Introductions?

I have a question @Lovehoney_Brenna :slightly_smiling_face:

How are we doing intros now? I know we still have #introduce-yourself, but there’s been a high liklihood on this new layout of new members saying hello in the nearest handy topic. It’d be pretty rubbish if no one said hello back (and the board actively encourages a reply with the ‘This is the first time [user] has posted — let’s welcome them to our community!’ message), but if we all pile in it’s going to derail a topic. What do you want us to do?

If we all dive in and say hello it’ll be pretty welcoming, and then you could split off the welcomes into a new Intro topic when you get the chance? Something like that?

ETA: Alternatively we could have a rolling Intro topic, where everyone hops on and has their hellos and welcomes there (hopefully enough people will use the replies, mentions, and likes to provide a bit of structure). And if someone does their intro in another topic you can slide it over to the rolling one. :+1:

Anyone have any thoughts?


ETA: Some posts have been revised to compensate for deleted messages, and to preserve topic continuity

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That sounds like a really nice idea

Okay, first issue with that… :slightly_smiling_face:

What if you welcome and include an on-topic response as well? That can’t just slide over in either scenario. Hmmm. :thinking:

ETA: So, is that the answer then? Do a welcome, but then add an on-topic reply (if you can?)

I have no idea if that’s possible, but hopefully Brenna will. :crossed_fingers::slightly_smiling_face:

Do you think that would have an impact on people taking the plunge and joining in? They may prefer sliding into a conversation without the hello&welcome fuss (possibly at first, but maybe even not at all). Would this put too much emphasis on a more formal introduction?

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I think that is a real possibility @Ian_Chimp I know I didn’t do an introduction post, I just lurked for a bit and when I felt comfortable, started contributing. I personally think it would have put me off, having to post an intro message and draw attention to myself.

I can only speak for myself though :blush:

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The Search function is actually really good now. I bet it would find them. :+1:

I don’t know. Warnings and restrictions sounds a bit proscriptive (is that the word?).

I opted for a hello&welcome plus an on-topic reply. I thought that way was a nice way of blending it in. And they still have the option to start their own #introduce-yourself intro topic when they twig it’s there (if they fancy it). :+1:

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There’s one now in another topic where the forum is suggesting I say hello and reach out, but the post is just a regular on-topic one and not something like, ‘hi, I’m new’.

What do people reckon? Say hello like the new forum suggests, or hang back and wait for a more appropriate time (whatever that may be?)


(FYI) It pops up on their first post, no matter the topic or category (and, in this case, it is also their only one so far).

Well, that’s the question. :slightly_smiling_face:

We used to do it a certain way in the old layout, but it’s all a little different now. And the forum itself prompts us to behave in the new way it would prefer us to. Having a semi-consistent way for people (or at least the regulars) to respond would really help, I think (and maybe save Brenna some work split/merging or whatever).

Do I say an unsolicited hello, and possibly derail a topic, or do I wait and maybe never say it?


It is possible to disable these notices, but they’ve been designed ‘to encourage kindness towards users who are posting for the first time or may not have posted in a while’. Which seems a laudable goal.

So, the contentions so far:

  • Is Introduce Yourself the place we’re still expecting all intros to be done? (or should we just have a singular rolling intro topic, like a newsfeed. ETA: Probably just an Off-Topic Chat one Pinned to the top so all new members can see it straight off, and everyone else can Unpin it).

  • When a new member posts in a non-intro topic how do we respond? (I think going for broke on an all out welcome would be the best outcome, though has off-topic issues)

  • When the forum says ‘why don’t you say hi to this lovely new member’ what do we do? Do I say an unsolicited hello, and possibly derail a topic, or do I wait and maybe never say it? (it’s a TL2 and above feature, currently)

I think the split and merge functions could help, but they’re more work in the background for the Mods. Maybe Brenna will boost me to a TL3. :slightly_smiling_face::+1:

Pretty much. I was waiting a bit before I went into the TL3 stuff on here as I’m aware I got a few days headstart. :slightly_smiling_face: But if you’re interested we can go into it in Trust Levels and Badges?. :+1:

I think the forum is actually only a small part of Brenna’s overall role, but that’s why I think she appreciates our input. :slightly_smiling_face: Obviously she has total veto power, so you’re absolutely right to say it’s not unilaterally up to us, but I think chatting the possibilities through is helpful. :+1:


So, the way I’m coming at this is, ‘What would be the perfect LH forum welcome?’. Then tally up the difficulties of doing exactly that. And then work out a way to scale it down to something manageable/achievable. And then let’s see how close we got. :slightly_smiling_face::+1:

Does anyone have any thoughts?

Okay, if this seems a bit too abstract/irrelevant how about this - Next week when you all flip over to TL2 you’ll see a little message over some posts that tell you that this is that user’s first post and that you should say hello. What are you going to do? :slightly_smiling_face:

:warning:Warning! Very boring poll. :slightly_smiling_face:

  • Ignore it
  • Say hello, but only if it’s their proper intro topic
  • Say hello if they’ve said hello, but only in #introduce-yourself topics
  • Say hello where they’ve said hello in any category, but include an on-topic reply too
  • Say hello where they’ve said hello, even if that’s all you say
  • Say hello even if their first post isn’t a ‘Hi, I’m new’ one.

0 voters

And one to gauge the rolling Intro newsfeed idea:

0 voters

Judging by the diverse replies I’m not sure this is a ‘hot button’ topic. :slightly_smiling_face: I mean, they could all be waiting for us to solve it, but it seems unlikely. :slightly_smiling_face:

I think my vote (for how little it’s worth :slightly_smiling_face:) is swinging towards a rolling intro topic/feed Pinned to the top of the board.

  • New members should see it right away, and see that it’s no big deal and very quick and painless.
  • Mentions, replies, quotes, and likes from enough regulars who know how to use them should provide structure. And it remembers your place when you dip in and out.
  • Keep #introduce-yourself open for anyone who wants a more in-depth intro
  • Move any obvious hello&welcomes from random topics into the rolling intro (avoids unintentionally singling them out by creating a topic focussed on them)
  • Leave any hello&welcomes that are included in an on-topic post where they are (let them blend in to preserve topic continuity)

ETA: So…

No matter where someone posted I’d follow the signs advice and hello&welcome them if they said something like ‘Hi, I’m new’, or if they asked a question that I wanted to directly respond to (hello&welcome :slightly_smiling_face: I don’t have a clue, but here’s a quote from @Alicia4Ever that should tell you all about it :+1:)

If they just did a game I’d probably ignore it.

And if I couldn’t answer their question I’d ignore it and hope that someone else would do it. Unless it got silly, and then I’d just say something anyway.

Then should we flag the obvious ones? Then Brenna has a list to work through? Or is that too much extra mucking about? And what do we flag them as? I still don’t know much about that. Would the users get a message, because that would be pretty rubbish (and counterproductive).

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Hmm, I’m not sure. I don’t think it is wise to derail a conversation with welcomes. I don’t think the new member knows they have the little blue “I’m new” box above their post, so I’d say on posts that aren’t “Introduce Yourself” posts stay on topic. Maybe throw in a little “welcome” but include on topic stuff as well.

A rolling thread is a nice idea, but I think a lot of people like making their own so I wouldn’t want to get rid of it completely. I also wouldn’t want someone to comment on a rolling “introduce yourself” and get no response. It’s easy to see when a new “introduce yourself” thread has been made, but if a rolling thread ended up getting thousands of posts on it, new members introductions could be missed :frowning:

If Mods/regulars used the Watching function on the topic that should catch every post. :+1:


Separately, how do you want us to Flag any stray, off-topic hello&welcomes? Would ‘off-topic’ generate a message to that user? (as I think that would make me less inclined to click it).

I’m not really sure about the mechanics of the flagging (what to flag, when to flag, how to flag, etc), but that’s probably another topic. :slightly_smiling_face:

20 posts were split to a new topic: Flagging posts