10. Respect is given to those who help themselves.
A lot of my opinions center directly on the concept of "text". This is a text-based forum, and even though most people are loose with the language like "I hear what you are saying" etc... it's really alphanumeric characters strung together in order to convey meaning. It's a text-based universe.
Coincidentally, SEO and IM is also, for the most part, a text-based universe. Images are eye-candy that attract attention, but the real business of IM and SEO is done via text. One thing beginners learn about optimizing for images is that one must utilize the text associated with those images to the greatest extent possible because, Google's algorithm can only "see" text. It is completely blind to the images themselves, and they are meaningless.
Marketing is a money-focused endeavor, and it is a competitive endeavor also. BHW puts a lot of effort into emphasizing a friendly, cooperative environment I think primarily because it is populated by self-driven, money-focused and competitive type "A" personalities. It takes a certain amount of coercion to get highly-motivated, egoist, self-centered and driven people to fall into some kind of social order. I think it is like, as they say here in Texas, "herding cats". So the continuous threats of punitive repercussions are only because of who is here.
I think it is important for the newb to be aware of
1) Who they are
2) Where they are, and
3) Who they are surrounded by
4) What standards they are being measured by
5) Why they are here, i.e. what do they hope to accomplish, what goals do they have
I can't claim to have any special swami-guru awareness of exactly how these questions are answered, but I do believe that this is the fundamental framework that must be considered.
This is the "known universe" and it is governed by these immutable laws. It was set in motion somehow, either by God himself or the "Big Bang" and the only thing that changes the natural momentum of things is the influence of the text that is created by the people on this forum. It's the only thing that people have power over, and it's the only thing that is capable of changing, and of making change.
So, to demonstrate talent with the use of the text earns respect. Either by the clarity of the meanings conveyed by the text, or the skill and/or determination showed when searching for relevant or interesting text; all text-related talent is easily recognized by people that are interested in turning talent with text into money. Or for entertainment purposes, even. The shared humor with an unknown person, that intimate contact made through a skillful use of text when expressing a wry or sarcastic sentiment; it's not ALWAYS about money. (Which, btw, is why I don't use "smilies". It dumbs-down the meaning I'm trying to convey to the very people I'm trying to exclude, and is disrespectful to the people I'm really trying to connect with.)
Conversely, failing to adequately title a thread with optimal text, failing to search for a thread that has text that is the same as the text a person wants to start a thread about, failing to notice the text on a certain thread is 3 years old, failing to use text to spell words properly, failing to insert breaks in the middle of a "wall of text", failing to treat the text with the respect the text deserves, ALL of these failures invite those of us that respect text to cast scorn and derision upon those that fail, in a text based universe, to recognize the critical importance that text has, here.
gnome sayin'? aight den. Jus' keepin' it real, homies. Peace out.