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BHW is a great place to learn, build networks and develop your work in the world of IM, but we’ve achieved that by being pretty strict. So here are some pitfalls that newbies often fall into, how to avoid them and what to do if you do find yourself in a sticky situation.
“I’m new here, how does this SEO thing work?”
First things first, everyone is welcome here. However, you’ll get the most out of the threads and conversations if you have a basic understanding of IM and SEO. So, before you start posting, asking simple questions or making blanket requests for advice, have a look at the sticky threads in each section.
Sticky threads are the ones that have a pin icon and the text “Please read” in bright green text. These will cover the specific rules for each section and provide general advice that you should definitely read before you dive further into the threads. If you’re still getting stuck on things, post a question in these threads, where a conversation has already been established - you’re much more likely to get helpful answers, rather than sarcastic ones.
Not only does this help you make the right impression with other members and start to build up good favour with your fellow BHW users, you’re also less likely to get yourself unwanted warnings or infractions for post count inflation or duplicating threads. If you don’t know what that means, give those rules another read.
There is a BHW tone, don’t take it personally
Speaking of sarcasm, after a little bit of reading around, you’ll notice there’s an unofficial tone on BHW. We have a particular sense of humour that has a tendency towards the sarcastic.
Don’t take this sarcasm to be a personal insult, it’s part of the reason this forum is so valuable. Around here, we talk straight and share some pretty exclusive stuff, so members aren't going to spoonfeed you. Invest in the forum, do the research, and find the threads that are already answering your questions - and if someone is a little sarcastic with you, rise above it. You get out of BHW what you put in, so if you ask interesting, insightful questions, you’ll get interesting, insightful answers.
Posting in the right sub-forum
BHW is massive and we have a lot of sub-forums. Take a look at just how many forums we have and spend some time familiarising yourself with them. It can be a little confusing, trying to work out where exactly you should post your thread. The simplest way to think about it, is to consider where you are going to get the best answer. Often your question might fall into a couple of categories, so think about the specialists you are trying to engage with, and post in the sub-forum that's most relevant to them. Also, look through all of the levels of sub-forums and get as specific as you can - the more targeted your thread, the better the answers will be.
Double and triple posting
Don't do this. At worst, it's post count inflation, and at best, it's annoying. Think about what you want to say before you say it and read through what you've typed before you post your reply. If you do want to add something to your post, you've got 120 seconds to make edits (that's 2 minutes, which is longer than it sounds). Worst comes to worst, you can always ask a mod to merge double or triple posts for you, by reporting the additional posts.
Asking a question
If you have a question in the very early days, it’s best not to reply to your welcome message. As you can imagine, as the owner of BHW, Diamond Damien gets a lot of PMs and the likelihood is that he won’t see your question for a while. If in doubt, check the rules again, have a read around these threads here and start reading the stickies in the wider forum. Chances are, you’ll find out the answer to your question there much quicker than DD will be able to reply.
Mod surfing
When something seems amiss and you want advice or help, it might seem like a good idea to reach out to as many people as you can, all at once. While the admins and mods are here to keep the forum safe for all of our members, please do not contact multiple mods at once asking for help. If you send the same query to more than one person, this counts as mod surfing, and as you’ll see in the rules that’s a no-no.
It seems innocent, but it’s a slippery slope to bad habits. One question, one mod.
If you need it, there is a process to escalate an appeal on a mod decision.
Support desk guide: https://support.blackhatworld.com/en/support/solutions/articles/48001231509-i-need-advice-on-bhw
“I’m new here, how does this SEO thing work?”
First things first, everyone is welcome here. However, you’ll get the most out of the threads and conversations if you have a basic understanding of IM and SEO. So, before you start posting, asking simple questions or making blanket requests for advice, have a look at the sticky threads in each section.
Sticky threads are the ones that have a pin icon and the text “Please read” in bright green text. These will cover the specific rules for each section and provide general advice that you should definitely read before you dive further into the threads. If you’re still getting stuck on things, post a question in these threads, where a conversation has already been established - you’re much more likely to get helpful answers, rather than sarcastic ones.
Not only does this help you make the right impression with other members and start to build up good favour with your fellow BHW users, you’re also less likely to get yourself unwanted warnings or infractions for post count inflation or duplicating threads. If you don’t know what that means, give those rules another read.
There is a BHW tone, don’t take it personally
Speaking of sarcasm, after a little bit of reading around, you’ll notice there’s an unofficial tone on BHW. We have a particular sense of humour that has a tendency towards the sarcastic.
Don’t take this sarcasm to be a personal insult, it’s part of the reason this forum is so valuable. Around here, we talk straight and share some pretty exclusive stuff, so members aren't going to spoonfeed you. Invest in the forum, do the research, and find the threads that are already answering your questions - and if someone is a little sarcastic with you, rise above it. You get out of BHW what you put in, so if you ask interesting, insightful questions, you’ll get interesting, insightful answers.
Posting in the right sub-forum
BHW is massive and we have a lot of sub-forums. Take a look at just how many forums we have and spend some time familiarising yourself with them. It can be a little confusing, trying to work out where exactly you should post your thread. The simplest way to think about it, is to consider where you are going to get the best answer. Often your question might fall into a couple of categories, so think about the specialists you are trying to engage with, and post in the sub-forum that's most relevant to them. Also, look through all of the levels of sub-forums and get as specific as you can - the more targeted your thread, the better the answers will be.
Double and triple posting
Don't do this. At worst, it's post count inflation, and at best, it's annoying. Think about what you want to say before you say it and read through what you've typed before you post your reply. If you do want to add something to your post, you've got 120 seconds to make edits (that's 2 minutes, which is longer than it sounds). Worst comes to worst, you can always ask a mod to merge double or triple posts for you, by reporting the additional posts.
Asking a question
If you have a question in the very early days, it’s best not to reply to your welcome message. As you can imagine, as the owner of BHW, Diamond Damien gets a lot of PMs and the likelihood is that he won’t see your question for a while. If in doubt, check the rules again, have a read around these threads here and start reading the stickies in the wider forum. Chances are, you’ll find out the answer to your question there much quicker than DD will be able to reply.
Mod surfing
When something seems amiss and you want advice or help, it might seem like a good idea to reach out to as many people as you can, all at once. While the admins and mods are here to keep the forum safe for all of our members, please do not contact multiple mods at once asking for help. If you send the same query to more than one person, this counts as mod surfing, and as you’ll see in the rules that’s a no-no.
It seems innocent, but it’s a slippery slope to bad habits. One question, one mod.
If you need it, there is a process to escalate an appeal on a mod decision.
Support desk guide: https://support.blackhatworld.com/en/support/solutions/articles/48001231509-i-need-advice-on-bhw
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