Newbie Posts

[Box Hoy]

I've seen a trend lately with the new members posts. They're not following the way OB works. Take this post for example:
[QUOTE]RISE MY ARMY OF MANGA ARTISTS AND RULE THE WORLD [/QUOTE]

This was recently posted in the Adventure Arena. Let me list two things wrong with this thread.

1: This is in the wrong area
2: There's not enough detail


It looks sort of like this new member was confused as to where he was supposed to put this, he didn't understand that the OB is more of a formal but fun message board, and he didn't care about the post much.

I think that's the problem with these new members. The OB is a formal place where organization is really important.

So my suggestion is that if it is possiible we need to have a page come up during registration that explains the way OB works. I do believe this could work although I know people you don't even read the agreement during registration and say yes.

I think this would greatly help cut down spam.
Please consider
Box

[Big_Mac]

Not ALL n00bs do this you know. I've just started and I know how OB works. I don't plan on being bored by stuff telling me who it goes.

[JCBaggee]

[color=darkred][size=1]While this is a nice idea, admit it...do you read all the little screens that pop up when you register somewhere? And if you saw a "How this site works" page, how many of said members would really read it?

All you can really do is catch 'em as they come on the forums, and tell them as they go. Spam is just something you have to live with.

And, by the way, saying this is all newbies is like blaming everything in high school on the freshman. You were once a newbie yourself, as were all of us.

--Chris[/color][/size]

[Muad'Dib]

[COLOR=DarkOliveGreen]JCB's got a point there Box. In my opion, it's actually a great idea, it just needs some tweeking. You'd have to make it noticable and important to whoever's registering. Instead of having some lame text pop up like the rest of the pages, make it in big bold red letters and have "Important" written across it. Or, something along those lines.

Anyway, Big Mac and JCB have got a good point: not all newbies do that, though it would be a good precaution to have something like Box Hoy is proposing here. Like they said, everyone was a noob once - heck, I even made a post somewhat like that... though it was actually a question... er, anyway...

You just have to make it stand out from the other information in the registration.[/COLOR]

[DeadSeraphim]

[font=Arial][size=1][color=Indigo]You see on the sidebar there? In General? [u]Rules[/u] and [u]FAQ[/u]. Its already been done, its just up to people to read them. Besides, each forum has rules unique to itself.

Even if it was implemented, there's still no guarantee people will read them. Have you ever actually sat down and read the User Agreement when installing something? It would be the same kind of thing.[/color][/size][/font]

[James]

[color=#707875]I'm afraid that there's only so much we can do. If we put a warning screen up, people will ignore it. If we put questions up that people have to answer, they won't bother registering.

Ultimately, we have to rely on our staff to point people in the right direction.

Also, bear in mind that when you haven't yet registered, there is a message at the top of the screen that tells you to read the Rules page before registering. So...that's kind of the equivalent to what you're suggesting here.[/color]

[Burori]

Otakuboards is all for fun not for bordom. I know and agree that spam is bad but like JC said spam is going to always be common. I think that it is a good idea but may I say that who would really want to sit through that? I bet you they will do the same in scrolling through it and opent the can of spam on the site anyways. I see only patience is the key in this. If those whol like to share spam stay they get the boot. If those which to toss that can aside they become members and a welcome part of the Otakuboards community.

[G/S/B Master]

[quote name='Burori']Otakuboards is all for fun not for bordom. I know and agree that spam is bad but like JC said spam is going to always be common. I think that it is a good idea but may I say that who would really want to sit through that? I bet you they will do the same in scrolling through it and opent the can of spam on the site anyways. I see only patience is the key in this. If those whol like to share spam stay they get the boot. If those which to toss that can aside they become members and a welcome part of the Otakuboards community.[/quote]

[COLOR=SlateGray][SIZE=1][FONT=Century Gothic]Is it our fault that they didn't read the rules? No

Leave them be. This is as far as we can go to get them to read it. It's there fault that they got banned and broke several rules.

There's nothing OB can do to stop this. It's all in the hands of the Newbie.[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Baron Samedi]

[size=1]And for countless newbies, the moderators have been there to set them straight. It is the most effective way to run it. If they then further ignore warnings, bye bye Newbie. Move it, or lose it.[/size]

[Semjaza]

[quote name='James][color=#707875'] Also, bear in mind that when you haven't yet registered, there is a message at the top of the screen that tells you to read the Rules page before registering. So...that's kind of the equivalent to what you're suggesting here.[/color][/quote]

Exactly. After that, I figure it's their own problem. They can be guided towards better posting quality, but they should have read the rules and glanced at the boards to see the expectations in the first place.

I mean, when you post in a thread that forty people have posted clear, detailed ideas in... why would you think "OMG Goku RULES!!111" is acceptable? You only would if you didn't read the rules. There's only so many times the staff of this place can beat people over the head with that link.

[Gavin]

[quote name='Semjaza Azazel']I mean, when you post in a thread that forty people have posted clear, detailed ideas in... why would you think "OMG Goku RULES!!111" is acceptable? You only would if you didn't read the rules. There's only so many times the staff of this place can beat people over the head with that link.[/quote]

[SIZE=1]The case is that we shall always have a number of people newbies or not (there have been cases of members being a pain in the behind) who blatantly spam because they cannot or will be bothered to form a proper post. In such cases I think what we can do is limited, because at the end of the day it's the user themselves who decided the quality of their post.

In other cases some people just need a little time to mature. I've looked over some of my first posts and spoken with others about theirs and I can safely say that in time newbies can mature into respected members in their own right. The system of Moderators we have has worked over the last 4 versions and beyond, we also have a certain amount of veterans to every forum whom newbies will learn from and try to mimic in quality.[/SIZE]

[Zidargh]

I really find it annoying how members are saying, "It's up to [b]us[/b] to point them in the right direction." You can help them out sure, but are you a moderator? No. You don't need to take on the role of moderator if you haven't been assigned it, only help out when asked, or report a post when needed.

You aren't going to be thought highly of by staff if you keep associating yourself with moderator's roles. (This doesn't go towards everyone in here, just a few members.)

And yeah, we were all a newbie once. Even James. But he's a bad example, look at his post quality and attitude towards OB. Terrible. ^_~

[Dagger]

[quote name='Zidargh']You aren't going to be thought highly of by staff if you keep associating yourself with moderator's roles. (This doesn't go towards everyone in here, just a few members.)[/quote]

*nods* Nothing kills my opinion of a member like playing mod. It's funny because the most stuck-up people tend to be those who were rather bad newbies themselves. And in reference to the thread creator's remark about crappy first posts becoming more common, I can't say I've noticed such a trend. On the contrary, over the course of the summer I've seen a lot of older members backsliding in subtler ways.

~Dagger~

[Guest ninja_neko]

i think it would really depend on the newbies themselves, since they've already read the rules so it's up to them to follow the rules and regulations here.

bty, i'm new here :) i WAS an active member of otakuboard.com.