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In the time that I've been in the fandom, I've noticed that
for a high percentage of fangirls, Hornblower was the first "Internet community"
experience that we'd ever had. Even a scary fangirl like me had to learn
the ins and outs of posting by trial and error. For someone who is a
self-confessed computer illiterate, it was daunting...but anything for Horatio,
right? Below are just some of the things that I've learned over the course
of my Hornblowering experience that might be of use if you've never been
involved in an online community before.
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Don't Harsh The Buzz!
- It's a fact of the fangirl world that everyone
has different tastes. Feel free to extol the virtues (or lack thereof...heh.
heh.) of your favorite gush object, but don't rain on someone else's parade by
obnoxiously criticizing their favorite on the boards. This isn't to say
that you can't disagree with someone on the forum, but a simple "He's just not
my type," or the like will suffice. Calling into question the sanity or
intelligence of a fellow poster because they like someone who causes you to
retch is not necessary.
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Post Away, Me Hearties!
Don't just sit there...post! It's the best
way to get to know the other folks in the forums. And don't be afraid to
ask questions if you don't know how something works or what somebody means.
People are usually happy to fill you in! (For a humorous look at the ins and
outs of posting,
check this out! Not Hornblower specific, but a decent overview
nonetheless.)
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Use emoticons.
Those cutesy little smilies are there for a
reason. People can't see your expression as you're writing and they
can't hear the inflection in your voice. Emoticons help relate the
'subtext' behind what you write--whether you're being sincere or sarcastic,
dead serious or clowning around. Many are the times that I've seen folks
get upset over a comment only to be told by its author that they were only
joking--all for the want of an emoticon.
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Get an image-hosting site.
Most online communities allow you to post pictures
in their forums. Good Netiquette demands that you not post an image
directly from a site under someone else's control without their permission
(This is called "hotlinking". It's a big no-no. Don't do
it.). Lots of ISPs offer free web space to
their customers and there are several sites that will host your images for a
small fee. These are extremely useful if you plan on sharing pictures of
your favorite gush object, etc.
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Get to know folks before you
start begging. Horatians, in general,
are a generous bunch of folks. Many of us have collected vast quantities
of material that our Hornblower boys have done outside the series and are more
than willing to share. Sharing, obviously, requires a trading of
addresses, though, and we've ALL heard stories about not so pleasant things
happening as a result of too-free a sharing of personal information online.
Respect people's boundaries. If you've just introduced yourself, don't
ask to borrow a video in your next breath. Just keep posting and one
day, an innocent mention that you've never seen the "Making of HH2" will
probably result in someone offering you a copy.
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If someone sends you a tape
or something similar, thank them. Yes,
I know. This sounds PAINFULLY obvious, but you wouldn't believe the
number of people who don't even acknowledge that they've received something.
It makes the sender start to wonder if the package was lost in transit or some
other terrible fate befell it. Not giving an "I got it! Thanks!"
also implies that the effort that was made to get it to you wasn't appreciated
(and might very likely result in future offers not being made). In the
same vein, don't ask for something if you aren't prepared to reimburse the
sender for shipping costs, tapes, etc. An offer of reimbursement,
even if refused, is always appreciated. As in all things, a little
common courtesy goes a long way.
-
Use capitalization and
punctuation. No one on the boards is
going to get on your case for a grammar mistake or the odd misspelled word--particularly
if English is not your primary language--but it is REALLY, REALLY, REALLY annoying to have to decipher a
post because someone can't be troubled to hit the "shift" key or take the time
to put a period at the end of a sentence. Overall, the Hornblower boards
are populated with well-read folks who are not only used to--but have grown to
like--having the pronoun "I" capitalized. Any second grader knows how to
construct a sentence correctly. If you're over six years old, chances
are you do, too. Don't brand yourself an annoying illiterate by taking
net-speak short cuts. People will ignore you.
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Did you know that not all
DVDs/VHS tapes are created equal? VHS
players in the US and Canada operate in NTSC format, while those in the
UK are in PAL format. Most video cassette players in the UK will
allow NTSC playback, but good luck finding an NTSC player in North America
that will operate in PAL. In the same way, DVDs are encoded to only
operate within a particular region: the US and Canada being Region 1
and Europe and Japan, Region 2 (Australia is Region 4).
Unless you have a multi-region DVD player, you won't be able to see one
region's DVD on another region's DVD player. Just remember regional
difference before you purchase, or you might find yourself stuck with a video
that you can't watch!
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Don't be afraid to "rehash"
an issue. There are a lot of questions
that veterans of the Hornblower boards have seen countless times ("Who pushed
Captain Sawyer?", for example). Interestingly enough, though, the vets
never seem to tire of talking Hornblower. In other words, don't refrain
from asking a question just because you think it's been asked before...and
DON'T be intimidated if someone makes the comment that the topic has been
discussed. New people bring new perspectives to old questions.
Hornblower fans eat that sort of stuff up. So, ask away!
Happy
Posting!
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