Newbie board

[fudgeman]

I'm guilty of a simple "welcome to the forum from blah, blah, blah". I feel even a simple welcome is better than no welcome at all. I don't copy and paste, though. Each and every letter is typed by hand.

What he said.

[MartinGrenoble]

The newbie threads seem to go on for ever, the same ones cropping up day after day in so-called "new posts". Content being minimal, I don't usually bother to look, and quite agree with Beloitpiper that copy-pasted "welcomes" have little value.

Martin

[Balaamsass51]

Let this thread go by the first time, but have thought about it a bit and would like to respond.

First, doesn't matter to me if a post to the newbie thread gets counted or not. I'm sure I've moved up a notch because of newbie posts, but quite frankly, so what? If I do or don't again I will not lose any sleep over it.

Second, I reply to most of them because I thought it was a nice thing that so many of you responded to my first post.

As far as answering questions go, usually by the time I respond it's been answered, or I don't know the answer.

I usually say the same thing, just a quick welcome and where I'm from. That's because I like to know where the other guy is from. I type my sentence each time, silly to copy and paste when I can type a few words just as fast.

I do agree that these type of posts increase the daily amount, but they are easily bypassed.

FWIW

Matt H.

[Sionnach]

Gosh, I remember when I posted for the first time and what a great welcome I received from so many. My first thought has always been to return the favor and make a large welcome mat so to speak. Count has never really mattered- If I could turn it in at the end of the day for a free brew then maybe. but i don't mind having no count as many look at me as person of no a-count anyway.
Cheers

[Bugbear]

All right, since it has been proven that posting in a Newbie thread causes the post count of the poster to increase by one post, then I wil consider banning myself from posting in the Newbie threads again. I usually try to post a "Welcome" or something in each new members Newbie thread.

If I decide to do that, it does not mean that I will not open the thread and read what the Newbie has posted. It also does not mean that I will never make an exception to my self-imposed-bann and make a post in a Newbie thread if I feel it is important enough to post said post in said Newbie thread.

[cessna152towser]

OK, if I haven't had time to look at the newbie posts for a few days, I admit I have occasionally been guilty of copying and pasting my standard welcome, but its the thought that counts and the Newbie probably neither knows nor cares whether the welcome was individually typed or was copied and pasted, the important thing is to maximise the number of welcomes a new member receives. Where I have something in common, like an ancestral name or they live in a place I know I would add an extra line or two of individual conversation and would check back to see whether it gets replied to by the OP. I'd never considered whether or not posting on these threads affected my overall post count.

[Kiltman]

OK, if I haven't had time to look at the newbie posts for a few days, I admit I have occasionally been guilty of copying and pasting my standard welcome, but its the thought that counts and the Newbie probably neither knows nor cares whether the welcome was individually typed or was copied and pasted, the important thing is to maximise the number of welcomes a new member receives. Where I have something in common, like an ancestral name or they live in a place I know I would add an extra line or two of individual conversation and would check back to see whether it gets replied to by the OP. I'd never considered whether or not posting on these threads affected my overall post count.

I must agree with this philosophy. I take the time to read the newbie posts. If I have something to share I do. I think there is an 'unfriendliness' factor to degrading the newbie posts to not counting.

[ThistleDown]

Where I have something in common, like an ancestral name or they live in a place I know I would add an extra line or two of individual conversation and would check back to see whether it gets replied to by the OP. I'd never considered whether or not posting on these threads affected my overall post count.

I agree. One of the best things about this forum is the friendliness of those who post. Part of that, surely, is a warm welcome to new participants. Somewhat akin, I think, to all of us standing in a circle facing inwards but making room -- with a nod of the head and a smile -- to each who wishes to join us.

[English Bloke]

I left the Newbie threads alone for a while because I had a greater interest in the main boards. I felt this was a bit remiss as I received such a warm and resounding welcome when I turned up here (cut and paste though much of it was, I was impressed that members at least took the time to say hello) and so I had a rethink. It does take time to go through every new member post and think of something witty and original to write for each one and if you're pushed for time and wan't to jump to the other stuff, even more so. I think it's probably the right thing to do though so I've recently had a go at posting there again. I like ThistleDown's analogy of everyone standing and nodding a greeting as the new bloke arrives. Nothing much to say at this early point but a friendly gesture to acknowledge the new arrival means much... to the new arrival.

Posts counting towards a grand total? Can't say I'd really noticed or care. It's not why I'm here. If the "they're cheating in the exam" aspect of point accumulation is such an issue why not scrap the Newbie board and let the new members introduce themselves through the normal kilt boards. The newbies are probably here to talk about kilts as well. Quite a few newbies post 1st time on the boards anyway and get referred back to the Newbie board by the Mods. (Perhaps that's something to do with membership headcounting, I dunno...)

Postings Score / No Postings score... Not bothered. As I said, it's not why I'm here.

EDIT: Oh and by the way ... A warm Welcome from Lancashire, England!!

[meinfs]

I really appreciated it when people welcomed me to this board. I don't get to welcome each and every newbie but I try.

The simple act posting a message of welcome is an act of putting one's self out there. It is an important one even if it was cut and paste with nothing more than our icon. That member still went to the board and looked and put himself out there. Even if nobody else reads it, I'm sure the recipient will appreciate it.

If we think that counting one's number of posts isn't the important thing, then this issue of whether Welcome Newbie posts ought to be counted or not should not matter. Keep it as it is; that is, counted.


So what if a member attempts to inflate his post count by posting in the newbie section -- I say the member logged in and spent time in the forum whether he's "contributed" to the forum or not. We want members to spend time online, do we not? Now quality postings? That's another matter.

IF we are to judge what someone posts as a contribution to the kilted life or not, then that's a slippery slope. Let's not even go there (although I will a little). Because I've read many a post that I felt was unnecessary - and even then by whose criteria? Mine in that case. We all have different takes and perhaps standards. Some may consider other's trash as treasure ...

Sure, posts of 1000, 2000, 3000 and so forth are impressive -- it attests to the time that these members have spent on the board. You can see who they are and what they've posted. And you can tell if a person has posted 1000 "welcome newbies," messages and have contributed nothing else. Is he/she a lesser member then?

The minimum criterion that I subscribe to, in my humble opinion, is that we count, as a contribution, the TIME that a member has spent on this esteemed online forum. That time is easier to quantify in the form of a post, not just the length of time being online, mind you.

In my humble and non-confrontational, non-whiny opinion, with that particular criterion, I can argue and offer to the rabble that OFF-TOPIC posts be counted as posts towards one's post count. Granted that it's not necessarily kilt-related --- these posts are time spent on the board, not by strangers but by members we're getting to know more. And for what purpose? For some, personal posts about their lives and activities not kilt-related. For others, indirect connections to the kilt, e.g knitting, and other handcrafts or other hobbies. What do these things mean for me -- they amuse, they entertain; perhaps I can learn something new, something different that may contribute to my whole being and set of experiences, especially of my view of the experiences of kilt-wearers. I appreciate the fact that somebody posted something of themselves. And the beautiful thing is you do not have to read anything in the forum called off-topic since you know that it's likely going to be not kilt-related! I recently learned that OFF-TOPIC posts are not counted toward the post score and my immediate reaction in my mind was "why not?" Yeah, why not?


Many attest that they don't care what their post count is -- then if that's the case, then it shouldn't matter. If so, then one shouldn't begrudge others who's racking up 'points' for seemingly "less" valuable posts. We know who they are (are there any??). I am more for inclusiveness -- any post counts, even if for statistical data-gathering reasons only -- because it is time spent on the board. Actually, I put forth to the rabble that statistical data-gathering IS a sufficient reason.

Actually, ask yourself what does the post count mean to you anyway, ultimately?


Here's perhaps a crude analogy but one that I can speak of from my own experience: as a salsa dance instructor, when I was starting out, I've had a heated debate with a fellow instructor once about who teaches the beginners, who teaches advanced, etc and what "value" we attach to these efforts in the form of monetary value and difficulty level for the instructor. My take is that one hour of instruction is one hour regardless of instruction level, given the same number of students. We get paid the same; period. It's the same amount of time yakking. And teaching beginners is not necessarily an easy thing to do; in fact it can be more challenging. I shouldn't be paid less because I enjoy teaching beginners. We both can and are capable of providing the various levels of instruction. And it all averages out.

To connect this analogy to this discussion: a post is a post! What's it worth? What's my worth? [To me, ultimately not important, but it is important for site and user statistical data - and can be fun too, especially when one jumps from a mere peasant to a knight :]


Anyway forgive my flight of consciousness rambling; in the end, I respect what the moderators believe is the best for the board. I'm just offering my personal thoughts and suggestions on these matters.



Peace!

Off my soapbox now