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| Shishka's Guide for Newcomers *long, images* | |
| Posted By: Shishka <shishka@mac.com> | Date: 1/17/03 8:09 p.m. |
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Note and Disclaimer: By no means would I try to put forward any "Rules" for the forum to follow. This post is not designed to tell anyone how to act. The idea behind the design is to merely provide myself with links to suggestions and comments I make often, to spare me the redundancy of typing all the information out again and again. Feel free to use it how you will. Shishka's Guide for Newcomers, v1.0 1.0 General Thread Information
2.0 So, You Have a Question... 3.0 Tips, Tricks, Eggs, and Other Discoveries
1.0 General Thread Information Before posting, there are some general ideas that are good to know. 1.1 Thread Anatomy, 101
*NM* - No Message. Nothing is actually written in the body of the post, the idea is to reply with only the subject line. *OT* - Off Topic. Anything that's not Halo, or H.B.O. related conversation. When something strikes a user as being only partially off topic, it's common to say so by way adding to the OT tag. For example *Somewhat OT* or *Sorta OT*. *long* - Long post. Those not interested in reading a long story or lecture need not apply. *images* - Images Referenced. This is generally provided so those with low bandwidth internet connections won't sit all day waiting for attached images to load. If your connection is slow, it's advisable to avoid these posts. b) Thread visits - Any time someone visits a post, this number is incremented. This gives users an idea of how many people have read the message. (As of May 18, 2003 this feature has been removed from the forum.) c) User - The person that posted the thread or reply. 1.2 General Posting Etiquette For Newcomers I specify "for newcomers" because often it is necessary for a new user to "break the ice" when posting for their first time. New posters make common mistakes that can consequently convince frequent posters to ignore and/or mock any threads started by common users. Following this paragraph are some suggestions to help your posts be taken more seriously. By no means do I suggest you mask your personality, but if your personality grinds with the forum, you're not going to last long here. The general idea is to post thoughtfully if you want thoughful replies. a) Avoid Excessive Swearing- This should speak for itself. b) Avoid Excessive Capslock or Capitalization- Captilizing everything in a post is considered rude, and capitalizing every first letter in your post is considered obnoxious. Please avoid doing either. c) Try to be intelligible! Write your posts with the intention that other people are to read and understand them. Use a spell checker if you have to. Use white space and punctuation to seperate thoughts and make the post as easy on the eyes as possible. Unreadable posts with masses of broken english will get you flamed. d) Expect criticism and commentary. Not everyone in the forum shares the same opinion about everything. Expect people to disagree and to argue their point. Taking offense to people not approving of your work, disagreeing with your opinion, or any kind of flame in general is a waste of energy. This leads to... e) Keep a healthy sense of humor. We're really a bunch of fun people, feel free to join in the festivities. f) Do not flood the forum with garbage. Repetitive posts of zero content is the best way to see your address banned from the forum forever. g) Do not abuse HTML. The use of text formatting and other uses of html are fine, but don't use HTML in a way that makes your post annoying. On a similar note, do not try to use html in the subject line of your post. h) USE COMMON SENSE. Note the emphasis, here. This may be the one and only true "rule" of the forum. People who make idiots of themselves become fodder for the regulars, assuming they don't get banned first. 1.3 HTML and Images Louis allows the use of html on the forum. This means users are able to show other users interesting links or images, and apply formatting to their posts. Please do not abuse this ability. If you want to post an image to the forum, but are not sure how, please look over This guide, provided by forum regular *Ar-Isildur. If you wish to use an image on the forum, you must first place this image somewhere where it can be viewed from the web. If you do not have a host, free hosts such as Geocities offer space for your webpages and images. However, most free web hosts do not allow the linking of images from outside of their servers. This means that if you try to post an image directly to the forum, the link will be broken. Instead, provide the URL of the image (example: http://www.shishka.net/stuff/hbo_stuff/bigboyflag.jpg) and ask users to copy the URL and paste it into a new browser window. Images can not be published from your home computer without running a server, which is often more trouble that it's worth. 1.4 Rumors, Liez, and the Tru7h. Quite often, people claim they've discovered or accomplished things they haven't. If you're having difficulty discerning whether or not someone's telling the truth, check the FAQ and Bungie's own Rumor Control Database. If that fails, it's safer not to believe, until a veritable source confirms the post with believable evidence. 2.0 So, You Have a Question... halo.bungie.org is a popular place to come to when seeking answers regarding Halo and Halo 2. Answers are provided by community and Bungie employee alike. However, it's wise to make sure your question isn't all ready answered, as some forum members like to prey on those who do not make sure that they're question is original. In the interest of avoiding the fire and keeping the sanity of the regulars intact, it would be wise to look into the forum to see if an answer is readily there. 2.1 Read the FAQ! The most often questions asked on the forum are gathered together into one list, which can be looked at here. When you are making a post, there is an obvious link to the FAQ directly above where you enter your username: 
2.2 Read the Archives!
Above is a screenshot of the forum archive links, which appear directly above the thread listing. This list allows you to go through all the posts all the way back to the first post in an effort to find the answers you seek, or old information that's no longer readily available. Doing a simple search will often spare you the indignity of being told off for asking a redundant question. The answers to most Halo questions can be found in any of the archives from the "pre-eu launch" and up. 2.3 Read the News! If there's been an important Halo-related development, it always ends up in the news. It's wise to keep track of the latest news so that your posts are up to date. Louis Wu has provided a search engine for the news, which is accessible from the top of the main page:
3.0 Tips, Tricks, Eggs, and Other Discoveries One of the most exciting parts about Halo is all the hidden elements. It has been said that many things remain unfound. Some of the things people find were completely unintended by Bungie, and people use this new found information to their advantage. 3.1 When posting a discovery, people often are confused about what exactly it is they're posting. It's important to be able to discern what category your information falls under, as misinformation can often lead to trouble or ridicule. The following are examples of terms used by explorers: a) Tip- Advice given in order to improve strategy. An example would be explaining that the needler is an excellent weapon against the sword-bearing gold elite, because the needles stop his charge, and the explosion takes him out before he can run at you again. b) Trick- This is a broad term describing methods people use for a variety of subjects, from exploring to battle to just playing around. Examples of tricks include grenade hopping, warthog jumping, "getting out of levels," and the soft spot on a hunters back that allows you to kill them with one well placed shot. c) Easter Eggs- Perhaps the term most often confused by posters, an easter egg is anything hidden within the game, that is not related to the game directly, nor does it in anyway affect gameplay. Examples include the "Nipple Grunt," found in The Maw, the bulletin board in the Pillar of Autumn, and the ".fortune" egg. Since the first screenshot of the Pillar of Autumn was released, people have been excited over the use of the Marathon logo in Halo. "Marathon" is a trilogy of games Bungie developed back in the 90's, and has achieved something of a cult status. However, the representation of the Marathon logo in Halo does not seem to be to draw a direct connection between the two continuums. If anything, it seems to be used to draw a connection between mankind and Halo. Because it seems to be more of a story element, the Marathon Logo should not be considered to be an easter egg. d) Bugs- These are the things that are specifically not meant to happen in the game. The 3-weapon bug, freezing characters at checkpoints, the object overload bug are all prime examples. 3.2 Redundancy Check: Check out the Databases Before posting your discovery, it's wise to take a look at the H.B.O. Tips and Tricks Database. The database is a constantly updated compendium of halo discoveries. Look around closely to make sure that you're posting something new and undocumented. 3.3 Redundancy Check Part 2: Check out the forum and its Archives. A lot of ideas pass through the forum. Hundreds every day. A lot are the same idea rehashed
3.4 The Description So, you've found something you think the community should know about. You've checked around and have seen no sign that it's been documented before, so you decide to post your discovery. The most important part of any discovery post is in the written description. Do your very best to describe exactly what you did, where you did it, and how you did it. Make your description as detailed and easy to read as possible. Seperate the instructions out into easy to read steps. The description becomes infinitely more important when you are not able to provide movies or images as accompaniment. If this is the case, it is imperative that your description be as clear as possible. Posting illegible tricks will get you laughed off the forum. 3.5 The Evidence Whenever possible, the best thing to do is supply video footage of your trick when you post. This both enhances your written description AND confirms that you're supplying an honest trick. If you do not have access to a camera that can record digital video, and cannot acquire a video capture card for your computer, you should do what you can to supply pictures of your work. Providing visual evidence of your trick is the best way to help other community members confirm its existence. Do everything in your power to document your trick as fully as possible. Not every post is in the form of a question, nor is every one designed to document a discovery. When posting something that doesn't fall into those categories, the only stipulations I would make would be that, first, you check to make sure you're not being redundant (search the forum!), and, most importantly, use common sense. Redundancy checks are especially important for speculation, which runs rampant on this particular forum. 4.1 Phfun with Phfotoshop Oftentimes, Louis Wu will host images, and add them to the image database, making the images available for the general public from halo.bungie.org. Due to reasons of file space and redundancy, a list of guidelines has been developed for images, available here. While these aren't necessarily specified for the forum, it's generally a good idea to expect that images posted on the forum will recieve the same treatment as they will if they're e-mailed to Louis directly. 4.2 Stuff that isn't Halo... There's nothing wrong with a little bit of off-topic discussion, provided you keep it in line. When starting off-topic discussion, please append "*OT*" to the end of your subject line. That covers 1.0, I think. If anyone has any suggestions, let me know, and I'll consider adding them on. -S | |
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