[Will]

Originally posted by se5a:
no, you have missed the point alltogether.
people are mad because it is VERRY bad neticit (sp?) to descise a link the way you did.

Very bad Netiquite indeed. The community on the Shrapnel forums has prided itself on the civility and respect that its members have for each other, and for those that are new to the community. We have all been very fortunate to have few run-ins with rude actions taken by new members.

The bad form in your post comes from the fact that you disguised what seems to have been a rather tastless attempt at a joke (I have not seen it, and don't plan on seeing it; the opinions of others here is quite enough for me) with a subject that most here are naturally attracted to. As has already been said by others, people read these Boards while taking a break from work, and offensive content like that is not looked upon favorably in an office environment.

What you have to ask yourself, is what everyone here will gain from your posting. The subject of this thread, "Woah, cool thing from NASA about that rover thing", suggests to most that they will get some information on a subject that interests them. What they get instead is a link to something that is no interest at all. Take a look at the other April Fool's Posts on the board. Several along the theme of 'X buys Y', a link to Gmail, narf's postings from Blarney News, etc. All either tell you that it was a joke, or make it plainly obvious from the absolute silliness of it. Now look at yours, no explanation, just linking to something not related in the least, no warnings, nothing.

That is bad form.

We all realize you're new here. I sincerely hope that you learn exactly why your posting of this got the response that it did, and know that in a less accepting board, you would most likely already have been Banned after a long flame war.

The one thing to remember is this: What does this post accomplish? How does it help someone else on the board? If you can't answer that question quickly and effectively, chances are you shouldn't post it at all.