are tempted to hold down Shift+1, just remember that it may cost you some respect.
Following the previous two articles, you should now have quite a stack of karma racked up. But that isn't all their is to it. Soon, I shall have guides on further increasing your standing in the community, and may even go as far as having yourself nominated for staff! I hope this guide has helped you as much as it hasn't helped the ones who didn't read it.
Regarding: Trolls
Now, the first and most important thing about trolls, is that they solely exist to make you angry. This means the more you argue, flame, or respond in any way, the more they laugh at you. You cannot win against a troll. They always have a comeback, and if you try to argue you will look like a fool. If you see a troll topic, or you are being trolled, ignore them and report the incident to staff. Replying to a troll topic, no matter what you say, means they win again. And once trolls see how weak-minded a community is, more will come with more and and generate more spam and idiocy.
How to identify a troll
A troll will attack in several ways. Many trolls will either use absolutely atrocious grammar or a finely tuned "mature" style of grammar. Either way, their words will nearly always be full of satire, sarcasm, majorly illogical statements, or just plain stupidity. Another popular method of trolling is to post something that sounds debatably true, so that those weak-minded fools who want to look smart will start a massive flaming debate, despite the troll only making a single post in the entire incident. Such are the ways of a master troll.
Sincerely,
Monokr0me
[MORE TO COME]
[img src="http://i.imgur.com/BKhxo.png[/img
[M:977802]
