Newbie Info

[KingofthePisces]

shouldnt there be a PM that you send people when first begin i mean anyone with any sense would read up on articles but instead they just go straight to the welcome to TFF and stuff it full of qusetions on info thats already there
i reckon a PM with all the links on it to the most important things to know about keeping fish and other types of aquatic pets it would be helpfull to the newbies
things to add would be:
cycling
keeping fish - basic
keeping fish - advanced
maintenance of fish tank
recomended fish
no no's
how to use the forum
trolling and flaming
i may have forgotten some i was thinking of when i first joined and i had no idea what was going on all i remember is me asking Big C all the questions on the fish i was interesed in

 

[foxycatfish]

I second that. Like you say would save them asking qustions when the answer is already their.If they just take the time to read. But a global pm would be good to give out.

 

[OohFeeshy]

Not everyone who joins is new though. It could possibly be added on as an option when registering though. I'm sure there's a teccy way of doing it.

 

[andywg]

Seriously, does anyone actually read those first PMs? I would wager that the sort of people who join up, ignore all the previous posts, the serch function and the pinned topics are not going to hang around reading their email.

 

[KingofthePisces]

anyone who was new to the fish hobby would, they would probably couldnt be bothered going and looking for all those topics, so send them a PM with the links on it aswell as some info about the site and all the functions of the website. when i first started i already had a rough idea on fish keeping and now im telling the pet store what to do and the info isnt to help them at the very beginning its there to help them through out the entire time they use the website if they dont know something so theres no real downsides to the idea

 

[andywg]

anyone who was new to the fish hobby would, they would probably couldnt be bothered going and looking for all those topics, so send them a PM with the links on it aswell as some info about the site and all the functions of the website. ... the info isnt to help them at the very beginning its there to help them through out the entire time they use the website if they dont know something so theres no real downsides to the idea

The downside is that most people simply wouldn't read it. Many people scroll past a whole page of pinned topics and post a question covered in the pinned topic. Do you really think these people are going to bother looking through any automatic message received after validating? I highly doubt it.

The people that would look at it are the sort of people that already search the forum and read the pins. It would be preaching to the converted.

 

[KingofthePisces]

anyone who was new to the fish hobby would, they would probably couldnt be bothered going and looking for all those topics, so send them a PM with the links on it aswell as some info about the site and all the functions of the website. ... the info isnt to help them at the very beginning its there to help them through out the entire time they use the website if they dont know something so theres no real downsides to the idea

The downside is that most people simply wouldn't read it. Many people scroll past a whole page of pinned topics and post a question covered in the pinned topic. Do you really think these people are going to bother looking through any automatic message received after validating? I highly doubt it.

The people that would look at it are the sort of people that already search the forum and read the pins. It would be preaching to the converted.

good point
but their are people who read those first PM's it could be called "Guide to the forum" and like oohfeeshy said thier could be a technical way of dealing with it like an option when registering like "do you wish to receive a guide to the forum (recommended for those new to th hobby)" and have a box that when you click on it and register you receive a PM it would help those who need it
Kingofthepisces