Noobie Forum section

[Lilith]

I just realized that somehow I managed to graduate from Complete noobie to certified stupid head, or something like that. Anyway, Last spring when I joined the forums, I was completely intimidated by the coding, skill, and experience shown here on MWG! I was afraid to say anything! But I desperately wanted to learn, What i got was confusion, speaking above my head, and a lot of noob bashing. Im tough, and I made it through and managed to make a freind or 2. I think I have 4 total now woot woot. Anyway. There is a suggestion here:

A section for noobies to post their questions where the general population cant sink their teeth into the fresh meat. You would have to grant certain people above (eg: Trainee) level to be able to post there and help out the noobies. Slowly but surely the noobies(Trainee or below, or certain days on site) would emerge from that forum and start contributing to the MWG community.

[Danny696]

What if, someone like alain joined the forums when this was implemented, hes like the opposite of a newbie, yet would be classed as one.

Afew holes in this plan

[Dominion]

I would not go by level neally everyone could post there. I like the pass idea you said in chat so only set users can post there after a set rank you no longer can post unless you have the pass. :P

@danny - you would not only be able to post there it would just be extra so people like that could still help the noobs :)

[Jordan Palmer]

Hi Lilith,

 

I personally do not like this idea, this would increase mod load along with more things for users to scan, What we need is suggestions to break the hostility between the community and rebuild the community to promote newbies..

 

 

[Danny696]

Promote newbies, why am i not liking that.

[Dominion]

Hi Lilith,

 

I personally do not like this idea, this would increase mod load along with more things for users to scan, What we need is suggestions to break the hostility between the community and rebuild the community to promote newbies..

 

 

Well you could have one staff member fixed to the noob area? I fell as of late it's been better, however we can not stop people posting and by the time we get there more often then not the "noob" has seen the post.

[Jordan Palmer]

It's never to late, a bit of hard work and the forum will be back in shape

[Lilith]

I kinda saw it as a stepping stone for new members. In case you guys missed it, membership of so many days also removed them from the criteria, so Alain would not be a noobie. If he didn't need that information, he could absolutely skip right to the big boys and never be bothered with the noobie forums, however, noobies posting to noobie forums with stupid ideas / questions ect would not be eaten alive by the @$$holes on MWG unless they got the bright idea to stick their noses outside the noobie forums before they were ready.

Im not sure I understand what you mean by mod load Jordan.

Edit: I get it, moderator load. Thats why certain people who are not mods can volunteer to get noobie passes to go help them. You know, people who have patience, are well spoken (that rules me out) and good at explaining things without talking down to people. It would might lighten the load on moderators as you would be deleting fewer flaming posts, spend less time dealing with noobs, and have the cluttered noobie area of chaos, while the rest of the forum learned to be nicer.

[Djkanna]

I like the outline of the suggestion just needs a little more improvement.

I do think there is a need for a place where the new comers can just talk amongst themselves without the hassle of the older members but also have the ability and freedom to go to these older members if they would like.

The only practical problem I can see is it will take a little work to achieve.

[Lilith]

you know, it could be done with user levels. If user level =1-10 print you do not have access to these forums. If user level =N show forums or whatever .... BTW im a horrible coder

[Djkanna]

Well the theory is correct but I just don't think it would work like that.

[Guest George]

Who's right is it to label one persona a noob and the other not. I don't think this is a fair option for people who arrive at MWG as many wish to contribute but are fluctuated by the flaming,if there was a noob forum, who's to say that there would be no flaming? Just my 2 cents.

[Dominion]

Well it would be self proclaimed to a point so if you have over 150 posts you need a pass? I think this is a good idea but i may be in the minority.

[Nickson]

While I really like this idea, as it might get more interaction with the less knowledgeable people on certain topics, it also has many gray areas. If not enough thought is being put in this idea, it will just fail and probably even lock down the whole forum..

My remarks:

You can't classify people on the amount of posts they have, some make 10 posts a day, but it's all about the quality of a post that matters.

You can't classify people on the day they have registered, some new people might know more then 80% of the people here.

This system will not increase moderation load as it's just part of the rest of the forum which needs as much moderation.

What will you allow in the newbies forum and what will you post in there? As you can't make a newbie forum for everything as you'll just double the amount of forum boards?

 

My suggestions:

Work with an alternative classification system NEXT to the current ranking systems in place, in other words, level, postcount, days registered, it all doesn't matter. Create a new rating system where people that have posted on the thread could give ratings, but only to those that have actually made a post on the thread, so no 'friend favours" from outside.

Make the "newbies" forum attractive and put it somewhere at the top OR give newbie topics a different background color (I think it's blue and white now, say make it green, or yellow) so people notice it's a different kind of topic, yet in the correct place. People could skip it, or look into it to give a decent reply..

Well that's just what popped up in my mind when I read this :)

[Lilith]

I figured that the majority of this community would have good input on how to PROPERLY implement the idea. Keep refining the suggestion till we find something that would be feasible and have a positive impact.

What I picture is a section like General, Everyone could view the posts, and if you had an answer or suggestion, and didn't have authority to post, you could always mail the noobie the answer.

I also think that it should be limited to about 6 topics covering the basics of developing a web game.

1. choosing an engine - Threads would include topics like, What engines are available on MWG, Cost, function, look/feel, programing difficulty, ect.

2. Whats it really take to build a web game - Threads would include topics like, hosting, coding, graphics, all the other things it takes, ect.

3. Resources - Threads would include topics like, navigating MWG, Who is good at what, Programs you can use, ect

4. FAQ - Threads would include topics like, All the stupid questions us noobies never fail to ask over and over again.

And if there is already a thread that deals with that, it can be linked in the noobie forum, doesn't have to be duplicated.

You guys get the idea?

[BrowserGamesFactory]

Create a usergroup eg 'Helpers'

Create a forum folder where new members can post a topic and reply on their own topic solely (function exists at wbb), nobody else can reply unless they have the 'Helpers usergroup' priveledges.

The 'Helpers' usergroup are the sole members able to post also on the topics posted in that forum folder.

Now the 'Helpers Usergroup' , you could make this a private usergroup (you select who gets in), a open usergroup where any member could subscribe, or a invite only usergroup (existing members of the group are able to invite others into it)

[Blade Maker]

I like this idea, I think it could help allot of people out.

[Dave]

Create a usergroup eg 'Helpers'

Create a forum folder where new members can post a topic and reply on their own topic solely (function exists at wbb), nobody else can reply unless they have the 'Helpers usergroup' priveledges.

The 'Helpers' usergroup are the sole members able to post also on the topics posted in that forum folder.

Now the 'Helpers Usergroup' , you could make this a private usergroup (you select who gets in), a open usergroup where any member could subscribe, or a invite only usergroup (existing members of the group are able to invite others into it)

I'd like to "vote" in essence for this idea. I think it could promote new people coming towards the forum.

[Nickson]

I think BGF's idea is probably the best one to implement and work out, combine that with lilliths latest post and we have ourselves a new section on the forum which is rather easy to control.

[Jordan Palmer]

[infobox]Poll added :: This will be decided upon by the users of MWG[/infobox]

[Ghostriders]

Wouldn't ranking people by posts just make more people spam, so they could easily get their posts up and just use the other topics simple, And other people do just join to view the topics and usually won't contribute so they would have less access to other topics because they are "noobs" in forum ranks? Abit Blaa too me.

[Nickson]

No, that's not what I meant, and I think the others didn't mean that either.

It would be separated, in other words, if you don't have enough posts, you can't reply to threads in the newbie category that aren't yours, unless you are assigned to a group of helpers. The only disadvantage when using this system is that you can't reply even if you know the answer unless you belong to the specific group that helps these people in need. The system will always have some problems, what problems will depend on the implementation of the system, sadly enough. A mix of various criteria will be needed to keep the board open as much as possible.

Go purely by ranks, and you'll get what you said,

Go solely by a specific group, and only those in the specified group will be able to reply.

[Lilith]

The more I think about it, MWG needs Organised information that is easy to find specifically designed for new members that doesn't have the flaming, not so much the ranking system, but I think that it will help as well. As far as noobies not being able to answer other noobie threads ... well, there is always mail if it is that important to them, who knows, they might make friends here. My veiw on the people that join just to veiw the free mods section .... well, that needs to be addressed in another suggestion. After I think it over some more, I bet that suggestion centers around number of posts combined with how many days of membership blah blah. Anyway, that one will end up in a new thread When its been more thought out than this suggestion was when I made it.

[morgan1122]

I get told of for this :(

[Dominion]

I get told of for this :(

For what?