Oo oo oo oo oop opening posting style.

[PliR]

How do you open your topics? Have you given thought to the general structure or type?

Open with a question style: ^Up there, look.

Essay style: Thesis statement in the introduction and then there is a body and conclusion. Usually but not exclusively, this kind of thing is in a debate thread.

Personal story style: You share how something happen to you and reflect on it's meaning or ask others their opinion. Or maybe based on that experience you want to share what you learned and what other people should take from your story.

Your opinion style: An opinion of a topic is shared. Either insightful, controversial or trolling.

Their opinion style: An OPer asks the opinion of the forum about some person, place, thing or event.

List style: Where one describes the topic and gives categories to the topic in an attempt to isolate and dissect it more.

Debate style: I guess you are making a point or stating an opinion then you challenge the peoples to disagree with you. Or maybe you want to change the mines of the people. Which ever.

Imparting 'Knowledge' style: Some one discovered something is not only true but truth. (Well at least in the brain of the OPer but you know, not everyone is always right.) You say just to be heard and there is not much of a discussion because the OP tends to leave satisfied that they said whatever they said. You know because it was so important they were blinded by the brilliance of their own knowledge. razz I think I might do that. P.S. People of Gaia, your welcome.

Sharing a cool idea style: An idea is shared. People say that they like or they don't like it. It will work or it won't.

Multimedia style: There is a cool image or link to a funny video that a few people trust because to could be a scam. .__.;

End with a question style:
What style do you use? I am sure there are more. Each forum has certain unique thread types because of the subject of the forum. There are fanthreads here and that is a little different then a topic but it's based on a thing/relationship as a topic.

Which style is more successful in what situations (or should I say forum)?

[Kain-Senpai]

What ever I feel at the moment, to be honest. I try not to stick to one particular opening post style. To me, that would get too easy too quickly. Granted, I hardly make topics in the GCD, but when I do I try to open them up differently. It's fun that way!

[Chibi Halo]

Depends on the topic and forum really. If I'm going for something casual and off the cuff then I make it sound like I'm having a personal one on one conversation with them. That's usually how a lot of the stuff I post in the Sports forum if I'm making a topic there is structured. If it's something a bit more in depth then I go a bit essay style mixed in with their opinion with my opening post. I can tend to get a little too wordy when I'm going in depth though. A lot of my GCD stuff is mostly ponderings and musings that bring about topics and they get presented in such a way that's quite similar to what I toss out at the Sports forum gang.

[PliR]

Kain-Senpai

What ever I feel at the moment, to be honest. I try not to stick to one particular opening post style. To me, that would get too easy too quickly. Granted, I hardly make topics in the GCD, but when I do I try to open them up differently. It's fun that way!

I didn't mention the GCD. I don't think. >.<; What forum do you post in?

[PliR]

Chibi Halo

Depends on the topic and forum really. If I'm going for something casual and off the cuff then I make it sound like I'm having a personal one on one conversation with them. That's usually how a lot of the stuff I post in the Sports forum if I'm making a topic there is structured. If it's something a bit more in depth then I go a bit essay style mixed in with their opinion with my opening post. I can tend to get a little too wordy when I'm going in depth though. A lot of my GCD stuff is mostly ponderings and musings that bring about topics and they get presented in such a way that's quite similar to what I toss out at the Sports forum gang.

Personality can really add that spice to a topic. Kind of hard to project for me in text form. I get chatty only in RL. >.>;

[Kain-Senpai]

PliR

Kain-Senpai

What ever I feel at the moment, to be honest. I try not to stick to one particular opening post style. To me, that would get too easy too quickly. Granted, I hardly make topics in the GCD, but when I do I try to open them up differently. It's fun that way!

I didn't mention the GCD. I don't think. >.<; What forum do you post in?

Considering this was posted in the GCD, I just figured you would be talking about the GCD. I mostly post in the GCD and SF.

[Whip]

I rarely make topics, but the ones that seem to be most successful are those that have proformas. Question and answer style.

Those, and also the item lists. Which by their nature are in list format.

Long gone are the days of essay style discussions being remotely accepted in here. There are a few stalwarts, but for the most part, it's conversation circle time in which everyone gets their chance to say something, one after the other.

[Chibi Halo]

PliR

Chibi Halo

Depends on the topic and forum really. If I'm going for something casual and off the cuff then I make it sound like I'm having a personal one on one conversation with them. That's usually how a lot of the stuff I post in the Sports forum if I'm making a topic there is structured. If it's something a bit more in depth then I go a bit essay style mixed in with their opinion with my opening post. I can tend to get a little too wordy when I'm going in depth though. A lot of my GCD stuff is mostly ponderings and musings that bring about topics and they get presented in such a way that's quite similar to what I toss out at the Sports forum gang.

Personality can really add that spice to a topic. Kind of hard to project for me in text form. I get chatty only in RL. >.>;

I might not always succeed when trying to make it sound like I'm sitting in the same room chatting with them because like I said about the in depth stuff I can tend to get a little too wordy. That happens at times when I'm chatting it up with the Sports gang. Case in point, the last topic I posted in there was on the Sunday before the Packers Seahawks game that sped up the talks to bring back the NFLRA and remove the replacement refs got a little wordy by Sports forum standards as I was recounting to the forum the ridiculous seven minute call in the Bears game that happened to be on at the time. It needed to be a little wordy to present a prime example of what was going on with the NFL at the time and why I wasn't too thrilled with how long the talks between the league and the NFLRA were going on. Sometimes you need to throw in a lengthy example in a forum like that to help illustrate a point, even when you're trying to be casual and one on one.

[PliR]

Kain-Senpai

Considering this was posted in the GCD, I just figured you would be talking about the GCD. I mostly post in the GCD and SF.

SF=San Francisco? biggrin They have their own forum. Cool. [/bad joke]
Site feedback; I guess you have ideas/requests for some improvements.

I want Cinema in the Gaia house you own with the ability to invite friends.

[Lazarus Larkin]

I rarely make threads, and when I do it's usually in SF where I don't worry that much about being structured because I really want to just go "I feel this way about this thing for this reason!" and then see how other people react rofl

If I'm trying to make a thread in the GCD (which is rare) I try to put more effort into it. Usually. Last thread I made here was to discuss that motorcycle bundle because people kept talking in my Friends Chat hangout about how they wished there was a thread for it but they wouldn't make on themselves >.>

[PliR]

Chibi Halo

I might not always succeed when trying to make it sound like I'm sitting in the same room chatting with them because like I said about the in depth stuff I can tend to get a little too wordy. That happens at times when I'm chatting it up with the Sports gang. Case in point, the last topic I posted in there was on the Sunday before the Packers Seahawks game that sped up the talks to bring back the NFLRA and remove the replacement refs got a little wordy by Sports forum standards as I was recounting to the forum the ridiculous seven minute call in the Bears game that happened to be on at the time. It needed to be a little wordy to present a prime example of what was going on with the NFL at the time and why I wasn't too thrilled with how long the talks between the league and the NFLRA were going on. Sometimes you need to throw in a lengthy example in a forum like that to help illustrate a point, even when you're trying to be casual and one on one.

I see what you mean. You are painting a picture and giving sort of a foundation to your statement.

[Kain-Senpai]

PliR

Kain-Senpai

Considering this was posted in the GCD, I just figured you would be talking about the GCD. I mostly post in the GCD and SF.

SF=San Francisco? biggrin They have their own forum. Cool. [/bad joke]
Site feedback; I guess you have ideas/requests for some improvements.

I want Cinema in the Gaia house you own with the ability to invite friends.

Well, yea. SF is more than just suggesting ideas, though. I like giving feedback on other users' ideas, too.

Cinemas will never be on Gaia again. Cinemas were taken down due to uses misusing the feature to show copy-righted material that Gaia had no license to show. So... that's not going to happen. Lawls.

/going off topic

[Whip]

PliR

Kain-Senpai

What ever I feel at the moment, to be honest. I try not to stick to one particular opening post style. To me, that would get too easy too quickly. Granted, I hardly make topics in the GCD, but when I do I try to open them up differently. It's fun that way!

I didn't mention the GCD. I don't think. >.<; What forum do you post in?

Given that many other forums, most of the styles you suggested aren't really applicable, like Word Games, or Chatterbox, for example. But it's nice to consider what works best for each forum, too!

The discussion forums are probably best suited to some of the longer form OP styles, though they often do appear in question or anecdote format.

I kind of think the best topic is one that attempts to blend a few styles. Such as including questions that are relevant to the discussion within the OP or at the end, and keeping the discussion reasonably brief. If one wishes to state one's own opinion or experience in a topic, it is better to discuss that as it comes up within the topic rather than bog the OP down with your own answers to the discussion points you're raising. It then begins to feel like a journal post rather than something the OP wishes to explore.

At least, keep the anecdotes and personal opinions brief in the OP, and only include them if they add weight to your discussion points.

Not that I'd know s**t, I never make topics.

[hornworts]

No matter what my polls are always about your mom

Always

[PliR]

VVhip

I rarely make topics, but the ones that seem to be most successful are those that have proformas. Question and answer style.

Those, and also the item lists. Which by their nature are in list format.

Long gone are the days of essay style discussions being remotely accepted in here. There are a few stalwarts, but for the most part, it's conversation circle time in which everyone gets their chance to say something, one after the other.

Yeah I totally googled proformas.<.<

What were thoses days... like 2004-2006/2007?

I remember ED being a little of a more "higher standard" of threads then than now but that could just be my imagination.