Hi CHF Members,

For all those who are new to this forum, I would especially like to brief you on some tips on chinese history discussion and posting in this forum. First of all, I would like to welcome you to a fascinating trip to learning and discussing chinese history.

It is a fact that China has one of the longest and most voluminous records of history classics, sources and traditions in the world. In fact, the work of chinese historians known as "Shi Guan", mainly those working in the chinese court, was to record what the chinese Emperor said daily and all the court activities. Usually, these logs and historical records were studied and used to compile a survey of the Emperor's reign. History was greatly studied and often used as mirrors to avoid mistakes to help the emperor rule his empire better.

In today's modern world, history debate and discussion has been common activities among the historians not only in China but also around the world. Historians not only study historical facts, interpret them, study the pattern, but also examine and check for its accuracy and truth etc, together with the help of archaeologists. The invention of internet forum (bulletin board system) such as the one we are using now, is transforming the way we share information across the internet and the world. It literally makes our discussion more fruitful as we are able to see different views and information from different people. It offer us an insight into how a simple fact can be interpreted differently by different people from different country, culture and languages.

The internet forum is a great tool especially for people who are studying and learning history. It works not only for novice but also for history professionals. The advantages of history forum discussion can be listed as follow:
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>> 1. History Answer
Get a history answer and discussion from different perspective, views from different people. It allows more insight into history discussion.

>> 2. Learning more and deeper
It allows you to get deeper and learn more. Often a question and discussion will lead to more question, which will prompt you to research for more information related to the discussion. So, generally speaking, you get to learn more.

>> 3. Memorise and remember better
Often, you have to input and type the history facts into the history forum discussion. If you can't remember the facts, you often have to refer to a book and put them down. As you type them, you are learning history in the process, because it allows you to better memorise and remember these history facts.

>> 4. Getting more help
Sometimes, you have difficulty searching for history information on the internet. Someone can help you and put you a link to the necessary website. This is a faster means of getting information what you want.

>> 5. Sharing of history sources
Share history sources from different countries and languages. It gives you a greater insight.
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I would like to briefly mention a few tips and advice:

>> 1. Do not be afraid to participate

For newcomers, if you're new to history discussion, do not be afraid to participate in the discussion. Many CHF members here start fresh from nothing here, but gradually advance to become EXPERTS in chinese history discussion and debate. We have here a wide range of people ranging from youngster as young as 11 year old to older people around 70. Do not be afraid to speak up, just because you're new.

>> 2. Do more reading
For people who are completely new to chinese history, I would recommend you to do more additional readings (if possible), not only on the discussion topics here, but also from books and other chinese history website.
This is because a basic knowledge of chinese history is sometimes required for you to participate and enjoy the history discussion here. It also prompts you to learn and inquire further.

>> 3. Ask your questions clearly
If you're posting a question, always post your questions clearly, so that you can invite people to answer them. While we very much wish that people can help with essay-type of question, please do not expect people to write an essay for your question (or for your homework). We can help you by pointing out some facts, points and arguments, but simply writing an essay for you defeats the purpose of you learning history. The homework still has to be done by you, but we can help with your research work by showing you the sources etc.

>> 4. Support your argument
When putting up with a debate, always backup your argument with facts and historical evidence. Do some examination of your logic, whether your writing is logical. If you are putting up a counter-argument against another forummer, please be polite and refrain from verbal attack. If you're pointing something written by a forummer that they are wrong, always point out why they are wrong, instead of just saying "you are completely wrong". Saying why they are wrong will prompt further discussion, convince the other forummers and make the debate more interesting.

>>5. Chinese Terms and Names
Many of you might be unfamiliar with chinese terms and names. If possible, when discussing chinese history, try to have an english translation beside it for easier understanding.

>> 6. Language and Translation
For those who knows chinese, it would be a bonus for you when learning chinese history, since many of the historical sources are from chinese. If you do not know chinese, never mind, there are also plenty of translation of these sources into English. This is an English-based forum, thus we require you to post in English most of the times. If you are a non-English speaker, we always welcome your participation here. Many of the CHF members do not speak English as their native language, but they try and improve their english through the participation here. If you have language problem, many of us will be able to help you.

>> 7. Learn from other more experienced members
Sometimes, learning from others how to debate will help you to be more skilled in debating. For more experienced members, please be humble. You can still learn alot from newcomers and even help them.

>> 8. Emoticons
Sometimes, you can add emoticons to your posting to express the mood. It makes the discussion more fun and interesting.

>> 9. Images, Maps and Pictures
Images, maps and Pictures are a great way to explain your posting. There are many free remote image hosting sites where you can upload pictures (e.g. ImageShack). You need a scanner to scan pictures into computer and then upload to the site. Then in this forum, use the IMG bbcode to add the link to the image and it will display the image.

>> 10. Using QUOTE
Using a QUOTE is a great way to refer to someone's writing. To COPY someone's writing, simply highlight the person's writing by clicking the left mouse button and holding them down, then right click and press "Copy". Then on your posting, right click and press "paste". Then use the QUOTE IBFcode in this forum to refer to that post. Always type the name of the person's writing into the Quote, not only to refer to that person, but also to prevent plagiarism.


That's all I have to say.Enjoy the chinese history discussion here.

If you have anything you would like to contribute on "tips on posting", please put it down in this thread.

Thanks
GZ :unsure:

Great Guide..GZ..I'm sure this will prove useful for us! Thanks for writing such informative thread. B)