RB forum crunch time - handling newbies

[tf5_bassist]

We all know that n00bs are annoying. People who say things like "z0mg d00d! Drums are in teh game?!?" three days before launch.

However, newbies will be flooding through here very shortly, and we all have to do our part as the veteran forumers to welcome them in, answer their questions, and make sure that this community remains as filled with awesomosity as it can possibly be. Not like that other forum.

So I'm just going to throw out a few ideas I've had on basic responses to newbie posts...

As just demonstrated in the Rock Band Bundel (sic) thread (http://community.rockband.com/vbforum/showthread.php?t=5634), it was a valid question, and handled with typical forumer response, pointing to the n00b guide, wikipedia page, and the search feature. Great! But... no answer was provided. Perhaps if we're going to refer to these sources (which EVERYONE should make use of as a reference), it could be done after actually answering the question. That way, as Sean said, it could be answered, and then locked. Done. Next thread.

Duplicate threads and posts are going to be a LOT more prevalent in the coming weeks... So far, we're doing pretty good at making sure there aren't duplicates, and that the duplicates aren't branching off into random tangents. We have enough threads to go through as it is. Sean, Apples, and the other mods are doing great with this. Point out that it's a dupe, allow for a rebuttal as to why it should be kept if there is one, and if not, lock.

Let's try and get the Announcements section made accessible for new threads to mods only. I know vBulletin can do it, and with the amount of new members we'll be getting soon, now's a good time. The honor system's been working so far, but that will only last so long.

Sig file sizes... oh man... Is there any way to standardize this? Cause I don't want to scroll for my entire lunch break just to read a page or two filled with ginormous sigfile images... Can we consider a possibility of negotiating a max height/width for TOTAL SIG SIZE? In otherwords, not being able to combine a sh!t-ton of "legal sized" sig files to do jus the same thing as if there wasn't a guideline... Just a thought, I know that a few people have mentioned the annoyance of oversized sigs, I think it'd benefit the forums in the long run by putting a cap on it. A reasonably flexible cap, but a cap nonetheless.



erm... apparently, that's all I've got for now... If I come up with more, I'll post 'em.

[tf5_bassist]

reserved for later updates

[tf5_bassist]

reserved for more future updates

[MartyMcFly]

I support your cause. But this thread will get locked as well. It's something that would fall in General, in turn, no noob will read it if it's in General either.

All we can say is just help out the noobs don't fight them.

[tf5_bassist]

I support your cause. But this thread will get locked as well. It's something that would fall in General, in turn, no noob will read it if it's in General either.

All we can say is just help out the noobs don't fight them.

noobs never read general until they have like... non-noob status.

if mods want to move this to general, then go ahead.

[Bakkster]

All we can say is just help out the noobs don't fight them.

Duplicate threads should have exactly 3 posts:
1) Original post
2) Answer, with link to more information
3) Thank you from OP

At this point the thread can be locked, if desired, and it will fall off the front page into oblivion. If everyone agrees to not post anything but post #2, we'll all have a better experience with dupes.

[ThePaska]

Those are some great ideas and I cannot agree with them more.

First I'd like to point out that in your example I did answer his question. I do agree we should be nice, answer the question and refer them to the "noob" guide in case they have further questions.

I also like your ideas about the announcement area, not everyone should be able to post there.

And I also like your ideas about signatures. I'm interested to hear what the suggested signature and avatar sizes are because I don't want mine to be too big.


These are some good ideas, and I'm sure as we talk about it more we'll think of more issues that could be resolved. Over the next month we are going to get a lot more traffic than we have before, it's good that we are preparing for it now.

[Apples]

Honestly, everyone thus far has been pretty nice and tolerant of new users. Sure, there's the occasional locked post but that is typical of any message board.

The only thing I'd suggest is to get good at using your "back" browser button to ignore posts you don't like. By posting in them you do two things, both of which are counterproductive.

1. Bring the post to the top of the page.

2. Potentially antagonize the original poster. (depending on the content of the response) Once folks get antagonized the thread usually goes straight to pot.


Back to this subject, this thread doesn't need any moving or locking. It's a great idea to discuss proper etiquette and manners at a time when new people seem to be flocking here in droves. I want their first impression to be "wow, this is a nice place to hang out" and not "omg elitist jerks!".

Today's newbies will be tomorrow's veterans and bandmates.

[Balsac]

I can hardly speak of others as n00bs, as you can see by my join date a post count, but it is very true that this forum will be overrun in the near future.

It will take much understanding and patience from the regulars, but it's nothing that hasn't been undertaken in the past.

Correct structuring of the forum itself (issue reporting section, FAQ section, etc...) and LOTS of diligence from the mods, moving posts and just keeping an eye on things, will keep things running smoothly.

If "we" use our heads and follow the rules it shouldn't be a problem. If we can report users and let the mods handle thing instead of getting into pissing matches, we will cut down on lots of unnecessary posts. We will all need to act as mods in a way to keep HMXSean and HMXJohnlok aware of what's going on since they obviously can't look at every post every day.

I am completely confident that this will continue to be a great place to hang out and discuss the greates game of all time!

[Keebler]

I wasn't trying to sound like a dick in that "Rock Band Bundle" thread. I apologize if that's the way it came off. I'm just trying to say, "Here's 3 comprehensive references you should check before you post a new topic on the forums - a topic that may have been needlessly repeated." It's not to make a point that noobs are not in the know, but rather there are plenty of places with information available where they can read up and potentially have more of their questions answered.

Here's what I would consider the most valuable resources:

-Searching this forum: considering it's dedicated to this game, chances are the FAQ's have been asked here before
-Rock Band official website: same as above
-Noob Guide Thread: it hasn't been updated in a while, but a lot of the FAQ's have been centralized to one place
-Wikipedia article: I've taken great care to update the article when new game details are unveiled (i.e. yesterday's Band World Tour details)
-Kotaku: this blog is updated with basically ANY information on ANY video game- searching past posts will bring up a plethora of information
-IGN/Gamespot pages for Rock Band: the main profile pages for this game are a great source of news updates on the game and officialy previews

[Obnysalt]

We all know that n00bs are annoying. People who say things like "z0mg d00d! Drums are in teh game?!?" three days before launch.

However, newbies will be flooding through here very shortly, and we all have to do our part as the veteran forumers to welcome them in, answer their questions, and make sure that this community remains as filled with awesomosity as it can possibly be. Not like that other forum.

So I'm just going to throw out a few ideas I've had on basic responses to newbie posts...

As just demonstrated in the Rock Band Bundel (sic) thread (http://community.rockband.com/vbforum/showthread.php?t=5634), it was a valid question, and handled with typical forumer response, pointing to the n00b guide, wikipedia page, and the search feature. Great! But... no answer was provided. Perhaps if we're going to refer to these sources (which EVERYONE should make use of as a reference), it could be done after actually answering the question. That way, as Sean said, it could be answered, and then locked. Done. Next thread.

Duplicate threads and posts are going to be a LOT more prevalent in the coming weeks... So far, we're doing pretty good at making sure there aren't duplicates, and that the duplicates aren't branching off into random tangents. We have enough threads to go through as it is. Sean, Apples, and the other mods are doing great with this. Point out that it's a dupe, allow for a rebuttal as to why it should be kept if there is one, and if not, lock.

Let's try and get the Announcements section made accessible for new threads to mods only. I know vBulletin can do it, and with the amount of new members we'll be getting soon, now's a good time. The honor system's been working so far, but that will only last so long.

Sig file sizes... oh man... Is there any way to standardize this? Cause I don't want to scroll for my entire lunch break just to read a page or two filled with ginormous sigfile images... Can we consider a possibility of negotiating a max height/width for TOTAL SIG SIZE? In otherwords, not being able to combine a sh!t-ton of "legal sized" sig files to do jus the same thing as if there wasn't a guideline... Just a thought, I know that a few people have mentioned the annoyance of oversized sigs, I think it'd benefit the forums in the long run by putting a cap on it. A reasonably flexible cap, but a cap nonetheless.



erm... apparently, that's all I've got for now... If I come up with more, I'll post 'em.
**** them, and **** your ugly face. I will lay down the law as I have always done.

[Tendoza]

As a senior member, I support you cause.

If the GH forum was any indication, this could get very hectic.

[toefer]

I think being told how we need to/should act regarding new members is as much of a joke as the way some new members are treated. You can't teach people manners, and it only makes it sound like you're talking down to them.

As for "noobs", if people are too "stupid" to look things up, and want to post a new thread asking a question that's been asked before, then I have no problem with that. We don't own these forums, and shouldn't flip out when people add to them. It's not the end of the world. I don't think space is an issue. Considering the sheer ******edness of some of the threads started by the older members, I don't see why this is an issue anyway. And using the term "noobs" sounds elitist by itself.

I think too many people here care about post counts and the "importance" of threads, because it massages their ego. As an example, look at the people who race to be the first to post new info (the countless IGN threads), or the repetitive threads (least favorite song, most hated song, what song will you play the least?), and on and on. There have even been threads where the OP will ask Apples to sticky it. That screams egomaniac right there.

Everyone calm down. It's just a forum. Let the mods do their own jobs.

[MartyMcFly]

Toefer, I like your thinking. I agree with everything you said. Especially about sounding elitist, and people thinking they own these boards.

It's funny, because a month ago everyone in this thread was complaining about "noobs", and "how to deal with them".

Meanwhile, it was "gh2masterwellalmost" who was saying we should be nice and help the "noobs". Then he got flamed about it. Now everyone is flipping it and saying they should help them now and such.

[tf5_bassist]

I wasn't trying to sound like a dick in that "Rock Band Bundle" thread. I apologize if that's the way it came off. I'm just trying to say, "Here's 3 comprehensive references you should check before you post a new topic on the forums - a topic that may have been needlessly repeated." It's not to make a point that noobs are not in the know, but rather there are plenty of places with information available where they can read up and potentially have more of their questions answered.

Here's what I would consider the most valuable resources:

-Searching this forum: considering it's dedicated to this game, chances are the FAQ's have been asked here before
-Rock Band official website: same as above
-Noob Guide Thread: it hasn't been updated in a while, but a lot of the FAQ's have been centralized to one place
-Wikipedia article: I've taken great care to update the article when new game details are unveiled (i.e. yesterday's Band World Tour details)
-Kotaku: this blog is updated with basically ANY information on ANY video game- searching past posts will bring up a plethora of information
-IGN/Gamespot pages for Rock Band: the main profile pages for this game are a great source of news updates on the game and officialy previews

Nah man, you didn't come off as a dick. You pretty much never do, unless it's warranted. You've got a good idea there though, mentioning game blogs as other references as well, they're great resources that really could be used more actively to help newbies learn how to learn more about games they want to know about.

And yes, ThePaska did answer the OP's question quite well in the other thread. Just wanted to make sure he knows I didn't think he didn't. :D

[tf5_bassist]

Toefer, I really do agree with you on a lot of your post. This wasn't an attempt at trying to "control the noobs", it's just a very real fact that when RB comes closer to launch, and then it hits the streets, this place is going to be flooded. The chaos of hundreds and thousands of new members can be limited a bit if everyone tries. That's all I'm trying to say.

Everyone's got to learn sh!t somewhere, and if it's here with a "n00b post", that's what will happen. It's just the thought of a hundred of such posts going crazy that made me write this post.