Be Nice to the Newbie Day

[Mr_Paris]

I was thinking , i have read a lot of posts flaming the newbie , for little newbie type acts , and i think we have been getting a bit of a bashing of late so i think we need to have a "be nice to the newbie day"........after all in replt to a previuos post i think we should rember where we all came form dont u ?....

One thing I’ve noticed is that Tempers run very. high on this board now I can understand the SC will always be running at a high level of agitation (its to do with adrenaline levels and keeping the creative juices following and maybe us Newbies lol ) ......But I ask u the "old-Timers" is it anyway to be treating your future Comrade in arms ? from blasting them for simple spelling mistakes to reminding them in very un-polite terms about how to post ?...c’mon this is suppose to be fun , now we all get a little stressed when the new title was released but lets face it , these newbs (myself included) are your wingmen of tomorrow and some of us are quite good iam sure , do u really want to piss us of to a point of either :-

1. Blowing u out of the frigging universe on a constant basis when MP is out..

2. Getting us so pissed at you guys we leave until the BCM community whittles down to a meagre few? (nah I hear u cry that will never happen )

3. Pay a hit man to blow your copy of BCM away ?..

On a serious note we do need to me more forgiving to the newer members that have joined the community, I know what it is to be new to this type of environment myself, we all started as Newbies at one point did we not and don’t tell me you never asked a Newbies type question and or posted in the wrong forum ? after all SC himself as shown a hell of a lot of restraint over the last couple of weeks, CANT U ?

Mr-Paris

[Supreme Cmdr]

quote:

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Originally posted by Mr_Paris:

I was thinking , i have read a lot of posts flaming the newbie , for little newbie type acts , and i think we have been getting a bit of a bashing of late so i think we need to have a "be nice to the newbie day"........after all in replt to a previuos post i think we should rember where we all came form dont u ?....

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Show me one post bashing a newbie and I'll ban that person immediately! Thanks

We already established this awhile back. NO newbie bashing. Period. Correcting a newbie (like myself, Soback, Gallion etc) is one thing, bashing is quite another.

I usually just delete and/or relocate threads, posts etc, rather than going off the deep end. There is a reason this board is clean, and thats one of those reasons.

So, unless I missed something, this is a pointless thread.

[Mr_Paris]

quote:

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Originally posted by Supreme Cmdr:

Show me one post bashing a newbie and I'll ban that person immediately! Thanks

We already established this awhile back. NO newbie bashing. Period. Correcting a newbie (like myself, Soback, Gallion etc) is one thing, bashing is quite another.

I usually just delete and/or relocate threads, posts etc, rather than going off the deep end. There is a reason this board is clean, and thats one of those reasons.

So, unless I missed something, this is a pointless thread.

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Relax Sir Relax !!!!:-)

Nobody as said that anyone requires any banning for basing, basing is mabye my interpretation of it , as for the genreal snide swiping comments towards newbies , then yes there are plenty of them , about them not following the rules to the letter as so forth , and as for this thread being Pointless , i challenge and ask you Sir !! ...what is pointless to yourself may not well me pointles to myself or others , i imagine you doing as you read this, mabye in my profession as a therapist i should offer mass couselling sessions for stress relief ?...well mabye not let them take it out on the battlefiled i say.......but after all i guess these are your boards and yuo can deleate and do all manner of diferent things to postings as you see fit Sir , but one thing i have is my opinain , and it is that you have created a forfilled dream in the creation of your game , and a dream that many others share, how they wish to express that is for themselves.......well back to more work now , and yes u guessed it i think there is a point ,,,and iam happy in my knowledge that i made it ,

MR-Paris

[Thermidor]

MR-Paris:

I also do not see the point of your post..and stop speaking in tongues..

[Tyrn]

quote:

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Originally posted by Mr_Paris:

I was thinking , i have read a lot of posts flaming the newbie , for little newbie type acts , and i think we have been getting a bit of a bashing of late so i think we need to have a "be nice to the newbie day".

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“All right cadets, note the airlock to your immediate left. You will also note that all the old timers around here are always suited up for vacuum exposure. This is not for fashion purposes.”

It used to be common practice to actually read a forum/newsgroup for a period of time before actually posting. Lurkers always do better than the wet behind the ears n00b. Why? Because lurkers know the personality of the forum/newsgroup and so will hopefully use what they've observed to their best advantage. N00bs that do not follow this practice learn the hard way and rightly so. This entire concept was commonly known as Netiquette and was, at one time, basically required knowledge for any Internet user. Although most new users are unacquainted with it, Netiquette still reigns supreme because it accurately describes the workings of most online communities.

If someone were flamed here they would be throughly scortch and be quite indistinguishable from charcoal. That being said, I've never seen anyone actually flamed or bashed here. I've seen plenty of people warned or reprimanded (even old timers) for not holding to the line when posting and there's occasionally the poster that refuses to acknowledge such warnings. Such posters are very short lived here and for good reason. The net result? A chance to interact directly with the developer, something which even beta testers rarely experience on other projects of this magnitude. At best other companies operate on the “don't call us, we'll call you” principle.

[ 12-10-2001: Message edited by: Tyrn ]

[Kush]

Actually 'How to treat Newbies' is an age old discussion here on the forum.

A lot of what you've said has already been said over and over again. Every now and then, either a veteran or Newbie posts about treating newbies better.

I've posted in defence of newbies.

And I've also treated a few newbies pretty curtly.

I think it boils down to two things.

A) The game, and the creator have gone through years and years of public flame wars, and some of the games detractors have a habit of getting on this site, and posting crap. I really like the zero tolerance of detractors. That way we can talk about the game more freely and openly than on other sites. The down side is that most of us have a low tolerance for people who post and don't follow the rules. The rules work, and sometimes they have to be enforced, but sometimes it may feel kinda harsh. Don't sweat it. I know for a fact Derek never gets personal. (Cranky perhaps, never personal.)

The game is highly technical, and so Newbies actually have A LOT of questions. It's not a shooter. It's the deepest space sim ever. So finding answers to questions is sometimes a bit of a hunt. Most vets will give you a quick RTFM (Read the Fine Manual) if the answer is explained somewhere else. And sometimes some of the real OLD vets will remember a thread that deals with your question and they'll tell you to search the forums. (The big reason why posting in the wrong thread isn't tolerated is because it hurts the search engines ability to archive a thread topic. The search engine on this site is one of the best you'll ever find, and can be used often to find answers to some very common questions.) So if you see a vet get a little testy about a questions s/he's answered a thousand times, it's because s/he's answered the question a thousand times.

Kinda like 'How to treat Newbies'

It's a subject that has been brought up over and over again.

SC has pleaded with us to make sure that we treat newbs with some latitude because he knows he's going to get more players now than ever before. But even with that, we have sometimes (I should only speak for myself) I know I've torn into a Newbie or two. It's happened. I'm not proud of it, but I've done it.

I think for the most part we're doing much better, and I think it's fair to raise your concerns, but I like that this site is practically Troll free. I want to keep it that way. And at the same time, Newbs should feel free to ask a question that they haven't found the answer for in the manual, or the FAQ or the search engine. (What that question might be, well, I don't know )

And I also think that there should be a special Forum, just for Newbies, Called Newbie's Corner, or something. A place that basically takes all the Newbie Questions out of all the other threads and puts them in one place. There'll be alot of RTFM's, but there'll also be less RTFM's in other Forums.

That's just my .02

Right now, I think we're striking the best balance we can. If you're new to the Forums, try to check the manual, and the FAQ, and the Search engine before you post your qestion. And I'll try and keep my Newbie etiquette up to snuff.

[Supreme Cmdr]

quote:

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Originally posted by Kush:

I know for a fact Derek never gets personal. (Cranky perhaps, never personal.)

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heh, yep. Especially if I'm on my umpteenth cuppa

quote:

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I think for the most part we're doing much better, and I think it's fair to raise your concerns, but I like that this site is practically Troll free. I want to keep it that way. And at the same time, Newbs should feel free to ask a question that they haven't found the answer for in the manual, or the FAQ or the search engine. (What that question might be, well, I don't know )

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Yep

quote:

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And I also think that there should be a special Forum, just for Newbies, Called Newbie's Corner, or something. A place that basically takes all the Newbie Questions out of all the other threads and puts them in one place. There'll be alot of RTFM's, but there'll also be less RTFM's in other Forums.

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Good idea, because it seems like a single thread isn't going to hold them.

OK, will setup a new forum today.

[ 12-10-2001: Message edited by: Supreme Cmdr ]

[Urza]

I agree. Newbies should be treated with respect. After all, our goal is to increase the number of BC fans. How are we going to do that if people don't give them the respect they deserve? Even though some things may be percieved as rude or harsh, it's either a) joking or enforcing the rules. Good idea for a newbie topic. Would make for a good place to do searches. Also, would it be possible to move newbie Q & A threads into the new topic, so as to aid searching?

FYI, SC, you have a { instead of a [ in the UBB code of your last post.

Also, I got the following error when I tried to post this message. It said that I should report it to the administrator.

quote:

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Tried to open zero sized thread 000983 in forum 2 at /usr/www/users/galcom/cgibin/ubb_lib_files.cgi line 762.

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EDIT: I think this happened I tried to post after the thread had been moved (it was moved after I had entered the thread), but I wanted to make sure.

[ 12-10-2001: Message edited by: Urza ]

[Tyrn]

quote:

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Originally posted by Urza:

Also, I got the following error when I tried to post this message. It said that I should report it to the administrator.

Tried to open zero sized thread 000983 in forum 2 at /usr/www/users/galcom/cgibin/ubb_lib_files.cgi line 762.

EDIT: I think this happened I tried to post after the thread had been moved (it was moved after I had entered the thread), but I wanted to make sure.

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You are correct, that happens when threads are deleted/moved.

Don't nest quotes Tyrn you know better...I know, I know and stop talking to yourself, it scares people.

[ 12-10-2001: Message edited by: Tyrn ]

[Supreme Cmdr]

OK, new forum is created and I've moved some topics in here.

Yeah, I forgot to close the board when creating the new forum and moving the threads. Usually, when I close the board, I get a bunch of emails from folks panicking.

Damn, this place is like a drug habit.

[Guest]

quote:

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Damn, this place is like a drug habit.

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Got that right, but unlike most Drug habits, there is no substitute to bring the user off of the drug.

Once you're addicted, it's OVER!!

[Cmdr Nova]

*gasp* An actual Newbie forum!

My schedule's cleared up a bit, so I may be on the forums a bit more than I was last week and

the week before.

(RP)

*Sets up a tent*

"I'm back. Ahhh... The Forums. The people, the places.... The smell."

*takes a deep breath*

*cough* *gag* "What the hell is that smell? Oh yeah. We've got newbs around now.... I might need a bigger tent....." *sigh*

(/RP)

Newbie Welcome Wagon, reporting in!

So if you newbs think you've annoyed Derek enough for the day, come see me a visit!

You know, being the Newbie Welcome Wagon, and all, shouldn't I get some perks for this?

Really, shouldn't I?

[Cmdr Nova]

quote:

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Originally posted by Supreme Cmdr:

Damn, this place is like a drug habit.

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It's because MedPacks are part of the ingredients that make up this forum.... Why else are most (if not, all) of us vets here as crazy as we are?

[Simparadox]

quote:

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Originally posted by Tyrn:

It used to be common practice to actually read a forum/newsgroup for a period of time before actually posting. Lurkers always do better than the wet behind the ears n00b. Why? Because lurkers know the personality of the forum/newsgroup and so will hopefully use what they've observed to their best advantage

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Oh, sure. But I lurk for almost a month and still get smacked around

[Tyrn]

quote:

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Originally posted by Simparadox:

Oh, sure. But I lurk for almost a month and still get smacked around

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But what would have happened if you had just jumped in blind?

Instead of launching into a long winded post, let me just say that my entry into the BC scene was none too pretty even with my lurking because I came in with a bit of a chip on my shoulder. I came in intending to prove something to the community here. I proved that I had done extensive research on the subject and that I could be a complete knucklehead. That road leads to bruises!

[Supreme Cmdr]

quote:

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Originally posted by Simparadox:

Oh, sure. But I lurk for almost a month and still get smacked around

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LOL!!!

[Supreme Cmdr]

quote:

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Originally posted by Tyrn:

But what would have happened if you had just jumped in blind?

Instead of launching into a long winded post, let me just say that my entry into the BC scene was none too pretty even with my lurking because I came in with a bit of a chip on my shoulder. I came in intending to prove something to the community here. I proved that I had done extensive research on the subject and that I could be a complete knucklehead. That road leads to bruises!

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Yep. I remember that quite well.

Thats why when some cry foul and go crying to mommy, I just smile. We've all had it, yes, even me (considering how much aggravation and beatings those b*astards gave me in the Beta forum).

[Tyrn]

quote:

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Originally posted by Supreme Cmdr:

Yep. I remember that quite well.

Thats why when some cry foul and go crying to mommy, I just smile. We've all had it, yes, even me (considering how much aggravation and beatings those b*astards gave me in the Beta forum).

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Ah, those were the days...what the? Get that jacket off me and I swear if you buckle my arms up again, I'll bite your knee caps off!

Sorry about that, appears my crew thinks I need sleep.

[Urza]

quote:

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You know, being the Newbie Welcome Wagon, and all, shouldn't I get some perks for this?

Really, shouldn't I?

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Yep, it seems to me that Nova should moderate this topic, being the Newbie Welcome Wagon and all. Just my opinion.

[Supreme Cmdr]

quote:

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Originally posted by Urza:

Yep, it seems to me that Nova should moderate this topic, being the Newbie Welcome Wagon and all. Just my opinion.

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Done

[Cmdr Nova]

Wow. Cool. Thanks guys.

Woah..... What began as a little nickname that Blades used to call me, eventually led to me being a moderator to a new newbie forum..........

So be nice to the newbies, guys. I'm watching now....

[Blades]

See Nova? Told ya, stick with me kid and I'll make you a star ...

[Gallion]

I trolled this forum for almost a year before I posted my first post.

quote:

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i imagine you doing as you read this, mabye in my profession as a therapist i should offer mass couselling sessions for stress relief ?...

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Wouldn't work on this forum. Matter of fact, this forum is tame compared the BC depression days. Tac was our version of stress release iirc - always good for a laugh - in those days. SC went ballistic over some of the smack that Tac posted

quote:

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Oh, sure. But I lurk for almost a month and still get smacked around

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Didn't happen unless you deserved it

quote:

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We've all had it, yes, even me (considering how much aggravation and beatings those b*astards gave me in the Beta forum).

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Hehehe ... what Tyrn said

Bottom Line: Newbie comes to board with a chip on their shoulder it will get knocked off, and there is nothing worse than seeing a query (n00b or vet) that is easily answered by RTFM.

TTFN

[Charles Lindsey]

I trolled this forum for almost a year before I posted my first post.

After getting the free game, the very original free game where you had to compile the thing yourself, I jumped right in and promptly got a RTFM. It was from Tac, DeSylva, Or Hector. Forget who but seems like it was one of the originals. Made me mad. So I looked in the manual and stubbornly figured it out. Been here ever since.

I try to be nice to newbies. I hope I am. Sometimes short but generally polite.

[JAM3]

"So, unless I missed something, this is a pointless thread."

My first post! And I am a newbie to this board and game and just got approved. If the SC is who I think it is then I only have one thing to say to you man....

Thanks.

A long time ago I purchased the initial BC and despite the enormous problems, namely lack of documentation, you took the time and sent me personal e-mails descibing how to work alot of things! I in fact am one of the few non - "leet" people who got to enjoy BC original and it was due to your direct support.

Through all the talk and speak going around I new it would be interesting to come to this board and see for myself exactly whats happening.

Let me just point out that while nothing is terribly bad like the naysayers say and even with the horrible ability to discern emotions from text based communication there does seem to be a general tone of hostility.

Like how you replied to the above poster seemed appropriate and good until...

"So, unless I missed something, this is a pointless thread."

I don't want to harp on all of this, and yes i could show numerous examples from the few posts I have read already about the general tone of hostility from the mods.

SC I am sure you wouldn't want someone calling something you did pointless as I am sure the original poster felt his thread was not pointless.

All I am trying to say is, and I am by no means a carebear, take it back to the really nice, go out of your way to communicate with absolute politeness that I remember! You will earn soooo much from your non - leet loyal fans!