Introductions.

[Failed_Attempts]

Uh, I think that there should be an Introduction Forum. Because, there are people who like to give themselves introductions, and end up getting the thread closed, then they get angry because they don't know all the rules yet.

I think it'd be a helpful place for Newbies to come and introduce themselves and get aquainted with the site members. The regular memebers of OB can Welcome them, and maybe even show them "the ropes."

I don't know, but, I think it'd be a good idea for Newbies to introduce themselves, and to see how nice everyone (that's an exception for some) is on OtakuBoards. ^_^;

Just a suggestion.

(EX: INTRODUCTIONS
A place for Newbies to come and introduce themselves to OtakuBoads.) !@_@; I don't know exactly. James, you're better at phrasing things when it comes to Forums, and that's only IF it becomes one.
^_^(finally at the end of the message)

[Juu]

[color=ff00cc] [size=1]Well, there used to be an Introduction forum about a year ago. There was this huge petition on whether to keep it or not.

The introduction forum got a litty bit too spammy, so they decided to close it. :bluesweat[/color] [/size]

[Schrat]

yeah Juu's right...people would just start a thread and write 'Hi, Im new'...thats a basic spam, so we had to close it, but I see where your coming from, i know when I first came here, i wanted everyone to know who I was...

[Patronus]

And people wouldn't use proper grammar...I hate it when people don't use proper grammer

[James]

[color=#808080]Well, basically, we've tried an Introduction forum on two seperate occasions.

But it never works.

It invariably fills up with spam.

At this forum (as with many high quality forums), we expect members to maybe read a little bit before joining. Most people who join have been guests for a while beforehand and some people already know the ropes. So, people can introduce themselves within their first post...but we don't want introduction-specific threads.

This isn't exclusive to our site; there are many other forums that don't allow Intro threads for the very same reason.

[/color]

[Failed_Attempts]

I see, I see. I had no previous knowledge of this Intro thread. That's the only reason I brought it up. Now, I do realize what a "disaster" it would be to have it. It would be filled with spam and all that stuff.

[KittyLynn]

[FONT=century gothic][SIZE=1][COLOR=dodgerblue]*runs up and hugs Failed* You didn't make a thread saying Hi! And being all weird. I congratulate you on checking first.

^^;;
-CL[/COLOR] [/SIZE] [/FONT]

[JCBaggee]

[color=red][size=1][font=arial]Geez, not only did the forum get out of hand, so did the campaign to get rid of it. But, I will admit, that was some of the funniest stuff I've seen in a while.

--Chris[/color][/size][/font]

[G/S/B Master]

The newbies wren't the only spammers in the forum, but the old members were too ( exe. D_A with his sheeps ). Though I do miss it for some reason. *shrugs*

[Transtic Nerve]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Failed_Attempts [/i]
[B]and end up getting the thread closed, then they get angry because they don't know all the rules yet. [/B][/QUOTE]

Well I believe it states when you register that you should or have to read the rules before you begin posting, thus there is no excuse to why someone would post an introduction thread. It's their own fault... but because they didn't read the rules, they don't know that.

[Semjaza]

The problem with the rules... is that, last I checked (I just went through it and I saw nothing) [b]there isn't one thing in there about introduction threads. [/b]

It was decided upon, but never put in there. It's been dealt with on a case by case basis since then. I believe that MyOB mentions it in its current incarnation, which shouldn't be that far off... so that will be taken care of soon enough.

I also don't remember seeing anything in there about this Favorites thread rule. When I first became mod I was told it was clearly in the rules, but it's not on that page whatsoever.

So really, you can't just expect new members to automatically know what's allowed here and what isn't if it's not clearly stated.

A majority of boards [i]allow[/i] favorites threads and introduction threads. Many allow one word posts (I go to one where if someone tells a good joke, there's just posts with nothing but laughing faces).

I've seen people say things like "Well, that's obviously spam and they should know that." To us, yeah it is. To many others coming off other boards? It most certainly isn't. The rules do specify many things about post length, quality and relevence though... so that's a moot point really heh. However, in the case of intro and favorites threads, I don't feel that is all that clear.

It seems as though the majority (actually every, to my knowledge) of mods here take care of it nicely though. I've never seen anyone jumped on for posting an intro thread... It's just explained to them that it's not allowed and closed. Simple as that.

Anyway, I can understand the questioning on such things until this is all finally put into writing. The problem is that there are many rules here that are simply [i]understood[/i] by a good deal of us just because we've been here awhile. I understand it can be hard to deal with someone who breaks these rules, but at the same time... I can hardly blame them.

I'm done lol.

[James]

[color=#808080]I basically agree with what you're saying.

The rules provide a basic level of coverage over the site - a basic view of what we consider to be acceptable and unacceptable.

However, since the time the rules were developed, various common practices have evolved. And these common practices have been adopted by the community at large.

I think it's fair to say that [i]most[/i] forums are in a similar situation there. And it's true that new members won't necessarily understand these procedures/courtesies without actually having spent some time at the site.

So, most forums have their little quirks, I suppose. And not all forums (I'd actually say very few) will write a comprehensive list of these courtesies. Most of the time, the membership expects people to understand most of these courtesies because they expect new members to be observant. At OtakuBoards, we are frequently reminding people, on a daily basis, of our most important courtesies (whether it's about Introduction threads or some other issue). And because we do that, we expect that observant members will have some sense of how things work.

I know that when I visit a forum, I never just dive in and do what I want -- I usually take a look around and see how things work. I'd say that's a pretty common practice on most web forums these days.

So there are two sides to the coin. On the one hand, staff shouldn't jump down a member's throat [i]if[/i] their rule violation isn't mentioned within the rules page. But by the same token, it doesn't take much effort to see our enforcement of these "unwritten rules" (as most forums have at least one closed thread on the first page, which is an introduction or something else -- you know what I mean).[/color]

[Sara]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by James [/i]
[B][color=#808080]I know that when I visit a forum, I never just dive in and do what I want -- I usually take a look around and see how things work. I'd say that's a pretty common practice on most web forums these days.[/color] [/B][/QUOTE] [SIZE=1]Maybe for you or for me...but twelve year old kids who just want something to do after school aren't going to do that. [/SIZE]

[James]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Sara [/i]
[B][SIZE=1]Maybe for you or for me...but twelve year old kids who just want something to do after school aren't going to do that. [/SIZE] [/B][/QUOTE]

[color=#808080]And that is [i]exactly[/i] why, as I said above, we provide leeway for people who make minor mistakes after joining. People are very, very rarely banned based on their first mistake - usually they are reminded to be aware of how things work and more often than not, there are plenty of members around to remind them of specifics too.[/color]

[Semjaza]

I think most people lurk message boards before joining as it is. Perhaps they don't know that an intro thread is allowed, and that's fine enough. It's generally dealt with quickly and nicely I'd say.

The only real problem is people that just keep breaking rules on a regular basis. There's people that break a few just getting used to this place, and then there are those who can't seem to do [i]anything[/i] right.

I think there is generally plenty of leeway given... I mean, there was a guy who was finally banned yesterday when he should have been banned months ago. He never improved his act, but certainly had time do to so and received plenty of warnings.

I think this is generally dealt with just fine... but I think at the same time there needs to be more understanding as to [i][b]why[/i][/b] it happens in the first place, which is the point of my last post.

[James]

[color=#808080]I think it just comes down to people's individual personalities and maturity, more than anything -- at least if you're talking about the frequent rule breakers.

Other than that, I think everybody knows that I expect Moderators to explain why they've closed a thread when they do close one. We [i]always[/i] need to be explaining why a particular action is against the rules and such. We always need to repeat it over and over, so that it becomes known to everyone. Generally speaking, I think that's being done pretty well. [/color]

[TheShinje]

[size=1] Maybe you could add a sticky to the Otaku Lounge until the rules are updated? Since that's where people post their intros.

In theory, that would save you, and the moderators, the hassle of closing several threads each week, albeit some people will bypass the sticky, but they do that with the rules as well.

Just a thought. [/size]

[Ellerby]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Logan [/i]
[B]And people wouldn't use proper grammar...I hate it when people don't use proper grammer [/B][/QUOTE]

It's funny you should say that. You just started a sentence with "And". Which would be Improper grammar.

Back on topic.

I'm not sure if this is what Shinji Ikari ment. But you could always add a..umm....what's it called. You could make one of those things sort of like the recruitment part which is "inside" the Adventure Arena Forum. It's an idea...:worried: