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I've been following the Wizards of the Coast forum closely lately, and a few of the threads I have felt would be best answered here on RPG.SE (Since the thread gets like 7 responses of and then dies out)

What would be the best way to advertise on these forums? Is there a way to politely craft a forum response with a link to rpg.se? Should we reproduce the questions here?

Part of me wants to respond to a thread on a forum and say (in a much nicer way), "You know, this question would better be answered at rpg.se than this forum where people just say random stuff." :P

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Some forums disable images in signatures, preventing graphical banners and Flair from being used. In that case, text and links is the only option for sigs.

I have this line in my sig on RPG.net:

Need solutions instead of discussion? I answer questions at RPG Stack Exchange too. Just ask.

I like the wording because it's phrased about me, which is more tasteful for a forum sig than straight-up advertising for another site is. It's inclusive too, allowing for the different strengths of the two formats without saying one is better than the other. And it includes a crystal-clear call to action.

The BBCode for it:

Need solutions instead of discussion? I answer questions at [URL="https://rpg.stackexchange.com/"]RPG Stack Exchange[/URL] too. [URL="https://rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/ask"][B]Just ask[/B][/URL].

If the line is too prominent beside the rest of the sig, or just too big for your tastes, you can use the BBCode tags like [size=1][/size] (your site's BBCode might vary) to make it smaller than the default forum text.

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    \$\begingroup\$ Note that BBCode isn’t completely standardized and you may have to play with the code to get it to work on the forum of your choice. For instance, many forums have size tags that use percentages of normal size, not 1-5, so [size=1] yields text at 1% size. \$\endgroup\$
    – KRyan
    May 27, 2014 at 13:03
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You could ask the question here, linking to and stating that it was inspired by the original thread, and then post in that thread that you have done so. It allows the two communities to see each other’s responses, and if the original thread dies it gives the OP a chance to see what we think.

I have had very good luck with a similar tactic of linking to questions (and answers) here when someone asks something already answered here. I believe several members of the site are here because of my doing things like that.

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Start by linking to relevant content that already exists. This is both more visible and more helpful than other kinds of "advertising."

"Hey, how many crits could a bugbear chuck if a bugbear could chuck crits?"

"32 crits, because each even-level bugbear feat is worth 1.88 crits. 47 if he takes the Frenzied Spelunker prestige class. < link >Here's a post from RPG Stack Exchange that explains the math in detail< /link >."

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One option for general advertising of RPG.SE, not for specific questions, is to use the site's Flair, which is a nice little badge with your RPG.SE stats that might draw people in. It's not perfect, and a single-site flair-badge is a bit bland (as opposed to a whole-network flair), and (most importantly) it doesn't actually say StackExchange on it, but it's nice to have it around.

profile for lisardggY at Role-playing Games Stack Exchange, Q&A for gamemasters and players of tabletop, paper-and-pencil role-playing games" title="profile for lisardggY at Role-playing Games Stack Exchange, Q&A for gamemasters and players of tabletop, paper-and-pencil role-playing games

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  • \$\begingroup\$ I tried using Flair, but it turns out that RPG.net (at least) disables embedding of images in signatures. \$\endgroup\$
    – SevenSidedDie
    May 26, 2014 at 23:20
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Inspired by BESW's comment, perhaps we can create a banner link to be placed in Signatures?

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