The Don’ts of Blogging

Firus · Mar 1, 2009

Link to original post: [drupal=1187]The Don'ts of Blogging[/drupal]

Since a lot of people seem to be making blogs that belong elsewhere, or are not blogs at all, I’ve decided to make this blog describing what you should not make a blog of.

Don’t #1: Introductory Blogs

This is done far too often, and there’s really no excuse for it since the place these should belong are obvious. The Meet & Greet Forums are right below the User Blogs. That forum is specifically meant for that.

Examples:
Hi
New here! Wow! I can't wait to BRAWL!
heyo

Don't #2: Polls

A lot of polls pop up here, despite them not being blogs at all. Blogs are supposed to be added to with comments, not made up by comments -- and unless a blog is a rant or description of someone's opinion onto which people add their own opinions, that's what happens. Chances are, if a blog is a poll, it can be put in another part of the forum anyways. If you see that the specific forum does not allow a specific type of poll, why would you post it here? For example, the Light House does not allow "Who is the best?"-type topics, due to them devolving to one-liners and spam. If it's not allowed there, why would it be allowed elsewhere?

Examples:
Favorite Zelda songs?
help!
The Top 5 Most hated Characters in Brawl

Don't #3: General Topics Which Belong Elsewhere

Aside from simply polls, there are other things which people put in the User Blogs when it can easily belong elsewhere. If you're too lazy to figure out exactly where a topic goes, then don't post it at all. If you're not sure, don't just put it in the User Blogs. If you end up being conflicted between two forums, post it in one and say that you're not sure if it belongs there and if it needs to be moved, it can be moved. 9 times out of 10, though, you should be able to get it in the right forum pretty easily.

A specific instance of this is a thread which actually doesn't belong at all; "Who should I main?" threads. This thread gives thorough advice on how to choose your main. Read that thread, and if you can't figure out someone to main...main random, what can I say? We can't give you any more help on choosing a main than that thread can.

Another specific instance is YouTube topics. These are not allowed in pretty much any other area of the forum, so why would you put them there? If you desperately need to post a video, there's this general topic and this and this set of forums for Brawl-related and Melee-related videos, respectively.

Examples:
MetaKnight and Snake
Who should I learn to main as?
Yes

Don't #4: SPAM

This is a BIG one. People assume that, since blogs can basically be about anything, that they can say anything and it can be stupid and pointless. It can't. If you started your own blog website, would you post "Hai guise lookit im cool" in one of your blogs? I sure wouldn't. So don't put them here.

Examples:
nick's top 10 racial slurs!
Play SSBB Forever.
You're all little girls...
Smash Bros. DOJO!!
I did it for teh Lulz
rage
I need help 'cuz I'm stupid.
Chikkin Dance!!!

Don't #5: MaxfireXSA

This guy deserves his own category. If you were around when he was still unbanned, you remember him being a really, really, stupid person. There's a reason. This guy made so many stupid blogs. Read them below.
While posting a blog, think to yourself; "Would Maxfire do this?" If he would, DON'T POST IT. Don't be a Maxfire.

Examples:
Premium Member - UNAVAILABLE
Smash Board Survey - Part 1
Smash Board Survey - Part 2
Smash Board Survey - Part 3
Smash Board Survey - Part 4
Smash Board Survey - Part 5
Smash Board Survey - Part 6
Cyber-bullying in Smash Board
Metaknight should not be banned
MEMBERS READ: Unban Meta Knight

Don't #6: Koth

After experiencing this once, I'm sure the User Blogs doesn't want another person making anything and everything up so they can be respected and get attention, sympathy, and perks. The situation really united the User Blogs, and it caused a lot of discussion, but this even got the mods to show their anger pretty readily. The offender has now even gotten the term "Koth", after his name, to represent this type of person.

If you have an idea for a story, post it in the Creative Minds, or at least post it here AS FICTION. Pretending it actually happened to you is going to get anger.

Koth (The made-up story)
There Is Something I Need To Say (The exposing of KOTH's lies)
i need attention please pay attention waaaah

(Koth's failed attempt at apologizing)

------------------------------------------------------------*--------------------------------------------------------------------

To sum up, use your common sense. If it is not allowed in another forum, don't just dump it in here. If it's spam, don't post it there. If Maxfire would've posted it, don't post it anywhere, ever.
If you need a disclaimer to tell people your post is not spam, it probably is.

Also, don't bump any of the topics I linked to either yelling at the original poster for being stupid or laughing at them or some variation on that.

If you want to post a blog, post a rant, or a complaint, or share some news, or just talk about your life at the moment. Those are the kinds of good things to post.

I hope you found this guide helpful, and I hope the User Blogs can experience some improvement. Thank you for reading this.

DtJ Glyphmoney · Mar 1, 2009

I'd add "If you need a disclaimer to tell people your post is not spam, it probably is."

Arbutus · Mar 1, 2009

Ohmygod. Top spam slot. Should I be happy or cry in a corner?
<3

</3?

<3!

Lord Viper · Mar 1, 2009

☆ Firus, lol, I'm suprised you didn't post the Play Brawl blog. That was a pretty good lol of a life time. XD

Speaking of which, I can't find that thread anywhere for some reason, and the search is broken. =/ ☆

Firus · Mar 1, 2009

Glyph said:
I'd add "If you need a disclaimer to tell people your post is not spam, it probably is."

Okay, thanks. Will do.

Arbutus said:
Ohmygod. Top spam slot. Should I be happy or cry in a corner?
<3

</3?

<3!

They're not in any particular order. Yours was just the first spam one I came upon to link to.

Viper JLT4GOV said:
☆ Firus, lol, I'm suprised you didn't post the Play Brawl blog. That was a pretty good lol of a life time. XD

Speaking of which, I can't find that thread anywhere for some reason, and the search is broken. =/ ☆

Oh duh, I was going to. Then I forgot about it...gimme a sec.

The search is working fine for me. You'll be able to see it in a sec when I link to it.

The Dinkoman · Mar 1, 2009

I demand a sticky.

And unless Trolls fall under spam, I suggest putting it up there.

Firus · Mar 1, 2009

I'd say they're sort of intertwined, but if a lot of people beg to differ I'll separate it from spam.

outRAGEous · Mar 1, 2009

firus: you and dinkoman are the ones that spammed my blog/thread. everyone that reads the rage thread will know this. you came there for no reason, and continued to say nothing for 2 pages. lol. i really don't care i was trying to help people but w/e. also mods, i think someone wants an honorary badge.

kr3wman · Mar 1, 2009

MaxfireSA said:
Okay, the tip is, against the players playing Meta Knight, you have keep dodging by Meta Knight's attack and do aerial dodge, it takes timing, but please remember, agility, speed, techniques, deception, and your secret weapon, vigilance.

My fav of his.

Epitome of stupidity.

Jam Stunna · Mar 1, 2009

Excellent work, Firus. Stickied.

Firus · Mar 1, 2009

outRAGEous said:
firus: you and dinkoman are the ones that spammed my blog/thread. everyone that reads the rage thread will know this. you came there for no reason, and continued to say nothing for 2 pages. lol. i really don't care i was trying to help people but w/e. also mods, i think someone wants an honorary badge.

First of all, you don't know the definition of spam. Spam is making a thread called "rage" and then saying "i am the pwnage". Not responding to someone's comments in said thread. It would be posting "Hai guise" or something to that effect which is a one-liner and pointless.
You keep saying you were trying to "help" people, but why did that occur months later? Even if it's not spam, it belongs under the category of various things that belong elsewhere (probably both, actually). Take your pick.

Second of all, I started by merely replying to your statement about how you can sound more intelligent than another person by talking in jumbled letters. Which was not only stupid, but that's the kind of "No one cares if you use proper spelling/grammar" thing that sets me off.

Finally, I am not trying to get "an honorary badge". If you'd followed my posts in the User Blogs with any sort of regularity, you would know that I've been, to put it lightly, angry about the spamminess of it. Just because you have a grudge against me doesn't mean you should start calling me out for things that I'm not guilty of.

Jam Stunna said:
Excellent work, Firus. Stickied.

Thank you!

:mad: · Mar 1, 2009

Heha, this actually worked. I'm glad our idea worked out.

outRAGEous · Mar 1, 2009

why would i have made another thread when i already had one. and yes people were starting to respond positively until you came in. it was not just character techniques. i was going to put different tricks that people would probably have liked as well. why would i post in that many different threads for all different chars? when i could just blog it. and get a response from whoever for whatever?

Firus · Mar 1, 2009

outRAGEous said:
why would i have made another thread when i already had one. and yes people were starting to respond positively until you came in. it was not just character techniques. i was going to put different tricks that people would probably have liked as well. why would i post in that many different threads for all different chars? when i could just blog it. and get a response from whoever for whatever?

I'm not going to argue this with you here. There's a reason the thread got closed.

outRAGEous · Mar 1, 2009

how about next time you argue in your own thread then? because even after you said you were done you kept going. are you not a man of your word? how suprising.

The Dinkoman · Mar 1, 2009

outRAGEous said:
how about next time you argue in your own thread then?

~~That would be under the Spam category. Which if you have read the rules you would of known.~~

Congratulation on the sticky Firus.

outRAGEous · Mar 1, 2009

outRAGEous said:
how about next time you argue in your own thread then? because even after you said you were done you kept going. are you not a man of your word? how suprising.

i edited it after dinko posted on a new page.

Firus · Mar 1, 2009

outRAGEous said:
how about next time you argue in your own thread then? because even after you said you were done you kept going. are you not a man of your word? how suprising.

Arguing in my own thread would defeat the purpose.

Yes, I did keep going after I said I was done. I have a natural instinct to yell at people when they get something completely wrong, which you did.

Stop personally attacking me. Just let it go.

And thank you, Dinkoman.

Cinder · Mar 1, 2009

Two things:

1) Just give it a rest Rage...for Christ's sake *Agnostic irony*
2) It's about time we got something like this posted ^^;

outRAGEous · Mar 1, 2009

lmfao all of you are wrong.

Cinder · Mar 1, 2009

-__-

Is there no hope for Smashboards?

*is glad he created H4x0RZ as a refuge from stupidity*

Proverbs · Mar 1, 2009

I laughed so hard reading MaxFire's posts. He's hilarious. I really don't think he was serious. He had to be a troll.

Good stuff, Firus. Glad this got stickied.

:mad: · Mar 1, 2009

Yeah, props on the second sticky /ever/.
But I think it's thanks to robot, lol. His thread spawned the idea, I suggested we sticky something like this, and you made the thread.

What a team.

Zook · Mar 1, 2009

I think you should add in a small section of examples of good blogs.

Not small to save space, but small because there are only about 5.

Firus · Mar 1, 2009

Proverbs said:
I laughed so hard reading MaxFire's posts. He's hilarious. I really don't think he was serious. He had to be a troll.

Good stuff, Firus. Glad this got stickied.

Yeah, I still can't tell what he was...

Either he was a troll, or he was a whole new level of stupidity. No one can repeatedly say "I have good grammars" without doing it on purpose or having a rock for a brain.

Thanks.

Straked said:
Yeah, props on the second sticky /ever/.
But I think it's thanks to robot, lol. His thread spawned the idea, I suggested we sticky something like this, and you made the thread.

What a team.

Haha, thank you.

Yep, we make a good team.

Zook said:
I think you should add in a small section of examples of good blogs.

Not small to save space, but small because there are only about 5.

Yeah, I thought about doing that. I'll probably add that to it soon.

:mad: · Mar 1, 2009

Did Jam tell you about the blog of the week idea? If we're going to help with that, I think we should use old blogs for examples, since newer ones are eligible, and that could be considered advertising. I don't know, it's just a thought.

Deleted member · Mar 1, 2009

Great guide, maybe (unlikely) some loser who's gonna spam up the blogs will think twice.

I like the whole examples thing, so people can see what a crappy blog is.

MarKO X · Mar 1, 2009

Teeheehee...
I made a blog so crappy that it was made an example of in this blog of epic win.

I'm loving the fact that the example known as "Play SSBB forever" is justly called spam, but received over 76 pages of replies. THAT is awesome.

Overall awesome blog is awesome. Good job.

:mad: · Mar 1, 2009

I like to think of the crap blogs as "The Wall of Shame", a showcase of the worst stuff we have here.

Firus · Mar 1, 2009

Straked said:
Did Jam tell you about the blog of the week idea? If we're going to help with that, I think we should use old blogs for examples, since newer ones are eligible, and that could be considered advertising. I don't know, it's just a thought.

Yes, he did. That's a good idea, to put together some good blogs to help out the Blog of the Week concept.

Straked said:
I like to think of the crap blogs as "The Wall of Shame", a showcase of the worst stuff we have here.

Yeah...I feel sort of bad about singling people out like that, but on the other hand...you make the blog, it's sort of your fault. Also, the examples really help out and improve the guide, so...somebody has to be singled out.

:mad: · Mar 1, 2009

FirustheHedgehog said:
Yes, he did. That's a good idea, to put together some good blogs to help out the Blog of the Week concept.

Yeah...I feel sort of bad about singling people out like that, but on the other hand...you make the blog, it's sort of your fault. Also, the examples really help out and improve the guide, so...somebody has to be singled out.

So it's pretty much you, Jam and me that are helping out with this. My money's on Zook to get at least 1 Blog of the Week.

Yeah, for some people, it's their fault. They make a stupid blog, you just point it out.
But it's a good reminder of the bad blogs that have plagued this section, and it'll teach new bloggers what not to do.

Mith_ · Mar 1, 2009

Hopefully this will enhance the blog regulars blogging experience.

0.o

Firus · Mar 1, 2009

Straked said:
So it's pretty much you, Jam and me that are helping out with this. My money's on Zook to get at least 1 Blog of the Week.

Yeah. Zook has a tendency to actually do good (albeit odd) blogs.

Yeah, for some people, it's their fault. They make a stupid blog, you just point it out.
But it's a good reminder of the bad blogs that have plagued this section, and it'll teach new bloggers what not to do.

True. I think it's more important for new bloggers to improve than to make sure no one's feelings are hurt. Also, if your blog gets put up as a bad example...it's probably inspiration to try and redeem yourself. So it sort of inspires everyone.

Mith_ · Mar 1, 2009

MarKO X said:
Teeheehee...
I made a blog so crappy that it was made an example of in this blog of epic win.

I'm loving the fact that the example known as "Play SSBB forever" is justly called spam, but received over 76 pages of replies. THAT is awesome.

Overall awesome blog is awesome. Good job.

Well, Play SSBB Forever was technically a blog. It was a mediocre one, but still a blog nonetheless. It was more of a, spam thread as opposed to a spam blog if you get what I'm saying.

Imo.

Proverbs · Mar 1, 2009

Just want to point something out: There needs to be some motivation to want to win that. I'm not sure what that's going to be, but I don't see why the contest would matter to someone, you know?

I just didn't know if there was going to be any secondary reinforcement instead of just wanting to win for the sake of winning--you know? Just figure this might be a problem you'll encounter. Because you'll find maybe a few people who enjoy blogging anyway and happen to get highlighted as bloggers of the week. But then it's just going to vary between whoever turns out a better one that week, but among the same group of people.

So, to get more people writing good blogs, you'll need some sort of reinforcement. Titles like 'Smash Writer' work really well for motivation. I'll be honest, a different colored name and a title makes someone look cool. Now, I don't think you could be handing out titles every week, but I'm just pointing out what is a good reinforcement.

Do you guys have anything set in place to provide more reinforcement?

Firus · Mar 1, 2009

Mith_ said:
Well, Play SSBB Forever was technically a blog. It was a mediocre one, but still a blog nonetheless. It was more of a, spam thread as opposed to a spam blog if you get what I'm saying.

Imo.

It was definitely a spam thread, but it was also a pretty useless one-liner. It was basically just the author saying "I like Brawl a lot.", which might even count as minor spam as a regular post in a thread.

It's the reason it turned into such a spam thread.

Proverbs said:
Just want to point something out: There needs to be some motivation to want to win that. I'm not sure what that's going to be, but I don't see why the contest would matter to someone, you know?

I just didn't know if there was going to be any secondary reinforcement instead of just wanting to win for the sake of winning--you know? Just figure this might be a problem you'll encounter. Because you'll find maybe a few people who enjoy blogging anyway and happen to get highlighted as bloggers of the week. But then it's just going to vary between whoever turns out a better one that week, but among the same group of people.

So, to get more people writing good blogs, you'll need some sort of reinforcement. Titles like 'Smash Writer' work really well for motivation. I'll be honest, a different colored name and a title makes someone look cool. Now, I don't think you could be handing out titles every week, but I'm just pointing out what is a good reinforcement.

Do you guys have anything set in place to provide more reinforcement?

Well, Jam is the driving force behind this idea -- he came up with it -- he just ran the idea past us for our opinions on whether the idea was good or not. Just to set that straight first.

If people consistently get their blog elected as "Blog of the Week", then the title isn't a bad idea. As for other motivation, the person would have their blog stickied for a week and archived in a Blog of the Week thread so people can look back and see their blog. There's a definite honor and reward there. It's not huge, but it would still motivate me. It gives your blog more attention, keeps it at the top of the forum, etc. Even just the honor would make me happy, but you're right, not everyone would be pleased by just that.

:mad: · Mar 1, 2009

I imagine Jam can't really give any motivation to win, custom titles are too exlusive, and there's no color for smash blogger. We'll see once this takes off, he's just getting feedback now.

Mith_ · Mar 1, 2009

Oh so somebody else already thought of the smash blogger idea.

Oh I have a PERFECT idea for smash blogger.

:mad: · Mar 1, 2009

That'd actually be pretty cool... maybe a silver name or something, "Smash Blogger" as a title.
That might motivate people.

Mith_ · Mar 2, 2009

This sounds extremely ********, but how about people with the smash blogger title actually get post count for posting in the userblog section?

The Don’ts of Blogging

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Summoned from a trading card

Smash Rookie

SS Rank

You know what? I am good.

Smash Lord

You know what? I am good.

Smash Journeyman

Smash Master

Writer of Fortune

You know what? I am good.

Bird Law Aficionado

Smash Journeyman

You know what? I am good.

Smash Journeyman

Smash Lord

Smash Journeyman

You know what? I am good.

Smash Master

Smash Journeyman

Smash Master

Smash Lord

Bird Law Aficionado

Perpetual Lazy Bum

You know what? I am good.

Bird Law Aficionado

Deleted member

Guest

Smash Champion

Bird Law Aficionado

You know what? I am good.

Bird Law Aficionado

Smash Champion

You know what? I am good.

Smash Champion

Smash Lord

You know what? I am good.

Bird Law Aficionado

Smash Champion

Bird Law Aficionado

Smash Champion

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