Just A Thought on New Member Introductions!

[Puffaluffaguss]

The New Member Intro posts really should have a single thread.
IIRC, like it had been before. Much more chill.
I suspect at least some of these "new members" are actually external scam/info bots, or internal "traffic bots". Not saying that they are traffic bots, but most web developers offer traffic services as part of the package or for an additional fee.
In any case, a "Whats New" page spammed full of "new member" threads, legit or otherwise, looks fake & is off-putting.
Give them one thread, & everyone can still interact with them.

I AM A PIPE PUFFIN BOT. LIFERS PLZ SEND PIPES TO BE CLEANED, AND KEPT SAFE. (read in robot voice).

 

[didimauw]

Items pointed out above are forums and they exist for use.

I think what Condor is trying to say is have 1 thread for new member intros. With the influx we are experiencing, I am not sure it would work.

I totally get it about new member intros crowding out the latest topics. An option to help mitigate this might be to look at each forum separately instead of clicking on "What's New"

This is how I thought of doing it. I have noticed the huge influx of members these days. And yes you have to scroll past 100 new member threads to get anywhere. However I'm not sure of any other solution.

Bat signal away @admin

 

[balkisobrains]

If you start off with the posts under the bell, top right, you'll avoid a raft of Intro posts. Then click on Forums, and choose some other topics.
I.e., Do not use "What's New" if seeing a lot of Intro posts is not to your liking.

"What's New" is set as my bookmark & it's the only way I'll load here, because it will always show me all posts including every new thread & threads with new posts in chronological order, even after having already viewed them & then refreshing/ going back.

Many new member intros contain meaningful dialogue, and would be lost if it were one long thread.

I never click on the 'Hello' threads since -no matter what- I won't trust that they are real until they post some more real content for a while, & since in general it is so spammy-looking to have multiple 'Hello' threads regularly popping up when I check in here. The real content seems to be getting lost between these multiple 'Hello' threads that I will not open.

 

[condorlover1]

@balkisobrains: That was sort of what I was trying to say - thank you for encapsulating everything so clearly!

 

[jpmcwjr]

"What's New" is set as my bookmark & it's the only way I'll load here, because it will always show me all posts including every new thread & threads with new posts in chronological order, even after having already viewed them & then refreshing/ going back.

If you're unwilling to change the way you operate on the web site, please don't complain.

I never click on the 'Hello' threads since -no matter what- I won't trust that they are real until they post some more real content for a while, & since in general it is so spammy-looking to have multiple 'Hello' threads regularly popping up when I check in here. The real content seems to be getting lost between these multiple 'Hello' threads that I will not open.

There's hardly any bogus content in the Introduction threads. Are you concerned that opening one might transmit a virus?

 

[Sidehatch]

Has anyone thought about hazing new guys? I mean, it doesn't have to be anything derogatory, but maybe just buying some of the Lifers new pipes or sending us tins of tobacco. I mean, I would say packing our pipes for us and water rinsing our pipes, but that is so personal and would probably lead to violence... so... maybe not.

Did the see the thread where Chasing Embers warned me about the old exploding meer pipe? Was pretty funny and harmless razing. I enjoyed it as a newbie.

 

[condorlover1]

@Sidehatch : You mean no one sent you the famous exploding meerschaum pipe? I had better check your address again with the Site Admin

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Of course, hazing was just a joke. But, feel free to send me tins and pipes, ha ha.

I am not sure what the fix is. I can see a valuable reason to have a place for new members to introduce themselves, have John tell them to put their location in their profile, and... probably most valuable... a place for newbies to make their first post, testing out the forum's features as they do it.

Several times I have joined a new forum, and after making the initial "introduction post" in their new member's area, I realized that I just wasn't going to enjoy that forum, because of how it worked.

Maybe the cost of you guys just being so damned attractive is that we are going to get more members.

I don't mind scrolling through the newbie posts, but some mornings I know what you mean. There can be a lot of them. I am not sure what the fix is. We can "follow" a category, but we can't exclude a category from our feeds. If we could exclude one, I probably would avoid the buying and selling threads.

I think that it is important to have a newbies section like we have, and it is nice to say hello to folks. But, in all honestly, I am probably not going to remember that Joeblow is from Timbuktu and like Latakia, until we've had actual discussions in several threads. Heck, I see Lifers on here that I don't recognize all the time.

 

[The Amish Tyrant]

Maybe I'm over or under thinking this, but isn't the answer to scroll past threads you aren't interested in. Nothing is making you enter the thread.

It's akin to a radio. You can either change the station or turn it off.

Unless you're in my car and the Ramones are on. I have a distinct dislike for anyone who can't sit through a Ramones song without complaining since they average 2 minutes in length (and are really good).

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Maybe I'm over or under thinking this, but isn't the answer to scroll past threads you aren't interested in. Nothing is making you enter the thread.

It's akin to a radio. You can either change the station or turn it off.

Unless you're in my car and the Ramones are on. I have a distinct dislike for anyone who can't sit through a Ramones song without complaining since they average 2 minutes in length (and are really good).

If, like me, we only scroll through the opening page of the whole forum where only the latest's posts that have been responded to show up, some mornings it is full of new member posts. You have to go to the expanded forum section to see anything worth checking out.

I think this is what Condorlover is talking about.

 

[LotusEater]

I don’t have a problem with the high volume of new member posts. I think the warm welcome that most newbs receive is a real positive for the site. Besides their posts don’t interfere much with the more serious business of checking to see if JimInks has started his day with EGR or if another member is enjoying “Glorious Condor” in a meer

 

[condorlover1]

@LotusEater: That raises another interesting point. What does Jim Inks start his day with? About the time I wake up he is shuffling off to bed so his morning start is my late morning coffee if you see my point. As for 'Glorious Condor' we all know that is 'My brother from another mother' since I stopped smoking the stuff after they moved to Poland. Here is a thought for everyone. If the Russians were mad enough to invade Poland do you think they would move Condor production back to Belfast?

 

[LotusEater]

It’s difficult to gauge what time Jim will get up on any given day. One can say with more certainty that he will probably be having some kind of fish for dinner.
Regarding the polish Condor- I can only say that I am very sorry for your loss.
We can only hope that a major armed conflict will not have to occur to return the production of Condor to its rightful home.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

One can say with more certainty that he will probably be having some kind of fish for dinner.

and, don't forget a tasty salad.

 

[jpmcwjr]

All righty, then, folks..... Please make sure there are no more references to aggressor states and pretty much anything at all political.

 

[clynch]

I was surprised by the uptick in new members since the update of the site. It seems as if it used to be maybe one or two a week, and now it seems more like one or two a day. To the degree that people continue to participate, this is all to the good. Better too much traffic than too little.

Perhaps the covid world has more people staying at home. What to do ... what to do. Ahhh my old pipe!

 

[cigrmaster]

I thought I was the laziest bastard on this site, now I see that is not true. How tough is it to say Welcome from Florida . I think it took 2.35 seconds.

If we want this site to remain the most popular pipe site on the web then keeping the new guys interested is needed. Making them feel welcome is needed.
I will not be the king of anything but the most popular site. Now all you lazy serfs do your freaking jobs before you start losing limbs.

 

[kcghost]

I have no problem with any of the new posts except for the folks who don't put down their where abouts. God, that's maddening.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

How tough is it to say Welcome from Florida . I think it took 2.35 seconds.

Jeesh! Obviously, to everyone else who reads this, we too say "welcome" and embrace new members. That is not what anyone is saying. Condorlover just wants them out of his feed so that he can spend more time following Chasingembers around.

 

[anotherbob]

I think if it had one thread for new people it would get confusing instead of cluttered. Or really confusing and cluttered but a contained cluttered. Either way that solution has upper management written all over it. A solution that creates new problems without really solving the initial one. Now if we could find a way to hide all the stereotypical (using the original definition, as in how it was used in printing) welcomes that would be nice. That seems unpossible though.