Welcoming New Contributors to the Community – Suggestions

The New Intimacy

Welcoming New Contributors to the Community – Suggestions

Skip to last post
Set alerts
Updates
Forum search
Contributor: Red Red
Quote:
Originally posted by Rayne Millaray
What about a volunteer greeting committee rather than cluttering up the forums? That's how quite a few websites I belong to handle new members.
AGREED!
05/13/2010
Contributor: Red Red
What's the **real** problem that needs to be addressed here? Is it really that new contributors wish to be welcomed on the forum? No, I'm willing to bet not.

I cannot help but wonder if there are some clever solutions the ever helpful community could come up with as options. Like Rayne suggesting a greeter type set up. I think that is a much more personalized and fabulous way to make people feel included.
05/13/2010
Contributor: Adriana Ravenlust Adriana Ravenlust
Quote:
Originally posted by Rayne Millaray
What about a volunteer greeting committee rather than cluttering up the forums? That's how quite a few websites I belong to handle new members.
This would be even better IMO
05/13/2010
Contributor: sophie2229 sophie2229
I think we should extend the mentoring program to allow mentors to apply to students. This way a student can either select a mentor from a pool of applicants, or he/she could go out and seek his/her own mentor. I think that a potential mentor sending a welcoming note along with his/her application ie welcome and this is what I can help you with when you're getting used to the community would make contributors and new members very happy.
05/13/2010
Contributor: KBToys24 KBToys24
I hate the posting for each person. I think even daily is a little too much too but would definitely be better than the individual ones. I voted for weekly.

I think if you want to reach out to members, do it. Send them a message. I much prefer a message saying hi than a thread. WIth how many threads go up each day, you may not even SEE the thread that was supposed to welcome you. I know I wouldn't have if someone did it when I joined. This place is crazy enough to keep up with as is.
05/13/2010
Contributor: Holly (Woman Tribune) Holly (Woman Tribune)
Quote:
Originally posted by sophie2229
I think we should extend the mentoring program to allow mentors to apply to students. This way a student can either select a mentor from a pool of applicants, or he/she could go out and seek his/her own mentor. I think that a potential mentor sending ... more
That is a really awesome idea. I know when I first joined I was having trouble finding everything and getting used to the way the system as a whole works. This is a mighty big site with a lot of different areas, so that would let new members feel welcome and cut down on the amount of people who sign up but don't come back after getting frustrated over not being able to find anything.
05/13/2010
Contributor: Jul!a Jul!a
Quote:
Originally posted by Holly (Woman Tribune)
That is a really awesome idea. I know when I first joined I was having trouble finding everything and getting used to the way the system as a whole works. This is a mighty big site with a lot of different areas, so that would let new members feel ... more
I think this would be a fantastic idea and I would be more than happy to take part in it. It took me forever to figure out most of the site, and I'm still asking questions, so if somebody had been able to come up to me and help me out, I probably would have gotten active a lot sooner.
05/13/2010
Contributor: sophie2229 sophie2229
Quote:
Originally posted by Jul!a
I think this would be a fantastic idea and I would be more than happy to take part in it. It took me forever to figure out most of the site, and I'm still asking questions, so if somebody had been able to come up to me and help me out, I ... more
thanks! Also, it's possible for new members to "miss" the mentor program, so they're more likely to stumble upon it if they're emailed/notified that they have mentor requests.
05/13/2010
Contributor: Splendwhore Splendwhore
Quote:
Originally posted by Rayne Millaray
What about a volunteer greeting committee rather than cluttering up the forums? That's how quite a few websites I belong to handle new members.
That is essentially what I was suggesting when I first posted. I believe it would be the most helpful solution to the issue of greeting new members. Hate to quote myself, but:

"What do you think of the idea of personal greeters? Advanced members who volunteer to send private messages to each new contributor, just saying hello and letting them know that someone is there who cares and wants to help, should they need it. We could have two or three people who manage this, and to be fair it could rotate once a month so that everyone shares in the responsibility. Thoughts, concerns? "
05/14/2010
Contributor: Airen Wolf Airen Wolf
(EF Review Program Mentor)
Quote:
Originally posted by Sir
When I saw Mr. Sauce making those threads, I knew immediately "Alright, they're up to something!" It was fairly obvious, as it's never been done before.

But I do feel that a weekly forum post would be best, with links to ... more
I have to agree with Sir! A daily or weekly post that has links to the profiles of new comers would make them feel more welcome since they'd see a forum post and get some private personalized messages of welcome.

I have been on forums where my welcoming thread was called "clutter" and I left those sites since I don't ever want to feel like my presence is "cluttering" up the area. It hurt to have someone be nice and welcome me only to be told that I should not expect that I am important enough to warrant a welcome. I was a member of the site for almost two months before I wrote my first review, and that was only after several people welcomed me and mitigated the intimidation factor. We are asking new people to be open to criticism with each review, the least we can do is smile and have a nice splashy welcome for them. We need to discuss new members and how glad we are to have them as much as we discuss the hard issues we tackle on a daily basis.

Still a more formal "Hey let's all welcome so and so" type announcement would be much more useful, in my opinion, and would let these somewhat anonymous people share some limelight before embarking on the hard task of becoming a productive part of our community!
05/14/2010
Contributor: Airen Wolf Airen Wolf
(EF Review Program Mentor)
Quote:
Originally posted by Carrie Ann
Perhaps new contributor involvement and retention was the point behind the posts?

Not every attempt works but making the attempt is pretty damned important.
It was a private email message of welcome that kept me coming back. A small simple smile on my wall kept me trying even after I felt like I had been stepped on (I tended to take criticism very personal in the beginning) and a welcome message in the forums would have been appreciated...heck even a monthly run down of "newbies" makes you feel noticed. It's such a small warm fuzzy....
05/14/2010
Contributor: *Ashley* *Ashley*
That sounds nice. I think a weekly announcement would be thoughtful, like every Thursday or something put up a welcoming to the newbie’s, even have a special section for it so the forums aren’t 'cluttered up'. A daily one would be nice also, but a bit to much? I don’t know. But either or sounds lovely though. Which ever works best for EF
05/14/2010
Contributor: Heartthrob Heartthrob
Quote:
Originally posted by Gary
We want to welcome more of the new people, who are signing up everyday, to the community. We want them to feel welcome and comfortable participating in the community, just like most of you feel. So the idea to welcome them here on the community forum ... more
I really like the idea of welcoming new members. Myself, it doesn't matter to me if a member has his or her own thread or a group thread. When I joined I had a hard time finding my place because there was not a welcoming area in place at that time. I spoke to people who were high ranked reviewers at the time to get my pointers, tips, and a warm welcome. I am glad that we are doing something like this as it should make things easier for new people.
05/14/2010
Contributor: Gary Gary
Thank you very much for all the feedback folks!

After seeing your polls, suggestions, and some discussion amongst the Review Team and EF management... and we are going to try doing a weekly thread, greeting all of the new members for the week.

It would be great if you all popped in on a few of the profiles to say hello each week, as well as any of the other ideas you mentioned. We will try this out for a while and see how it goes.
05/14/2010
Contributor: Rayne Millaray Rayne Millaray
Quote:
Originally posted by Splendwhore
That is essentially what I was suggesting when I first posted. I believe it would be the most helpful solution to the issue of greeting new members. Hate to quote myself, but:

"What do you think of the idea of personal greeters? Advanced ... more
Haha. GMTA. I didn't read responses before commenting. ~ducks~
05/14/2010
Contributor: Splendwhore Splendwhore
Quote:
Originally posted by Rayne Millaray
Haha. GMTA. I didn't read responses before commenting. ~ducks~
No prob. ^_^ Personally, that's my favorite solution. Great minds think alike, huh?
05/14/2010
Contributor: Splendwhore Splendwhore
Quote:
Originally posted by Gary
Thank you very much for all the feedback folks!

After seeing your polls, suggestions, and some discussion amongst the Review Team and EF management... and we are going to try doing a weekly thread, greeting all of the new members for the ... more
Yay! I'm so glad EF opted for weekly greetings. I hope this works out much better for everyone, seasoned and new members alike.
05/14/2010
Contributor: Splendwhore Splendwhore
Perhaps I'll just try to greet as many newcomers as I can myself. That is, I suppose, considering they have messaging enabled. ;P
05/14/2010
Contributor: Dragon Dragon
Quote:
Originally posted by Gary
Thank you very much for all the feedback folks!

After seeing your polls, suggestions, and some discussion amongst the Review Team and EF management... and we are going to try doing a weekly thread, greeting all of the new members for the ... more
Can we make it a consistent one day a week? If so which one?

I think that a lot of the individuals on the forum can then follow up with individual attention to one or two individuals and essentially "pick a buddy" informally.
05/18/2010
Contributor: PassionQT PassionQT
There are better ways to make them feel welcome, and in my opinion, that's by reading their reviews, commenting on them, and helping them out. However, if a formal mention of it in the forums is considerate and makes them feel more welcome, so be it. If I read a review from a new contributor, I will usually comment below with a "welcome". I know it's the principal of it all, and that's cool, so really, no need for more than a daily thread or weekly on it.
08/09/2010
Contributor: LavenderSkies LavenderSkies
"What about a volunteer greeting committee rather than cluttering up the forums? That's how quite a few websites I belong to handle new members."

I agree. It makes sense..
11/14/2010
Contributor: K101 K101
I really like this. I think a daily welcome is totally awesome! I don't think the person should work to be welcomed. I mean it's hard enough to feel like "one of the members" even after working as hard as you can on posting and reviews. I never saw the thread you are talking about, but I sure hope I've never made anybody feel that way! If so, I'd be the first to apologize. I haven't ever participated in that way. Honestly I don't see welcomes as 'cluttering up' the forums. I think they are great! I also think welcoming them will motivate them and make them feel a little at home. I'm not so old here myself. I've only been here throughout the summer and LOVE it, but I have been afraid of upsetting people when I see a lot of complaints. Some of us just get confused and don't know where the correct poll belongs, but mostly I think they are honest mistakes that don't need so much critisizing.

I am always glad to see the welcoming no matter where on the forums is it.
08/31/2011
Contributor: Silverdrop Silverdrop
Not everyone who buys from EF is going to join the forums, and not everyone who joins the forums is going to write reviews.

But bloody hell, this forum system is intimidating! I think you should convert over to different software like VBB or something similar, that will present the forum in a format that most people are familiar with. Then you would have a subforum just for chattiness, and a sub-subforum of that for 'Welcome New Members'. That one would be right at the top, with stickied FAQs, and everyone would know to go there first. People who are grumpy and don't want to welcome newbies would stay out of it, and people who wanted to be the unofficial welcoming committee would be there to say hi and answer questions!
08/31/2011
Contributor: bradav bradav
07/20/2012
Contributor: animepanda89 animepanda89
The daily post is a cute idea but it would need its own part of the forums.
07/24/2012
Contributor: Mikemanz Mikemanz
Quote:
Originally posted by Gary
We want to welcome more of the new people, who are signing up everyday, to the community. We want them to feel welcome and comfortable participating in the community, just like most of you feel. So the idea to welcome them here on the community forum ... more
Hi,
My name is Mike and I'm pretty new to the site. Everyone that I have had contact with has been very welcoming and helpful. From people who commented on my first review to my mentor, it has been a very pleasant, fun, welcoming experience for me.

thanks to everyone

07/24/2012
Contributor: freud13 freud13
Quote:
Originally posted by Victoria
A-fucking-men. I am so sick of the negative complainy bullshit from people who do not even contribute here - if you only come here to criticize and complain, but never have a kind word or a positive comment, please leave. The good people here ... more
I completely agree with every single thing you have to say.
01/05/2013
Contributor: Ayumi Ayumi
I really like the idea of a weekly thread. At first I was going to say Daily, but that might be a bit much, despite the volume of people that join daily.

However, I can see the ease of doing a daily one too, which would allow those browsing that day to see what is going on.

Yet, I still see a weekly thread being easier since it will be better able to account for everyone. There we can browse through at our leisure. Check out what new users are doing, make friends etc. I know some of us very actively seek out befriending other Eden-ites, so it would be a nice go to.

I think the above thing that I said may be able to answer some people's qualms about it not feeling personal enough. A lot of us go and personally welcome people whose profiles draw us. I find that to be most genuine than forcing people to individually message each new person. It isn't realistic and I think it is a sufficient counter-opinion to requiring advanced contributors to welcome every new user. Or a set number of users.
02/13/2013