Subject: ...I realize the irony here.
Author:
Posted on: 2013-08-16 05:47:00 UTC
But don't feel bad. I definitely think it needed to be said, and it's hardly your fault if newbies don't read it. If we can figure out a way to get them to read it, that would be... good. But I have not the science to do such things.
It's common to make mistakes when joining an organization for the first time. Since we have a lot of newbies at the moment, I thought now would be a good time to put this out there.
So these are important things to remember when joining the PPC community:
1. Read the FAQs. Specifically FAQ: The Board, FAQ: For Newbies, and FAQ: About Permission. Much of what I'm going to say here is covered on those three documents.
2. Use proper spelling and grammar. We understand the occasional typo, or your phone glitching out, or not being a native speaker, but we pride ourselves on good writing, and part of that is making an effort to have good spelling and grammar. Plus, it makes you look smarter. :)
3. Don't post too many threads at once. Any questions you have can be asked on your introductory thread. Every time a new thread is started, another old thread gets pushed off the Board, so we try to consolidate threads as much as possible. In the same vein...
4. You don't have to post every badfic you see, nor do you have to start a new thread for it. We usually have a badfic report thread going around, you can use that.
5. Boarders are not agents. Boarders are people who post on the Board, who create characters who are agents.
6. You cannot write for the PPC immediately upon joining. You must wait to get Permission to write from a Permission Giver, and you won't get Permission when you first join. The criteria for Permission are:
- Having been part of the community for some time, long enough for everyone to get to know you. Roughly a few months, depending on your activity level.
- A sample of your writing. This is so we can make sure that you are a good writer. It would kind of be hypocritical if we claimed to be against bad writing and then had badly written stories.
- Agent bios. This is so we can tell if your agents are going to be Sues/Stus. Again, if we didn't, we could get hypocritical.
- A fic to spork. This should be last thing you worry about.
7. Also, you don't need to have Permission to have a good time in this community. Some people wait years, or never get it at all!
I hope this was informative. If I didn't welcome you, welcome, and I hope you have fun here!
We've had several newbies break rules recently, so I thought it would be good to reiterate. Of course, most of them didn't read it. See the discussion below.
Everyone should read this and keep it in mind. Everyone.
-Aila
Thank you for the information! Although I already know most of these things from spending an hour and a half on reading the wiki and TOS, this will certainly come in useful in the future. I'm going to write it down! *grabs urple coloured pencil I received as a newbie gift*
It says "Attention Newbies!" in capslock, and two oldbies respond.
Hm.
But don't feel bad. I definitely think it needed to be said, and it's hardly your fault if newbies don't read it. If we can figure out a way to get them to read it, that would be... good. But I have not the science to do such things.
... I don't think the newbies have been reading this one. It was a valiant effort though.
I remember reading somewhere (I could drag up the link if anyone's interested) that people using software will often completely ignore anything that doesn't look like it will help with what they're trying to do. For example, if someone wants to make a new post, they'll zero in on the "New Post" button and just not notice (SEP-field style) the READ THIS FIRST bits, even if they're in 72 point blinking neon Urple. This doesn't apply to all users, of course, but it's a trend that I've seen pointed out a few times.
One of the solutions to the not-reading problem I've heard of is to to have the body text box in someone's first post start out populated with a "Did you read the important stuff like the Constitution?" instead of being blank. We can't really do that with our current software (note to self: do something like that to T-Board when I'm less busy, so I'm nut sure what we can do with what I just brought up.
What I mean is, yes, the Board is software, but it's also a place and a group of people. To me it just seems like common sense to learn what the group's rules are before jumping in, so it completely baffles me that anyone wouldn't deliberately go looking for that kind of information. Like, if you were going to go to a new club, wouldn't you find out what the dress code, prices, and hours of operation are? So, how does the SEP effect come into play then, and what (if anything) can be done about it?
Plus, this particular group is devoted to promoting good writing and making funny stories about bad writing, on the Internet, which naturally should involve lots of reading. The avoidance of reading under these circumstances just does not compute in my head.
~Neshomeh, flummoxed.
Thank you for articulating it so nicely. :)
, as you said, dictates that all new people should read the introductory stuff before jumping in. In (as I've seen it) reality, some newbies do do the reading (I think I did, before I made my intro post), while many others don't, and just barrel off the high dive wearing a jetpack. The people who don't read intro things here might do similar things in real life ("Oh, this place is closed already? Darn. Let's try that other one over there." as opposed to checking the hours beforehand).
I have absolutely no idea what to do about this, of course. I just felt like bringing it up. Also here's the article I mentioned, in case anyone is interested.
It would be kinda awesome to have that pop up. Are you sure we can't add it somewhere on the page? I know the only options used to be "Post Reply" and "Return to Messages" back before the "Preview Message" button got added...
I can't find anything to add a comment specifically to the new post page, but you can put a 'header' on every page. I've implemented this as an example on the Other Board, so you can take a look at it.
I don't like it as a permanent measure, but it's something to consider as a temporary feature.
hS
As someone who was here for years and years (and years... and years...) and never once actually wrote for the PPC (but paradoxically was a permission giver...) I can vouch for the fact that you can have fun here without ever getting Permission. :P
I was just about to say something about concentrating badfic reports in one thread. And I DO want to emphasize that point. It's even mentioned in Rule 22 of the Constitution, which even new people should have read thoroughly before posting, so it's a bit irritating to see multiple people making that mistake.
If you haven't read the Constitution yet, or if you have and made that mistake anyway, please go read it. Multiple times, if that's what it takes. Understanding the Constitution is important.
Oh, and if you want to see if a badfic has been PPC'd yet, you could do worse than searching the list of Killed Badfic and/or the relevant continuum's article on the wiki. Collecting and organizing this kind of information is a big part of why we have a wiki. Take advantage of it!
~Neshomeh