A few things to consider:

[_SRM_Petit_Mort]

After looking through the posts as of late, I saw some things I thought I'd just point out as a kind of PSA. I'm not naming names or picking anyone out of a lineup so if you get offended or mad about one or more of them, then you know that you should read the rest of them too.

1. Read before posting.
This one is pretty self explanitory, but to sum up: I see a lot of responding posts that are made where it's blatantly obvious that the responder didn't take the time to read through the entirety of the poste made by the original author. Had they done so, they would have been on topic and possibly more importantly, most of the time, the concern that the "premature poster" raises is answered a few more lines down.

2. Don't be afraid to ask for clarification!
"Hey Mort, I read your post but don't quite understand what you mean by..." "would you mind elaborating?"
Goes a LOT farther than "Mort you idiotic son of a @#$ how DARE you say that I kill kittens!!!" because for one, most other folks know what was meant and your flaming simply makes you look very silly, Asking what was meant is a sign of maturity and that you are really interested in a conversation rather than a screaming match.

3. Don't make a post to explain your actions
If you get banned then take a breather, read a book, take a bath (god knows you probably need one after a 12 hour gaming session) it's ok. we've all done things that were ban worthy and no-one is above getting hit with a ban... even I have been banned before, the best thing to do is to take it up with one of the admins (I.E. Tiger or BV) if it's really all that upsetting.

4. Complaining about a player publicly will probably never have the result you want
If you make a post to complain about what someone did to you in game then the chances that something will be done about it are pretty much nil. It does occasionally happen but trying to rally the community behind your own personal cause because of a boot or a ban or whatever is petty, childish, and juvinile.

5. Stop trying to save face
We're all guilty of this from time to time of course. For some, unfortunately, this is their only purpose of posting. If you did something or said something that was total crap, or in the heat of an arguement said something that was perhaps less than true, don't keep perpetuating the accidental ignorance to save face because you'll only be dragging it through the mud. Just say "Hey, I was angry and embellished a bit in the heat of the moment" You'll find that people will respect you a whole lot more.

That's it for now. I'm sure there will be more to add later of course but these 5 are a pretty good start I believe /wink.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=";)" border="0" alt="wink.gif" />