I decided that, even though I haven't been a forum member for that long, I could use my experience with others forums to show some good posting methods. I don't know if I'll make blog posts regularly or not, it depends on how well received this ends up being, I suppose.

Either way, I hope this complex guide ends up helping you post better than you ever could before! This is an issue that reaches far beyond the bounds of just this one forum, and thus, I feel fairly articulate on the matter.

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Alright, the first thing you want to do is open a thread. You may wish to look at the recent posts section to find out what's most active at the moment, but feel free to choose any thread.

The next thing that you'll want to do is read the thread. This is a step that many people on forums all over the internet seem to forget quite a lot. If the thread has too many posts for you to be reasonably expected to read (Three pages or more), at least read the first page of replies in it's entirety, as well as the original post. This step is important in order for you to look like you know what you're talking about.

Once you have read, you are ready to post!

But wait, you should know that there are correct ways to post, and incorrect ways to post.

Your posts should always:

-Meet the character limit without you having to repeat yourself/add spam characters.

-Be relevant to the topic of the thread.

-Be respectful to your other members and their opinions. If you disagree with somebody, make sure that you're fighting the person's opinion, not the person themselves.

Your posts should never:

-Contribute nothing to the conversation. For example, don't just reply to somebody with the word "Agreed", a brohoof does the job of telling them you agree just nicely. If you wish to explain why you agree or strengthen the viewpoint by providing relevant information, then you should post.

-Be a huge wall of text (Nobody will want to read it, and it's not difficult to insert spaces)

-Contain more emoticons than letters (Seriously, I've seen this, and it's the worst thing)

-Ask for brohooves, if people like your posts, they will brohoof them without being asked to.

As a rule of thumb: Read your post over, if you are unsure if should post it, then don't. Instead, ask a moderator if it's alright to post before doing so. It will save you possible trouble.

Additional things you may want your posts to include (Think of these like bonus points, the more you have of these, the more likely your post is to be of a higher quality):

-A good attitude (I don't mean "have a good attitude" in the Sunshine, Lolipops, Rainbows sense, but in the "I'm being reasonable" sense.)

-A well-informed opinion (It goes a long way, it really does)

-Proper grammar (If you're a non-native English speaker, this isn't necessary and a lack thereof can definitely be excused.)

-Proper formatting (Don't capitalize every word, don't underline everything, you know, the basics. There is such a thing as too much formatting.)

-If you're referring to a third party article, link to it in your post so people can see that your sources are legitimate (People are more likely to take your opinions seriously this way)

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I hope this has covered the basics of posting, and I also hope that this has been at least a decent blog post, considering it is my first on this website.