User:Raine Valen/Learn 2 Play/Footing

Get in range.
The first and most important thing to consider when determining where to position yourself is whether or not you will be able to effectively do your job while you're there. If you're a caster and not in casting range, you're not being effective because you're not casting. It is for this reason that melee, for the most part, can largely (no, not entirely) ignore many of the finer points of positioning: they are required to be in peoples' faces, which severely limits their options.

Get out of range.
By the same token, you want to be as far from things that annoy you as possible. If you're a monk, you don't want to stand next to the other team's warriors or dom mesmer. Even if you can't get completely out of their range while still being where you need to be, you can force your opponents into less desirable positions. For example, standing far away from the other team's frontline means that they will have to cover more distance in order to spike or pressure you. Even though they still can do it, it will take more time and effort.