Creating A Thread

-Make sure your thread isn't a duplicate. Those will be closed, and they clutter up the forum unnecessarily.
-Make sure your thread has a clear topic. It will make it easier to keep your discussion on track and not wind off. Don't make it too specific, as if it is other Scratchers may make another topic partially concerning yours. An example would be a character from a book or movie. You could easily start a topic about the whole book or movie, as that would be more specific.
-Make sure your thread follows community guidelines. This will make sure your topic is community-friendly and appropriate.
-Make sure your thread won't start a fight. Your topic should not be about anything possibly offensive, such as politics.
-Make sure your topic is something you understand. It will make it easier to manager it.
-Make sure you don't create too many threads at once. This clutters the forums.
-Become familiar with the Guidelines for the Reading and Playing Forum. This is most important and will most likely help your topic follow all of these tips.

Managing A Thread

-Don't follow your thread, especially if it's a big topic. I wouldn't recommend this, as most of the discussion will be between other Scratchers and you'll get notified every time.
-Check in on your thread every once in a while. If there are any offensive posts, report them. Settle any possible arguements, and get your topic back on track if necessary.
-Add your topic to the directory. It will prevent others from making duplicates and show the community you've made a thread about this topic.
-Don't put too many rules in place. Other than following community guidelines and keeping the topic on track, let other Scratchers chat and help each other out.
-Add your topic to the directory. That will help it get noticed, and find other Scratchers who share your interests.

Above all, try to let your thread manage itself. There are a community of helpful Scratchers who share your interests and will most likely report offensive things and keep the topic on track. You are the creator, but the community leads the discussion.

Posting In A Thread

-Don't post off topic. It's annoying to other Scratchers who share your interests. If you can't find a thread to talk about your topic, create one!
-Don't post anything offensive. It could lead to arguements, and that's not what this forum is for.
-Follow the Community Guidelines. That'll help keep the discussion child-friendly.
-Don't post too many times. If you're answering someones question or talking to someone, put it in one big post. Too many can make it confusing and cluttered. It also makes it hard for other Scratchers to understand what you're saying.
-Help keep the topic friendly and on track. Not everyone will catch / report innappropriate things, and don't go along with it. Reporting a post is the right thing to do. You should also tell the Scratcher where they went wrong.

Thanks to everyone for helping me get this noticed!

Honeyfall wrote:

-Don't put rules in place. Other than following community guidelines and keeping the topic on track, let other Scratchers chat and help each other out.

-THENEXT_LEVEL- wrote:

Honeyfall wrote:

-Don't put rules in place. Other than following community guidelines and keeping the topic on track, let other Scratchers chat and help each other out.

What if I don't want people snipping?

ThatOneWeirdDude wrote:

Nice! A lot of topics seem to just have 1 sentence as the original post, and that doesn't encourage discussion.


Reporting to be stickied as this is actually useful

Paddle2See wrote:

Good stuff here! You might want to remind your readers to become familiar with the Guidelines for this forums section before making a new topic. That might help prevent them from wasting time on a topic that is not a good fit for the section.

I think I see what you are saying about avoiding making a topic too detailed. You might want to give some examples. Such as a topic for each character of a video game or book would probably be too detailed, since it could be covered by a topic encompassing the whole video game or book.

ThatOneWeirdDude wrote:

Congrats on the sticky!

cheesyfriedeggs wrote:

This may be a bit late, but congrats on the sticky!

MayorMare wrote:

Is there a way to search the forums?
I want to create a topic, but I need to see if it is a duplicate first.
A search bar would help!

kitten769 wrote:

MayorMare wrote:

Is there a way to search the forums?
I want to create a topic, but I need to see if it is a duplicate first.
A search bar would help!

There was one once, but it didn't work very well and was removed about a week ago.

MayorMare wrote:

Is there a way to search the forums?
I want to create a topic, but I need to see if it is a duplicate first.
A search bar would help!

MayorMare wrote:

Is there a way to search the forums?
I want to create a topic, but I need to see if it is a duplicate first.
A search bar would help!

Honeyfall wrote:

MayorMare wrote:

Is there a way to search the forums?
I want to create a topic, but I need to see if it is a duplicate first.
A search bar would help!

No, there currently isn't although you can go to the link above, or the directories are always helpful.