# New Here **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 18, 2014, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-here/707548 "2014-12-18T03:16:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cobast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e68b1a/32.png) [@Cobast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cobast)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-here/707548/1 "2014-12-18T03:16:48Z")
Hello sdmb, I’m new here, and I’d like to hear about the rules. Not the actual ones, but the unspoken rules of etiquette. Can you help me out? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Nylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@Mr.Nylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Nylock)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-here/707548/2 "2014-12-18T03:28:17Z")
I’m a pretty new poster- I can’t really be all that much help. I can say after several months of reading and posting certain things become a little more obvious/predictable. Many things may seem contradictory at first. Other things I think nobody really knows the answer to. ---
**Author:** ![jimbuff314](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c57346/32.png) [@jimbuff314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimbuff314)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-here/707548/3 "2014-12-18T03:34:36Z")
Well, now that that has been posted, I’ll add : don’t piss off (or on) the people who can ban you from posting here. They have the title “Moderator” under their names. Seems simple and basic, I know, but you’d be surprised. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Nylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@Mr.Nylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Nylock)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-here/707548/4 "2014-12-18T03:40:35Z")
> [@jimbuff314](#): > > Well, now that that has been posted, I’ll add : don’t piss off (or on) the people who can ban you from posting here. They have the title “Moderator” under their names. Seems simple and basic, I know, but you’d be surprised. Yes, one should absolutely take what I say in this matter with a grain of salt. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-here/707548/5 "2014-12-18T05:09:29Z")
Welcome, welcome! Would you come this way please? We have a banquet for new arrivals just down the hall here. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-here/707548/6 "2014-12-18T05:35:40Z")
Hello, Cobast, and welcome. Are you asking about local etiquette on this board, or in the outside world in general? ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-here/707548/7 "2014-12-18T10:10:27Z")
Welcome. The best rule is written- “Don’t be a jerk”. The unwritten one is “Buy beer for Mods”. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-here/707548/8 "2014-12-18T10:22:30Z")
Every time you swear you have to pay me a dollar. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-here/707548/9 "2014-12-18T10:45:48Z")
That’s true. I owe **friedo** a bundle. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-here/707548/10 "2014-12-18T11:07:57Z")
Welcome to our playground! Along with “Don’t be a jerk,” I’d say it’s good form to avoid resurrecting ancient threads. Many times, the participants are long gone, so addressing them is pretty much pointless. But if you find an old thread that you think merits more discussion, start a new thread and reference the old one. Also, if you talk about your pets, you’d better be prepared to post pictures and include a link in your post. And, no, we can’t post pics in the threads and we don’t have avatars or animated gifs - we’s classier than that! 😃 There are some informative stickies at the tops of the forum pages - those should answer a bunch of your questions. Oh, yeah, and you need to send me chocolate. Because I’m nice, dammit! ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-here/707548/11 "2014-12-18T15:39:30Z")
At first stick more to IMHO and MPSIMS and avoid Great Debates or the Pit. Those just are not the places to hang out when first getting a feel for things. Unless you really want to and then feel free to totally ignore this post. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-here/707548/12 "2014-12-18T16:25:46Z")
Tell Father to mind his own business, never come to dinner on time, never eat your soup quietly, and during dessert, always blow your nose. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-here/707548/13 "2014-12-18T19:03:03Z")
**Cobast** , welcome to the Dope. One unwritten rule seems to be if you use another member’s name in a post, use it in bold. You’ll be getting some paperwork to fill out. Nothing special, just the usual stuff about your history, work / education experience, arrest record, next of kin, waiver of liability, blood type, medical, organ donor, etc. just the usual. Please use a ballpoint with black or blue/black ink. And remember to press hard, there are 5 copies. After a probationary period, we’ll tell you about the secret handshake and the other stuff for True Brothers And/Or Sisters Of The Straight Dope. How do you feel about goats. Squids? No, no particular reason for asking, we’re just curious. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-here/707548/14 "2014-12-18T20:38:04Z")
Dammit, I think you people have scared off another [del]victim[/del] new member. In any case, welcome **Cobast**! What are your feelings on James Otto? ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-here/707548/15 "2014-12-18T20:55:06Z")
> [@Cobast](#): > > Hello sdmb, I’m new here, and I’d like to hear about the rules. Not the actual ones, but the unspoken rules of etiquette. Can you help me out? - Don’t quote a whole message with nothing more than a +1 or similar brief but uninformative comment. - Don’t fuck around with fancy fonts. - All references to new pets must have links to pictures, especially kittens. The traditional response to such references is “squee”. - Don’t post links to rense, whale.to, or sites where scary faces jump out at you. - Generally you bold a user name. - Use preview - Use spellcheck. - Read the thread before you respond. - At its foundation, this site is composed almost entirely of people who should have chosen [the blue pill](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_pill_and_blue_pill). Now it’s too late. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![FuriousGeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecae2f/32.png) [@FuriousGeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuriousGeorge)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-here/707548/16 "2014-12-18T20:57:55Z")
Welcome. One of the unwritten rules is that every month every new user must send 50 dollars cash to those with a specific first letter in their SDMB user name. Coincidentally, this month’s letter is “F”. ---
**Author:** ![Hopeful\_Crow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/da6949/32.png) [@Hopeful\_Crow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hopeful_Crow)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-here/707548/17 "2014-12-18T21:18:20Z")
And since we’re getting close to the end of the month, let me remind you that January’s letter is H. ---
**Author:** ![Hopeful\_Crow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/da6949/32.png) [@Hopeful\_Crow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hopeful_Crow)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-here/707548/18 "2014-12-18T21:19:22Z")
Double post. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-here/707548/19 "2014-12-18T21:24:58Z")
Don’t double post. (Ha ha, couldn’t resist and of course you can ignore me – I’m new, too!) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-here/707548/20 "2014-12-18T21:32:20Z")
Welcome! You’ll get more when you post more. 😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-here/707548.md?page=2)