Discussion about "New Member Introductions"

Let's let this thread be about various thoughts on this type of section on your board.

• Do you have an entire forum for these threads, or do you just have one sticky thread (or nothing at all)?
  
• Do you make one yourself when you join a new forum or do you skip right over introducing yourself formally?
  
• Do you keep post count on in this section, if you do have a section just for it?
  
• Do you find yourself lacking creativity when having to welcome many members over, and over again?
  
• Do you feel the whole idea of newbie introductions is a bit unnecessary in some cases?

 

We have a whole forum for it, luckily one of my moderators takes care of welcoming each new member as I totally lack the creativity to welcome each new member. Plus, I get aggravated that most don't even bother posting on the thread or introducing themselves. From time to time, I'll welcome some folks in the threads.

Sometimes I feel the welcoming is unneeded but it does make those that pay attention feel welcome and it offers a chance for member to post their post count a bit.

Other than that I'm 50/50 on introducing myself on new forums, depends on the topic and if I plan on hanging around/posting at that site.

 

I usually don't make my own introduction thread on a new forum I join. I'd rather not bring that attention to myself - I'll just start participating in the discussions and sneakily work my way in. :sneakattack:

...crap, no smilie.

 

I've almost always utilized a dedicated "introductions" forum for such threads. I have made an attempt at using a single thread in the past, but it became a bit limited, particularly when members wanted to discuss certain aspects of each new member introduction.

I always introduce myself - by telling the members of my community about myself (i.e. interests, hobbies, lifestyle, etc), it's easier for them to become more comfortable and "welcome" - or in other words, it makes them feel good.

Yes - I've never disabled the post count for such a section.

Eh, sometimes... although I tend to personalize each welcome by studying the original post and trying to incorporate some of their interests and/or ideas into my welcome message.

Unless you're running a forum made specifically for zombies, I think an introductions forum (or thread, whichever) is absolutely crucial. It's one thing to discuss a certain topic with other people, but that experience becomes even further enhanced once you properly introduce yourself (and get to know them on a more personal level).

 

I think a whole forum is wonderful. I don't like those huge threads, it's just to passe for my tastes.

 

zombieforum.net • View forum - Introduction

I had to! :jacks:

 

Whole forum dedicated to Intros. Each member has their own new thread. Thankfully a good handful of members like welcoming them. I'm not much at it myself.

But I think the intro forum is important for human social psychology reasons. It breaks the ice on posting. And it de-mystifies new members to the old members who see the new member posting in threads. I do think 'old' members are more receptive to new members if they've seen an introduction and feel they have an idea who this is when the newbie starts posting.

Some people are more reserved and prefer not to introduce themselves, and that's fine. I think for a lot of people it helps them feel more engaged in the forum. I think alot of them wait to post an intro until they've had a chance to decide they like the forum and will stay.

If I've decided to be at least a little active on a forum I'll post an intro. But if I'm not going to be active I probably won't.

 

Actually, I remember a mod on vB.org where the forum creates a new thread welcoming the user upon registration competition. They just fill out a tell us about yourself section while registering, and it creates the thread under their account.

 

When I created my first few forum I did not have any introductions forum but now I have it almost always. The post count is on in that forum sometimes and sometimes not depending on what forum it is. And as far as it goes for my introduction sometimes I post one and sometimes not. If its an site that i really like and think I will stay on for a long time then i can post and introduction but if its an site that i just might post a few post and not check regulary then it might not be any introductions from me.

 

We have an entire forum for member introductions and thankfully, it is used by the majority of new members.

It depends on the community but most often, yes I do introduce myself.

I rarely disable post counts in certain forums - including the Misc. and Off-topic ones.

Certainly; I usually have the same boring message when welcoming new members. However, my moderators (and dedicated members) usually come up with something much better and therefore make up for my lack in this area. :p

Yes, definitely. Company or support forums for example, do not need a Member Introductions forum.


Here's a question for some of you guys: Do you force new members to post in the Introductions Forum as their first post? I've seen some sites where before you can post anywhere, you have to post an intro to prove that you aren't a spammer. Personally, I hate this.

 

That is very bad and even if i haven't joined an site with that I hate that. If i would join an site like that I would probobly leave it as soon as I found out about it, unless its an forum I need to ask something on.

 

I don't force new members to post an introduction, but I do encourage it.

 

Hello, my name is Ray and I'm new here Sorry I couldn't resist. Anyhow, since my forum is small all I have is a sticky thread. But I have been thinking about making a sub forum for it.

 

I think a dedicated sub-forum is always the best idea - it allows for more discussion among members.

 

Well I made up my mind,...ya like I have one :unhunh:

Anyhow, I'm going to add an introduction sub forum. Now feel free to walk me through the process if anyone is bored I did everything using pbpbb3 and transferred everything over to vB. So I'm still trying to figure vB out.

 

You'll figure it out, my friend. Let us know how it goes!

 

Oh ya, it's pretty simple except that I can't see where it ask about the location of the new forum?

edited: I was in add user group and not add forum. Anyhow, got an introduction sub forum all set up.

 

I have a dedicated forum for member introductions. The post count is on. I do often feel like I'm saying the same thing a lot, but that can't really helped... I do try to respond based on what they have in their introductory post, but it's sometimes difficult to do.

I tend to introduce myself, because I personally would like my new members to introduce themselves as well. It's important in most cases on smaller forums to get the user to start posting and truly welcome them into the community. I know on my forum that several members greatly appreciate the feeling of being welcomed and it springboards them into further participation.

On larger forums, though, it sometimes isn't necessary because chances are there are so many members already that it's unlikely you'll ever truly feel "welcomed" by most of the members. That's one of the downsides of a larger, bustling forum; you can loose that "community" feeling where everyone feels like they know each other.

 

Same here. Members are not forced to post in Introductions on my forum. As mentioned, I think a good many newbies do post in Introductions, but not right away.

 

I don't like forcing members to post an introduction - there are better ways to prove a new member is not a spammer and in fact a new member.