Mazdaspeed Forums - A noobs guide to MSF etiquette.

In my short time that I have spent on this forum, I feel like i have gotten a pretty good feel for what is "socially acceptable", as well as what is expected of you. Here's the low down.

1. SEARCH NOOB!!

You will hear this a lot..if you dont do your homework and post before you search. I waited almost a full year before making my first post. Why? Because I didnt want to sound like a complete jackass.

While a year may be a bit extreme, I would seriously wait until you have a really solid understanding of our platform and how things work around here. Lets say, 5-6 weeks, IF you are reading A LOT.

In my short time here I have seen so many questions that could very easily be answered by google. If you are unfamiliar with the "site:" tag and how to properly use google, please read this ===>http://www.mazdaspeedforum.org/forum/foru...-forum-114281/

2. Donate

Why donate? Well not only does it get you access to all the sweet shit in the VIP section of the forum,like shop manuals, n00ds, and the for sale section. But you will also gain a little bit of respect from the members of the forum. It shows that you are not just here to mooch off of us and then leave without ever giving anything back.

Also if you see the term "brownie" getting thrown your way, this means that you havent donated (and probably asked a dumb question). The term comes from the color of your user name (brown) when you are not vip.

Here's the link to donate, should you feel compelled to do so. Donate here

3. Choose your battles/Have a thick skin.

Alright this is where MSF sets it self apart, and I cant stress this enough.

Some people will call our members "assholes". I prefer the term "straight shooters". They will call you out on any stupid shit that you post in a heart beat. From this point, the conversation can go one of two directions.

You can either a) get all defensive and start some dumb flame war that will inevitably end with you either banned or to ashamed to ever show your face again.

Or b) Just admit that you said/did something that wasn't the brightest, and move on.

Choose the latter..Please.

4. The shout box...

This is not the appropriate place to ask things like "Which BOV is teh loudest?", or any other thing of this nature. If you do, things can go downhill quickly for you.

Its probably best that you just avoid shout all together for a little bit, especially if you are brown (this means you haven't donated; not that you are mexican).

5.CAPS LOCK

Unless its Thursday (http://www.mazdaspeedforum.org/forum/foru...ursday-104644/)dont type in all caps. Its not going to make you more right, nor will it make what you are saying anymore important.

6. Get involved.

If you really want to become a part of the forum, the best thing to do is get involved with your local NATOR chapter. This is the group of people that will possibly one day have your back if shit gets real, and you suffer from some major fail. They will also do things such as organizing meets, install days ect.

7. Read the stickies

If you read these you will probably avoid 99% of that fail that I have mentioned so far. At the very least, read the rules of the forum.

8. Honduh's/8thgencivic

They are gay.....That is all

9. Dont quote the goddamn images.

This one is just kind of a general rule for all forums. It make the thread REALLY annoying to read. Dont do it unless you have reason to.

10. Dont name your car

Why? because its dumb. See the links in the Hall of Fail that I posted below for some examples of what happens when you do.

11. Don't post in a dead thread

Unless you have got a good reason to bump a thread that has gone without a post for a long time (more than 4 months ill say), dont do it.
Bumping it by posting something like, "cool", "nice", or just a reiteration of something that has already been said, are not acceptable reasons.

12. Dont piss off the community.

If you dont follow rule number 3 you could possibly end up with this problem. By and large though, this applies to scammers. Dont scam us or we will fuck your couch. Here's an example http://www.mazdaspeedforum.org/forum/foru...incere-106041/

Hall of Fail

And lastly, here are some links to some of the bigger new member fails that I have seen since joining. This is what you dont want to do.
If you see one of your threads in this list, congrats.

-http://www.mazdaspeedforum.org/forum/foru...omeone-113061/

-This guy was either the biggest idiot or the most epic troll ever. This is why you dont name your car.
http://www.mazdaspeedforum.org/forum/foru...-today-108844/

-http://www.mazdaspeedforum.org/forum/foru...-intro-102360/

-This guy is just kind of a general fail. He has other threads that are worse, but here is his intro thread.
http://www.mazdaspeedforum.org/forum/forum/f511/hello-99602/

-And here is the rest of his fail collection.

http://www.mazdaspeedforum.org/forum/foru...am-air-100985/
http://www.mazdaspeedforum.org/forum/foru...-motor-100977/
http://www.mazdaspeedforum.org/forum/foru...ownpipe-99938/

-This is what the new member section used to be like when lenny (rodrigo) was still around and there weren't rules against hazing in the new member section. You'll see what I mean.
http://www.mazdaspeedforum.org/forum/foru...n-mazda-70650/

-This one got rough. This guy broke basically every rule of MSF etiquette
http://www.mazdaspeedforum.org/forum/foru...es-roro-64115/

-Lol....enough said
Let the Phail begin

Helpful stuff

While you're here, check out these links. They will help a lot with your de-noobification.

Guide to buying used Mazdspeed
One of the most important threads to read as a noob
http://www.mazdaspeedforum.org/forum/foru...t&sid=ds&id=39
For sale section rules (Because you donated right?)
Guide to all the acronyms we use

Hopefully you have found this info somewhat useful, and can now spend you hard earned moeny on things other than anal lube and flame suits. There are some really great knowledgeable people on this site, so please read what they have said and stick around and get to know us.

Ill post more if/when they come up. If people have things they want to add just post em up.