Helping New Members - Page 4

March 25, 2007, 12:43 PM

hmm... that makes sense, i remember when i started here at FFF, i just posted in the FFX and FFVII sections, as well as the movies etc, i didn't find out about the Rp's stories, spam and all that until... well i consider it recently, so that would be a good idea, but if they wanted to use those sections, it could pose as a problem.

March 25, 2007, 2:37 PM

I really don't like this idea of restricting where new members can post at all. They need time to learn to navigate the forum and get to know it. Some people that are new are used to forum set ups and know how to post properly, etc...If you only give them a certain amount in the forum to post, how will they ever learn how to get around this forum? I don't like this idea at all, I'm sorry. I agree whole heartedly with Judge Rulia on this. Sorry guys. If we were to restrict new members, that would mean basically taking away part of our jobs as moderators. We're here to help aid and guide new members. I don't want to see this happening, not at all.

March 25, 2007, 2:47 PM

I'm a new member and the last thing I would want is to not feel welcome by not being allowed to post in certain areas. The idea is to be welcoming IMO... don't do the opposite and scare people away.

Aztec Triogal · March 25, 2007, 5:19 PM

Even so, the majority of people can't find their way around the site. A little time to get a base set up is not a bad idea at all. And as JR said, it fall unto all of us to help but I really doubt everyone does. I know I send PMs and recieve them pretty frequently from new members. If you're against it, that's fine but honestly I think your "5/6" years on forums probably helped you navigate this one better. It IS intimidating for some new members. And by giving them a base, then allowing them to branch out, it would help them navigate easier. And if you're saying it's not intimidating or that it's better just to cut them loose on these large boards, I think you're underestimating how comfortable you are on the boards now, compared to when you first joined.

March 25, 2007, 6:20 PM

I think maybe having a post count limit would maybe be a bit too much. How about the "newbie herders" judge when they think that a new member is fit for posting on the main board. This way, it gets the really new members (no forum experience) used to the set up and the ones with experience can post a few times before proving that they aren't n00bs

March 25, 2007, 6:31 PM

What needs to be done, is for the cut down of the massive amount of topics we have on the main page. It could have been done, but it never happened did it. LOL - you obviously misinterprated what I said about the 5/6 years thing. I said, that in all that time I have been going to forums, never have I seen such a system implemented. I made it quite clear my focus was on that. This has got nothing to do with me being comfortable. I have been on forums as big as this, with many members, and moderators and members have always been on hand to sort out any problems a newbie may have - there has been no need to restrict people's access. El_Nicko doesn't like the idea - how many more people would feel that is a bad thing?

It is our job as moderators to guide these people, not to say - "sorry, stay in here for a bit while we moderate your behaviour, we're looking out for potential spammers you see." and stick these people in a confined area. This is what I see this whole thing as. I really don't see this as an equality thing at all. There'll be some newbies who will genuinely feel as if this is a bad thing.

Every major message board has had it's fair share of spammers, and it has always soldiered on - we should be like that. You're going to get spammers regardless. We even have current regular members spamming from time to time.

Pooley: Newbie herders? Even that I think is a bit too much.

March 25, 2007, 6:37 PM

That was just a name that was given to the moderators or whatever who'd watch over the section in question a few pages back.
Not by me by the way

I suppose looking at it that way, it probably would scare a lot of people off. I suppose it's not really our place to decide whether or not something like this gets implemented. And as you said, it is basically what a moderator has to do already

Aztec Triogal · March 25, 2007, 7:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Judge Rulia

What needs to be done, is for the cut down of the massive amount of topics we have on the main page. It could have been done, but it never happened did it. LOL - you obviously misinterprated what I said about the 5/6 years thing. I said, that in all that time I have been going to forums, never have I seen such a system implemented. I made it quite clear my focus was on that. This has got nothing to do with me being comfortable. I have been on forums as big as this, with many members, and moderators and members have always been on hand to sort out any problems a newbie may have - there has been no need to restrict people's access. El_Nicko doesn't like the idea - how many more people would feel that is a bad thing?

It is our job as moderators to guide these people, not to say - "sorry, stay in here for a bit while we moderate your behaviour, we're looking out for potential spammers you see." and stick these people in a confined area. This is what I see this whole thing as. I really don't see this as an equality thing at all. There'll be some newbies who will genuinely feel as if this is a bad thing.

Every major message board has had it's fair share of spammers, and it has always soldiered on - we should be like that. You're going to get spammers regardless. We even have current regular members spamming from time to time.

Pooley: Newbie herders? Even that I think is a bit too much.

lol Ok, first off I don't know if you realise your post came off as a little hostile, but it did. We're friends so I don't really expect that you're mad or anything. But I can tell you severly disagree and that's ok. But let me just make myself clear, so we both understand. I got what you meant about the 5/6 years on various forums. But that still means you have 5/6 years of experience on various forums. I got your meaning but I went another way with it.

Secondly, you're right. I don't want to "confine" members and restrict them from posting. THat's why I was against the "newb section" Aeris suggested. I don't want to put the site on lockdown because I don' think that's fair to new members. I also think it would detract from the general interest in these forums. But if we "locked" the new people into forums that are teh core of the site anyhow (Final Fantasy), that's not really detracting from their experience at the forums. At least not in the beginning. Since this is the FINAL FANTASY Forums, I really don't see them being confined to just the FF forums as a bad thing. It'll give them time to get used to the site and managing topics... and then the rest of the site will be opened up. And 50 posts is not a lot. I got that in my very first day here. But 50 posts was enough for me to get the gist of the forums.

Again, this isn't to punish new people, it's to help them. And people ARE getting lost. So you can argue that it's the moderators jobs to help them... but people are still getting confused. And I agree with you, it is a lot of the mods job to help members in any way they can. And I'm not saying they aren't... but you're not clairvoyant. You don't know which members need help and which don't. So if they're here to post about FF anyhow, why not just let them get settled for a few posts in that area... then let them go off onto the entire site. And if they are getting lost and confused, it would be nice of us to help them, don't you think?

March 25, 2007, 8:01 PM

We'll have to see what the other administrators and staff think about the idea.