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The acronym feature will underline anything I put in there and when people mouse-over it, they will get some description or link. Granted like you said it can be solved by just putting in the acronym when the post was created. But this will at least help. Because I am at fault here to . Guess I should have paid more attention in grammar class.
Don't be so hard on yourself, D1. Bullwinkle may have a point but you're not doing anything wrong either.This site IS a niche site, catering only to a very small (but fanatically loyal!) sub-section of the gaming population. Most of us here, as true enthusiasts of the genre, know our topic inside-out so short-hand and jargon is only to be expected; communication between members flows more smoothly and new ideas can be expressed and topics discussed more easily within a mutually understood framework of common references.On the other hand, as Bullwinkle has pointed out, some of these terms can be a little bit of a barrier to entry for new people. The key, I believe, as with most things, is in striking the right balance.Don't fear jargon, Bullwinkle. At first a new person may not know what a 4X game is, but given time and an exploration of the site they should very soon come to understand - it's all there. Failing that, ask. There are lots of really friendly people hereabouts who are more than happy to say hello to anyone who wants to learn about their hobby, and to either explain something or point them in the right direction so they can find out for themselves. It's unreasonable to expect someone to visit a place like this and understand everything right away, as it is with any new hobby a person might pick up; there are always going to be things to learn and long-term practitioners will always have developed a way of speaking about their subject matter than might baffle the observer. This actually applies to some of the 'games' you'll find us talking about here, too. While we do play a lot of arcade-style shooters, some of the hard-core like to really get into the simulation aspect and 'play' things like Orbiter that require some skill and a LOT of learning actual real-life knowledge of things like escape velocities, gravity coefficients and even orbital mechanics. This is not all aliens and laser guns! Among the drooling over ship-types and conversations about enormous fleet battles you will find we veer occasionally into very dry and heavyweight discussions in such fields as cosmology and astrophysics - it's just who were are, and this website is all about celebrating that. The thrill of these pursuits is in the learning just as much as it is in the playing, so from our perspective having a new person scratch their head at a few pieces of jargon and having to work out a few things for themselves is not such a bad thing. ;)It's not that we won't help, or don't want to help - it's just that our own journeys of discovery have taken us to some amazing places, and we wouldn't want to rob anyone new of that experience if we can possibly help it.However, maybe there should be a small guide to the Space-Sim genre that new people can be directed to that will help them find their feet. Like the 'Newbies Guide for FFED3D' that's currently being written, but covering the genre as a whole, and perhaps including a few of the more [un]common terms of reference used between seasoned veterans?Something to think about, anyway.
Cheers on the Colored 'Status' areas below the sections. I may just be behind the times, but its a cool addition that I didn't notice until just now.
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. Guess I should have paid more attention in grammar class. Oh come on Bullwinkle this was to easy: 
