Constructive First Post

A constructive first post is generally something that's more than one or two lines. The ideal one would be in the introductions forum as stated in Step 2 (read the stickies).

Remember, not making a constructive first post will lead to banning. Heavy-handed, but failure to follow instructions is no excuse.

But tell us! What does "Constructive" actually mean, and why should we use it on the forum? Good question! According to the dictionary it is a adjective. I quote: [adjective] emphasizing what is laudable or hopeful or to the good; "constructive criticism". It goes hand in hand with criticism, which is what you do when you disagree with something and out that by either saying it, or writing it.

Now that we know what those are, how do we actually give constructive criticism? As stated above, it is importantly that you write more then two lines of opinion and thoughts regarding the subject at hand. For example, a player posts a suggestion that we should all be vampires. How would you voice your opinion towards that person? You don't want to be a vampire at all, you hate them! You didn't leave retail RP to be some light forsaken warlock!..

What's the first you should do? Posting your thoughts? Wrong!

First, calm down. Take a deep breath, reread the post to make sure you've understood what is said, before hitting the reply button. Now, once you've actually achieved a calm state of mind, hit the reply button and think of how you should best reply. Point out all the faults? Not really! It is important to know that every bad idea/suggestion/post is actually far from bad, and it's actually good in some ways. The idea? Vampires are a no-no, but the user still tried to contribute to the community by expressing his ideas. That's great!

Back to the response at hand, it is very important to point both out the good aspect along with the lesser aspects of his post. Compliment him or her on his attempt to contribute to the community, then gently guide him to the point that Vampires are a no-no and that the rules state them very clearly. Throw in the link towards the rules, and your done! The user will most likely understand, and learn from it. Learning is what it's all about, remember that folks!

Bad way to response:

- Get back to retail!
- Vampires are a no-no
- Read the rules.

(Why? None of these point out anything good, and none of them actually help the user who posted the idea!)

Good way to response:

- Well, I know it has been seen a lot of Retail, but lore wise it is impossible to even play a WoW-Vampires. It's great to see a new person contributing towards the community, but even the rules (insert link here) disallow the creation of such a character.

See? With a little thought and effort, you made a nice way to say no and still got through towards the user. I know this idea is rather extreme, but you can do it with any idea!