Behold, the "n00bs" guide to FPSB. I have compiled a set of rules and regulations which have stuck out to me over the years since joining... It will do you good to pay attention... possibly even take notes, as these rules will ease your acceptance as a regular in the FPSBanana community.

1. Type like you were born in the later half of the 19th century.
That esentaily means don't waste your time typing in "1337spaek" or "H4xz0|^", you're not going to impress anyone or make anyone think your cool.
People are just going to think that your a total douche.
The above goes for ghetto-speak as well (I naturally deduct 30 IQ points from your perceived intelligence if someone has written the phrase "mah niggaz" in a thread). Don't do it.

2. Sarcasm
Something was invented long ago when the first bitter and dejected caveman lied to another caveman for the sake of humor. This from of humor came to be known as sarcasm. Sarcasm has progressed from that day to take form everywhere... even on the internet.
What does this mean for you, the n00b? It means that don't take everything seriously, as most of the time, anything offensive is meant as sarcasm.
This also goes along with Internet: Serious Business theme.. which basicly says that if you take anything seriously on the internet you either: a. have never been laid, or b. are a gigantic tool. But their's another important aspect of this which you should take into account, and it happens to be my next talking point.

3. Respect
As a n00b on FPSB, you will get nowhere fast if you try and talk down to a mod or an admin, or even a veteran member who has been their longer than you have. That rule is pretty much solid, except for one slight loophole: if no one likes the older member because he/she is a total fag, then you might as well show all the contempt at the world to him/her; chances are no one will care. Your call.

4. Thumbs and the clvl system
The FPSB community uses a thumbing system for ranking the quality of a members posts. If a member posts something that is immature, childish, rude, stupid, spam, or just a waste of space, then you are to give them a "thumbs down" (the red one). If a member says something that you agree with, that you think is funny or something that is just a positive force in the community, then you are to give them a "thumbs up". HOWEVER, just because a member posts something that you disagree with does that mean you should thumb them down! You only thumb down if a post violates the forum's posting rules. After a while, a member will begin to collect positive thumbs (assuming their being constructive). More thumbs leads to a greater comment level (or what we call a "clvl"). You're clvl rank increases every hundred thumbs, starting at 0, working your way up to 10 (so, for someone with 200 thumbs, they would have a clvl of 2, where as someone with 800 would have one of 8). When you get thumbed down, you lose thumbs. Yes, it is possible to have negative thumbs.

5. Buddies
The buddy system on FPSB is a simple one. I just wanted to take this time and explain that, while no one will really want to be friends with you instantly, if you stay active in whatever section you specialize in (whether that be sprays, skins, models, maps, or just the forums) you will eventually gain buddies. Talk with them here though PMs or profile posts, or play with them on one of the many FPSB gaming serves, and they will become strong friends and good allies.

6. The Posting of Images
Their has been a recent development in the FPSB community which essentially claims that the posting of images as any response to a "Serious" thread is "immature and stupid".

That is untrue. I believe in the philosophy that a picture is worth a thousand words, and will often make more people laugh (or "lol", it is the internet). And given that we have a multi-lingual community here on FPSB, it is sometimes wiser to post an image as opposed to writing something out in an attempt to be witty.

For example, below is a sample image which one might post to show their surprise at what they saw when they read a certain thread:


Funny, right?
This generally leads to getting more thumbs faster, as it separates you out from the people who just wrote walls of text. It's simple and easy to understand. None of the effort, all of the reward!
(note: to post images, you need an account from an image hosting site. I use Photobucket.com for my image hosting, but you can also use non-account sites like Sleekupload.com which will do the job just as well, but without storing all of your images in one place for later use (so in short, you would have to upload that photo over and over again)).

7. Leaving
If something unforeseeable happens and you decide that it would be best to leave the banana behind, this is what you do:

-If you have ripe, post a blog about how you're leaving. Make sure to PM all your friends about it so they'll know to read your entry.
-If you don't have ripe, just leave a message in your profile stating why your going and how long you'll be gone. PM all your buddies as well.

That's it. That's all you have to do. However, you may have noticed that their is a forum section called "two weeks notice". That is a remnant from a foolish and outdated system which no one uses any more. You're welcome to try to use it, but don't come crying back to me when you get flamed and everyone tells you how much they don't care.

Hopefully, you have learned something from this blog. I will be editing, adding, and removing sections as time goes on, so if their is something that you would like to see in here, just leave a comment or send me a PM. Also, constructive feedback is welcome.

theFLASH