How to Make a Successful Thread

Discussion in 'Off Topic' started by llIXx-WaRs_BiLlY-xXlII, Apr 28, 2012.

  1. How to Make a Successful Thread

    A Billy Guide

    __________________________________

    Table of Contents

    • Introduction
    • What People Want
    • Structure
    • Thread Intro
    • Main Idea
    • Body
    • Conclusion
    • My Tips
    • My Conclusion
    • Thank You
    • Other Helpful Threads


    __________________________________


    Introduction
    Many fail, or boring threads lay out there on forums. Some of them I even regret opening. Most of you reading this are the creators of those threads and I hope you are because I am going to try my best to help you leave those failing ways. If you are struggling with creating decent threads, read this; and by the end, you should all be making wonderful threads.

    __________________________________

    What People Want
    The most important thing to make a good thread is to "please the people". Who is going to like your thread (besides your alts) if you don't please anybody? Exactly, nobody! A great way to do this is to include them (e.g. slayerbob is a wonderful forumer! [which is true] ). If you do this, they feel more invited to continue reading and if they continue reading you will get more replies. Then, you will be coming to me and thanking me. :cool: Most people also like good grammar and spelling. I don't like having trouble reading threads that have horrible spelling and grammar problems and I bet neither do a lot of people. Please, try your best to satisfy others and not just yourself.

    __________________________________

    Structure
    Another one of the most important things about writing anything is good structure. This ranges from sentence structure, to paragraph structure, to thread structure. Make an outline so you don't skip around to different ideas. Just a little one, it should take up to 3-5 minutes for a good one most likely. The outline for this thread took me about 10. If you want a good strong thread that will get many replies and support, good structure is key. This shows the reader if you took the time to write a good thread or not.

    __________________________________

    Thread Intro
    Many of you suffer from a common thing and that is pulling the reader, or readers, in. This is a simple procedure that most of you should have learned in 3rd grade. I guess most of you haven't but here is an example. If I am writing about a NEW KaW idea (not a stolen one) then I would start, "New ideas in KaW are very important to the growth of the game but some ideas are just flat out bad. I want your feedback, is this idea good or bad? …". Do you see how I pulled the reader in by asking a question to get them interested in what I was saying? You might also start, "KaW is one of the most entertaining games I've ever played and now I have a brand new idea that will make it even better! Tell me what you think! …". There, I was being very exciting and energetic. If I were to say, "Read this and tell me what you think! …" would you want to read it? I sure wouldn't… there are many ways to pull the reader in. Be creative! :)

    __________________________________

    Main Idea
    What is your main idea? What are you writing about? You should know this in your head and it should be on your outline before you start to write. This is why you are writing the thread (unless you are a noob spamming forums) and the whole point of you being here. If you don't explain your main idea in the thread then everyone will be confused and have no idea what they just read when they're done. If you reread your thread and it doesn't make sense, you forgot your main idea or some details. Make sure you go back and fix it!

    __________________________________

    Body
    Your body of your thread is a couple paragraphs explaining what your idea is or whatever you want to accomplish in your thread but first off, it needs to start with a good sentence. There should be a good opening sentence for each paragraph. An idea for a pros (upside) paragraph would be, "Now for the pros of this idea." It is short, simple, and it describes what the paragraph is about. Make sure these paragraphs are very detailed so that the reader/s can understand what you are trying to get across to them. Do you really want a reader that has no idea what you are trying to say? That just leads to a bad thread (like I said before). Lets say, I am writing an idea thread. I would describe my idea in the first body paragraph, write how it would help KaW in the second, write the pros (upsides) in the third, write the cons (downsides) in the fourth, and if i need another pargraph to write other things in it, I would use that as an "other" paragraph. Note: this would be a single idea thread not a multi idea thread. You also need a good sentence to close the paragraph. Something that ends the idea, "These are the pros of my idea." It finishes the paragraph short and sweet. :)

    __________________________________

    Conclusion
    The conclusion is a part of the thread that isn't as important. This is the part where you die down the topic and eventually finish your thread. Make sure you ask for whatever needed in this part. Support, recruits, feedback, etc. Don't forget to add a please!

    __________________________________

    My Tips
    I have a few tips I would like to share with you before you go off and make a thread that you won't ever need: Make sure that the thread that you are making will help make a difference in KaW or will help you and/or others succeed in the game; don't make a thread telling people to hire/volley you, first off it is spamming forums, and this will also just get you trolls, spammers, or get you farmed; don't spam forums, don't create a forum for people to spam, and don't encourage spam on a forum (i.e. "Spamming is ok! Do it! It will make you feel good!); and finally, HAVE FUN!!!! (without breaking ToU :lol: ).

    __________________________________

    My Conclusion
    The reason I wrote this thread was so we, as KaW players, can kill spam (even though that is Moose's job :lol: ). We all get annoyed at one point from noob spam so I think we should all pitch in to the fight against spam. This is my part, now what will you do?

    __________________________________

    Thank You
    I just wanted to say thank you to Moose who has just reached his one year anniversary a couple days ago. He has been helping kill spam for a while now and he inspired me to make this thread (even though he might not know it). I also want to thank CoS-Dillybar for making The KaW Color, Font, and Picture Guide . Without this guide there would be no way I could make this as colorful as it is! Good luck with all the new threads I hope to see coming out soon! I hope this helps you clear up all the spam, Moose.

    [​IMG]
    Thanks big fella!

    __________________________________

    Other Helpful Threads
    Read these threads for more help in KaW. If you have any questions or comments about this thread please post. ;)
     
  2. 1st!And very nice thread.Very helpful and might kill some spam.STICKY.
     
  3. Sorry about the BBcode fail :lol:
     
  4. This is a remake of a thread you made a few days ago.
     
  5. Ya, i had a mod delete that cuz a lot of people were complaining about the BBcode fail
     
  6. Oh yeah... That was horrible lol
     
  7. This is much better :) nice job
     
  8. Good thread!

    You should probably throw a link to Imitation Cheese's thread in there as well. Both are very useful guides.
     
  9. I stopped reading when you said mork the dork from ork or whatever was a good forumer. I find him a poor excuse for a 'troll'.
     
  10. I personally like him, but when i link this account to PC ill change it to slayerbob
     
  11. Not necessary, I'm just stating that's my opinion on him. I didn't actually stop reading, I just lost some interest. It's a good thread Billy, 
     
  12. Thank you, and i was kidding by the way :lol:
     
  13. Bump, people should look it this and the link above
     
  14. Great thread much better without the giant writing. I'm going to post this picture again. It's known as the inverted triangle of writing. I think you have explained its premise perfect.


    [​IMG]