You have a point Aranka - many new players might not bother to search forums before asking, and experienced players might not need any guidance at all. The cynic might then conclude that posting anything at all in forums is pointless!
But since the user community is dynamic, and there clearly are people willing to provide their input for the benefit of all, I would argue that such guidelines can be useful to both newbies AND established players:
For noobs, a couple of key sticky threads in the general forum (the first place I looked, before even searching) would be a great place to put key information/guidelines or other things that don't really belong in a Wiki. I certainly didn't read all new threads the moment I signed up, but once I realized that the Boot/VTE issue surfaces repeatedly (at least in the "open games" outside the ladder), I started looking for guidelines. A few stickies would (hopefully) prevent a lot of fragmented half-discussions on the topic, and avoid the silly discussion that PS and I got into about searches.
I also think you'd be surprised out how useful such guidelines could be for active players as well. There are alot of good ideas and discussions in various threads (your own post in the link PS provided was actually the most useful bit I've come across so far on this particular subject). But I don't think you could claim that there is consensus, even among all the "old school" people. And it would save *so* much time -- and be alot more fair to everyone -- if there was a central, easy-to-find thread with guidelines (and the inevitable discussion of those guidelines that provide the necessary nuances). The more common the understanding (and expectations) of boot & VTE usage, the fewer games will be ruined by someone bailing - or having to leave - mid-game.
The bigger issue here seems how to best use the forums, to make key information easier to find (and to avoid the risk of noobs like me making new threads unnecessarily). As I browse the forum more fully, I begin to see alot of great information and an active, largely helpful community. But I have to say that contrary to the *excellent* organization and implementation of the game, the forum seems rather clunky and difficult to navigate.
I'm not really sure what this forum tool supports, but I would guess that a few simple things could vastly improve it's usability, for example:
* Stickies in the appropriate places for key topics
* a bit of thread consolidation
* Making Sub-forums (examples off the top of my head: in-game etiquette, tournaments, making the transition to multi-player, FAQ list, etc.)
* Active moderators (are there any moderators??)
* Options to edit/delete your own posts
* markers for read/unread posts
* better search tools
But perhaps I am getting ahead of myself, and I certainly don't want to push for things that the rest of the community sees no need for. So I will get off my soap-box for a bit.
