[Jeff]

Tea Granny, thanks so much for sticking your neck out! I'm not going to chop it off (I promise)... I'm going to hug you! This kind of feedback is invaluable. Anyone who's been a regular on the site for more than a few months really forgets how confusing and difficult it can be for a newcomer. We have a lot of new members who sign up and haven't ever been on any forum before -- that is pretty green! So your feedback is worth it's weight in gold. Thanks!

Originally Posted by Tea Granny

Drop the "no colors/no bold/no fancy"text "rule" in the introductions section, and just tell the newcomer that color/bold/fancy text is only used in moderation in the rest of the forum areas.

I agree. There is no bigger turn-off then using the available tools and being immediately chastized for doing so. Sure, we ask people to use them only for emphasis in the Forum Policies FAQ, but most people don't read this (honestly, I don't either at other sites I visit).

Personally, I like the consistent look for easier readability. Which might suggest that I remove some of the formatting controls. I might do that, but in the meantime, I like your suggestion of letting the newcomer post as they wish, and rather than chastising them, simply welcome them and add a subtle, soft message at the end asking them to use special fonts and colors sparingly... with a link to the FAQ.

Originally Posted by Tea Granny

Instead of telling a newcomer not to post "that particular question" here, tell them exactly where to post that question. Simpy say; "Try posting that question here.... xxx." (some say that, some don't)

I usually go a step further. I just move their post to the correct forum. Sometimes I'll send them a PM (a recent change I made allows brand new members to receive PMs) to let them know why I moved it. But no point in embarrassing them in public over something simple. Usually they get the hang of things by their second or third post.

Originally Posted by Tea Granny

Tutorials! Yes! Videos-no! Just use an image to illustrate the point. Show someone exactly what it would look like.

I have read the faqs five times now and I still don't know how to use the tags properly! I would like to see a tutorial using images on:

-use of each of the tags... post/thread/other website addresses/etc.
-use of all the "buttons" on each post... rep/quote/quick reply/etc.
-everything related to posting/using the forum here at BBB

Yes a lot of work, but most of it is already done, maybe you just need to add images to text you already have in the faqs.

I agree that more pictures would be helpful. We haven't done much with the FAQs to customize them, and this could be considerably improved. I agree that doing images would be good, but I might also create a smartly-sized Flash video for the MTV generation.

Originally Posted by Tea Granny

You may want to consider removing the "rep" from the "off topic" forums. I don't think people should be judged good or bad by posting someone else's work. Perhaps newcomers may find the "off topic" section the only place to post new topics and if someone gives them a bad rep, they may end up discouraged and not want to stay here at BBB. I was under the impression that a bad rep was supposed to be for "deliberately posting false and misleading information," and that is not what is happening in the off topic area. I read that someone here got a bad rep for liking a "color" of all things!

Hmmm... this is an interesting idea, but I don't think our forum software supports that. Although the story you shared about the person who got a bad rep for liking a color... that concerns me. Maybe what we need is to include a little paragraph in the My BigBlueBall section where it shows your latest reputation comments, something like this:

"The reputation system provides a way for other members to recognize your outstanding posts with postive reputation points. It also allows them to use "negative reputation" points to warn someone who has posted inappropriate or deliberately misleading information.

If you have questions or concerns about any reputation points (positive or negative) that you've received, contact us."

Another solution would be to remove the ability to post any negative points at all. We still would have the "report this post" option. The problem with this is that our forum software doesn't support turning negative points off.

Originally Posted by Tea Granny

There really isn't much here to post on if you don't have technical answers to the questions, so anyone who joins (without technical expertise) will need an area other than "technical" things to hang around for. Perhaps you should simply merge all the "off topic" topics into one "off topic" category, and everything that isn't IM or Computer related can be posted there - one simple place.

For that matter, why are all the topics broken up in to so many smaller areas? Why not just have one "MSN" area and all questions get asked there? I still have a tough time figuring out which "sub forum" some questions should be asked in, or which sub forum I need to search for the answers. It may make sense to all the people who have been here for a while, but when you are new here there are far too many choices to sort through to figure out where you are going and what you are doing.

The flip-side of this is that if you're looking for information on add-ons, or display pics, etc., and everything is in one big forum (as it used to be), then it becomes more difficult for people who like to browse vs. search. I've tried it both ways, and this has been working pretty well. Having said that, I'm always open to changing things. If the consensus is to pool forums rather than use subforums, we can always do that. Going the other direction is a lot of work, but pooling them is pretty easy. Before we make any changes in that area, I'd want to get more feedback from a larger cross-section of members first.

Originally Posted by Tea Granny

The introduction part of this forum was seriously stressing when I first joined. There should be a more clear description/definition of what "an introduction" should consist of. Give someone who is new an idea on what to put in to their introduction. That may also be a good time to explain the no color/no bold/no fancy font rule if you intend to keep it in.

Excellent point. One of the ideas presented in the chat was expanding the Welcome email. This would be one place where we could do that. Another idea: create a "fill-in-the-blanks" introduction form (optional, of course) that would ask a series of questions (perhaps some fun or funny ones) and then post the results as a new introduction. That would make it much easier, I think. What do others think?

Originally Posted by Tea Granny

Lastly, I would have to agree with EvilSeph when he said the staff doesn't seem "friendly or inviting." I feel I was very lucky, and extremely well treated (thank you Sarah) but it does often "appear" otherwise.

I hear this from people from time-to-time. My own experience is different, and I don't see a problem when scanning the responses. I guess the best thing I can suggest is that we all use positive motivators to reward the good responses, and if you see a problematic response, particularly from a staff member, please let me know. It's impossible for me to read every topic and reply here, but I really do care how people feel when they join, and want them to feel welcome. So if you see something that looks anything less than welcoming, please let me know. I think that's a better solution than posting negative reputation or getting into a flame war in the forums.

Phew! Great discussion... now my fingers are tired!