new member introduction

[Guest Ichibi-Shukaku]

you know for people to get to get to know the new members

[Petie]

[font=Verdana][color=blue]This has been asked many times before. It's recommended that you run a search and/or browse the thread list before posting a new thread to see if your question has already been answered.[/color][/font]
[font=Verdana][color=blue][/color][/font]
[font=Verdana][color=blue]Introduction threads are not allowed here because they generally don't generate discussion and tend to clutter things because of the number of new members there are. Instead, members are encouraged to introduce themselves in their first post. This gets a new member started right away by joining in on a conversation while still letting them introduce themselves.[/color][/font]

[Boo]

[size=1]We had a newbie lounge before, but some nutcases turned it into one big war including weapons of mass destruction, sheep and muffins. *feels eyes glaring at him*

But yeah, it was taken away. OtakuBoards strives for top quality, which the Newbie Lounge - or any other introduction thing, for that matter - had not.

Welcome anyway. :P[/size]

[Baron Samedi]

[quote name='Boo][size=1]But yeah, it was taken away. OtakuBoards [U]straves[/U] for top quality, which the Newbie Lounge - or any other introduction thing, for that [U]mtter[/U'] - had not.[/size][/quote]
[size=1]This guy is sub-par, ban him.

Kthnxbai.[/size]

[Sara]

[color=#b0000b][size=1]But welcome to the boards, all the same. =][/size][/color]

[Gavin]

[SIZE=1]Interesting, most interesting.[/SIZE]

[quote name='Sara][color=#b0000b][size=1]But welcome to the boards, all the same. =][/size'][/color][/quote]

[SIZE=1]Indeed, please don't allow we Oldies, who are usually in on some joke between all of us but not you, get you down. In only a few years you'll be able to do the same.

Jokes aside, the Newbie Lounge's deletion was one of the better decisions on OB.

Oh and Boo, I think that should be [B]strives[/B], not [B]strafes[/B]. Unless that we're talking about strafing away from the odd piece of spam that hits the Lounge ever now and then.[/SIZE]

[Boo]

[size=1]We're all walking sidewards, give this dutch lad a break. >:|[/size]

[conpiracymonki]

[QUOTE=Gavin]
[SIZE=1]I think that should be [B]strives[/B], not [B]strafes[/B][/SIZE][/QUOTE][size=1]In your face, because he said [b]straves[/b], according to Baron's quote! Your boldness costs you.[/size]

[Claire]

[font="arial"]On the subject of introduction threads, today I had a slightly reasonable idea. It could make old, new, and in-between members satisfied all at once.

Instead of having on thread for introductions, or being subject to countless locked intro threads in the lounge, why don't we sticky a single thread for everyone's intros or bios or whatever they want to post in the lounge? Then you don't have to worry about separate threads clogging up the forum sections.

I know people are encouraged to introduce themselves by posting accordingly in threads, but this might be a good way for some members to get to know each other better [size="1"][spoiler](similar to the mods' Knowing Me Knowing You Thread, only open to everyone).[/spoiler][/size]

Just a thought. =)[/font]

[Dragon Warrior]

[size=1]Hah, if that were the case, Marsh, people would have to give it more thought than:

"Umm... I like cookies and anime!!!1 ^_^"

Normally that's what I hear when people try and think of short bios for themselves ;) I mean, look at some member profiles. Haha. But like I said, if we did do that, I'd think there should be a nifty system to work with. Like...
[list]
[*][b]Hobbies:[/b] What do you like to do? :^D
[*][b]Personality:[/b] What are you like? :O
[*][b]Favorite Band:[/b] My favorite band's better than yours...[/list]

I dunno. I'm just thinking outside the box?[/size]

[Sara]

[QUOTE=Marsh][font="arial"][size="1"][spoiler](similar to the mods' Knowing Me Knowing You Thread, only open to everyone).[/spoiler][/size]

Just a thought. =)[/font][/QUOTE][color=#b0000b][size=1]You know, after so many years on the inside, it [i]hurts[/i] to be out in the cold.[/size][/color]

[conpiracymonki]

[size=1]You say it like we're not oh-so better[i]er[/i] than the mods =p

..I'm probably only speaking for myself but I'd rather not have a useless sticky loitering (you know what I mean) at the top of the Lounge constantly, that I'm never going to check. It would be so annoying, cos I like my stickys temporary, dammit!

If it were anywhere else, I think I'm up for a newbie thread thing. But having it anywhere else makes it less announcement-ish, and defeats the whole point of introducing yourself to the community I guess.

In short, I have nothing useful to contribute. [spoiler]Except my anti-sticky propaganda. You will cave in to my demands.[/spoiler][/size]

[Doublehex]

Well, maybe the problem could be solved if you created a template that all posters in the forum would have to follow (like a character sheet for an rp...except it would be more of a real life sheet). That could solve the problem, although I could care less either way! :)

[Dragon Warrior]

[quote=Dragon Warrior][size=1]Hah, if that were the case, Marsh, people would have to give it more thought than:

"Umm... I like cookies and anime!!!1 ^_^"

Normally that's what I hear when people try and think of short bios for themselves ;) I mean, look at some member profiles. Haha. But like I said, if we did do that, I'd think there should be a nifty system to work with. Like...
[list]
[*][b]Hobbies:[/b] What do you like to do? :^D
[*][b]Personality:[/b] What are you like? :O
[*][b]Favorite Band:[/b] My favorite band's better than yours...[/list]

I dunno. I'm just thinking outside the box?[/size][/quote]

[quote name='Doublehex']Well, maybe the problem could be solved if you created a template that all posters in the forum would have to follow (like a character sheet for an rp...except it would be more of a real life sheet). That could solve the problem, although I could care less either way! :)[/quote]

Thank you :P

[Desbreko]

[quote name='Sara][color=#b0000b][size=1]You know, after so many years on the inside, it [i]hurts[/i] to be out in the cold.[/size'][/color][/quote][color=#4B0082]Aww. . . . *hands Sara a sweater* We miss you too.[/color]

[quote=Dragon Warrior][size=1]Hah, if that were the case, Marsh, people would have to give it more thought than:

"Umm... I like cookies and anime!!!1 ^_^"

Normally that's what I hear when people try and think of short bios for themselves ;) I mean, look at some member profiles. Haha. But like I said, if we did do that, I'd think there should be a nifty system to work with. Like...
[list]
[*][b]Hobbies:[/b] What do you like to do? :^D
[*][b]Personality:[/b] What are you like? :O
[*][b]Favorite Band:[/b] My favorite band's better than yours...[/list]

I dunno. I'm just thinking outside the box?[/size][/quote][color=#4B0082]We already have something like this. It's called a user profile. :p

See, the idea goes like this:
[list=#]
[*]A new member joins.
[*]During the sign up process they fill in their profile with some info about themselves, or they edit it in shortly after.
[*]The new member posts in a thread and introduces themselves while joining in on the conversation.
[*]Everyone in the thread can see they're new, and they can click their screen name to see their profile and learn a bit about the person.
[*]Both mods and members live happily ever after without having to deal with spammy introduction threads.
[/list][/color]

[Claire]

[quote=Desbreko][color=#4B0082]We already have something like this. It's called a user profile. :p

See, the idea goes like this:
[list=#]
[*]A new member joins.
[*]During the sign up process they fill in their profile with some info about themselves, or they edit it in shortly after.
[*]The new member posts in a thread and introduces themselves while joining in on the conversation.
[*]Everyone in the thread can see they're new, and they can click their screen name to see their profile and learn a bit about the person.
[*]Both mods and members live happily ever after without having to deal with spammy introduction threads.
[/list][/color][/QUOTE]

[FONT=Arial]You know that's not the case. =P. Regardless of user profiles, we get introduction threads anyway. [/FONT]

[Dragon Warrior]

[size=1]Heh, yeah, I figured that too, Des. But I thought I'd throw it out there anyways ;) Still, in that case, then there'd still be no point in any kind of thread or section for new members. We did survive just fine after the whole Newbie Lounge burnt down in a horrendous, spam-infested reign of fire. :)[/size]

[Desbreko]

[quote name='Marsh][FONT=Arial']You know that's not the case. =P. Regardless of user profiles, we get introduction threads anyway. [/FONT][/quote][color=#4B0082]That's why it's "the idea." It doesn't always go according to plan, (though I have seen it work quite nicely), but it's the best method for handling introductions that I've seen. We do still get the occasional introduction thread anyway, but then again, we also still get other types of spam even though we have actual rules against them. Nothing's perfect.

The problem with making a thread devoted to introductions is that it faces the exact same problems that an entire forum faces, only crowded into a smaller space. You'll still get tiny little introduction posts that don't actually tell us anything about the person, like the example Dragon Warrior posted. And you'll still get the generic, "Welcome to the boards!" posts over and over again--or worse, the spammy and nonsense-filled replies that the Newbie Lounge was infamous for.

Providing an introduction form to fill out would put us right back to where we are now with user profiles, only with more moderation work. The idea is that people would provide some meaningful information about themselves and make a good introduction, but anyone who remembers the Newbie Lounge knows that wouldn't be the case. Or, heck, just look at some user profiles and see what you find. Any way you slice it, it would still require a lot of moderation to keep such a thread up to the quality standards we have here.

The nice thing about user profiles, on the other hand, is that they require almost no moderation whatsoever. People can put whatever the heck they want in their profiles fields so long as it's not obscene. Yet they serve exactly the same purpose as an introduction form in a thread.

The only real benefit to an intro thread that I can see is that it would provide a single place you could check to see who's new to the boards. But I don't think that's really necessary. I notice plenty of new members just while browsing around the boards each day, as well as from keeping an eye on the "Welcome to our newest member" thing on the home page.

[size=1]There, happy? You made me do the whole spiel on introduction threads. Again. :twitch:[/size][/color]

[Claire]

[FONT=Arial]I'm sorry if it came across like I was for introduction threads. I don't see a point to them and I don't understand why people feel the need to make themselves known. I just had a small idea for consideration. [/FONT]

[Sara]

[color=#b0000b][size=1]Thanks, Des. I feel a little better.[QUOTE=Marsh][FONT=Arial]
That's a pretty good oxymoron. Temporary stickies.[/FONT][/QUOTE]And that's not an oxymoron at all. Just because OB currently tends to use sticky threads for semipermanent features doesn't mean that there have not been or cannot be temporary stickies. [/size][/color]

[Lady Asphyxia]

[quote name='Dragon Warrior][size=1']the whole Newbie Lounge burnt down in a horrendous, spam-infested reign of fire. [/size][/quote] [font=Arial][size=2][color=DarkGreen]
As the leader of the Newbie Forum Patrol, I take great offense to that. Not only was it a horrendous, spam-infested reign of fire, it was [i]fun[/i], too.

[Not that I advocate bringing it back. I'm a different person, I swear. I've been reformed...I...I'm not that girl...

...
[/color][/size][/font][size=1][color=DarkGreen][i]

Pleasedon'tmakemegobacktothereformcentre![/i][/color][/size][color=DarkGreen]][/color]

[Dragon Warrior]

[QUOTE=Lady Asphyxia][font=Arial][size=2][color=DarkGreen]
As the leader of the Newbie Forum Patrol, I take great offense to that. Not only was it a horrendous, spam-infested reign of fire, it was [i]fun[/i], too.

[Not that I advocate bringing it back. I'm a different person, I swear. I've been reformed...I...I'm not that girl...

...
[/color][/size][/font][size=1][color=DarkGreen][i]

Pleasedon'tmakemegobacktothereformcentre![/i][/color][/size][color=DarkGreen]][/color][/QUOTE]

[size=1]My mistake. I stand corrected :P ;)[/size]