Once again, I express my undying love for message boards. The fact that this most original form of web communication and community is still thriving, amazes me. From the old-school BBS systems to today’s php-based boards with integrated social networking features, the basic concept hasn’t changed web users discussing a myriad of topics in a text-based environment.
| "The point is if you want to become a respected member of an adult webmaster message board, you have to make the effort to communicate sincerely with the other members." |
Our industry is especially fond of message boards. I will bravely state that I don’t think we would have come as far as we have if not for them. The free exchange of ideas, technologies and business is why we were able to evolve from serving crappy scans to the juggernaut that online porn is today. When the print and video end of the adult industry would have nothing to do with us, we gathered on message boards and mapped out our success in spite of them. We collectively figured out what worked and what didn’t. Content producers, designers, hosts, billers, paysite owners all came to the boards to court lone webmasters, thus creating an industry from scratch.
That is why, more than ever, you should respect the adult webmaster message board. These bastions of camaraderie and networking aren’t just places to spam your links. They are the very heart of what makes us great. You are obligated to understand the rules of etiquette or you will feel the mighty ire of the banhammer or worse, your threads will drop like a stone down a bottomless well.
If you are new to adult webmaster message boards, this article is for you. While technically, you’ll find our interactions similar to those of non-adult message boards, we’re really quite different from your favorite sports or politics board.
Untitled Page
The first overriding principle of the adult webmaster message board: Everybody is pimping something. Pimping is a good thing but spamming is bad. Learn the difference or suffer the consequences. It is absolutely okay to put a link to your site in your signature file. Frankly, if you come onto our boards without a link in your sig file, we’ll probably wonder what the hell is wrong with you. A link in your sig file is pimping. A long-ass collection of links in colored text along with a flashing animated button is spamming. We’re all pimps. We’re all salesmen. We want you to promote yourself but there is such a thing as overkill. Overkill is spamming.
Then comes your first post. Ah, the big "hello". Do you make an introductory post? Or do you just start off by jumping in with a reply to someone else’s thread? That choice is up to you. Personally, I think it’s a good idea to start a new topic with a simple hello. But remember the rule of pimping versus spamming. If you write a first post that is nothing but "blah, blah, blah, buy my shit" - that is spamming. If, instead, your first post is something simple like "Hi. I am blah blah and I run blah blah. I look forward to getting to know all of you." - that is pimping.
Then comes the after part. The hardest part. Nobody is asking you to post fifty times a day. Post a lot or post a little. The point is if you want to become a respected member of an adult webmaster message board, you have to make the effort to communicate sincerely with the other members. Share the occasional joke. Ask legitimate questions. Offer advice. If all you do is post about how awesome your site or program is, that’s spamming. If all you do is write single sentence nonsense in reply to other webmasters, just for the purpose of exposing your sig file, that’s spamming. If all you do is reply to member’s threads with smilies and "I agree", the other webmasters are going to give you holy hell. Adult webmasters may be different from the people on mainstream boards but when it comes to sharing and community, we’re exactly the same. We don’t like being played and we don’t like being spammed.
Join some adult webmaster message boards, starting with our very own Cozy Campus. Become part of our community. This old-school format stands strong and is the best and easiest way to network with your peers. Join in the conversation. Get to know the people in your industry. Do some business and always remember to behave yourself.