A Good RSBANDB-er…

Here’s some things that I think make a good forum member. Take it for what it is, but I think that it’s what I see in a lot of the people I respect on our forum.

A good RSBANDB member is someone who..

1. Can handle disagreements with another member. Whether or not it happened on MSN or on the forum itself doesn’t matter. Nothing is worse than seeing flaming, or even the subtle tension between members who dislike each other for one reason or another. If you have a problem with someone, there’s nothing more passive aggressive than posting cryptic or sarcastic replies to what they write. Get over whatever it is that you have against the person or talk it out over MSN. If that doesn’t work, forced civility is a saving grace.
2. Is objective while still giving their opinion in debates. Let’s face it, no one in the world is ever 100% right about anything. To win a debate, your goal is to convince others that your view is superior for such-and-such reason. The goal ISN’T to make yourself look like an asshole by flaming the other person or making an effort to belittle them. I think the main key to debating anything is to acknowledge the things that both parties agree on and give intelligent and well-thought reasoning for any disagreements. That’s the secret to winning a debate and still having the respect of the other person.
3. Is someone who gives fairly and takes fairly. This seems broad, but I have an example.. I see some people just sort of plop their signature down in Graphics Central and then as for con/crit. This is fine, except for the fact that I never see the person give any helpful criticisms to any other artist there. This annoys me because it makes me think that certain people only like posting when they can get attention and feedback on their work, but they’re unwilling to help other fellow artists. Give your support to other members and don’t leave them in the dust. This goes for people who ask questions in the RS-Questions forum too.
4. Never lets the decisions of another member dictate how they view the entire community. I often talk to people who are unbelievably upset about a decision made by a moderator or admin and they sort of go off about how they want to leave and such. Life, just like Runescape communities (lol), isn’t going to be perfect. We all have those times where we get annoyed/angry about things and we end up blaming other people for just doing their jobs the best they can. There’s nothing more hard to live through than a grudge against someone you once looked up to. Look past the little things and focus on the good things. Don’t think about how so-and-so did something to upset you, think about all the people you know and like here and consider whether or not your ego is above it all. RSBANDB is a great community of people who don’t deserved to be lumped into your stereotypes.
5. Doesn’t take it upon themselves to assert authority or intimidate other members. This is self-explanatory. Good people on RSBANDB realise that this is a forum where people talk about RS and have fun. I notice a lot of people use grammar-correcting as a way to sort of embarrass or demean other members. Guys, give it up. I’ll admit that my English isn’t perfect because it’s not my first language. For others, it’s just hard. I make mistakes and having someone reply to me with the sole purpose of saying “It’s “you’re”, not “your”" is just pointless. You’re not our grammar teachers, you’re our peers. I understand that some people have horrible grammar/spelling, but politely asking the person to be more clear can’t be that hard. After all, if you’re good at correcting others’ grammar then you should be equally as good at formulating polite reply.
6. Is sincere. They don’t feel like they deserve favours for being a responsible member. If so-and-so reports posts a lot and generally helps out, that’s absolutely wonderful and looked well upon. If this person thinks that it’ll make them exempt from flaming other members or break rules, then they’re wrong. Any help is greatly appreciated, but RSBANDB isn’t the USSR. We don’t do bribes (unless you’re bribing with baked goods, then..maybe) and favours aren’t extended to those who break the rules. Not even us moderators or admins “get off the hook” easily.
7. Knows when enough is enough. If you’re arguing with someone or if you’re privy to certain bits of information then you should know when it’s just best to keep quiet. This doesn’t mean “shut up about everything”. Sometimes we need to voice our opinions about things in order for change. But if you know that you’re going to cause an uproar, consider that there are other ways to do things. If you’re getting into a heated argument on the forums, take it to PM. I find in the majority of my PM debates that the other person and I end up coming to a mutual agreement without putting each other down. Learn to draw the line sometimes.

If you think of any more things that make a good RSBANDB-er, post them here. I’d like to hear your thoughts.