The Way of the Forum

The Atomic Guide to communication via a text medium, 101.

Editor's Note: A lot of this is self evident to the majority of readers, but it never hurts to cover the basics every now and then, especially given that there are always going to be new members who may be blissfully unaware of stuff we all take for granted. And a refresher, even for the most hardened and cynical of forum denizens, can't hurt either.

Atomic - and many other online forums - is a community with foundations based heavily on the text medium. The famous forum and the old favourite IRC allow fellow Atomicans to communicate with each other instantaneously. Unlike verbal and physical interaction, text-based communication is limited by the receiver's interpretation of transmitted text, which in turn is based on the context within which it’s sent and the overall aura (you bloody hippy, Vito! -ed)of the sender.

Key features such as facial expressions, tone of voice, emotion and hand gestures cannot be determined from within text – at least not with a guarantee of accuracy. The lack of physical presence paves the way for multiple facades to become established, whether in the forum of ‘alts’, or the evolving personality difference between the writer and their written word. Without concrete knowledge of physical condition, a writer can manipulate their responders via an array of textual techniques, either to enhance their status in the community, or to cause trouble via troll-like behaviours.

Text communication is fast, simple to organise and maintain, and easy to manipulate for search purposes. This makes it the most viable solution for mass communication on the Internet. And despite it being a low bandwidth solution to remote communication, it can be very powerful – and with power comes great responsibility, possibility, and rules!

Wall of text does 9000 damage
Text can be likened to an actor. It can be manipulated to the extent that the original resembles nothing of the end result. There are several ways in which text can be altered to convey intelligence, confidence and maturity, and here are some of these.

Spelling and Grammar
Every forum has members who disregard the importance of spelling and grammar, and those who protest said members and gain the title of ‘Grammar Nazi’. In reality, a person who puts effort into the grammatical accuracy of their posts is most likely to come across as the mature and trustworthy alternative. For example, “the hx620 is the beter psu because it is efficent and good watage” looks inferior to “A generic 400W PSU is suitable for your system”, regardless of whether the former is the correct response. On that note, never use all capital letters. It makes text harder to read, and represents unrestrained shouting (which is rude).

Sentence Structure and Content
Sentence structure is one of the most influential techniques when constructing a post. A point-of-view written with the same intent, but in two different ways, can have substantial differences in interpretation. “xyz sucks they overheat too much” is poorer in comparison to “Zyz, according to abc, overheat in z conditions and are therefore not the best choice at this point in time.” The former has no evidence of his/her claim, and comes across as a blatant fanboy troll, while the latter is professional with evidence and consideration for future efforts of the given brand. Even if the latter is pulling out distrustful sources as evidence, it appears to the inexperienced as the best answer.

Emoticons
Emoticons are a virtual expression of emotions, as the name suggests. For this reason, they can be used as a tool of manipulation when read by the intended user or audience. The perceived intent of “You’re a n00b” and “You’re a n00b :P” are completely different. Most humans, by default, assume the worst.

For this reason, the former is seen as a personal attack. The latter however is clearly a light hearted joke, as the tongue in cheek emoticon expresses lack of seriousness. A common misconception on public forums is that the receiver of such a message will know that the message is merely jest. This, in some cases, may be true (depending on context, and the users in question), nonetheless there will always be people who aren’t in on the joke, or aren’t accustomed to the larrikin nature of the clique. In this case, it’s best to spare a flame fest and indicate when a joke is a joke. On the other hand, some users use emoticons to mask the malicious intent of their posts. This creates doubt and uncertainty, and may cause users to err on the side caution.

Sarcasm tends to be the main cause of retaliation due to users taking posts literally. All it takes is two extra characters to indicate the true intent. Yes, emoticons are powerful things!