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Forum Etiquette & Other Tips

For the therian community today, forums and message boards are among the most common method of communication. As with all groups, each has a different atmosphere and way of managing itself, different members, and different opinions. Some are meant for serious discussion, while others are for friendly chatter. When joining a new community there are always a few basic things to keep in mind to make the experience as enjoyable as possible.

  1. Always be informed about the code of conduct of the community you’re joining. Not every community’s rules will be common sense. For example, some communities disallow the discussion of certain topics, and others have instructions within their rules on how a new member should proceed before they begin posting. In worthwhile communities the staff/ moderators are there to help you, so if you have a question about a specific rule or policy don’t be afraid to ask for clarification.
  2. Try to respect the people around you, even during disagreements.
  3. Conduct yourself as a mature adult, and take responsibility for your actions, regardless of your age.
  4. Sometimes it’s a good idea to lurk for a few days to get a feel for a community before joining in on the discussion. Every community has a different flavour and different opinions. There might be established taboos within a community (such as the discussion of physically turning into another species), or they may expect members to have done a large amount of research and discourage common questions, etc.
  5. Try your best to use correct grammar and spelling, even if it means spell checking in a word processor sometimes. Remember that on the internet all that reflects of you is what you write and you will be taken more seriously if you do not use chatspeak/ leetspeak and if your posts are understandable. Especially on discussion forums, taking the extra few minutes to look over your writing for major mistakes is polite.
  6. When considering starting a new topic/ thread check if it has been discussed already, especially within the past few months. If you don’t care for manual browsing, the search feature of a forum can be your best friend. In the instance a topic you were considering posting already exists, be sure you’re aware of the rules regarding the revival of old topics (also referred to as necroposting or necroing). Some forums are fine with topics several months old being revived so long as the post/ reply adds something, others would prefer if you started a new topic.
  7. When starting new topics/ threads in a forum try to create titles that are relevant and indicative of the topic being discussed. Vague titles like, “A Thought of Mine…” or “I have a question…” can be annoying to browse through, especially during searches.
  8. Try not to take questions about your beliefs as a personal attack. Many communities expect people to be able to justify their claims about being a therian, and will ask questions or ‘grill’ new members to attempt to see how much research and personal introspection they’ve really done. This isn’t always meant to be malicious, but to help people new to therianthropy by asking questions they may not have asked themselves. If you find yourself unable to answer a question someone asks you it’s usually okay to say that you’re unsure how to answer or simply don’t know yet.
  9. Not all communities are worth your time. There are communities out there that lack critical thinking skills, have too much drama, or that may be generally unethical, etc. Exercise common sense and use your judgement to decide what’s worthwhile. You never need to feel obligated to stay in a community you’re uncomfortable with.


Written by Aethyriek.