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The issue is probably not "being unfriendly" in general but frustrated in seeing the same issue again and again: Posting without any research and relevance for the particular forum.
Personally I think: Let's stay calm, give some words of advise how to post in the future and nothing can be that bad not to say "Welcome to FT".
A friendly tone in the beginning motivates the new member to stick around !
For several years, as a Moderator attening the Moderator meetings I have asked Randy and Internet Brands for a tool that would tell Moderators when a member posted in their forum for the first time.
This hasn't been delivered yet.
It would be great for Moderators to know when someone posts first so that they can welcome them and give them some background about the forum.
In the wider welcome arena, I'd like to see one or two volunteers to welcome new members as a general idea. But forum specific welcomes seem a way to go to me.
I think new people are vital to FlyerTalk's future.
Side analogy: I am an amateur sports official. I referee football, officiate basketball, and umpire baseball -- all at the high school varsity level. We get new blood all the time -- the problem is that 80% of the people who start in this avocation get out within the first year. Many of our football crews have 2-3 guys over the age of 60 on the crew and we're facing major shortages in the next 5-10 years.
I'd hate to see that happen to FlyerTalk.
So new members aren't what's important -- it's new members that stay and become valued members of the community that are important.
It's not just being welcoming -- it's discouraging people who are NOT. It's not just moderators who need to be welcoming. It's everyone who needs to be. And that's just not a "welcome", it's the ongoing attitudes and treatment of people who come onboard.
As a TalkBoard member, I would be willing to lead a committee dealing with this. Perhaps we could set up a board for new members and volunteers could monitor it and volunteer to interact with those people and act as liaisons between the new member and the forum moderators where they are participating. Just brainstorming. But as absurd as the idea of recruitment may be, it's absolutely vital we get new blood participating on FT so that we can continue to grow and thrive.
Saying "Welcome to FlyerTalk" isn't enough, though. We need to make FT a place where people WANT to come back regularly. And that's only done by making the experience better for those who are relatively new and not hooked, as many of us already are.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RichMSN
It's not just being welcoming -- it's discouraging people who are NOT. It's not just moderators who need to be welcoming. It's everyone who needs to be. And that's just not a "welcome", it's the ongoing attitudes and treatment of people who come onboard.
Every FT member can help with this. If you see someone biting a newbie's head off, or feeding what appears to be a troll, SEND A PM to that person. Or use Report Bad Post. Whatever you do, do not use a public post to respond. If you want to post in the thread, just be welcoming and constructive and don't mention any of the negative comments, as if they had been deleted.
That's how I expect all the regulars to behave in the Southwest forum, and it works out pretty well. People who would normally feed a troll eventually realize that this way works much better for everyone.
But none of this has much to do with TB unless...
How about we go ahead and assemble a set of recommendations (not enforced rules) for how to be a better FTer? This wouldn't have to be a TB project, but it certainly could. I would expect mods and general members to participate and perhaps even lead the effort, but TB could get the ball rolling.
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As a FlyerTalker who is also a TalkBoard member, I always greet new members with a "Welcome to FlyerTalk" when responding to a new poster's thread/post.
That, IMHO, is key.
You also have to remember that conversation in text is MUCH different than one in person.
The moderators do a good job welcoming new members; and I think Markie's most excellent idea would help them do this part of their job even better.
The value of the simple, yet elegant 'Welcome to FlyerTalk' greeting cannot be underestimated. All too often, a forum reply --even one well meant-- has the subtlty of an autoreply email with all the emotion and tenderness removed.
Finally, the barrier for some FT newcomers is an unwillingness to RTFM, or at least the FAQ of the forum concerned. Sure, FT is open to all, but we're not just everyone, now are we?
Barman, I’ll pay for that drink. Always an ice breaker when either in a remote bar to start up a conversation or to welcome outsiders in to the yokels pub. Admittedly some people have turned around and thought better of it.
Could an automate reply be set up after the first post welcoming the new user to the Forum or Sub group welcoming them and pointing out a few sticky posts and general help?
A very key point to the sustainability of FT. This question touched all of us at some point when we started on FT. I think that with the increased visibility that one would have as a TB member one should definitely take on the additional responsibility to make the face of FT a positive place. I am asking you all to let me participate as your representative, so it stands to reason it would be job to be extra active in the role of a smiling and welcoming face to FT. Why in the world would anybody want to be a face if it were a snarling one? I get the sense from all of the responses here, from thousands of posts in dozens of fora, that in general, FT’s membership is good at welcoming people. And if and when that effort were to lack, I would expect as a TB member to step up and show a good example to get things back on track. We all at some stage felt the fear of the first post, the hesitancy to move from lurker to participant. And as a TB member I would try to make very sure I rose to the occasion and welcomed those who made the brave leap from outsider to FTer. I have done it with numerous international events, I do it regularly in normal posts and I can only imagine that as a TB member I would increase the effort I put into that aspect of my reading and posting on FT.
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