I'm designing a pen-and-paper / play-by-email strategy game.

Computer Science, huh? So what got you interested in that field?

That sounds very cool and complex. How exactly would that work, and what types of strategy would be involved?

So, what type of plot have you been following for your story? Can you label it as high fantasy or... the other type of fantasy? (the name escapes me now) We also have a Sci-Fi side of HW, if your story has any science techie type stuff that you would like to discuss.

congratulations on taking time to pre-write!

No, no, it's simple. We'll just call this guy "Jon" and always call Mr. Garner by the full Jonathan. It'll work fine. Trust me, I was once in a group that kept three Jennifer's straight by calling one Jen, another Jenni, and the third Jennifer.

Yes, the subforum system around here can take some getting used to. Read the descriptions under the forum names

Beware of sugar overloads in this thread!

And watch out, you will soon be showered with more than just muffins.

Yes, those descriptions are helpful, but a document with examples clarifying the lines between forums for similar or related topics, and at least one comprehensive example of how various facets of a subject (your shared world, for instance) would fit in the various forums would be a most useful supplement to the FAQ.

(As an aside, the FAQ entry or otherwise introductory post on what you call "Essences" that newbies get pointed to should, but doesn't, begin with some explanation aimed at those who have no idea whatsoever what you're talking about, instead of launching into the details of the syntax you use.)

I think that I'll write a "signature" for myself to link to my blog, as well as adding it to the thread of them; I'd for some reason assumed, when I wrote my introductory post above, that it'd be readily accessible in a couple of clicks from my "name" next to any of my posts.

I believe there has been talk of an FAQ document like you describe. Believe me, we've had trouble with this before!

What is Essence?
Essence is probably the hardest thing to wrap your head around. Basically it's an outline of metaphors to help other authors know what you're thinking, what runs through your head when you think of a specific thing. Sir Emeth Mimetes has written an entire post about it on his blog here and that's very good. There's also an entire sub-forum in the Scholar's Hall called essence. There you can find all sorts of tutorials about learning how to write essence maps.

On essences I shall agree with you whole-heartedly. It's a bit of an inside joke how hard it can be to get started on those things.

Have you seen this? It's been archived since a new firstX tutorial came out, but I think it's helpful. This was the article that finally make essence "click" in my head, and I was able to make a few simple maps.

viewtopic.php?f=24&t=1778&p=32272&hilit=simple+essence+mapping#p32272

There has been talk by the tech guys about putting a URL button on the bottom of posts. But for now, most of us have our blogs in our signature.

As do I, now. (And I've now revised some of the bit-rotted pages on my blog that someone happened on after following the link in my profile, and took my year-old word that a website I'd since neglected was "more up to date." Though the battle to keep archive pages up to date with recent posts, when I write a post in each "department" a week and rarely touch the Pages, is still ongoing.)

I started blogging just last fall, and I had quite a struggle with this. Lately I broadened my horizons and started putting up different kinds of posts, so that's helped with the search for content. I, too, have a schedule of posts - each day of the week is reserved for a specific kind of post. I don't have a post in each category every week, but it helps keep things organized and spreads the posts out in different categories so I'm not posting a slew of one type of post in a row.

I've also found that having a schedule encourages me to write in the various categories - if I know I need a world-building post for Wednesday, I have to write one!

The animated Robin Hood.