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Proposed limitation on "Newbie" posts...
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AfterDawn Addict
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4. April 2004 @ 12:45 |
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What is this? Looks like Praetor and drchips are trying to see who can post the longest reply. I ahve it as a tie so far - we'll just watch and see ;-)
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Praetor
Moderator
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4. April 2004 @ 17:28 |
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LOL ....
Quote:
So, two people missed the change.
First was Hunter007, a Junior Member.
Second was Praetor, a Moderator with Formal Debating Experience (surprised I was that YOU missed it)
You're gonna have to cut me some slack -- havnt slept in 4 days... busy studying for exams.... caffiene pills not working... grrrr. Surprised you say? Let's not get too self-rightous ;-)
Oh and before I get back to studying...
Quote:
I know that society in general is suffering from a malaise that deems that minorities are to be molly-coddled at the expense of the vast majority, but does this forum need to be infected with that illness???
Misplaced/"stupid" posts are hardly and illness - figuratively or otherwise. If you are suggesting that by allowing new members to post in the advanced section to be an act of spreading some terrible plague, might i remind you of a certain word: tolerance -- the entire point of dividing the forum into "Advanced" and "Newbie" sections is designed to help control the flow of questions simply due to volume of traffice (something perhaps the PS2 rooms should also consider considering the massive traffic they get). The split is not designed to keep the newbies in their "little play pen" but rather -- a more 'advanced' user should be able to answer newbie questions with greater ease -- and in the interest of promoting and sharing knowledge -- shouldbe doing so. Mods will come around eventually to redirect threads here and there as needed.
Furthermore, if you think that 'giving people the benifit of a doubt' is 'molly-coddling a minority' then might i suggest that you consider three things: (1) who are you to decide what is a minority and what isnt? (2) what is horribly wrong with a newbie question posted in the advanced forum? will moving the mouse down an extra line or two cause irrevocable damage? hardly. Or is it the case that seeing a 'newbie question' "pollute" the
'advanced section' hurts so much and it is below you to provide a generic response that will probably solve their problems. Again, the division is meant to control the flow of traffic -- not to segregate. (3) Suppose for argument sake I, for one, know jack-shit-all-nothing about DVDs and spend most of my time down in the PS2 section and have attained the rank of Member. Does this now mean I am "qualified" to play in the advanced dvdr room? What will happen if i ask what i genuinely believe to be an advanced question which turns out to be, in your eyes, a newbie one? (Please don't suggest that you expect the newly-qualified users to read every single post in the newbie and advanced rooms to determine "which category their question falls under"). It's one thing to try to direct traffic and its another thing to cast prejudgement on users and something totally different even to judge people's honest "classifications".
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 4. April 2004 @ 17:57
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drchips
Senior Member
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4. April 2004 @ 18:32 |
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Hiya Praetor,Quote:
You're gonna have to cut me some slack -- havnt slept in 4 days... busy studying for exams.... caffiene pills not working... grrrr. Surprised you say? Let's not get too self-rightous ;-)
Whoooaa! Dude...
You have my sympathies, and as much slack as you need ;)
It has been over 20 years since I had to do my Masters (Computer Science), and even though I breezed it, I can imagine the sort of strain you are under (I saw many of my compatriots going through the same thing).
I wasn't having a dig (the surprised thing), I was GENUINELY surprised as you have so consistently noticed just that sort of thing in previous posts/threads - my apologies if it caught you wrong (I plead non-knowledge of your situation as mitigation).
If I may address the latter half of your reply:
The quote you made has been taken out of context, and should be read with the preceeding lines in mind:Quote:
Quote:
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Or even cases where there are extremely knowledgeable users out there who are more or less, lurkers, they hang around to keep up to date and once in a blue moon they need advanced level help
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Those cases are possible, I agree.
BUT: they ARE extreme minority cases, are they not??
I know that society in general is suffering from a malaise that deems that minorities are to be molly-coddled at the expense of the vast majority, but does this forum need to be infected with that illness???
When taken IN context, it is something completely different, is it not?
Your last two paragraphs seem to be based upon that "out of context" quote, and based upon a false premise - I shall leave it there (cutting slack).
Good Luck on the exams front, matey.
How long have you got to keep up that workload?
When can you relax and get drunk?
Cheers..
Life is just more of the same:
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 4. April 2004 @ 18:33
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brian100
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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5. April 2004 @ 11:59 |
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Drchips
Sorry for the "moderator" jibe. It was totally out of order and uncalled for. Many apologies. I am pleased you didnt "destroy" me when you replied, although I did hold my breath for the duration of reading the post!!.
I decided to look through the section "DVD-r For Advanced Users" tonight to see how many threads have been initiated by Newbies or Junior members. Yes it was a most boring task, but I thought I would look.
Of the last 100 threads on that section only 4 have been started by users of the status "member" or above. It does seem that very few members, senior members & afterdawnaddicts have any questions to ask. Perhaps they hit "google" to search for answers ?. This is the method I use when I am baffled by a problem.
If Junior members & newbies were not allowed to post in the "Advanced" section the consequences would be obvious. IE we would all be watching "tumble weed" roll across our screen upon entering that section.
Perhaps instead of stopping junior members & newbies from posting on the advanced section we should totally scrap the "advanced section" & just have a section called "DVD-r" ??.
Looking for my old AD |
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Hunter007
Member
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5. April 2004 @ 12:33 |
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brian100:
I disagree with the scrapping of the "advanced" section altogether. I commend you for your obviously, tedious research, but there WILL be advanced questions that need "advanced" attention.
I don't bash long posts, they usually explain a lot, but the ones in this thread just seem to be arguing about who is right and wrong.
I am still a Junior Member, but have been registered on this site for some time now and have noticed that a lot of newbies post ridiculously stupid questions. Some that have been answered just a few lines down, but the point was to keep newbies from posting in advanced sections. While you're at it why not ban them from posting new threads alltogether? As stupid posts are not only in the advanced sections. I think that there should be something implemented that stops the posting of stupid, already answered questions, but what can anyone really do? I mean the site has banners stating to use the search function and to read for their possibly already answered questions. Banning newbies from posting in advanced sections, will result in being futile.
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andmerr
Suspended permanently
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5. April 2004 @ 13:00 |
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quote: but what can anyone really do?(section of hunters last post )
well how about leaving it in the hands of the moderators for know.We have brought it to there attention, let them fix it if it needs to be fixed.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 5. April 2004 @ 13:04
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brian100
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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5. April 2004 @ 13:17 |
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andmerr
Quote:
well how about leaving it in the hands of the moderators for know.We have brought it to there attention, let them fix it if it needs to be fixed.
I disagree...this debate has far reaching implications for this forum as a whole. The more that enter the debate the better.
Looking for my old AD
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 5. April 2004 @ 13:20
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Staff Member
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5. April 2004 @ 15:16 |
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Damn this forum has changed! but not too much........
Hi everyone :-) I dont know some of you but for those of you who remember me, I used to spend about 10 hours a day on the Afterdawn forum! I cut down my time to pretty much 0 seconds a day for a few reasons, and here is what they mostly are....
1. School
2. Hard Times, Very Very hard times!
Then I returned again and began to spend a lot of time here. I was promoted to mod after about 7,000 posts, it took that long because I had a severe attitude problem on the forum. I took everything seriously, I stood up to every asshole who wasnt worth arguing with etc etc.... The moderators and Admins began to threaten me and I even hit back at them, never realising that YES, I AM WRONG! So when I did come back to the forum, I came back completely different and now i think all the mods and admins (or at least most) have 10 times the respect they had for me before I left!
Now I was really mad into this forum. So mad into it in fact that I used to hate when it changed. I hated these "chat threads", didnt think they belong on a forum like this when there are 1000's of forums and chatrooms online that are pretty much open-topic! But you know what? Fuck it! If u stand up and complain about it, you just make enemie's. See the problem is, some forum promotions are made automatically through post count! So when people say, oh he is arguing with a member, he posts a lot, he deserves more respect from moderators, i can see why it would make blood boil! But anyway, enuff of the waffle, let me tell u all something....
There is no damn difference on this forum between people with the "Newbie" status and people with the "Moderator" status! Newbie means, NEW TO THE FORUM! it DOES NOT mean, new to digital video, ps2, xbox etc etc so I have no right to talk down to anyone. I could name 20 members in less than a minute who I know, know a lot more than me who arent moderators. For this reason, I disagree with the main point of this thread. Just because someone's forum status is newbie, or junior member, doesnt mean they dont "know enough" to post in the advanced forum! In fact, I hate the fact that it is split into two seperate forums! I think Praetor will agree with me on that one! And as for me being a mod, the only thing that means is I have a little more power over threads and user accounts than someone who isnt a moderator, but a moderator could also be seen posting in a "newbie" forum. Like if a moderator is a ps2 moderator, he might know absolutely nothing about encoding video! So that just proves my point that your forum status really says NOTHING about you, only that you are new to the forum!
Sorry if i repeated myself or made terrible grammer/spelling mistakes, im extremely tired and i didnt fully read the thread either so, my appologies if some of my post has already been said, ill take a good read over the thread tomorrow and post again!
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drchips
Senior Member
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5. April 2004 @ 16:09 |
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brian100:No worries ;)
I tend to jump on the following types of posts:
Faulty/specious/false etc logic.
Emotional/bleeding heart/politically correct etc.
And, for fun, I also join in on those who have a permanent KICK-ME on their back (bit of a moral duty !LOL!)
Sometimes I get slapped for it (but never hard), stirring things up, that is one of the drawbacks/benefits of playing Devils Advocate!!
Good on yer for going and LOOKING, doing a bit of research, as have I (different results because different criteria) BUT, my results are BROADLY similar to yours...
So, the "DVD±R" idea is a possibility, worthy of consideration by all (note: not a proposal, merely a recommendation for consideration).
Hunter007:Quote:
I disagree with the scrapping of the "advanced" section altogether.
Good, we need ALL the views we can get (for AND against) as those are a prerequisite for INFORMED debate, it is only by examining what we percieve this forum to be and comparing it to how we would like it to be that any constructive changes can be formulated (IF the consensus is that any are needed!!).Quote:
but the ones in this thread just seem to be arguing about who is right and wrong.
sometimes it is necessary to "clear the killing field" before progress can be made - If you re-read the thread in a different frame of mind, you may come to a different conclusion (no implication as to which conclusion is right/wrong/whatever).
The IMPORTANT thing is, you are joining in, taking part in a debate that MIGHT have an influence on our community here.
You commented on the quantity of "Stupid Posts".
As I have said, your views are important, as is the contribution you are making in expressing them.
andmerr:
Can I be so bold as to invite you to join in and contribute?
I don't think we are yet at the point where a Ruling is required, as there is much scope yet for investigation, examination and debate.
Dela:
Welcome, long time no read!!!
Your input as one of the more vocal Mods is especially useful, as the broader the mix in this debate, the more inclusive any subsequent conclusion will tend to be.Quote:
There is no damn difference on this forum between people with the "Newbie" status and people with the "Moderator" status!
Agreed!, and that seems to be the consensus that is being reached.
What seems to be happening is that we are addressing PERCIEVED problems now, trying to define them, and hopefully, kick a few ideas around that may help alleviate those problems.
So, it seems that the Original Proposal, and the subsequent modification to it are, De Facto, redundant..
Good, I have NO problems with that.
I am heartened to see the members of this community taking an active part in examining and discussing this community (hopefully with a view to improving it).
Let's keep this going, it could be of real benefit to everyone.
It would be nice to see some Newbie posts in here too :o
Have Fun...
Life is just more of the same:
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 5. April 2004 @ 16:24
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Hunter007
Member
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6. April 2004 @ 13:56 |
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Great to see you post again Dela!
drchips:
I suppose you are right in saying that I should read it again, with a different mindset. I did and once again, you were right. When I read it all I saw were people clearing things up.Quote:
I am heartened to see the members of this community taking an active part in examining and discussing this community (hopefully with a view to improving it).
I'm guessing this thread is now to see what can be done to improve AD? Well since we (or the founders of the thread) have decided that the newbies posting in advanced section is now done, lets move onto another topic that can be improved.
I think that the site is great and that dRd is doing a lot of work to maintain it. The mods are doing an excellent job as well. I've seen a couple of the changes in the AfterDawn site and most of them have been for the better. This is one of the few message boards, that is actually being used for what it was initially meant for: computer and technological needs (I think). Things that can be possibly updated/changed are the member classes. I'm not sure if it has been changed, but the ranks of members(newbie, junior member, member, senior member, AfterDawn Addict etc) For example from what I know it is based on number of posts, as opposed to quality. I know this would mean looking through each post, and that would be tiresome, but there must be something. If someone comes and posts 25 5 or 6 word posts they immediatly go to Junior member.
To me that shouldn't be, just a thought though.
Oh, drchips Quote:
It would be nice to see some Newbie posts in here too :o
Sure this thread isn't too advanced for newbies? Haha I'm just kidding...
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Junior Member
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6. April 2004 @ 14:20 |
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Hey all, ;)
Wow, that was a lot of reading. Interesting debate with many interesting and valid viewpoints.
Let me start by respectfully disagreeing with the overly broad statement..
There is no damn difference on this forum between people with the "Newbie" status and people with the "Moderator" status!
Not necessarily true. Possibly true for sure, but in terms of skill level, more often than not the "Newbie" is BOTH new to the Forum and new to the technology being discussed. I know because I am one of those people. Our resident newbie moderator Herbsman, clearly knows volumes more on the topic than I...and there's the 'difference'. For the sake of this debate, let's call that a Type A newbie.
Then you have the person who comes along, as Praetor, Dela and others have mentioned, that is quite knowlegeable on the subject, but has newbie status solely due to being newly registered. Perfectly qualified to post in the Advanced Users forum. Lets call that a Type B newbie.
Now, altho I've never been there to see for myself, (why on earth would I go in there yet?), it seems there is a problem with 'Type A' newbies posting in the Advanced forum.
To me it's very simple...there are rules, splashed right in your face before posting, and if you are indeed Type A, then you are ignoring/breaking them. And that really shouldn't be tolerated, or else you might as well through out the entire rulebook.
And it shouldn't take a qualified moderator long (about 2 seconds)to distinguish a typeA newbie from a TypeB.
So, might I suggest some sort of Auto-response to posters who are in the wrong forum...a short and clear statement that could be easily pasted into the offending thread. It need not be harsh, just a gentle reminder that they are in the wrong place and if they take their question to the approprite forum, someone there will try to help. And then close the thread. Period. No exeptions or it will be business as usual. It has to be strictly enforced or it won't work. Make it sound anonymous and automatic...everyone gets the same response , so no one can take it personally... something like..."Auto-Response from the AD Administrators...etc etc etc.
Like I said, I haven't been there myself to see how this problem is being handled now, so if this is already being done, my apologies, lol. But if the Type A's are recieving help in the Advanced forum, they will continue to seek help there, obviously.
And finally, let me say that I STRONGLY support the idea of two separate forums. Advanced users SHOULD have a place of their own, dammit. It's a good idea, and it's how "Da Boss" and whoever set it up and that is the bottom line. Don't let the rule breakers spoil it for the true geeks in this field (and I use that term lovingly). ;)
Just my humble opinions,
Doohickey,
Newbie Extraordinaire (Ha!) ;)
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brian100
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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6. April 2004 @ 14:47 |
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Doohickey
Welcome to this debate..
Quote:
So, might I suggest some sort of Auto-response to posters who are in the wrong forum...a short and clear statement that could be easily pasted into the offending thread
I really think this idea has REAL potential. It's a great idea. Inoffensive and to the point.
Looking for my old AD
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Prisoner
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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6. April 2004 @ 14:51 |
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I think Drchips is winning in the essay contest on this one.
About the topic. I would and did assume that the advance section was for advanced questions and the other for general questions. To me that would make sense, thus if you had a really advanced issue then it could go there. I am not too sure what that would be, maybe reprograming from source or something.
I don`t think that newbies should be cut off or restricted. the number of topics here at Afterdawn, we are all newbies. Good point Dela!!
I am not a number
I am a Free Man
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Junior Member
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7. April 2004 @ 09:28 |
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Thanks Brian, and thanks drchips for inviting me here to join in, ;)
Man, can I kill a thread or what! Sure got quiet in here...
Well anyway, I wanted to follow up on my first post. I took a look around inside the advanced DVD forum, (I know, I know, I should have looked before commenting at all), and it didn't take long to realize the flaw of my idea. It is not just a case of TypeA and TypeB newbies. I should have designated the truly advanced user as TypeZ, because there are users (newbie and otherwise) running the gamut from A to Z, in terms of knowlege/skill level, using that forum.
So where do you draw the line? What is your definition of advanced user? Who gets the hook and who doesn't? It could get ugly. I guess the management will have to decide that. There are newbies helping newbies with fairly advanced (to me anyway) advice. And there are (lots) of users who seem to have 'graduated' themselves from the newbie forum into the advanced forum simply because they have succeeded in making a few dvd backups and therefore "I must be an advanced user now", if you know what I mean. One can easily imagine the hurt feelings and obsenity laced reactions to trying to send them back to 'grade school' at this point. You stand to lose valuable contributors to the forum, which of course wouldn't be good...everyone should be allowed to offer help, thats what a community is all about, right?
The key I think, as drchips has suggested from the beginning, is to focus on the starter of the thread. I did see several threads STARTED by obviously TypeA newbies,(ie Sea bisquit & the Lion King, Serious Problem with dvd-r's, and others) that clearly belonged in the DVD-r for newbies forum. They should defineatly get the hook. They are in the wrong forum, violating the rules on posting that are very clearly spelled out..they don't have a leg to stand on if they want to argue about it. Chase them back to the newbie forum and likely more and more of the lesser advanced users will follow, because those are the types of questions that they can help with. Anyway, at the least it should solve the problem of TypeA's starting threads in the wrong forum, although not overnight to be sure. They'll still start them, for awhile, but if their threads get immediately closed (or moved) after the auto-response thingy) .. (sorry mods, I realize this means work for you, but what else have you got to do all day, lol)... sooner or later they'll get the message that the rules on that splash screen will be enforced. They aren't being enforced now.
Or...do nothing and let things continue as is, if that is the consensus. I don't really care either way, it's not my problem (shrug). I'm just here to learn (which I have, Thank You!), and have fun pesterin Scuba Pete. ;)
See ya's around the boards,
Doohickey ;)
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Hunter007
Member
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7. April 2004 @ 15:08 |
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Doohickey:
That's a good point. If the rules are enforced somehow, then users will start to understand how it is supposed to work around here. I think "chasing" them back is a little harsh though. Sometimes harsh is necessary. I like the Auto-Response idea, but how would it work? For example would it be something along the lines of excluding the word Playstation from all other forums other then the PS2 discussion board? That could work, but there is a problem. If a user is having trouble converting Divx to VCD(which by the way seems really common, even though its been answered a million times) and they have the word Divx, in the S/VCD forum and an Auto-Response stating that the user has the wrong forum. There is faults with this new feauture, but I'm sure it could be worked out.
Lets here some more ideas and try to figure this one out, its seems pretty good.
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Junior Member
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8. April 2004 @ 08:19 |
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Hunter and friends,
I wasn't suggesting a fully automatic Auto response "bot", if you will, that could somehow police all the forums.(shudder) I don't even know if a program such as this forum supports such command lines. What I know of code consists of my zip code and area code ;). And even if it were possible, as you point out it would surely be fraught with bugginess. Just look at the 'Net Nanny' type filtering programs. They just don't work that well, or they sometimes work too well. Plus I'm sure DrD has enough on his 'To Do'list already.
I was just thinking that an easy and tactfull way the mods might use to redirect a misplaced thread would be to manually paste some generic response that would appear to be an Auto-response.
However I'm sensing that none of them are liking my idea too much, lol. Nobody is saying anything. Or they've already said all they're going to say on the matter.
Whichever the case, I'm new here, and I like it here, so I'll not rock the boat any further unless I'm asked. Fun discussion tho.........Doohickey ;)
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AfterDawn Addict
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14. April 2004 @ 20:04 |
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Hi everyone, Sorry this post is almost a week late. I have been working a lot of OT lately due to being short 1 assistant manager. Took a while to read all of this.
To the original post: Like Dr Chips, I at times get aggrivated over some of the posts on here. Excessive repeats, dumb answers, posts in the wrong place. Everyone wishes there would be a better way of doing it, but you can't correct it all. As far as the member titles go, it never had any effect on how I felt about this forum or how I answer. I feel I am above average on the technical scale and really like reading Dr Chips involved answers. I learn as much as I can from reading this forum. But when answering the average question, I try to make it as simple as possible. You never know how much the member on the other end will understand.
As to more restrictions, my opinion is that it will hurt the forum more than help it. If someone posts a question in the wrong place or repeats, its very easy to just make a quick reply as to the problem or just ignore it completely. How hard is that. Thats my opinion. I don't think anyone on this thread is wrong either way. Yes it would be nice to have a better system but I hate restrictions. Its late and I'm going to bed. Later
Jerry
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sheri1983
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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15. April 2004 @ 02:56 |
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I think we should ban ALL newbie posts, not just those in the advanced topics. Newbies NEVER have anything important to say (take this post for example).
In some sailing forums, where I'm an expert, those "lesser" individual are really annoying, always wanting help roll-tacking or looking or parts that they have foolishly broken or how to prep their hulls for racing. Of course, having been born on the deck of a sailboat with my umbilical cord tied off with the halyard line, I was always "DrSailing", never "MsSailing". The people born are land are really beginning to annoy me!
Has anyone seen the movie "Minority Report"? You just KNOW those stupid newbs will commit the crime, so don't wait... punish them now!
Now that the nonsense is over with... in sailing forums, I find it quite easy to just simply ignore posts that I deem to be devoid of value and "beneath" me... or I would find it easy to ignore if I were to ever encounter such a post.
I figure most posts are important to at least one person, if only the poster. I appreciate the fact that new sailors took the initiate to 1. look for a forum, 2. take the time to register for the forum, and 3. bother to type up a post.
Another interesting fact... when a new sailing forum starts and I join, they have the audacity to list ME as a Newb! Can you imagine that? DrSailing a NEWBIE? The horrors! How could an expert like ME be a NEWB? Also some established lists on which I've lurked for YEARS, I'm not even a Newb because I've never officially joined, even though I've probably read more posts than many Sr. Members.
(Screaming To Be Heard) PRACTICE IGNORING ALL NEWBIE POSTS!!!! BEGIN WITH THIS ONE!!!!
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Prisoner
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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15. April 2004 @ 06:58 |
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What sheri1983, I can see you. Oh well nothing important I think anyways.
But seriously, everyone starts out as a Newbie. Also a lot of people are newbies for life (always learning something new is a good thing!!)
The Reverse to all this is the possiblity of removing all titles. All we really need are Admins, Mods, Da Boss, and Users. I vote to remove all Newbie, Junior/Senior Members and Adicts. Replace all that nonsense with one word User. Then you don't have crazy arguments like this. If you want to be special, under the Nickname it could list number of posts or replies or date joined. Then you could get a feeling for the usefulness of the person responding. As I am a Senior member am not vary useful in Xbox section and have never posted there. Under my nickname it could update the response or post number for every section that I visit and respond to.
New Idea to add to the argument!!
I am not a number
I am a Free Man
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 15. April 2004 @ 07:00
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Moderator
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15. April 2004 @ 08:19 |
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Quote:
All we really need are Admins, Mods, Da Boss, and Users. I vote to remove all Newbie, Junior/Senior Members and Adicts. Replace all that nonsense with one word User.
Oh shit, now we're talking communism ;)
Seriously though, I personally think it would be a worthy consideration to not allow newbies to post in the advanced forum in order to keep it more focused. When it comes to someone who is a new member with an advanced question, his/her post could be easily identified as advanced and transferred to the advanced forum. This inconvenience would be mitigated when they reach Junior in a short time.
This would entail a little more vigilance on our part but I believe it would be worth it in order to keep the Newbie and Advanced forums from seeming so much alike. I've seen instances in the Advanced forum where someone posted an advanced question, but it was quickly bumped way down by a swarm of posts that really belonged in the Newbie forum and consequently may get missed because of this which defeats the purpose of an Advanced forum.
I've also seen newbies get "jumped" somewhat for posting a basic question in the Advanced forum which is bad for both sides - we don't want to come across as intolerant and the newbie may not come back because of a simple mistake.
I'm absolutely all for anybody and everybody that wants to come here and learn, that's what this site is all about, but I believe a little "channeling" for the newbies would benefit us all.
My 2 cents :)
My killer sig came courtesy of bb "El Jefe" mayo.
The Forum Rules You Agreed To! http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/2487
"And there we saw the giants, and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight" - Numbers 13:33 This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 15. April 2004 @ 08:20
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AfterDawn Addict
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15. April 2004 @ 08:46 |
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Sheri, From reading your post, I get the feeling you may have mis-understood my last post. It was late and I was half asleep. I did not mean to imply that all Newbie posts be ignored. I wouldn't have anyone to post too. I was talking about posts in the wrong place, multiple post for the same question, and of course the questions that should never have been asked in the first place. I answer newbie questions all the time and even answer the beginners questions that are asked over and over again. Members like Scuba Pete and FastFrank also take extra time to do the same thing. So we are not against Newbies and do not try to ignore them.
Hope this cleared up my post.
Jerry
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sheri1983
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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15. April 2004 @ 15:06 |
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Jerry,
My comments weren't directed to you. I understand it can be a bit of a thorn in the side to see "newbies" post the same questions over and over again, but it happens in all varieties of forums, not just these forums.
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This is directed to everyone:
I try to tolerate "newbie" posts in forums where I'm an expert, and it's nice when my posts, however ridiculous, are at least ignored, if not tolerated, in areas where I'm a "newb".
I know most of the experts on this forum build their own modchips, make their own DVD recorders, et cetera, but for the rest of us, it takes critical mass for products to become commercially viable. Most forums rely on "fresh blood" to keep them going. Trust me, any forum that is not attracting new posters is DYING!
Here's an interesting, but somewhat politically correct, idea. Call all new members "Honored Guests". Have a special posting area for these "Honored Guests". Maybe they'll be so enamored by this that they'll post exclusively to this area and leave the more advanced (read "elitist") areas alone. That will help segregate the superior individuals from the dregs and the swine. Besides, it will provide entertainment for the omniscient members as they smugly snicker at this ploy.
Or maybe a filter could be developed so that you could choose to ignore all "newbody/nobody" posts.
Hopefully, many members regularly "expand their horizons". They will likely be more tolerant than the unifaceted "experts". I try to pick up new hobbies every year. This is the "Year of the Electronic Gadget" for me. I've replaced a broken DVD drive on a Game Cube, successfully modded a two-day-old Xbox thereby destroying a perfectly good MS warranty (totally out-of-character for me), installed a Wi-Fi network in my flat, upgraded the firmware on my DVD player, and disassembled my old Palm Pilot and reattached a loose connector (now it works!), and it's only April!
If I quit seeing posts in Sailing forums asking "Who has the right-of-way...starboard tack or port tack?" or "what does the term 'In Irons' mean?", I'll know we're not attracting "fresh blood".
Try this... everytime someone asks "How do I burn DVDs in my CD writer", "what's this EvoX thing and how do I get it?" or "I put my Xbox game in my PC DVD-ROM, but I can't seem to play it", just sigh and say "Boy! We sure are expanding!". As Martha says "It's A Good Thing!".
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 15. April 2004 @ 15:18
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Prisoner
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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15. April 2004 @ 15:27 |
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Good enlightenment. Of course up until you quoted Martha Stuart (sp?)
Are you to tell me that Xbox games don't work on the PC, Oh well. I am amazed using that as an example hit a cord with you Sherri. And what is in Irons?
But now that I am more slightly awake. I think I have come to the conclusion that new users are good. I am not a comunist (quite oposite actually). And stop reading posts is easy. Thus I reaching to the point that this is becoming a moot topic.
I am not a number
I am a Free Man
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Senior Member
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7. May 2004 @ 14:05 |
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This site has probably got the best forum around and we all ask stupid questions in are life at some point.The thing is you do not get an answer to a stupid question normally unless the person who replies is either stupid as well or very tollerant and enjoys answering the same questions as there glad to be of a help.I do see your point but i feel we want people to join the forum and not be scared away.It would be great if you tried to post a thread and it directed you to the already answered question instead of posting the thread.As it is nothing is perfect.But i do believe for basic stuff the newby forum is the best port off call as there is so many senior members who are willing to put you on track and spend time helping you.I just do not like this attitude where if your newby,Junior,Senior you feel you have the right to look down on others.
John179
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jobel60
Newbie
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3. June 2004 @ 04:41 |
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Afterdawn: One of the most intelligent sites I have seen. It's really nice to see people debating and not trying to put their whole argument into one line like " Fuck off you twat, read the sticky! "
Newbies: I am a lifelong Newbie as aforementioned and I must admit I did find the site confusing at first and on my first arrival looked for the Newbie room. I don't mind being referred to as a Newbie and I wouldn't mind a sticky label attatched to any posts to reveal that.
I have never understood this argument about number of posts and status etc; normally when I start to read posts about climbing up the ladder in a site I run like hell!
To me a forum is compsed of three elements: The learners, The Mods and The experienced that we all draw off to achieve our aims.
The quality of the social interaction is very important to a Newbie but he/she is there to learn and if that means being put into a room saying that is where they should post first until they know a bit more I don't think they will mind; after all you don't want to go to the pub with your college professor on your first day.
Being of limited intelligence myself ( my IQ is only about 2 points higher the G.Bush's thats why I wear my pants backwards )I need things explained in the most simplistic of terms and on my worst days I not only need someone to say put the round peg in the round hole I need someone to explain what a round peg is!
The issue of the the Newbie is important and I am sure it will be resolved soon, complex as it.
The site that would get my whole hearted support would be the site that sets a series of tasks to be completed each week/month with a easy to follow guide on how to complete them and you build up a sort of portfolio of achievements that allows a person to to study different techniques in an almost school/college enviroment. It would be volountary.
A typical example could be some thing like: Task 1:
Research the site and find the meanings of:
A Codec
Aspi
Region Codes
etc
The person has to research the topic and write the meaning in their own words to prove they understood it and either put it into a folder on their comp or put it into a specific thread designed for it that a senior member can correct/pass/fail when they are bored/lonely/drunk.
From there each task gets progressively harder and complicated. I have an image in my mind of where one of the tasks is to edit and post a clip of a film and all these people take a clip from their films - no porn obviously -post it and we find out everyone likes Scooby doo!
I know it seems a massive undertaking and maybe more trouble than it's worth but it could be fun and would help people learn in a structured enviroment until they eventually pass the Newbie stage and hopefully at some point are prepared to take a turn for a couple of months sorting out the Newbies whilst at the same time they are being instructed by a higher grade person who is being taught by another higher grade and so on right up until they can join a special room which has no function other than to take the piss out of everybody!lol
This to me seems a good way to utilise the resources of the site and also frees up senior members so they can watch their scooby doo films!
Sorry to be so long winded.
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