NationStates Jolt Archive

I need help, i'm doing a critical literacy assignment for English on NS forums, the language we use, how we try to persuade others to listen to us, how people gain poularity etc.

But... my English teacher said i also needed to do a basic history of NS, it's forums and forums in general, and i have no idea... so i'm coming to you guys begging for help... Any comments/long boring histories would be greatly appreciated... thankyou :fluffle:

C'mon guys... i know i'm impatient :rolleyes: but please i need help here...

I'm not sure about everyone else, but...

I try to persuade others to listen to me through the use of clearly-written posts, which bypass the bullshit (for lack of a better word) and get straight to the point.

Other than that, well... I've not much else to give you.

I'm not sure about everyone else, but...

I try to persuade others to listen to me through the use of clearly-written posts, which bypass the bullshit (for lack of a better word) and get straight to the point.

Other than that, well... I've not much else to give you.

Well Thanks for trying to help anyways... :fluffle:

fluffling usualle gets the message across

Try the FAQ
also TG suffraly, he/she has been around a long time.

fluffling usualle gets the message across

so does correct spelling ;) lol

so does correct spelling ;) lol

Ah, give him a break. He's from Belgium.

I don't usually try to convince people to change their opinions to match mine, usually I try and cement my own opinions by reading others, assessing what I agree and disagree with and what is right and wrong and try and make myself better and understand more, even if I am not very articulate about my end opinion.

I don't usually try to convince people to change their opinions to match mine, usually I try and cement my own opinions by reading others, assessing what I agree and disagree with and what is right and wrong and try and make myself better and understand more, even if I am not very articulate about my end opinion.

I like to do this as well. Hey, if you can't get other people to agree with you, it's about all you can do!

I like to do this as well. Hey, if you can't get other people to agree with you, it's about all you can do!

Potaria, you know, sometimes I think we were seperated at birth! :)

It is apparent to me that persuassion within a forum is accomplished in the same manner as it is in other written or verbal exchanges. It is all in the word choice. [smash v. hit; pummel v. punched, etc.] Because we don't have the ability to use audible inflection in a forum, we have to use spaces, caps, or punctuation to get the idea across. And don't forget the emoticons!

I am sorry I couldn't be of more assistance. :)

Potaria, you know, sometimes I think we were seperated at birth! :)

Hmm... Preebles said something to that effect a few weeks ago...

Have I opened... The Scary Door?

Try TG-ing Sdaeriji, He seems to have been around a long time. Others that might be able to help are the mods or admin, but they tend to be busy.

I'm a relative newcomer, so I can't help on the history bit.

Hmm... Preebles said something to that effect a few weeks ago...

Have I opened... The Scary Door?

Yeah, Preebles and I have a lot in common too! We could be triplets seperated at birth! :D

Yeah, Preebles and I have a lot in common too! We could be triplets sererated at birth! :D

Don't forget Kanabia.

Don't forget Kanabia.

Aren't you a little off topic...

*drags you all kicking and screaming back to her assignment* ;)

Don't forget Kanabia.

Kanabia is a lot of fun, but I identify with him less because of his ideology. I too used to have a Locke-like view of man in a state of nature (people are basically good), but now I better realise that it depends on the person and those around him/her. I guess I'm just a little less optimistic.

I need help, i'm doing a critical literacy assignment for English on NS forums, the language we use, how we try to persuade others to listen to us, how people gain poularity etc.

Well you cannot really persuade people to listen to you. Though good ways to get attention are by writing clearly and accurately, or by having really spelling and grammar (though the latter attract attention one would rather not have)

Other good, though not advisable, way to get attention include flame baiting, flaming and trolling.

Gaining popularity is something I haven't figured. Though you probably cannot go wrong with "Post early, post often" :)

But... my English teacher said i also needed to do a basic history of NS, it's forums and forums in general, and i have no idea... so i'm coming to you guys begging for help... Any comments/long boring histories would be greatly appreciated... thankyou :fluffle:

Well I've only been here for a year and, almost, a half (my previous nation was deleted, though truth be told, I prefer this name) so I don't know if I can be any help.

Do you want to know about the old server? Well this one has down times. But with the otherone seeing was believing, I think it was offline for around a week (though I think that that was before my time). It hard better smileys though (and non of the annoying ones like the guns and the fucking fluffle*)



*Note: Not getting at you for using it though. Just that it has a tendancy to be overused.

Kanabia is a lot of fun, but I identify with him less because of his ideology. I too used to have a Locke-like view of man in a state of nature (people are basically good), but now I better realise that it depends on the person and those around him/her. I guess I'm just a little less optimistic.

Meh, To each his own :p.

And yeah, I guess this is a bit off-topic!

Aren't you a little off topic...

*drags you all kicking and screaming back to her assignment* ;)

I have observed some interesting verbal processes. When some people have been shown wrong and are trying to avoid responsibility they tend to use verbs in a passive manner. (Active: My information is wrong, passive: The information was wrong).

You should also include Trolls who often post something so far from their own ideals simply to show what they feel is the folley of the 'other side' and feel better because they see people who disagree as they do.

But... my English teacher said i also needed to do a basic history of NS, it's forums and forums in general, and i have no idea... so i'm coming to you guys begging for help... Any comments/long boring histories would be greatly appreciated... thankyou :fluffle:

in the beginning there was the word, and the word was with max, and the word was max. [violet] was with max in the beginning.

through max all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. in him was the general forum, and that general forum was the light of men. the forum shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

there came a man who was sent from max; his name was myrth. he came as a witness to testify concerning that forum, so that through him all men might believe. he himself was not the general forum; he came only as a mod to the light. the true forum that gives light to every troll and flamer was coming into the world.

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My suggestion is to find the rest of the NS Bible. It's actually a pretty good history. Although I think it's just massively fragmented throughout several threads by now, some of which probably aren't archived...but good luck with your assignment!

so does correct spelling ;) lol
Hhhm, looking back, I posted that at 4.30 am ... Tiredness was probably the reason I didn't notice and edit out that typo immediately :p
Ah, give him a break. He's from Belgium.
Heh, I don't use that excuse for bad spelling often ... probably because I'm a spelling and grammar nazi myself, in English as well as in Dutch ;)

Heh, I don't use that excuse for bad spelling often ... probably because I'm a spelling and grammar nazi myself, in English as well as in Dutch ;)

Sounds good to me!

For a history of NS, check out the news page (http://www.nationstates.net/news/) and the archive (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=1233).

It may sound bad, but sometimes I'll tell people that if they don't believe me, I'll do this to them: :sniper:

I came in just as General had settled itself and the war between the moderators and the forum anarchists had more or less subsided. Apparently there was a bit of debate over whether or not to include a General forum and more or less we are considered the nattering horde on NS that drags down the whole deal. That was certainly true on the old server where we where the bulk of 'active at one time' posters and where more than likely the root cause of the many crashes.

In addition to the mod wars, there was the spam/debate wars that still hold over. There are those that want only debate and those who live entirely on fluffles. The weight really ended up going to the debators with consilations to the spammers, including the short lived 'Forum 7' (there is no forum 7). Now it seems a pretty fair split of politically active and socially active with more crossover than maybe in the past, but I could be wrong on that.

My understanding is that in the pre-moderator days the forum was a beeker/marathon playground. Both those cats where around when I started, but had more or less been nuetered and had already started their own forum where flaming and spam where the rule and not the exception.

Well, it depends on the message I'm trying to get across.

Most of the time, I try to get my message across using the most clear, intelligent language I possibly can, with minimal spelling mistakes/typos. I try to use some colorful language but not pile up the "big words" to try to impress people. I tend to break up any post, such as this one, which would normally seem too long to anyone with the same attention span as I, into mulitiple paragraphs.

Sometimes, when I feel there are many precise points I would like to make or questions I would like to ask, I use a numbered list. Example (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=422576&page=1).

Sometimes, I say pointless, random, meaningless things, usually at a horribly misguided attempt at humor.

Here are some commonly used words and phrases in this forum:
Flame, flamed, flaming-The act of insulting another forum poster
Flamebait, flamebaited, flamebaiting-The act of "baiting" another poster to "flame", provoking.
Troll, trolls-One who participates in the act of trolling.
Troll, trolls, trolled, trolling-Similar to flamebaiting, the act of attempting to "get a rise" out of another poster, provoking, encouraging conflict.
"Cite a/your source"-A desperate attempt to invalidate one's opinion.


I've got more, but I figure someone else should add some.