HGG Community Forums

I'd be willing to help out as well!

If you need one more, I am game.

Ooh, I'd love to help! I second Painted on wanting to see the paper, too! :D

If you need more people, I'd be happy to help.

Thank you all for your responses! I decided I'm going to give the questions here. You can respond to this post or send me a PM if you prefer!

While not a hard deadline, I would prefer responses by 11:59pm ET on Sunday so I can work on the project on Monday. Please let me know if you have any questions about my questions or the project in general. Also, I can definitely share the paper when it's done in a month or so! Thank you all again!

Questions:
How long have you been using HaJ Server 2?

How comfortable are you with HaJ’s terminology? How long did it take you to get to this level of comfort/familiarity?

Did you have previous familiarity with some of the terminology (e.g. previous horse exp?) If so, how much?

How do you think that the high level of jargon on HaJ affects new members who are not familiar with it?

Do you feel that you write differently on the forum than in other places (e.g. text messages, Facebook) due to the rules about using proper capitalization and punctuation and avoiding chatspeak?

How do you think the posting rules change how the HaJ community functions?

How do you feel that the HaJ community treats new/prospective members?

Note: Please let me know if you would like me to credit your username or if you would prefer a pseudonym!

How long have you been using HaJ Server 2?

I joined pretty much at the beginning of the game here - Jun. 19, 2013. I have been a member of the 1st server for three years longer than that, though, so a member of the H&J community for about 10 years

How comfortable are you with HaJ’s terminology?

I would consider myself rather fluent in the horse terminology of the game. As far as the genetics terminology, things here are always evolving and I find that, especially with the associated facebook group, I am learning new things about genetics on a regular basis.


How long did it take you to get to this level of comfort/familiarity?

While playing on the first server, I would say it took me around a year to truly understand all the terminology and to use all the features of the game successfully, however, the game has changed so much and the features have become extremely user friendly, so once H&J2 started, I leaped right in, armed with all the knowledge I needed to build my stable up exactly the way I wanted it!

Did you have previous familiarity with some of the terminology (e.g. previous horse exp?) If so, how much?

I've ridden and owned horses for the last 25 years and have had about 20 years experience with breeding, so plenty of experience on that level. When it comes to color genetics, other than owning a few basic books, having searched for bits and pieces on the internet and studying it minimally in high school, I was pretty clueless.

How do you think that the high level of jargon on HaJ affects new members who are not familiar with it?

At first, I'm sure the terminology is confusing and a bit intimidating, but with the forum, buddy chat rooms and facebook available 24/7 there are always players out there that jump right in to help out! This community is one of the most generous I've ever encountered and from the moment I started, the generosity of others has shaped the way I play the game and given me the tools I need to pass that generosity along to new players. :)

Do you feel that you write differently on the forum than in other places (e.g. text messages, Facebook) due to the rules about using proper capitalization and punctuation and avoiding chatspeak?

I absolutely love these rules and try my very best to adhere to them. I think it discourages poor communication behavior and teaches people that would otherwise use text lingo that the things you say/the way you say things is important. In my opinion, these rules have helped avoid a lot of drama that plagues other communities.

How do you think the posting rules change how the HaJ community functions?

I believe the rules help by limiting the amount of miscommunication between players that is often seen on facebook or other games. When a player gets a bit too excited or upset about something, other players tend to help diffuse the situation by responding in a calm manner.

How do you feel that the HaJ community treats new/prospective members?

I have never been a part of such a great community! Since I first started (10 years ago), I can count on one hand the negative experiences I've had and even those were not that bad. I think having such a wide variety of players from so many different places helps to make everyone feel welcome. The best part of H&J is that there is no one way to play the game. Everyone can strive to create their own goals or just have fun with no goals in mind. This community has created so many fantastic tools for new players from the "Available To Adopt" show horse program to contest/giveaways on the forum to chat rooms designed specifically for new players. I often here new players saying they can't wait to be in a position to be able to give back to the community the way they were helped when they first joined! I think that says more than anything else about how well this game runs and all the credit for that goes to having a creator (Ammit) who has provided the ground work and guidance to make it all possible!

User name is fine with me.

You can use my username.

How long have you been using HaJ Server 2?
I've been playing since January of this year.

How comfortable are you with HaJ’s terminology? How long did it take you to get to this level of comfort/familiarity?
I comfortable with all of the terminology. It didn't take me long to be comfortable because I had prior experience with most of it.

Did you have previous familiarity with some of the terminology (e.g. previous horse exp?) If so, how much?
I played another horse sim for several years that was also genetics based so I already knew the basics. The other game didn't use the same genetics coding and wrote it out differently plus more things have been discovered/located since I played the other game.The only things I needed to get use to were Pearl, Satin, Snowflake, DP, Sooty, Sooty+, that all of the Kit mutations are located together, and Fantasy genes.
In real life I volunteered for several years at a therapeutic riding center for people with special needs. During the summer camps (for special needs children and their siblings) I taught the kids about basic horse anatomy, colors, markings, familiar breeds/sizes.
I also have done a bunch of reading about genetics in general but more specially dog and horse color genetics because I find it very interesting especially the 'odd' colors (Lilac, Isabella/Lemon, Silver in dogs)

How do you think that the high level of jargon on HaJ affects new members who are not familiar with it?
I think that if someone is completely unfamiliar with genetics or horses might be put off by the jargon but if you're not interested in one of the other how did you find the game and why would you want to play.

Do you feel that you write differently on the forum than in other places (e.g. text messages, Facebook) due to the rules about using proper capitalization and punctuation and avoiding chatspeak?
I don't write any differently here than I do anywhere else online. I don't use chatspeak other than a few commonly known expressions (lol, brb). I do use some other abbreviations when texting but since I usually use Auto Suggest I only have to type the first few letters before my word shows up.

How do you think the posting rules change how the HaJ community functions?
I think the posting rules prevent the drama/childish behavior that happens in many online forums. It also prevents troll posts that just clutter up the board. The former game I played had lots of drama and childish posts that our rules prevent (as well as now having the 16 or older rule to join the game).

How do you feel that the HaJ community treats new/prospective members?
Although I'm not someone that posts all of the time I feel like a member of the community. This game/forum if the nicest I have ever belonged to. The community is welcoming to new players who follow the rules but also nicely remind those that are not on how they should act. The administration of the game is extremely fair and there aren't cliques that act superior to others. Everyone is welcome to play as they want and to follow their own goals (as long as you aren't cheating).

Thank you all so much for your responses! I don't have much to give, but if any of you would like a straw from one of my stallions I'll send it as a thank you!
http://hj2.huntandjump.com/adv_search.php?runsearch=1&status=any&ageg=2&agel=&agee=&erag=&eral=&erae=&heightg=&heightl=&heighte=&boneg=&bonel=&bonee=&f_basic=none&f_adv=none&f_limit=25&stallion=1&bty=1&lined=lined&foundation=1&name=&name_lm=like&color=&color_lm=like&owner=42760&owner_lm=like&breeder=&breeder_lm=like&sire=&sire_lm=like&dam=&dam_lm=like&barn=&barn_lm=like&pasture=&past_lm=like&tattoo=&tat_lm=like&tat_and=and&club=&bc_lm=like&bc_and=and&e1=&e2=&a1=&a4=&a2=&a3=&f1=&f2=&p1=&p2=&s1=&s2=&s3=&c1=&c2=&c3=&d1=&d2=&g1=&g2=&ch1=&ch2=&z1=&z2=&sa2=&sa1=&mu2=&mu1=&chn2=&chn1=&kit1=&kit2=&kit3=&kit4=&kit5=&kit6=&kit10=&kit11=&kit12=&kit7=&kit8=&kit9=&sp1=&sp2=&sp3=&spM=&pax31=&pax32=&rb1=&rb2=&o1=&o2=&l1=&l2=&ice1=&icei=&ice2=&ice3=&ice4=&ice5=&ice6=&ice7=&ice8=&ice9=&ice10=&ice11=&ice12=&ice13=&ice14=&nexn=&nexx=&nexr=&nexg=&nexb=&nexw=&rainr=&rainwt=&rainpl=&raint=&rainna=&brindle1=1&brindle2=1&wf1=1&wf2=1&wf3=1&wf4=1&wf5=1&wf6=1

I'd love one from Ginger Snap! 45703
http://hj2.huntandjump.com/horse.php?horseid=2298346

Questions:
How long have you been using HaJ Server 2?
I joined HJ2 in July of 2014, but I played HJ1 and Shoco/WHG starting about 2007(?). I've been a moderator since November 2017.

How comfortable are you with HaJ’s terminology? How long did it take you to get to this level of comfort/familiarity? Even coming from the other server I found it really hard in the beginning! I couldn't make any sense of some of the forum post titles! One of my goals is to figure out a way to make things a bit easier to understand, but even if there is a description somewhere, new people may not read it! That's why we created the Beginners Barn chat room. It probably took me a year to get REALLY familiar with the lingo.

Did you have previous familiarity with some of the terminology (e.g. previous horse exp?) If so, how much? Yes, I had a horse as a teenager, and worked professionally on a breeding farm after college.

How do you think that the high level of jargon on HaJ affects new members who are not familiar with it? I think it can be VERY distracting and off-putting.

Do you feel that you write differently on the forum than in other places (e.g. text messages, Facebook) due to the rules about using proper capitalization and punctuation and avoiding chatspeak? No.

How do you think the posting rules change how the HaJ community functions? I agree with the other respondants, that it makes people slow down and be more thoughtful and mature with their responses. I've noticed that the very few times we have had to ask someone to remember the rules more than once, they did not stay on the forum (or even the game) long, but that is NOT a conclusive study! Just an observation!

How do you feel that the HaJ community treats new/prospective members? Literally; my job is to be sure they feel welcomed and support them through the learning process. The community here is friendly and generous, but does not tolerate bad actors.

Note: Please let me know if you would like me to credit your username or if you would prefer a pseudonym! You can use ConfluenceFarms!

Can’t see it... did you change the privacy to “anyone with link can view”?

I stole Mom's computer for a minute and it worked. (As opposed to my phone)

That is really well done! I enjoyed reading it.

I totally missed this as I was traveling! What a cool idea. Thank you for writing this. :D

Well done! Your paper was clearly written and very thorough. You also managed to remain objective both about the positive and occasional negatives of the community (jargon in particular). I hope that you earn a good grade for your excellent analysis. (Do I sound like I spent a lot of years as a teacher? I did. :D)

Great work! I'm glad to have been given the opportunity to help out and hope you get high marks. :)