The Introductions Forum Discussion

[Deleted]

This is a totally unoriginal idea I've had for a while now, but I think in light of recent discussions that have happened in RT it's worth bringing up here. 

Pulse was not shorthanded when it comes to educated, entertaining posters; but the problem is that they tend to keep their opinions to themselves. To help remedy this, I was thinking we could possibly benefit from an introductions forum to alleviate a lot of the pressure for posters who find it hard to break the ice. On more than one occassion we've had a poster who's been here for years break out and they've been lovely-- they've just flown under the radar for so long that it's hard to pick them out. Additionally, I think that this could be used as a valuable tool to help encourage activity, as well as give newer posters a voice. Depending on the guidelines of implementation, it could also help counteract the unusual influx of dupe accounts that have cropped up as of late. 

This isn't a new concept at all, and I seriously doubt I'm the first to discuss this idea here, but is it worth considering? No poll, because I want to see if we can get some discussion out of it. Then poll.

[allow that]

My only problem with it? The past few months we've seen two permabanned members in particular who make a point of aggressively coming back with new account after new account. Wouldn't a forum like this essentially give them an easy opportunity to create a backstory that would aid in efforts to camouflage themselves?

Otherwise, yes, I do like the idea of *legitimate* new members receiving some encouragement in breaking the ice and jumping into the thick of things more quickly.

[surfy]

What are we discussing? Anything! Ill go first!!!

For those who dont know me, Im Surfboardt, but my real name is Nahman (pronounced Nay-men) I hate being mean to people, but that doesnt mean I am opposed to throwing some shade here and there ;) Anyways, I have made straight A's all my life, and I absolutely love singing (it is my absolute passion!) I have made Oklahoma all state 3 times! Im a sophomore in high school now! I have 3 sisters (one of which has been on Pulse, but was banned for being underage) So yeah... that is all I can think of for now. Any questions for me? :)

Oh yeah, and if anyone's wondering I'm straight!

[Deleted]

Jun 24, 2014 14:49:22 GMT -5 allow that said:

My only problem with it? The past few months we've seen two permabanned members in particular who make a point of aggressively coming back with new account after new account. Wouldn't a forum like this essentially give them an easy opportunity to create a backstory that would aid in efforts to camouflage themselves?

Otherwise, yes, I do like the idea of *legitimate* new members receiving some encouragement in breaking the ice and jumping into the thick of things more quickly.

Not really. For one, it gives staff a "location" where new posters would hopefully be drawn to immediately, which would allow for easier IP checks of new account and whatnot*. I don't think the two latest repeat offenders should neccessarily deter us from the idea either, since I think the positives would outweigh the negatives in this case.

*This actually gave me a separate idea that may be worth discussing amongst staff themselves, but not unlike an associate manager position in some jobs, it may be a good idea to have a member of staff who is exclusively responsible for handling new accounts and researching potential dupe accounts. Obviously their privilege would be kept in check by unanimous staff decision if/when they would have located a dupe, but this would allow for more consistency in policing them.

[Deleted]

Jun 24, 2014 14:59:30 GMT -5 surfy said:

What are we discussing? Anything! Ill go first!!!

For those who dont know me, Im Surfboardt, but my real name is Nahman (pronounced Nay-men) I hate being mean to people, but that doesnt mean I am opposed to throwing some shade here and there ;) Anyways, I have made straight A's all my life, and I absolutely love singing (it is my absolute passion!) I have made Oklahoma all state 3 times! Im a sophomore in high school now! I have 3 sisters (one of which has been on Pulse, but was banned for being underage) So yeah... that is all I can think of for now. Any questions for me? :)

Oh yeah, and if anyone's wondering I'm straight!

we're discussing whether or not we need an introductions forum, not introducing ourselves. But yaaas Nahman drag me with that superior GPA.

[allow that]

Jun 24, 2014 14:59:30 GMT -5 surfy said:

I hate being mean to people, but that doesnt mean I am opposed to throwing some shade here and there ;)

Is there any doubt that this golden child is THE bright spot of Pulse 2019?

[Mr. Thonk Eyes]

Jun 24, 2014 14:59:30 GMT -5 surfy said:

What are we discussing? Anything! Ill go first!!!

For those who dont know me, Im Surfboardt, but my real name is Nahman (pronounced Nay-men) I hate being mean to people, but that doesnt mean I am opposed to throwing some shade here and there ;) Anyways, I have made straight A's all my life, and I absolutely love singing (it is my absolute passion!) I have made Oklahoma all state 3 times! Im a sophomore in high school now! I have 3 sisters (one of which has been on Pulse, but was banned for being underage) So yeah... that is all I can think of for now. Any questions for me? :)

Oh yeah, and if anyone's wondering I'm straight!

Nice background :)

[dbhmr]

My only question is how will these lurking posters find this place? Will it be in The Lounge, which I feel like is avoided by a lot of new members for a while (or maybe that was just me?), or somewhere else? Basically: how will new members know to introduce themselves?

I'm good with the concept though. I'm sure a lot of it will be boring to skim through but if it brings in some new, fun blood then why not?

[Zeebz]

I really like this idea. I feel like it would help new posters come in and people know at least a little bit about them. It could also help posters who have been posting here but who haven't fully engaged in Pulse to breakthrough. I also like the idea of having a staff member who patrols the new accounts to look for dupe accounts.

Also dead at Surfboardt's post. Nice background though. :)

[Kurt]

If it's a subforum and not just a single thread (e.g. a "Welcome New Members"/"Introduce Yourself" thread), it could probably go at the top of the forum index and display for members only (so guests still see the radio forums at the top - they wouldn't really need to see intros anyway, just like the Lounge).

[josh]

Jun 24, 2014 15:26:23 GMT -5 Kurt said:

If it's a subforum and not just a single thread (e.g. a "Welcome New Members"/"Introduce Yourself" thread), it could probably go at the top of the forum index and display for members only (so guests still see the radio forums at the top - they wouldn't really need to see intros anyway, just like the Lounge).

Took the words from my mouth.

I'm for it.

[allow that]

Jun 24, 2014 15:25:20 GMT -5 Zeebz said:

I also like the idea of having a staff member who patrols the new accounts to look for dupe accounts.

My boy Libra does a great job at this currently. He's got the skills!

[Zeebz]

Jun 24, 2014 15:35:45 GMT -5 allow that said:

Jun 24, 2014 15:25:20 GMT -5 Zeebz said:

I also like the idea of having a staff member who patrols the new accounts to look for dupe accounts.

My boy Libra does a great job at this currently. He's got the skills!

Oh I didn't know that! Thanks. :)

[14887fan]

Couldn't the pmbstaff send some automated PM to every new acct. once they're each approved that says something simple like "Welcome to Pulse, please read the rules, enjoy yourself, introduce yourself, etc." (or something much better than that extent, idk). That could be a way of encouraging some sort of action to be taken by the newbies.

[Deleted]

Jun 24, 2014 15:08:40 GMT -5 Mr. Thonk Eyes said:

:)

speak of the devil!

[surfy]

Oh my gosh I'm such an idiot!!!

I didnt even realize what this thread was about! I'm so stupid, but I think it's a great idea! Can someone move my post into the thread once we make it???

[Kurt]

Jun 24, 2014 16:03:07 GMT -5 14887fan said:

Couldn't the pmbstaff send some automated PM to every new acct. once they're each approved that says something simple like "Welcome to Pulse, please read the rules, enjoy yourself, introduce yourself, etc." (or something much better than that extent, idk). That could be a way of encouraging some sort of action to be taken by the newbies.

Smart idea. Not sure if there's an auto-PM plugin (I see it was planned to be built into the core last year, but I don't think it ever was), but apparently there's a function where, after you register, you could be redirected to a welcome page that would serve the same purpose. Might end up being a moot point since we have to manually approve accounts before they can post, but it might be worth looking into.

[Mr. Thonk Eyes]

Alright then, let me introduce myself. I'm new here amd in case you're wondering, Justin Timberlake didn't inspire my username, my initials are actually JT but I'm still a huge fan of hm and his amazing music. Anyway, I'm 14 and live in Houston and usually get all A's and B's (I could get all A's but im lazy af) and I'm gonna be a freshman in HS next year. I played euphonium in Middle school and was pretty good at it, decided to join Pulse this month after being a lurker/reader here since around December and have wanted to post here, and now I've joined and it's nice

[surfy]

Jun 24, 2014 16:31:17 GMT -5 Mr. Thonk Eyes said:

Alright then, let me introduce myself. I'm new here amd in case you're wondering, Justin Timberlake didn't inspire my username, my initials are actually JT but I'm still a huge fan of hm and his amazing music. Anyway, I'm 14 and live in Houston and usually get all A's and B's (I could get all A's but im lazy af) and I'm gonna be a freshman in HS next year. I played euphonium in Middle school and was pretty good at it, decided to join Pulse this month after being a lurker/reader here since around December and have wanted to post here, and now I've joined and it's nice

Nice, but like me we confused this for the actual thread, but this thread is about discussing whether we should have a thread like this or not! :)

[Mr. Thonk Eyes]

Jun 24, 2014 16:33:26 GMT -5 surfy said:

Jun 24, 2014 16:31:17 GMT -5 Mr. Thonk Eyes said:

Alright then, let me introduce myself. I'm new here amd in case you're wondering, Justin Timberlake didn't inspire my username, my initials are actually JT but I'm still a huge fan of hm and his amazing music. Anyway, I'm 14 and live in Houston and usually get all A's and B's (I could get all A's but im lazy af) and I'm gonna be a freshman in HS next year. I played euphonium in Middle school and was pretty good at it, decided to join Pulse this month after being a lurker/reader here since around December and have wanted to post here, and now I've joined and it's nice

Nice, but like me we confused this for the actual thread, but this thread is about discussing whether we should have a thread like this or not! :)

Oops, but I'm for having a thread like that, if we do make a thread for that purpose I'll just introduce myself again

[no apologist]

Damn, y'all just now getting an introduction thread? DF?

[Mega248]

This sounds like a good idea to me. Not sure where the best place to put this forum would be though. I'd imagine new members would be more likely to see it if it was at the very top of the main page, but the rest of us might be less likely to remember it exists since most of us probably scroll right to the 'Radio Format and Chart Forums' section when we log in (since the General Radio Topics forum isn't very active). Putting the forum at the bottom of the main page and then using 14887fan's idea would be ideal if there was a way to have a PM with a link to the forum automatically sent to each new account after we approved it. Like Kurt, I remember reading on the Proboards Support forum last year about a feature being in the works, but I'm not sure if it was ever implemented. I'll go look into it right now.

Jun 24, 2014 14:49:22 GMT -5 allow that said:

My only problem with it? The past few months we've seen two permabanned members in particular who make a point of aggressively coming back with new account after new account. Wouldn't a forum like this essentially give them an easy opportunity to create a backstory that would aid in efforts to camouflage themselves?

Not really. If anything, it would make it easier for dupe accounts to be caught. Why? Because 9 out of every 10 returning permabanees fail to realize that the way to avoid getting caught is to blend the hell in. Instead, they try so hard to take on completely different identities that they end up standing out and therefore getting noticed. A forum like this would make it even more tempting to try and stand out.

[allow that]

Jun 24, 2014 19:00:48 GMT -5 Mega248 said:

Jun 24, 2014 14:49:22 GMT -5 allow that said:

My only problem with it? The past few months we've seen two permabanned members in particular who make a point of aggressively coming back with new account after new account. Wouldn't a forum like this essentially give them an easy opportunity to create a backstory that would aid in efforts to camouflage themselves?

Not really. If anything, it would make it easier for dupe accounts to be caught. Why? Because 9 out of every 10 returning permabanees fail to realize that the way to avoid getting caught is to blend the hell in. Instead, they try so hard to take on completely different identities that they end up standing out and therefore getting noticed. A forum like this would make it even more tempting to try and stand out.

lmfao. I'm sold.

[Mega248]

Jun 24, 2014 19:00:48 GMT -5 Mega248 said:

Putting the forum at the bottom of the main page and then using 14887fan's idea would be ideal if there was a way to have a PM with a link to the forum automatically sent to each new account after we approved it. Like Kurt, I remember reading on the Proboards Support forum last year about a feature being in the works, but I'm not sure if it was ever implemented. I'll go look into it right now.

So this feature was apparently added over a year ago and there's even a way to automatically insert the specific username into the welcome message. Nice. :)

[Deleted]

Omg yay

[Fat Ass Kelly Price]

Jun 24, 2014 16:31:17 GMT -5 Mr. Thonk Eyes said:

Alright then, let me introduce myself. I'm new here amd in case you're wondering, Justin Timberlake didn't inspire my username, my initials are actually JT but I'm still a huge fan of hm and his amazing music. Anyway, I'm 14 and live in Houston and usually get all A's and B's (I could get all A's but im lazy af) and I'm gonna be a freshman in HS next year. I played euphonium in Middle school and was pretty good at it, decided to join Pulse this month after being a lurker/reader here since around December and have wanted to post here, and now I've joined and it's nice

Cool. What part of Houston? What high school do you go to?

[Mr. Thonk Eyes]

Jun 24, 2014 19:19:30 GMT -5 Fat Ass Kelly Price said:

Jun 24, 2014 16:31:17 GMT -5 Mr. Thonk Eyes said:

Alright then, let me introduce myself. I'm new here amd in case you're wondering, Justin Timberlake didn't inspire my username, my initials are actually JT but I'm still a huge fan of hm and his amazing music. Anyway, I'm 14 and live in Houston and usually get all A's and B's (I could get all A's but im lazy af) and I'm gonna be a freshman in HS next year. I played euphonium in Middle school and was pretty good at it, decided to join Pulse this month after being a lurker/reader here since around December and have wanted to post here, and now I've joined and it's nice

Cool. What part of Houston? What high school do you go to?

I live in NW Houston/CFISD and I go to Cy-Creek

[Hussy]

LMAOOOO Surf u r amazing

[surfy]

Jun 24, 2014 21:13:20 GMT -5 Hussy said:

LMAOOOO Surf u r amazing

Thank you!

[Deleted]

I think anything that helps breed and cultivate new posters is a great idea and worth investigating and implementing, since it doesnt cost a dime and is a mere click of a few buttons, I'd say lets try it.

Any new poster who has the chutzpah to walk in, make themselves known and introduces themselves is someone who I'd like to welcome, since they wanna make themselves a part of the fabric of the board. If it's a dupe so be it, I'll be able to fish it out, when dem fingers snap, dem bitches gon'