Sticky: How to make good threads!!
Since many of you are new and/or not so bright let me help you. This is not a political thread nor is it a debate. It is a thread to discuss the 'spirit' of genmay and how that might help you with fitting in better.
1. Entertainment, not community. If you get this then all will be well. Unlike [H]'s GM or other general purpose forums....we are not bound by a commonality of interest, creed or caste. In fact there is no valid reason that people should be here at all. What is amazing is that there is a sense of community here, but it is formed around the characters and stories we view on the forum.
2. Content is king. Since we are a form of entertainment and not a society, you do not have a right to be heard UNLESS you earn this privilege. Also, your thread may divert the audience from better content and thus diminish the appeal of genmay to them. Good content receives high quality viewership and posts of acknowledgement. It engages the audience and keeps them tuned in to your channel. Tastes vary so someone may post a Nobel Prize worthy essay and have it receive derision and someone may just be female and keep people entertained for days.
3. Anarchy is not content. While it may entertain in the beginning, scatology and violence will eventually turn any place into a shit-hole. It is not allowed. Content must be structured. A thread may become hijacked and become spam, but it should not start off as spam. Once in a while the management may allow for controlled anarchy in order to appease the more violent.
4. A star is born every day. You are a star if people know your name and request your content, support your being, and defend you from persecution. More importantly, you are a star if your threads entertain or if your being generates revenues from those who love/hate you. Good or bad only matters in society and community. On G[M] bad can be good if it sells. Like the WWE.
5. Entertainment involves politics, business savvy, and creativity. Make the show, sell the seats, and bask in the glory.
6. Appeal to the broad demographic. If your thread makes three idiots happy but does not appeal to the general majority, then you are wasting highly coveted main page space that could help someone more worthy develop a broad audience. When threads lose broad appeal they should turn into IRC or AIM conversations.
7. Drama is the fuel for our souls. Not shennanigans or ....but true drama. Bare your souls, share your angst, and tell your secrets.
8. Live>Movie>Audio>Text. This is the law of entertainment....the more real and immediate and personal it is to all our senses....the more it engages the audience.
9. The show must go on. Entertainment changes with the times. Not all the best producers and directors are given a shot. The studio owners make mistakes....but they watch their audience statistics very closely and if a decision causes that figure to drop then they will always reconsider their ways.
ALSO remember that entertainment != art. sometimes it is, but lotsa times people pay to watch absolute crap. entertainment is what people will pay to see....or in our case....spend time and bandwidth to view.
Here are some guidelines to follow above and beyond our standard, published rules.
1) No first post, or edit first posts allowed. If I see these, you will be banned for two weeks. Generally sniping will only be forgiven if witty- yes this is subjective.
2) No image spamming. Meaning, images that have nothing to do with the thread at hand or posting the same image in multiple threads else banned for two weeks. On topic images or images that lend humor to a thread are permitted.
3) No quoting of large images, no abuse of VB code (scrolling, etc).
4) No continued admin/mod sass. If you can say something within the framework of our thread making rules then fine. Antagonism will get you banned.
5) We are not your daily blog unless life is interesting and you have good story to tell. Using pictures and lots of words will help your cause. We like Cliff's on genmay...
Here are some guidelines to what you must do for your thread to remain open and for you to not lose thread making.
1. Spin-offs- you may get away if you are the first one, but if you aren't you will be punsihed
2. Threads about members. Call-outs in Pit, but original content regarding something about a member or someone related/dating a member can stay in genmay. Example: MIKE27 IS A DOUCHE- not allowed. Example: I FOUND DM'S DAUGHTERS LIVE JOURNAL- allowed. Any racial or sexual perjorative in a thread title may result in editing or banning.
3. Copycat threads. Be very careful not to make a thread in the same style as someone else unless you are sure you can a) get big traffic without bumping it yourself all the time; and b) the thread you are copying is not in the first 4 pages of the main forum.
4. 4 Pages. You are responsible for scanning the first 4 pages of GM before you launch a thread if you don't have search. This discipline will give you a good idea of what is working on the forums this particular day.
5. Effort. You must demonstrate effort in your thread. It cannot just be a thought you had or a question for which google can find thousands of answers. Challenge us, entertain us, or make us groan with how bad your sense of humor is. Write a few sentences....what is the backstory? Summarize and make Cliff's for those of us with ADD. Provide a link and/or a picture. No AIM logs without summaries- they suck. Pay attention to format- use bold, italics, etc...
6. Hatefulness. If you want to challenge something- take it to the Pit. If you have a personal experience where you were hurt by a isajeep or mexican...share it with all of us as long as you put effort into the thread. If you find a link to a funny pic of a black guy and make a isajeep thread- you will not make too many more threads. Remember- effort and audience response are the two objective indicators we have to decide what to do with you. I am not asking you to not have the freedom to Jew or Gay or Woman bash....just make sure to make it a debate (The Pit) or extremely original and compelling (genmay). Keep in mind that the spin-off and copycat rules aplly to these things as well- scan 4 pages.
Remember put effort into your work, be original, and appeal to your audience (even if they are weird ass Trekkies or Furries)
*edit: RULES WILL BE VERY LAX AFTER 11PM PACIFIC THRU 6 AM PACIFIC but bumping these threads can get you KC
