*Scroll to the bottom for the update, please.*

If you haven’t already done so, and you ever plan on posting your very own thread on 11W, we’ll wait while you go read Forum Posting 101.  That right there is the quintessential doctrine for basic forum posting.  It covers basic skills and helps avoid things like the dreaded link-and-run, the zinger, and clickbait.  And, if you want a good example of a forum post, take a look here.

What is it that we all love about Eleven Warriors?  The reasons may be vast, but the roots of each of our favorite components are traced back to the 11W Differential. 

What we have here is unlike any other site.  We have a phenomenal staff that works tirelessly for us, and we have a community unlike any other.  If you’re new around here, you may not realize the incredible humanitarian feats that have been witnessed on these very forum pages.  A suicidal ideation was once pursued (and successfully thwarted) tirelessly by complete strangers and spearheaded by an 11W Staffer, memorial funds have been raised for regular people following tragedies, and we’ve sent a class of students we didn’t know on a field trip.  In short, we have a vibrant community of people who display ownership in their environment.

Our goal here is to improve the community, and our interaction here by improving the user experience for Dubbers, and taking forum posting to a new level. 

So, without further ado, here we go.

SEARCH OUT YOUR TOPIC FOR DUPLICATES

This is one area that seems to present the biggest challenge.  Now, there is more to checking for dupes than checking for identical titles.  You have to put forth a little effort, which sucks for the guy or gal trying to scoop a story.  Pro Tip: If your ESPN app just hit you up with a notification, chances are high the staff may be working up a Buckshot, or someone beat you to the punch.

Sometimes, using the embedded search tool on 11W can provide fewer results than you would like, and other times it can provide too many.  So, what to do, what to do?  Here’s a great idea: fire up the Google Machine. 

Go to Google and type: site:elevenwarriors.com or site:elevenwarriors.com/forum the add your subject, such as forum posting.

Opening your post with “sorry if this has been posted” is basically and admission of guilt.

POLICE YOURSELVES

As much as it may surprise you, it is the desire of the staff and moderators that we do not get involved in things any more than absolutely necessary.  So, what does that mean?  It means that the best way to police the community is to police yourselves.  You have the power to vote on forum posts, as well as comments, and that mouse click is free.  Use it.  Fresh out of the commenting policy: “If you have a great comment, expect to earn stickers. If you say something dumb, expect to lose stickers.” The same applies to forum topics. 

POSTING IS AN ART, NOT A SCIENCE

No matter how much time and effort we put into trying to help everyone improve 11W, there will always be exceptions to every rule and there will always be someone dissatisfied with an interpretation and action.  We ask that everyone be mindful of what a reasonable standard is when engaging the community through a forum post.

WHAT IS A REASONABLE STANDARD ON 11W?

It is reasonable to expect Dubbers to:

• Take the time to draft a well thought out post.
• Take the time to read the article before trying to link it first, and include an excerpt to draw readers in.
• Care enough to avoid paywalled content, and if you do cite something from a paywall remember to clearly state as much.
• Take a moment to add a few sentences to their forum topic to direct the conversation.
• Participate in their threads.
• Take a moment to learn how to post a picture, Tweet, or video.
• We were given the Premium Lounge for a reason – use it.  And, if you’d like to join us, we’d love to have you.
   

WE INTERRUPT YOUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAMMING…

There are some members that like to post their own recurring threads, which isn’t frowned upon in any way.  It’s important to remain completely respectful of both sides of that coin – the poster does not have any territorial rights to his/her chosen, or preferred, time slot and, conversely, the commentariat should respect someone’s work and not mimic it with piggyback or vulture posts. 

So, if someone posts a “what is the best” thread, regardless of topic, don’t immediately post a “what’s the worst” thread.  It’s only natural to have a corresponding thought, but chances are you’re just polluting the active discussions with tangentially related topics, likely killing each one.  Enjoy what Dubbers have to offer, and if someone beat you to the punch, well, that’s life in the big city.

POINTS OF ORDER

• The staff and commentariat do not abide by the same rules, please don’t cite them in angst due to enforcement of any 11W policy over comments and/or threads.
• The 11W commenting policy ranks second behind the Declaration of Independence in all-time literary rankings, and the discussion ends there for a reason.  Learn it, live it, love it.
• If you’re new around here, I think that some recommended reading wouldn’t hurt. 
• We don’t need a new thread daily on TTUN.  Nor do we need one every time a recruit Tweets, sneezes, farts, or goes to the doctor; feel free to talk about recruiting at length, each night, when Andrew posts The Hurry Up.

Thanks for taking the time to read through our tips and suggestions; hopefully we’re all making 11W better every day.

*UPDATE*
Know the difference between solid off-season banter threads and solid in-season contributions.  During football season, the 11W readers tend to come more for meaningful conversation about, you know, Ohio State football. 

During the offseason, people are more accepting of threads about more nonsensical issues.  Please, think about your topic and ask yourself: Is this topic something people logged on to 11W to discuss?  If the answer is no, then it's probably best saved for the offseason - a time when people may be more open to discussing nonsense to kill time.
*END UPDATE*