It is rather sad that some of our membership represent the rest of us in a negative light and in the process damage the community. I just wanted to express my disappointment and highlight the thoughts of our Admin: Fair Warning. This is a New Member Introductions, welcoming thread. If you can't post in this thread in a welcoming manner, please don't post here. If you want to discuss topics other than welcoming a new member, create a thread in the proper area. Falena Political Forum Administrator Folks...we are better than this.
@Falena Why would you welcome "strangers"? How about some initiation process here? Maybe sort of a mental swatting on the newbie. Moi Never Forget!
Some people think our welcomes are dispensed with thoughtless largesse and should be issued sparingly. I say, let the welcomes run free and generously!
As one who hates to see a "welcome" devalued on a newbie who never returns to read his thread, I employ - Welcome Status: pendingAfter a proving period of dialog that may be upgraded to a full, Welcome. As opposed to the @Sallyally sort who welcome anything. What next, "welcoming" to the Board different species? she might welcome her opossum or a dog to the Board. And aid them with their uploads. @Sallyally
Immediately makes me wonder "what they want" from me. As do smiling people, hand shakers and "nice to meet you" sorts. My canned reply, "wait to you get to know me". A welcome should be personal and personable. I encourage you to consider the Welcome Status: pendingapproach. See if they show up three times. It isn't about being "nice". I'm nice! It is about being "meaningful".
Sign Up as a helper for your opossum or dog and find out Watching for their welcome threads. FREE Citizen's Patrol of the correct, species. Moi Would YOU approve your daughter in an Inter Species marriage?
There are some gamers who camp near the spawn point so they can blast newbies as they enter the game for the first time. These people will kill a game by sucking all the fun out of the game. No new blood means the game will not exist a year from now. Likewise, on this forum, the enjoyment comes from arguing with others and engaging in an intellectual exercise. Blasting new posters in welcoming is just as self-defeating as spawn camping. No new ideas, no adversaries, no intellectual stimulation will be the result. This site would eventually be either a dull echo chamber or it will fail to exist altogether. So if a potential adversary with a brain shows up in welcoming, then you should be overjoyed. A worthy opponent makes you a better debater. On the other hand, if an opponent who is less than scintillating comes into the welcome thread, then you should also be overjoyed in that you could imagine the good times you are going to have playing intellectual whack-a-mole on this person. You cannot lose by being welcoming.
New members on any forum should be respectfully and even cheerfully welcomed. He or she will demonstrate what kind of person they are soon enough and then its fair game to criticize. Not right out of the gate before you even know what type of person the new member is. A forum cant grow if you give people a bad impression as soon as they say Hello! and make them want to run.
We need a new poster," Roast Thread". Where we can get to know the newbies before they disappear into their respective clicks. I have met a lot of people in the forums who rather enjoy not being nice.
What is a bad impression such as, "challenged". As in How are you worthy of this Board in 20 words or less. And verifying they aren't another The type who won't visit the forum as Aussies visit theirs.
Quite a few posters move around and are known by members here and else where so it would be nice to have a thread where that individual could get comments from friends and foes alike. Not just a nice welcoming thread.