Quick Question.

[Tylorious]

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[Grinner]

Does anyone know how not to be a ghost whose posts are unheard on this forum?



Take up a cause.
Passive aggressively guilt-trip others into looking like jackasses.
Argue incessantly.


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[Jay R]

Simply post, and try to write arguments that will convince people that you are right. This requires patience, careful thought and careful writings, and actually considering what they said and how they supported it, tyo understadn what kinds of arguments might convince them.

It also helps if you sometimes say, "Oh, you're right," when they have supported their position well. And you should realize that often there's no issue of right or wrong. I prefer old-school D&D, and can get along with people who prefer the new approach, as long as we both recognize that it's a matter of personal taste.

If there are any people who care what "Jay R" writes, they do so because I convinced them, over time, that my arguments were valid and my observations were unbiased.

There are several people on these threads whose discussions have convinced me that they can think well, and I should pay attention to them. Others have shown me that they think well with very different observations (or just observations based on very different tastes) from my own, and they will successfully describe ideas that I can recognize as valid approaches base don ideas I don't share. And several others have convinced me that they don't think carefully at all, and generally post emotions or personal tastes as if they were analysis.

If people with no scientific background post opinions in a scientific thread, and don't consider the views of trained scientists who disagree with them, then they convince me pretty quickly that they have little to contribute.

Similarly, in a discussion of role-playing games, somebody who announces that the way a certain game does something is the "right" way, rather than giving reasons for why it's the way they prefer, then they are showing me that they aren't analyzing the game effects, just reporting on their own preferences. (This is often my own weakness.)

The content of what you have to say, and the reasonableness of how you say it, will have the greatest long-term effect on how your contributions are received, both on these forums and in life.

[Serpentine]

Post a bunch of articulate, well-reasoned arguments on interesting subjects. I don't really know what else there is to suggest. The so-called "big group of elitists" are unlikely to have done anything much more than that, except maybe the natural development of friendships (and rivalries) that naturally and organically occur anywhere you get a large number of people interacting together on a regular, long-term basis.

And remember: just because people are disagreeing with you doesn't mean there's some great conspiracy to silence you. It might just mean that people disagree with you.

[Grinner]

Simply post, and try to write arguments that will convince people that you are right.

Post a bunch of articulate, well-reasoned arguments on interesting subjects. I don't really know what else there is to suggest.

I've never seen this to be particularly effective. I've seen more insightful posts go ignored than acknowledged. It may be because no one has any issue to raise, but that might be just the problem. It may be that no one speaks unless they have disagreement to voice.

Edit: Following that line of thought, getting a response is easier if you have an iconoclastic message, if you "act out".


and actually considering what they said and how they supported it, tyo understadn what kinds of arguments might convince them.

On this, I will agree. Too often discussion will reach a state where the same points are repeated ad nauseum till frustration peaks, and the mods lock the thread.

When something doesn't work, try a different approach.

[Serpentine]

Well yeah, that's the other side: Just because someone doesn't reply to you doesn't mean they didn't read it. It may well just mean they agreed with it or didn't see anything they took enough issue with to speak up about it.

[Jay R]

The response to something nobody cared about is this: utter silence.

The response to something everybody agreed with and thought cogent and decisive is this: utter silence.

You cannot tell which it is by the response.

By contrast, the response to something everything thought was nonsense is quick argument and disagreement. This one you can tell.

[Aliquid]

A year or two ago I thought I was some sort of thread-killer. Whenever I thought "hey that's an interesting subject" and posted a comment, all traffic would immediately stop for the thread.

Actual advice?... I don't know what you do already, but try addressing individual people. Quote them and ask specific questions about their post.

---afterthought---
Look at other comments in threads and see how many of them appear to be ignored. You won't feel so alone.

[Gnomvid]

It would seem Tylorious has become a ghost even though you people are trying to help not to become a ghost as I can't see any more posts by Tylorious

[Tylorious]

It would seem Tylorious has become a ghost even though you people are trying to help not to become a ghost as I can't see any more posts by Tylorious

Hahaha, this is not the case. I am currently reading everything you guys have said and taking it all into consideration.

My guess is that I am too agreeable on the forums and thus no one wants to talk with me based on all your advice.

[Gravitron5000]

A year or two ago I thought I was some sort of thread-killer. Whenever I thought "hey that's an interesting subject" and posted a comment, all traffic would immediately stop for the thread.

Actual advice?... I don't know what you do already, but try addressing individual people. Quote them and ask specific questions about their post.

---afterthought---
Look at other comments in threads and see how many of them appear to be ignored. You won't feel so alone.

I must not post. I am the thread-killer. I am the little thought that brings total stagnation. I will face my thought. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the thought is gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.

[Gnomvid]

Hahaha, this is not the case. I am currently reading everything you guys have said and taking it all into consideration.

My guess is that I am too agreeable on the forums and thus no one wants to talk with me based on all your advice.

Well I can't speak for every one of course or for all eventualities but essentially yes that could well be 1 of a myriad reasons.


Edit: sorry Gravitron I guess I proved you wrong or maybe you'll still prove to be correct just a post or two down the line

[Grinner]

Hahaha, this is not the case. I am currently reading everything you guys have said and taking it all into consideration.

My guess is that I am too agreeable on the forums and thus no one wants to talk with me based on all your advice.

I'll tell you what you ought to do, then. March in the D&D 3.5 subforum right this very minute and post a manifesto detailing why the Monk is the best class ever. :smallsmile:

[Mauve Shirt]

Grinner, you're the best, stick around.

So, you're not going to become well-known if your posting generally goes along with the majority. Sad, but true. If you go into the OOTS forum and post in a thread about how you really didn't like Miko, you're one voice of many in yet another Miko argument. Everything people say here about being aggressive and argumentative? Unfortunately true. To be truly infamous (which is the accurate term for "Internet popularity") one needs to write well-reasoned and articulate arguments that are memorable, usually by being contrary to the majority. The well-reasoned and articulate part is what prevents you from seeming like an Internet troll.

Alternatively, be a chick and post a picture.

[Roland St. Jude]

Sheriff: Insulting one's fellow forumites does tend to draw a response (See: OP), but it's also against the Forum Rules, so I'd advise against it.