by Sophia Tesch

Created on: May 19, 2010   Last Updated: May 20, 2010

How to give the right kind of support on message boards.

Message boards are the Italian Piazza of the cyber word, the French Café, a place to meet and discuss ideas and thoughts and to share experiences. With a few guidelines you can jump right in and join the dialog once you learn how to give the right kind of support on a message board.

Know your stuff

When looking for a message board to participate in especially as a newbie, a new user, choose a topic that you are very familiar with. This will make you feel more comfortable because you will have many facts and comments to share with confidence. Do your research before hand and have fun.

Be yourself

Your name or not your name? That can be a big question. One decision to make while joining as discussion group is whether to use your real name or a nickname, I’ll let you in on a secret, I do both. A real name and picture adds credibility to comments because they are backed up by a real person and therefore a sense of accountability for what was said. If I am commenting on a political blog or news story and I want to lend credibility to my comment I will use my real name and picture.

However, there comes a time on almost any message board when you will encounter people being less than civil or in some way completely ridiculous. On those occasions my alter ego comes out under an anonymous nickname so that I may engage such villains of the message board blow for metaphoric blow and not have my cyber reputation damaged. My alter ego like all great superheroes is a secret. As such I have the freedom to go beyond decorum when the situation calls for it.

Don’t take it personal

Depending on the topic of the message board things can get heated. Passions flare and in some instances feelings get hurt. Know your message board. If it is an intense one gauge your interest in getting involved. Do you like to get into a debate and spar it out with an ideological opponent? Or do you like more civil politically correct conversation as you sip your tea at the keyboard? Either is fine you will soon know the cyber environment you are in as you engage in a message board. If you engage in a heated message board use a thick skin and a sense of humor as your weapons of defense. Followed by a plunge from your sword of truth, that is why it is important to do your homework beforehand to be prepared.

In addition to not taking comments personally, it is better to avoid personal attacks on other message board

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