General Guide to The MCSG Forums! *Suggested reading*

[TheRandomMan1000]

http://www.minecraftsurvivalgames.com/threads/no-no-suggestions-updated-read-before-posting.32625/For those of you who don't know, I recently launched a campaign to help re-populate the forums and the intellectuality they used to hold. You don't need to read it, but the thread describing it can be found here! But, suffice it to say that this thread is a part of that initiative.

To Start...
Welcome to the MCSG forums!
The following post goes into detail on several topics I find are essential to navigating, politely and intellectually using, and understanding our forums. You don't need to read it all, but I suggest checking out the "Etiquette" section, the "Forum Categories" section, and the "Useful threads" section.
* = Suggested Reading​

The following includes...

• An introduction to the forums
• A list of useful threads
• An introduction to the various forum sections
• Proper forum etiquette
• Intro Hacker and Rule breaker Reporting
• Tips to a successful thread
• Account interaction/uses

It's going to be a lot. So I suggest looking at sections you feel will help you. The others are there for people they pertain to, and for reference on other threads. Without further ado, let's jump right into it!

Introduction to MCSG's forums, and forums in general​

So I assume most of you coming this are aware of the general use of forums and how they work. Those of you who do, great, move on. For those of you who are new? This section is for you.
Properly using and meshing with the people of forums requires a bit of time, but also a general kindness and an ability to pick up on attitude. Read some past posts of players to get a feel for how we treat one another, especially before posting. Try to keep anger to a low, and never bash another player. Keep threads on topic, and make sure that you'll have an audience before posting.
To post a thread, use the "Post new thread" button on the top of a forum section. To post a reply, simply right your reply on the bottom of a thread in the box provided.

Those are the basics, but keep in mind the rest of the thread goes into greater detail!

Useful threads and Must reads!*
Simple as can be, these are threads that are either of high quality, pinned, or important guides and things to read before going off on the forums.​

• @shoottomaim writes about "How to post a thread requesting help."
• @ChadTheDJ lists our rules and regulations in the "MCSG Rules thread"
• @OMGjustin opens a thread to share experiences in the "Screenshot thread"
• @duckluv321 explains the "Do's and Do not's of the Survival Games Discussions section"
• @slasherxtreme explains the "Do's and Do not's of Feature suggestion"

Those are some of the bigger, and most important threads on the forums.

Forum Sections*
One of the biggest issues on the forums currently are the massive amount of mis-posted threads. It's important to know what goes where so mods don't need to move your threads!​

• News and Announcements - Only the Upper-staff can post here, and this makes up the home page of the forums. Watch this section for news updates on our servers!
• Minor Announcements - Same as above, just not on the front page
• General Support - Post here if you have any problems with the servers, but don't post about hackers or rule breakers, they go in another section. Make sure to read the pinned threads first!
• Community Corner - Anything about the wonderful people that make and play the survival games on MCSG goes here.

**Continues on following posts!**​

 

[TheRandomMan1000]

**Continued from Previous Post**​

• Survival Games discussions - The most-used section of the forums, everything regarding casual MCSG discussion goes here.
• Clans and Teams - Wanna start or join a clan? This is the place to be!
• Tips and Strategies - Need help playing, or want to pass your knowledge on to others? It all goes here!
• Feature Suggestions - Want to see a change or improvement made? Post about it here, just make sure you abide by the no-no rules thread!
• Report Abuse/Ban dispute - Report abuses in the first section, but make sure you have proof and follow the template. If you've been banned never complain on a mods profile, post a dispute in the "Ban Dispute section.
• Creative/Survival Server - Talk about in MCSG's other servers in their respective sections!
• Anything Minecraft - Talk about Minecraft!
• Art section -Make a pretty picture? Show it off here!
• Other Games- Talk about the wide world of gaming!
• Off-Topic - Non video game topics NO EXCUSE FOR POINTLESS THREADS

Forum Etiquette*
We're all friends here, and we treat each other right. This dictates how to act, without being rude or annoying other members of the forums.​

• Double posting - Do not post twice in a row. It's considered rude and spam.
• Spam - Don't spam, keep all of your posts relevant to the section, and make sure they have a purpose.
• Flame-proof - Try not to cause flaming. You'll be in trouble with the mods if you start fights, so it's good to stay away from topics like "Who's better ___ or ___" or "BEST PLAYARS!!!1!" These tend to only cause fights.
• Be kind - If you have beef with a player, don't yell at or harass them, you'll be the one in trouble. Bring them to the attention of a mod.
• Don't spam mods profiles - If you need help, most mods ignore profile posts. PM them, but make sure there's not proper place to post first.
• All videos in media section must be MCSG related. Otherwise they'll be taken down.
• Use understandable language, internet shorthand is fine, but try to use mainly regular words, and keep little known and made up shorthand off of your posts.
• Don't disagree just to disagree. If you dislike someone, try not to bring that into your posts by bashing threads by them or being passive aggressive, again just ignore them.

Reporting Rule Breakers
Plenty of guides already exist for this, but I feel this is very important to point out.​

• As I said earlier, use the proper section of the forum. Putting them in the wrong section is very bad.
• Don't message mod about getting your report checked, they'll get to it.
• Use the template provided.
• ALWAYS PROVIDE EVIDENCE. Almost all reports require it, saying "He uses water hacks" won't cut it. They need explicit videos for hackers, and photos for spammers. Do not edit either of these in any way, as it invalidates them.

Tips to writing a successful thread
To clarify, by successful I don't mean, "Make you famous and earn 100 likes" I mean, gets your point across. I'm very much for smart, insightful threads, so prepare for bias ​

• Outline a topic. Be sure you know what you're talking about, and let your readers know what you will read about.
• Use proper-enough writing. Again, threads a received better with proper paragraphs, caps, and mainly normal language. Avoid swearing.
• Relevant topic. If you post about the fact that you like the color grass is in-game, you'll likely get no conversation or credibility. Stick to topics that you want to write about, but also have some logical basis to be on the forums
• Threads can be funny, but don't post one just because you want to make people laugh. They get old fast and turn into clutter.
• Make sure you check to make sure the same type of thread hasn't been posted with in the last month.
• I suggest, and for the sake of the forums, avoid these flame causing/cliché topics: "Favorite Player" "_____ Vs. _____" " OMG _____" "Funniest moments" and any more you see all the time.

And! That'll do it. I'm keeping the second "Held spot post" just in case I want to add more, but for now this will do will. I hope this helped, and I'd appreciate you using this as a reference when talking on other threads.
Feel free to suggest new sections.​

 

[TheRandomMan1000]

Claimed for further posting.

 

[SniperSnakez]

What

 

[RC_4777]

Random, claiming all of the good land. >.>

 

[Boboaluitz]

If something goes badly, I'm just going to link this everywhere.

 

[Brandon6895]

Claimed for further posting.

Please don't double post, you can simply- ah forget it.

 

[Boboaluitz]

Please don't double post, you can simply- ah forget it.

I don't know if you were joking...

But in this situation he is expecting that his thread will exceed the word limit of 1,000 or whatever it is, and is reserving space for that. There are situations where double posting isn't the bad type of double posting

Make a guide post about double posting/beginning forum rules, RandomMan!

 

[TheRandomMan1000]

I don't know if you were joking...

But in this situation he is expecting that his thread will exceed the word limit of 1,000 or whatever it is, and is reserving space for that. There are situations where double posting isn't the bad type of double posting

Make a guide post about double posting/beginning forum rules, RandomMan!

It's in the next part of the guide, that for the record will be taking up the next post.

 

[duckluv321]

I feel as though this thread genuinely deserves a pin. It's incredibly helpful, and once completed, is like a handbook to the forums.

Nice job, once again, Random!

 

[TheRandomMan1000]

Second post finished. Thread is finished for now!

 

[FuSioN]

@CAmadeusA @Tacoface1234 Please pin this masterpiece.