Right i have been discussing this with Ben over the past couple of nights.
I have been thinking about this having reading a lot of posts for a while
(I read through most post in this section as its what a section moderator does) Over the past few months the way new members to this section of the forum are been treated has steadily been getting worse whether its down to the cost of the GP's falling as the early ones get cheaper drawing in the younger members... Or the boredom setting in on a cold dark winters night i dont really care but i want it to stop now.....
We get a lot of new members on here (its not hard to tell as they will have a low post count
On that basis i think its fair to agree that they are likely to be unfamiliar with the forum....
Or in some peoples case they have never used a forum in their life and sign up desperate that their car has broken and they cant afford £300 for the garage to "replace a bit in the engine" and would rather go the the garage armed with a bit of knowledge Or might even be able to repair their car themselves for a few quid.....
Even if familiar with another forum a slightly different lay out or different format just cause confusion Let alone some occasional users of other forums are aware of strange forum etiquette on other forums such as it been a total sin to post a relevent question in a 2 week old thread
many newbies
A) want help.... and
B) want to fit in..
So with out offending any New member reading this and welcome :wave: if you have read this far
If they are a little lost or you know the subject has been covered before.......Treat them like they are 5 years old and hold their hand (not litterally or in any pervy strange way) But do your good deed for the day and offer a little bit more help than telling them to "Go search"...... Or posting the usual "how many times has this been asked before"
We get enough Posts to move out the Newbie say hello section when they haven't found the specific car pages, Despite it been on the front page let alone have them find the Forum search.
If they have posted here and have a Grande Punto related question or comment Great :woot: .....
As above a Simple "Use the search!" Just comes across hostile then you get 5 people clicking Like which backs up some peoples opinion that we are "just a bunch of clever smart ar$e internet nerds who are in a clique and don't like outsiders.."
((That is just about word for word [with a few big unpleasant words removed] the way i have had it described to me personally by a Friend of the family, Who didn't know i modded on here who had a simple problem with their car and i told them about the forum to find they had been on only to be jumped on and gave up within 15 mins and vowed never to return! which is a shame as they would have had a lot to offer due to their occupation))
So to save me waffling on all night Help new members! Be Polite
Dont just tell them to search Point them in the right direction! even if its just a link to the advanced search option with a bit of a welcome wouldn't go amiss
https://www.fiatforum.com/search.php
What will help even more Do a search for them and post them a couple of links from the search result to their problem. Along with the search link so you help them in the short term get the info they need and in future they can help themselves (that sounds like an Oxfam campaign doesn't it :bang: )
You might able to point them to the relevent guide in the guides section if one exists for their issue :idea:
It only takes a few moments longer than typing "do a search" then sitting there waiting all excited for someone to "like" your useless post.. If you want to sit there making random silly posts for people to like, post them here
https://www.fiatforum.com/spamalot/
Im not one for killing banter we all like a good laugh but spare a thought of people who are new and haven't worked out which members poke a bit of harmless fun at each other and think its been aimed at them....
Rant over
I have been thinking about this having reading a lot of posts for a while
(I read through most post in this section as its what a section moderator does) Over the past few months the way new members to this section of the forum are been treated has steadily been getting worse whether its down to the cost of the GP's falling as the early ones get cheaper drawing in the younger members... Or the boredom setting in on a cold dark winters night i dont really care but i want it to stop now.....
We get a lot of new members on here (its not hard to tell as they will have a low post count
On that basis i think its fair to agree that they are likely to be unfamiliar with the forum.... Or in some peoples case they have never used a forum in their life and sign up desperate that their car has broken and they cant afford £300 for the garage to "replace a bit in the engine" and would rather go the the garage armed with a bit of knowledge Or might even be able to repair their car themselves for a few quid.....
Even if familiar with another forum a slightly different lay out or different format just cause confusion Let alone some occasional users of other forums are aware of strange forum etiquette on other forums such as it been a total sin to post a relevent question in a 2 week old thread
many newbies
A) want help.... and
B) want to fit in..
So with out offending any New member reading this
and welcome :wave: if you have read this far If they are a little lost or you know the subject has been covered before.......Treat them like they are 5 years old and hold their hand (not litterally or in any pervy strange way) But do your good deed for the day and offer a little bit more help than telling them to "Go search"...... Or posting the usual "how many times has this been asked before"
We get enough Posts to move out the Newbie say hello section when they haven't found the specific car pages, Despite it been on the front page let alone have them find the Forum search.
If they have posted here and have a Grande Punto related question or comment Great :woot: .....
As above a Simple "Use the search!" Just comes across hostile then you get 5 people clicking Like which backs up some peoples opinion that we are "just a bunch of clever smart ar$e internet nerds who are in a clique and don't like outsiders.."
((That is just about word for word [with a few big unpleasant words removed] the way i have had it described to me personally by a Friend of the family, Who didn't know i modded on here who had a simple problem with their car and i told them about the forum to find they had been on only to be jumped on and gave up within 15 mins and vowed never to return! which is a shame as they would have had a lot to offer due to their occupation))
So to save me waffling on all night Help new members! Be Polite
Dont just tell them to search Point them in the right direction! even if its just a link to the advanced search option with a bit of a welcome wouldn't go amiss
https://www.fiatforum.com/search.php
What will help even more Do a search for them and post them a couple of links from the search result to their problem. Along with the search link so you help them in the short term get the info they need and in future they can help themselves (that sounds like an Oxfam campaign doesn't it
:bang: )You might able to point them to the relevent guide in the guides section if one exists for their issue :idea:
It only takes a few moments longer than typing "do a search" then sitting there waiting all excited for someone to "like" your useless post.. If you want to sit there making random silly posts for people to like, post them here
https://www.fiatforum.com/spamalot/
Im not one for killing banter we all like a good laugh but spare a thought of people who are new and haven't worked out which members poke a bit of harmless fun at each other and think its been aimed at them....
Rant over
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