//HP gets on her beloved angelsoap soapbox (again).//

...I have been tempted (as much as I love you all) to avoid the forums all-together because of the very things Jazzo has mentioned is becoming a problem.

IN MY OPINION:
* The best reason to post in a topic of discussion is to be part of the discussion.
* If you enjoy posting, you ought to consider fan fiction, fan art, and the polls. These are the greatest places to express yourself and your opinion.
* That is unless you have a genuine question or answer that belongs in that topic/forum (or tidbit comment that APPLIES).

I recognize that not everyone uses the shout box to get to know the other forumers. However, if a person's only reply is "I don't know", "Let me check", or "go ask (fills in blank of someone else)", the only thing I will know about you is what you don't know. hmmm

As for the rank of the number of posts: I would rather see someone remain a newbie until they know their way around the forum, than find someone who has a rank of Consigliere (that's 200 posts) that either doesn't know the rules of the forum, or knows them and is not following them.

Before I get off my soapbox, I would like to add that I read posts for a loooong time before I even registered. When I finally registered, I did even more reading, but still didn't post much for a year! Imagine, that someone you don't know, but may one day know, is reading your posts. Ask yourself, what kind of impression do I want to make?

My recommendation, try to make a good impression!

//HP steps down from her soapbox... for now.//

Well I've only posted a few times here...
Jazzo, if your underlying purpose was to get me to made a rare superfluous post, you succeeded ! (Kidding of course).

I know what you mean about answers getting lost in a sea of "don't knows" but I prefer threads with responses -- even non-response responses. Threads with no or very few posts just seem kind of lonely. It seems discourteous to me if someone doesn't acknowledge a person's question with some remark. So I have no problem with this. Forums are for gabbing and a big percentage of most conversations is just filler.

Some people (most people in my SCHOOL) have an urge to talk, so maybe an urge to post comes from that. But also, Jazzo, I agree that 'I don't know' or 'ask Lady' are annoying and don't help the problem.

true that it can get annoying that people say these things about "dont knowing" and "go ask(somebody goes in here)". But maybe people think another way for people to know you is posting. and i mean posting anything. although this topic is irritating me(no offense to anybody) i just wanted to say a few things and my opinions. i was in fact a big fan of these forums and joined and i (also likehp) didnt post for a while. thats it. thats all i wanted to say.(what did i say? i getting really fuzzy)

I know what you are saying. But these forums are for a specific purpose: Help with LDW games. Not random gabbing. It is not discourteous to not reply. I just remember (as a newbie) making a "help" post and waiting tensely for a reply. I'd keep refreshing the page many times. When there finally was a reply, if it was just an "IDK," or something like that, it made me angry. Maybe in conversational forums that would be discourteous, but on this forum, the point is to just get the answers out.

Yes, I was one of the "When's VV3 coming out" people, until I decided it was stupid asking and complaining. When they have stuff to tell, they'll tell it. But this won't continue after VV3 is released, so it's a problem that will soon fix itself.

I wasn't naming names or trying to make you feel bad. But you are a wise one, grasshopper, when they "have stuff to tell they will tell it." But I must disagree; for within weeks of VV3's release, there will be a cry for VV4. It happen right after VV2 came out, if you recall.[/color][/font]

In my lurking days I don't remember it being much of a problem. I may be wrong, I often am wrong. It's easy to understand the problem when people are actually looking for knowledgeable responses instead of acknowledgements. The whole situation probably will fix itself once VV3 comes out and people have other things to do....especially with summer coming too.

Maybe VV3 forums will be overloaded at first, but hopefully it will calm down soon after.

The few questions I tried to answer I was wrong. So now I just sit on my fingers and wait for someone with more experience to answer!!

Jazzo, there's a reason it took me so long to earn the Consigliere title that I right now possess. I will not post a reply unless I feel I have something to add to the conversation which hasn't already been stated. I won't even respond saying "I agree," unless I can add something else in there. That's just how I decided to face forums in general. The only exceptions I really have are when I respond to fanfiction but I rarely reply in that forum as is.

As for PMing LadyCFII, I admit I'm guilty of PMing her when I have questions. But usually, if someone has a question (in particular when it's asked in the Shout Box), I see if I can answer it. If I can't (or can't find a response in the forums for them) and no one else in the Shout Box can answer it, I suggest they either create a subject on the topic or ask LadyCFII. Sorry Lady.

Ah, you're a lurker after my own heart HP. I completely agree with everything you said in your post. I was a lurker for a very long time after registering for these forums. I read many posts on these forums and many of my impressions (both good and bad) of people on here were formed long before I introduced myself to them because I had read their posts. Some impressions have changed since I actually got to chat with them on other topics but some have stayed the same. Please think about that before you post.

And Pookie, I agree, I don't remember these forums having as many superfluous comments as there is right now. Oh, and many of my responses to major questions end up linking to a different post where someone more knowledgeable than I had already responded to the specific question.