Be nice to new people!

Alright, lemme get this part out of the way: I'm not aiming this thread at anyone in particular or trying to call out anyone in particular. This is something that's been on my mind for more than a while now, and I feel it's time to finally get it off my chest.

AFW is, more than just sometimes, a bit harder towards new people than we should be. No, I'm serious.

And, before you think I'm overreacting or seeing things that aren't there, I'm not. Really, I'm not. More than once in the past I've had people sending me PMs, thanking me for being nice to them in their first thread, then telling me they were probably going to leave because people here didn't seem to like them. One of them actually happened quite recently, in fact.

I understand though, I really do. You all love AFW, otherwise you wouldn't be here still. AFW is, for better or for worse, the only site of it's kind, and you don't want people you don't find worthy posting here. That's okay. I get it, I really do. There's a difference though between being overly harsh and being welcoming and constructive, though. Just because someone has less-than-perfect grammar and spelling in their first post in the Discussion forum, or they say something that slightly rubs you the wrong way, doesn't mean you should jump on them and try to scare them off. Give them a damn chance, alright?

And before you say something like "I'm just joking" or "They should get a sense of humor!" or something like that, stop. Things like sarcasm and 'humor' don't always translate well over text, especially when a lot of people attracted to AFW don't speak English as their first language. Not only that, but some people get nervous as hell posting in a new community for the first time.

(I know that much from first-hand experience. Hell, I still have a lot of trouble sending people here PMs or poking them on AIM/YIM to talk.)

I guess what I've trying to say is, well...lighten up on the new folks, okay? If they make a mistake or say something you don't like, go easy on them. There's a fine line between giving constructive criticism, and being mean, alright? When you post a response to their "Hi! I'm new!" thread, think about what you're saying before you click "Submit".

Remember...every single one of us was new once. Did you want people hard on you when you first joined?

c: I respect this rule fully, to not to be snooty among new members, but welcoming than resorting to snobbery itself.

RESPECT! Damnit, that's the word I was trying to think of. Thanks, robot!

Anyway, yeah, respect. Being nice and constructive towards new members is a respect thing.

Show them the respect that you would want to be shown.

Guess that's my fault ,I'm being harsh with someone new around here recently ,not because I don't like to talk with noob but the noob really don't have any patience n I dislike that...a lot.

Let's say he sent me a message about 20 mins ago n I forgot to reply it ,he immediately sends me another new message saying that I don't want to talk with him n stuff like that

So that's just annoying but my apologize goes to the person that I treated that way ,I was just busy ,hope you understand that

Actually you have a good point. Maybe we should be nicer to the new people, give them a fair shot, instead of treating them like crap and sending our resident holder of the Banhammer after them, just because we like how he treats them like crap and finds them guilty right off the bat.

If I were treated when I joined the way the neophytes are treated today, I honestly would have left.


However, be that as it may, would it kill the newbies to at least try to learn proper typing and grammar? I mean, mistakes are common, sure, especially here. But still, a newb that says "Hi, I like eating Pie because it is tasty" is easier to respect then one that goes

"Yeah hi ummm nott sure if right area but new and new girl blagoramam ish here to win all teh fights and stuff and how do i do everything and what is charactar secret backstory that i can know and why bacon tatse all white people like lol roflbox"

...

How can anybody respect that!

never

cull the weak

destroy the unworthy

I for one think it's good that we are harshly critical of newbies, simply because it will weed out the shitty writers and RPers and maintain a certain level of quality on this site. Fact is, we don't need all these new people, since the user see right now is large enough to be self-maintaining. The worst thing that can happen to this place is "eternal September" when the sheer amount of newbies becomes overwhelming, quality takes a nosedive, and the people who actually are good at RPing are so turned off that they leave.

[quote="zxn666":1gyir4sa]I for one think it's good that we are harshly critical of newbies, simply because it will weed out the shitty writers and RPers and maintain a certain level of quality on this site. Fact is, we don't need all these new people, since the user see right now is large enough to be self-maintaining. The worst thing that can happen to this place is "eternal September" when the sheer amount of newbies becomes overwhelming, quality takes a nosedive, and the people who actually are good at RPing are so turned off that they leave.