Has there been any consideration to creating a sticky thread that's dedicated to new member introductions instead of having each new member start a new thread to introduce himself? It's easy to miss saying hello (if you're so inclined) when there are 15 new threads a day.

 

I don't think a single sticky thread would work as posts / responses from everyone would be completely mixed.

Hitting the new post button brings all the new posts to the top so you can see updates from your last visit.

 

Yeah, the responses thing is where I saw an issue, but I thought I'd ask. Another forum I post to regularly allows quoting more than one person at a time, so responses are still kept distinct even if they're in the same post.

 

GS - +1 on Norri's comments I have to say.

Here at JF, We pride ourselves on being a very welcoming and friendly site. As far as I'm concerned its wayyy up there on our list of priorities.

I personally have welcomed almost every member to this site, probably around 90% at a guess I'd say.
Most of the mods do their bit and also a fair smattering of members help to make newbies feel welcome, as they themselves once were.

You yourself have had 15 replies to your intro message, one of the higher counts and pretty damn good I thought?

A quick check of 3 other forums I use, as an example ( although I do know this as I've checked previously ) shows that new member intros have received as follows. Generally many threads have zero responses and some have 1 or 2, with a few 3 or 4 replies, probably giving an average of around 2-3 I'd say to be fair.

Keeping a close eye on our welcomes to newbies and checking recently I find as follows....
Generally the lowest count you will find is 3 with a lot of 6's, 7's and 8's and some as high as 15 - 20 replies.
Being as fair as I can I'd reckon our average is around 7-8......much much higher than what I've found elsewhere, and this on some forums much bigger than ours.

New intros can fall into a few categories, those one liner ( Hi I'm new here ) to ( Hi I'm new here + car history + personal history etc ) and then, all of the aforementioned + pics.

Its easy to guess which ones get the best responses usually

You yourself posted a fairly brief intro, but then added a few pics that caused comment, then replied a few times as well adding other comments which generated even more interest.....thats kinda the way it works.

Sorry to go on a bit about this GS, but this is an issue very very close to my heart......I want to make EVERY new member feel as welcome as possible and right at home straight away.

I hope this helps to answer your question and offer a little more insight?

I'd really like other members to post here and get their thoughts on this. As far as I'm concerned this is something we do well and would be interested to hear other opinions!

I see you've already helped to welcome a few fellow newbies already, hopefully, I'll be seeing you in the new member section frequently, helping to welcome all the other newbies as they arrive.

Thanks GS

 

You can multi quote here too, with the button to the right of the quote button.

I still think it would become unweildy, thanks for asking though, suggestions are always welcome.

 

Well I was typing a long reply, but the salient points have been covered above.

I think that one big thread with everyone thrown into the pot, would create an even bigger risk of missing folk.

And has been said, individual introductions, generate individual responses and interest.

I much prefer to see an introduction that grows and becomes the start of participation in the various Sub-forums.

As an aside, what browser are you using GS, because most of the common 5 I have on the go will highlight a New thread that I have not visited, thus showing me which ones I need to visit?

 

All great points, and I agree with the reasons you've given. I don't think I was clear when I said it was easy to miss new threads- I see them highlighted (using Firefox), but there are so many that it takes some effort to catch them all. Frankly, I'm impressed with the frequency by which you guys respond to us newbies. I'd been lurking for a while and so I came here knowing the kind of response I was likely to receive, but someone coming in cold may not expect that. It's a great first impression.

Thanks for pointing out the multi-quote button! I'd missed it altogether.

 

Just to add.... Not only would one thread become cumbersome, but it would also become quite large very quickly... The Mug Shot thread is a great example. Buried deep in there are posts by some of the more veteran members. Heck, some of us have been here long enough that we are actually showing age from our first Mug Shot post to an update post.... Ugggg...

So, I personally like the individual threads and dedicated section.

 

Many thanks for coming back on this Craig, and its nice to know you feel you've been answered and found out a few other tihings by the sound of it.....all good.

Glad you got a good first impression and hopefully its one we live up to throughout....

Nice one on the donation for the 9/11 fund Craig

 

I have been a member of other forums and all of them have a detached Newbie Forums to meet the forums members , I believe this is good way of interacting other members