monkey_05_06's Self-Help Guide for n00bs UPDATED: 30 Jan 2007

Started by monkey0506, Sun 03/07/2005 07:23:39

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monkey0506

monkey_05_06's Self-Help Guide for n00bs:

1. Read the forum rules.*
Not having read the rules is not an excuse for breaking them. When you sign up for the forums, you agree to abide by the rules set in place by the moderators and administrators. Not knowing what they are doesn't exempt you from this agreement.

2. Read the BFAQ.
Other than the forum rules, the BFAQ (Beginner's Frequently Asked Questions) is one of the first things you should read. The BFAQ provides answers to many questions that we receive on a regular basis. Due to the frequency with which these questions are asked creating a new thread on these topics is considered taboo and will result in your thread being locked (or even deleted). If you have questions regarding the answer provided by the BFAQ, be sure to state that you have read the BFAQ and that you are asking for further information on the topic.

3. Read the manual.
Saying that you should read the entire manual before posting any questions is ridiculous. You should however take care to properly research the manual entries regarding your question. This will hopefully help you to find your answer, but if you still have questions, it will show that you have made an effort to find the answer yourself. Showing some effort on your part will make us more likely to show some effort toward helping you.

4. Search the forums.
The forum search feature is there for a reason. Odds are that if you look, you will probably find similar questions to your own. The forum search will help aide you find these similar questions. It will also show an additional effort on your own part which will again increase our willingness to help resolve your issues.

5. Create your thread.
If you have completed the previous steps and still have questions, then it is now safe to create your thread. Be sure to tell us what the problem is as well as where you have looked for answers. Posting in the correct forum is also essential (which is why you should have read over the forum rules first).

6. Do NOT create the same thread multiple times.
Under no circumstances should you ever create multiple threads regarding the same question, unless the issue was previously resolved and is no longer an active thread (i.e., it has been more than a month since the last reply). Creating several threads in the matter of a few minutes will make us far less likely to answer your question, and will incur consequences from the mods/admins.

7. Don't double-post.
Double-posting is defined as the same user posting twice in a row without another user posting in-between. Double-posting is against the forum rules. You can modify (edit) your posts if you need to include more information. The exception to this rule is when you are bumping a thread.

8. Rules for "bumping".
"Bumping" a thread is the act of double-posting for the sake of keeping a thread active. You shouldn't bump a thread after only a few minutes. Though this community consists of members from all around the world, it doesn't mean that you'll always get an answer right away. A good general rule of thumb is to wait at least two or three days after your last post before bumping the thread. Another good rule is that you shouldn't bump a thread unless it is in danger of being pushed to a latter page in the forum where it might not receive the attention an active thread deserves. However, double-posting is against the rules, so you must exert some caution (and a bit of common sense) when bumping a thread.

9. Do not post just to post.
In the more general forums, don't post just to post.  Having a good reason to post is not constituted by coming up with a new idea for your next game, but without actually taking the time to think through what you will really be doing with it, and asking for help with plot and/or graphics.  Nor should you post if you aren't going to post anything of any value.  Posting a thread asking if making a certain game would be a good idea, is not a good idea.  If you want to make it, start the game, start a thread for it, and then see what the people think.  But still, it should be the developer's final say if his/her game is made or not.  Post count won't gain you respect if everyone knows that you got yours just by creating random threads for no reason, telling people asking for help "I really have no idea how to help you.", and things of that nature.  In fact, if you have just signed up, but you post respectively and in a normal manner, you will not only be less likely to get in trouble with the mods, but the forum regulars will be a lot more willing to help you than if you had just played the boy crying wolf asking for help with something that you didn't want it with, just to raise your post count.

10. Pick one project, and stick with it.
In general it's not a good idea to try managing more than one project at once. Those people who try to manage several projects at once are usually those who end up with most or even all of their projects in the AGS Graveyard. Though it's okay to take a break from large, long-term projects, you should be careful not to completely abandon the project in favor of another long-term project. This is the type of behaviour which prevents your games from being released! So though it's okay to have other work on the side, you should only undertake one major project at a time.

*Beginners Technical Questions Forum Rules
Technical Forum Rules
Completed Game Announcements Forum Rules
AGS Games In Production Forum Rules
Adventure-related talk and chat Forum Rules
Critics Lounge Forum Rules
Competitions and Activities Forum Rules
General Discussion Forum Rules


DISCLAIMER: This guide is in no way supported, affiliated, or endorsed by the moderators or administrators of this website or its forums.  It is simply, and nothing more, than a collection of guidelines and suggestions to help new forum members adjust to the community more quickly and efficiently. This guide is provided as-is with no warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose.

Phemar


Also, remember: If someone hasn't answered your thread in 45 minutes, don't get angry and bump it or repost, just wait. Remember that the forums span many timezones.

monkey0506

#2
Thanks again to Zor for #7.  I kind of stole it, so if you don't mind, can I get permission to officially adopt it into the guide?  Otherwise I'll just have to kill you, and [Edit:]fake, erm..., not fake your will, which will clearly read as follows:

Last Will and Testament of Zor:

I, Zor, do hereby decree that upon such day as I should die, all of my earthly possessions, including statements I may have made which should until such time have been associated to myself, shall become the property soley of monkey_05_06.  Should the event arise that monkey_05_06 should kill me to obtain my possessions, then he shall still inherit them, and my bank account should be enough to pay his way out of jail.  He will then also have my lawful permission to kill his oldest younger sister.  Should the event arise that any of the aforementioned actions should be deemed illegal by a Judge of the law, then monkey_05_06 will also have my lawful permission to defame, and then publicly assassinate said judge.  My parents should be able to cover the expenses of aforementioned assassinations, and in the event that they refuse, fail, and/or are not capable of covering the cost, then I surrender legal rights to all needed money from the bank account of any person of monkey_05_06's choosing to monkey_05_06.

Signed,
Zor

Date
03 July 2005

Witnesses
monkey_05_06
monkey_05_06's oldest younger sister
monkey_05_06's second cousin by marriage's brother-in-law*,**
monkey_05_06's mom or dad**

*Person referenced by this footnote may or may not exist.***
**Person referenced by this footnote may or may not have witnessed the signature of Zor upon this document.***
***Irregardless of what the law may state, the witnesses referenced by above footnotes shall be regarded as legal witnesses of this document.

Snarky


Phemar


Haha! I will never sign!

* Zor decapitates monkey with his penish.

BTW: I think I stole that one from somewhere anyway so it doesn't matter if you use it.

monkey0506

decapitatedmonkey] haha!  but you have already signed!
decapitatedmonkey casts spell "ACCA"
decapitatedmonkey is now known as monkey_05_06
monkey_05_06 casts spell "Killaga"
Zor is now known as killagaedzor
monkey_05_06 casts spell "Bind"
killagaedzor can no longer cast spells
monkey_05_06 casts spell "Protect"
killagaedzor is now protected from all magical spells, enchantment, items, creatures, attacks, potions, magic, non-magic, etc.
monkey_05_06 reads last sentence of killagaedzor's post
monkey_05_06 feels regret for killagaing killagaedzor
monkey_05_06 forges killagaedzor's will and gets all his stuff
monkey_05_06 loses feelings of regret for killagaing killagaedzor

Andail

This thread started out with much more sense than it has now

chapter11studios

Quote3.Ã,  Then, read the manual.Ã, 

Isn't the manual about three or four versions of AGS out of date? A lot has changed since the manual for 2.32 or whatever the version is that the manual was based on.

Shinan

Quote from: Chapter 11 Studios on Mon 04/07/2005 13:55:25
Isn't the manual about three or four versions of AGS out of date? A lot has changed since the manual for 2.32 or whatever the version is that the manual was based on.
My manual has a "upgrading to 2.7" thingy aswell as numerous "used to be this-and-that that is now obsolete". So at least in the newest (official) version the help file is up to date.
"Be strong in your Ignorance"
"I'm just a nationalistic Swedish-speaking Finn"

Rui 'Trovatore' Pires

Whuh? The manual is always up to date. The version that comes with each version, at least. There are some remnants of things which are older, or some minor things still not added, but essentially the manual is ALWAYS up to date.
Reach for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.

Kneel. Now.

Never throw chicken at a Leprechaun.

monkey0506

The help manual is more up to date than your screen refresh rate.

DISCLAIMER:  Rhyming lines unintentional.  No rhyme express or implied in this post is sanctioned by monkey_05_06 or any of his associates.

Disco

Hey there monkey_05_06! I bet you're a lawyer in real life, huh?

monkey0506

You bet.  In all my 17 years of life, I've had time to attend law school.  Definitely.

I would try to make this on-topic, but I don't really see how I can.  If I had any ideas to add to the guide, I would add it to the guide.  We need some new n00bs so that we can tell them what to do again.

Blitzerland


monkey0506

#14
My original intent here was to create a thread that was inspirational and non-spammy to new members.Ã,  I was myself inspired by the two members I know of, who, upon first joining, posted the same topic several times.Ã,  I'm not going to mention any names because they have both corrected their ways, but they themselves were, at one time, n00bs.

Edit:

Quote from: AndailThis thread started out with much more sense than it has now

As stated above, this wasn't my original intent.  I hope to pull this thread back around to what I meant it to be before it gets locked for being the spam-dump thread.

Gregjazz


Snarky

Quote from: monkey_05_06 on Sun 03/07/2005 07:23:39
[guide]
8.Ã,  Profanity not appreciated.
Refrain from using vulgar language in the forums whenever possible.Ã,  Although the minimum age for the forums is 16, not all members are that old, and even those of us who are of age to be in the forums don't necessarily want to listen to that type of language.Ã,  Also, if you do it too much then the mods are likely to, well, I don't know that they would go so far as to ban you, but they will take action if your profanity gets out of hand.
[/guide]


Edit:Ã,  Thanks to Rui "Brisby" Pires for the inspiration to add #8.

Eh? These forums have always had a refreshingly liberal attitude to the occasional swear word. The very fact that Rui has had the word "fucking" in his sig for months and there's never been a complaint until recently (by a single individual, who's not really a forum regular, and who didn't even exactly "complain") should be an indication of what a big deal it is not.

And I believe mods will take action if "profanity gets out of hand" not because it's profanity, but because such posts are likely to be abusive, or at least not "interesting, helpful or funny" or mature.

Rui 'Trovatore' Pires

Hmm. Hadn't noticed that before. It's a good point, mind - I myself have (paradoxically) advised a new member (in his first post, in fact) to replace his "fuck it" with "the hell with it". But that was because, a) He was a first poster and that use of the word might have made some people a bit wary of him (it happens), and b) it wasn't really necessary (I won't argue the necessity of my quote, I already did in other forum). I tell you, when I re-read the thread and saw my sig, I just went "whoops!".

But, this particular point is also a bit too... I don't know. I remember some Blackthorne and Yufster posts - those are the ones that come to my mind. Some had quite a bit of profanity, but no one got bothered... as Snarky said, it's not an out-of-hand immature thing (well, most times anyway ::) ) but rather how people talk. As long as it's got a proper context, it's not exactly ban material (I'm not saying you said it was, but I like this term so I used it. := ).

Maybe you should rephrase it - it's not use of "vulgar language" that becomes an issue, but rather gratuitous and/or actively offensive vulgar language.
Reach for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.

Kneel. Now.

Never throw chicken at a Leprechaun.

Andail

I don't wanna sound ungrateful, but I don't really see the need in stickying this thread.
I don't see vulgar language as a commonly occuring issue around here, and if people are about to review regulation-threads, they'll probably have a look at the already existing "read before posting" threads. Mods have already told people not to use vulgar language.

Secondly, Monkey_05_06 - while still an appreciated member - doesn't hold any official rule-enforcing function in this forum, so people might doubt the importance of a thread like this.
We have moderators, and we have threads with rules listed. If you think something is missing there, why not pm a board-moderator and have it included?

monkey0506

Yeah, Andail.  You're pretty much right.  I kind of deep down inside maybe hoped it may become sticky material, but you're absolutely right that there is no reason for it to be.

Personally I try to ignore the vulgar language whenever I see it, but that doesn't mean that I want everyone to just start swearing with every other word they say.  I'm just saying that there are people around here who really don't appreciate that kind of language, so just keep it to a minimum.

Yeah, I guess that there's really no point in continuing the guide...unless someone just really wants me to.

Michael

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