Starfox64x Posted September 21, 2011 Report Share Posted September 21, 2011 (TL:DR version below...)So, i just came from one of the intro topics where someone had made a topic asking people who their favorite non-pony character was, and another person mentioned that this sort of topic wasnt really meant for the intro thread... It made me think that the intro thread might want to be tinkered with a bit.,.. Maybe you have an introduction thread where you have to post in that at least once just to introduce yourself, then have a 'new filly' section where you can post after that. This is where the new people can create threads and post their replies to other new people's threads to get a little head start before being opened up to the rest of the board.The reason i'm suggesting this is because i was thinking how awkward the current system is... When i started i posted an intro topic liek i was suppose to, but then i waited for someone to reply...I was talking with Tales (MyLittlePonyTales) at the time on Skype, and she suggested that i simply go onto other people's intro topic and say "Hey i'm new too!", and that a lot of people do that.I feel this is a bit awkward... It's okay when people who've been here a while come over and say Hey to the new people, but think of it like if you were at a new job... you and another new person walk into the building at the same time, you dont know each other... It might be nice to greet each other, but to attempt and try and chat with them feels a bit awkward... "Hey you new here too? Yeah, this is my first day too, i have no idea who any of these people are, what they do or how they do it..." see what i mean?Maybe we could have a subforum where we have various topics with basic questions as the topic... "Who's your favorite pony?" "What's your favorite episode?" etc etc... That way we dont have more of these topics popping up in the future, and the new people can jump right into the conversation, while still being contained in one area.If its mostly about bots and spam, they can still spam the intro thread a lot, which would clutter up and make peoples introductions get lost... although then the basic questions section would get flooded as well...TL;DR... I dont know what solution to come up with, but the main problem i see is that if you're only limited to the introductions area, Socially you're stuck in your own topic since roaming into others would see weird... And if no one replies for a while, newbies might be deterred and leave, since they really can't post anywhere else... i dunno, just trying to contribute with feedback. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyLittlePonyTales Posted September 21, 2011 Report Share Posted September 21, 2011 Thanks for the suggestion, but we've been using the current system for awhile. The limit used to be 5 posts in the Introductions, and we moved it down to 3. That's seriously such a small number.I greet every single newbie that comes to the site, and I know that some of the other staff try to as well. It's not really that hard to make 3 posts.1. Introduce yourself. Tell us about yourself, or just say hey! Chances are, somepony will come along and ask you a question, which you can answer in post #2!The Introductions section is there to help corral spambots and trolls, yes. But, by limiting bronies to their first 3 posts there, we want to encourage others to interact with each other. Get to know a few bronies before venturing to the rest of the board. If you're shy about posting in other topics, have a little patience--somepony will come along and comment on your intro. And about it getting cluttered? So far, though we did have spam in the past, that hasn't happened. The staff try to be quick when dealing with immediate issues.We already have topics in place in MLP Discussion area of the board about favorite pony and episode, etc.Keeping introductions in the Introductions section keeps things from getting cluttered. We like to keep things organized, which is why we have forums and sub-forums already in place.We want bronies to get to know others on the site. I mean, if you're just here to lurk and never post, why do you need an account? The Introductions is kind of a way to force new people to get out of their comfort zone and make some friends, like Twilight Sparkle had to do in episode 1. You may just be here to check things out, but in the end, you'll hopefully end up with a whole slew of new friends. So, thank you for the suggestion, but we have reasons why only introductions go in the Introductions forum, and why we have the 3 post limit in place. I hope this may shed some light on why we have things the way they are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skye Posted September 21, 2011 Report Share Posted September 21, 2011 We do encourage members to look around in others' intro threads. They're not just 'Hi, I'm a real person' thread, they're a 'I'm a real person, this is what I like and I'm sharing this, anyone else have anything else in common?' thread, intended to bring people together with common interests. It serves double duty of cutting down spam, but at the same time also helps get folks to know one another and encourages meetings of minds. I don't consider it 'weird', think of it like entering a big chat room with a massive scrollback and being able to go 'Oh hey, this pony looks interesting!' and sharing your ideas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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