I was planning on putting this section first, and I think I can rearrange a bit while I'm at it.

I'll see if I can slot in something about not threatening authors, too, because that's important.

~Neshomeh, off to do that now-ish.

I wouldn't even call it a hijack, really.

The plan is to complete the re-write before I make any edits to the article, so I can update it all in one fell swoop. As to why the writing is taking so long, frankly, it's haaard. [/whining] I... don't really have a reason other than that, I'm afraid. It's an important thing, it needs to be just right, and therefore it's a bit of a chore. It will get done, though. I won't abandon it.

Thanks for asking, by the way. It does help to hear people say they care. {= )

~Neshomeh

who read through the various FAQs, I know that I would have appreciated something like this. I remember that my first post was a badfic report, which was largely ignored in the shower of newbie gifts.

Especially given that I'm one of the few who usually pester newbies with the standard questions, I think that having these questions on the FAQ would be a good idea.
(And it would allow me to more efficiently empty out this Pokemon-Trainer-issue bag of holding!)

What helped me most was the "don't bother to set up an account" in the FAQ: The Board, so I could avoid all the problems DemonFiren and TopHatOfDoom had to go through. But it took me some time to realize that I didn't need to tell my Email address with my Boarder Name for posting without login. I really wouldn't have liked this.

So, the most basic advice for getting started on the Board would be:
- Don't bother to set up an account.
- Don't try to login on the Board.
- Just think up a Boarder Name which you then enter as 'Author' whenever you post on the Board.
- Don't enter your 'Email' unless you want to receive a message when somebody replies to your post.

I'm not sure whether this should be said under What's the deal with this Board? How do I post on it? to have all the basic advice On Joining in one place, or whether people should be encouraged to do some further research by following the link. After all, they have already started to do some research and found the FAQ: For Newbies.

HG

This looks to be fairly handy. I know it took me forever to find the board. Maybe a few words on how to make an account (disable your spam filters, etc. etc.) might be helpful. I know I had trouble with that.

But otherwise, this looks to be very handy. (Wish I'd seen this a week before it was posted...)

And it would have helped, I remember agonizing over my first post.

The only thing is that some people still don't read the materials. I mean, I read the materials because I was terrified of making a mistake, but some newbies don't. (Which confuses me, but whatever.)

Is there anything else you would have liked to see in something like this that I've missed?

~Neshomeh

You could take over bumper-sticker distribution, perhaps. It's an old tradition that I've only carried on sporadically, and it deserves to be brought back. {= )

Thanks!

~Neshomeh

The last thing we want on the Board is to be cold and impersonal, but I don't see how what's outlined in my proposed section is significantly different from what happens naturally anyway, save that (hopefully) it will allow fewer people to feel uncertain and confused while doing it and may therefore encourage some people to introduce themselves sooner than they would otherwise. I'm not intentionally creating a process that doesn't already exist (i.e., post on the Board to introduce yourself, tell us a bit about who you are). Can you please clarify what you're seeing as problematic?

~Neshomeh

It IS meant to cover how to join, and the first sub-section says how (by posting here). What are you referring to, if not that?

~Neshomeh