Just remember that the Esperanto language forums really are for Esperanto only. So do not write questions in English, and do not expect to receive help in English. It's all Esperanto over there.

Not trying to scare you off - quite the opposite, actually - but you should be prepared. One of the very few things that raises the ire of forum participants is seeing non-Esperanto posts in the Esperanto forum.

Lots of beginners here, don't be afraid to make mistakes in the Esperanto-language forums.

Incidentally, I have noticed that the level of worry that someone has about making mistakes, and the actual number of mistakes they make, tend to be inversely proportional. The people who are very nervous about writing something because they might mess up tend to make far fewer mistakes than some other beginners who confidently happily post a ton of highly ungrammatical messages to the Esperanto forums.

No one gets criticized for their mistakes though, even if their message is hard to understand due to the number of errors.

RiotNrrd:Just remember that the Esperanto language forums really are for Esperanto only. So do not write questions in English, and do not expect to receive help in English. It's all Esperanto over there.

Well, yeah... I can understand that.... people in the Esperanto forums may not be able to read English to begin with, it may be that they have never studied it.

RiotNrrd:
Not trying to scare you off - quite the opposite, actually - but you should be prepared. One of the very few things that raises the ire of forum participants is seeing non-Esperanto posts in the Esperanto forum.

Sure, to me, this makes sense. I hate feeling like I am having a language shoved down my throat.... Each language has a specific section. I understand.

erinja:Lots of beginners here, don't be afraid to make mistakes in the Esperanto-language forums.

Incidentally, I have noticed that the level of worry that someone has about making mistakes, and the actual number of mistakes they make, tend to be inversely proportional. The people who are very nervous about writing something because they might mess up tend to make far fewer mistakes than some other beginners who confidently happily post a ton of highly ungrammatical messages to the Esperanto forums.

No one gets criticized for their mistakes though, even if their message is hard to understand due to the number of errors.

OK. Got it. Thanks. =)

Well, it is going to take some time to find my place in this group and to continue to pick up the language. I am sure that these things will happen in time, and I just need to be patient. Because many of the people commenting on the boards represent so many languages, cultures, and customs, not to mention the fact that Esperanto is also has its own, I am mostly concerned with the possibility of being impolite or overstepping a precedent, breaking some unspoken rule, etc. I guess I am just trying to error on the side of caution, thats all.

I can't download anything on my computer.

Purrfecdizzo:... I am mostly concerned with the possibility of being impolite or overstepping a precedent, breaking some unspoken rule, etc. I guess I am just trying to error on the side of caution, thats all.

Stay away from politics and religion (especially religion), and you'll probably be fine. Those two topics, though, make for natural troll-bait, even if they start out nice. Don't start threads on those two, and don't participate in them if someone else does. They are typically more-or-less endless and just make people mad.

I think it's generally best to pick neutral or positive topics, or just talk about Esperanto itself (since we're all interested in that). Try not to make public judgements about countries, races, religions, or really any large group of people, since odds are someone here is a member of one or more of those groups. Basically, be friendly and there won't be a problem.

dylanfurr246:I can't download anything on my computer.

Ummmmmm. What kind of error are you experiencing? There could be various and assorted issues. Are you saying that your computer and software are so old (if so, what do you have?!?) that you cannot download, or are you having other difficulties of some kind? I myself have an older computer (by today's technology), but I can generally download and read / use a lot of documents / programs. Please give us details of your problems -- details! If I myself cannot provide advice, perhaps others can. If you are able to use a web browser minimally even to post here on lernu!, it seems likely that someone here can assist you, but we need details.

I don't know, when I try to download something it never works.

Purrfecdizzo:

RiotNrrd:Just remember that the Esperanto language forums really are for Esperanto only. So do not write questions in English, and do not expect to receive help in English. It's all Esperanto over there.

Well, yeah... I can understand that.... people in the Esperanto forums may not be able to read English to begin with, it may be that they have never studied it.

That's not the point IMO. It just would be total chaos to have multiple languages in one subforum. One writes in Russian, the next in French and if the third doesn't understand anything of it, he/she would lose his/her patience very quickly

Fenris_kcf:

Purrfecdizzo:

RiotNrrd:Just remember that the Esperanto language forums really are for Esperanto only. So do not write questions in English, and do not expect to receive help in English. It's all Esperanto over there.

Well, yeah... I can understand that.... people in the Esperanto forums may not be able to read English to begin with, it may be that they have never studied it.

That's not the point IMO. It just would be total chaos to have multiple languages in one subforum. One writes in Russian, the next in French and if the third doesn't understand anything of it, he/she would lose his/her patience very quickly

Sure, no need for multiple languages in one subforum.