Newbies: Ask Away!!

[Raccoon]

Another thread meant for newbie use and benefit, here and not in admin stuff, where it would be harder to find, and more quickly buried. Also, one can't look for a post if one doesn't know it exists, and wading through whacks of stuff to find what something sucks.

Curiouskid asked some important questions: but as she implied she was nervous about asking them I say to all newbies,

Feel free to ask anything about the site; and PLEASE DO NOT APOLOGISE for asking such questions. It is my pleasure to answer them. It is the staff's job to do so, after you've tried the asked the members on the forums and waited a day for responses

"What IS the rep system, what are its mechanics? Curiouskid cried" - to which Lukie and I replied:

The Rep System is an intriguing object.

Basically you get rep points, positive or negative for making good or bad posts, respectively. The points are assigned to a post: if you make a good post any one who feels like it can add a point (or two, even three if they have that privilege) - and the total of your points is shown in your postbit. Negative points are subtracted from your total.

When one adds a rep point (which may be positive, negative, or even zero) one must also write a comment (the comment field will pop up when you click the scales bottom left (which to me looks like a judge's wig)) - the comment you write says why you thought the post was so great, or awful as the case may be. (Lukie said read Reputation - ADISC Answers Wiki

Curiouskid then said, that while the MECHANICS of the rep system are now clear, she wanted to know what it DOES.

It is meant to encourage good posting; it helps indicate who makes good posts. It is a measure of how well the site's members approve of your posts and by implication how well you comply with the site's policies of writing well and being nice to people. And conversely how much or little you disobey site policy; and that includes little things like fixing typos all the way up to encouraging illegal stuff.

Curiouskid said

Sorry for asking so many questions.

To which I replied:

please do post more questions you have in any of the relevant forums.

PLEASE DO NOT APOLOGISE for asking questions. Not only is it not a bad thing, it is a very GOOD thing to do; any question on your mind is - I guarantee - on the minds of 100 other people.

How you act - or how I do - sends a message about how to act, or not, by example and by what sort of response we get. So when you ask questions and they are answered, other newbies see it is ok to ask their questions and know we will answer them fully and honestly.

If you apologise for asking questions other newbies will wonder if asking them is somehow wrong or frowned on. I hate to break it to you but you are now a role model for all the other newbies. As we are all role models, as well as the people who respond to us.

So please - ask away. And do not apologise for your good behaviour. :educate:

 

[Sila]

I just wanna ask- isn't the wiki there for people to search their questions and find answers to? we've also got a FAQ, requests forum and administrative forum, where people can search and find answers there to questions. Then there's also PMs, IRC, etc. I dont really know if there is much of a use in a "ask a question and we'll answer it" thread, but it's just a question of mine. XD

 

[Raccoon]

Yes, there are huge numbers of places with the standard information new people need. I am concerned that the basic stuff is easily accessible, and there is no need to figure out where to look.

But as to people being afraid to ask many questions: that issue is not addressed in the wiki; that is a matter of members talking to new members, telling them it is GOOD to ask questions or to speak their mind without fear of recrimination. Many suppose that if they speak they will get bit.

This is not really meant to be A thread to answer newbies' questions in: it is meant to tell newbies NOT TO BE SHY OR HESITANT ABOUT ASKING QUESTIONS IN THE FIRST PLACE. OR SPEAKING THEIR MIND.

We do not want to have people think they must wade through miles and reams of wiki, admin stuff, and so on and live in ignorance and frustration - and blame - if they cannot locate useful resources easily.

 

[Sila]

i've never seen someone truly afraid to ask a question- most people are simply shy so they'll apologize out of habit. I know because I'm one of them :) I was gunna say something else, but i forgot what i was going to say now. <_<

 

[Raccoon]

How can we tell which people are afraid to ask questions? Hmmm?

 

[CuriousKid]

I have got a lot of questions that I would like to ask, and have appoligised for the few that I have asked as it seems from observation that asking is frowned upon here.

It is quite intimidating being new, maybe not knowing that the answers are even addressed anywhere, or knowing how to use the site properly etc, and being told "Use the search function n00b."

Search where? The forums? Which forum? The Wiki? The FAQ? Using what search term? There is a lot of on site "jargon" on here that I am not yet familiar with.
I assumed from past forums I have participated on that the Admin forum was where you asked for things like nick changes, addressed site glitches or other "Admin" type things, I would never have thought to post in there for a question unrelated to the actual mechanics of the site.

It would be more helpful to a newbie to ignore the question altogether if the only help your going to provide is "find it yourself" OR Answer the question AND explain where/how the Newbie could have found it themselves - in more detail then "Use the search function"

Example:
Newbie asks question: What do the colors of peoples name mean?

Not so helpful answer: I would like to take this moment to point you to the "Search" button. Type in "colors status" and such... You can do it! It'll be fun. But seriously, if you're not sure about the background of soemthing like this, either search and learn it, or, if you are ABSOLUTELY positive you can't find ANYTHING, start a new thread...

helpful answer: The colors indicate the users status, most commonly- Lurker, Newbie, Regular, VIP.

really helpful answer: The colors indicate the users status, most commonly- Lurker, Newbie, Regular, VIP. There are some other colours in use too such as red if a member has been banned. You can read more about that here in the FAQ: ADISC - FAQ





(P.S- Raccoon, Im a "she" not a "he" :wink: )

 

[Raccoon]

Curiouskid, your post (#6 above):worshippy: was brilliant :it makes useful comments, requests information useful to newbies, and reminds us what it is like to be new @ADISC: when we experienced members brush off criticism, coldness, even insults we may forget these can freak out a new member. We are like an English speaker who can't tell which bits of English are hard for a foreigner to grasp: we veterans are too close to the thing to see it from a distant perspective.

Raccoons LOVE examples, and yours were great.

We know to be kind to newbies already (it's site policy) but you indicate how we might be better at it, by treating questions with respect, answering them in a way the recipient can use.

We see that our behaviour can be contrary to our attitudes, or the attitudes we think we hold. When we think of ourselves as egalitarian but are perceived by outsiders as elitist, we sometimes suppose it's due to our good grammar and high standards, but that sort of belief is part of our snobbery.

More likely it's because we treat ADISC like a secret society: we demand standards we do not delineate clearly and in obvious locations; we fail to offer guidance in our ways such as: Please ageplay but don't get too sexually or physically graphic. Be detailed but not overly long. Be nice but don't suck up. Be yourself, be unique, but still fit in. And earn rep but don't rep-chase (wtf.)

In short our behavior suggests we approve of people smart or experienced enough to fit in here from the outset, or who persist, SOLO, in their voyage of self-improvement. Your experience illustrates this: and is why I advocate offering, where needed, a guide, a navigator, (just for the first leg.)

And is why I remind our veterans a new MEMBER IS A FULL MEMBER! -who deserves the same respect as any member. Being welcoming to newbies is site policy, so yelling at them to go look stuff up and learn the ropes through trial and error contradicts this policy.

To all newbies: If you ask questions and a few negative people are curt or unhelpful, remember they do not represent how most of us feel; Please don't let them dissuade you from asking any question you have.

(P.S- Raccoon, Im a "she" not a "he" :wink: )

Fixed.