Are we too harsh?

[Gadaí]

Hrm - this is pretty much guaranteed to annoy at least some of the posters in this thread but a lot of the responses to this thread demonstrate a certain arrogance or elitist sentiment regarding this hobby. I've been playing multiple accounts in on-line games (where approved and appropriate) for about 15 years now, but it means nothing really. I don't know how to fix a car (which some of the new posters might be expert at) or how to balance my accounts (which I'm sure many reading this have no issues with) and if I went to a forum regarding either of those subjects to ask a question I'd appreciate a civil and helpful response - even if that response is that I should look at the Sticky regarding Common-law distribution of assets within Schedule (b) which has a complete explanation of how to deal with xyz. I would say that sometimes the responses to questions within the 'Newbie' section seem to be dealing much more with respondents self satisfaction regarding their knowledge rather then with the actual issue raised, in other cases the respondents will 'skim' the initial mail and assume that x question has been asked, offering the sage advice of 'read the stickie' when, in actuality, the post concerns a separate point or issue.

Don't get me wrong - in general the responses are helpful but sometimes the posters kick in with some snotty attitudes, which is a lot of the reason why I, personally, lurk a lot and comment infrequently.

<edit> Oh forgot: "FOR PONY!(Bonus points if you get the reference)" from the stunningly good LFG by Scott Sohmer - so looking forward to the film this summer If you like LFG btw it's well worth checking out Least I Could Do, his other comic.

[Majestic_Clown]

The attitude for the community should be to direct people to the wiki/stickies and state that they will have better luck posting in the correct forum.

Mods and Admins will be warning people when the thread becomes a "Your a noob read the sticks, troll troll troll, flame flame flame".

This has been on the increase and WE ARE WATCHING YOU!

I did an experiment with some friends who were looking to multibox and they found it a struggle so please go softy on new people.
I will be working on an Ultimate guide with images and everything to help people.

[diode]

This is only my (fourth? heh) post here, but I've been hiding in the bushes for a while. I really believe that you folks represent this community better than anyone else could, here and elsewhere. Keep it up







edited because i can't read or count

[Ken]

The attitude for the community should be to direct people to the wiki/stickies and state that they will have better luck posting in the correct forum.

Mods and Admins will be warning people when the thread becomes a "Your a noob read the sticks, troll troll troll, flame flame flame".

This has been on the increase and WE ARE WATCHING YOU!

I agree that trolling and flaming doesn't belong here, but I think we need stricter moderation also. These topics get flamed only because they are allowed to exist.

I did an experiment with some friends who were looking to multibox and they found it a struggle so please go softy on new people.
I will be working on an Ultimate guide with images and everything to help people.

In my opinion, starting to multibox IS a struggle. It's not easy, it's only that people expect it to be easy.

[Boylston]

Mods and Admins will be warning people when the thread becomes a "Your a noob read the sticks, troll troll troll, flame flame flame".

Wouldn't it be less work for the Mods and Admins to move the threads that are obviously hopefully incomplete questions and/or ignore easy-to-find information to a safer place? Hell, delete them and have the mods send a PM to the author with a boiler-plate (and nice) message that gives instructions on how to search the site, where the wiki is, etc.

These posts just drive down the signal-to-noise ratio and make it progressively harder for other folks to find what they want.

[Ken]

Wouldn't it be less work for the Mods and Admins to move the threads that are obviously hopefully incomplete questions and/or ignore easy-to-find information to a safer place? Hell, delete them and have the mods send a PM to the author with a boiler-plate (and nice) message that gives instructions on how to search the site, where the wiki is, etc.

These posts just drive down the signal-to-noise ratio and make it progressively ha

I think this is the best way to do it. Deleting threads is not a good idea though, but closing them with a standard message that states there isn't enough info in the post, then links to the forum guidelines, the forum search option and the wiki should suffice in 90% of all the cases.
Deleting wouldn't work, because ppl would just re-create their topics.

[Moxy]

Wouldn't it be less work for the Mods and Admins to move the threads that are obviously hopefully incomplete questions and/or ignore easy-to-find information to a safer place? Hell, delete them and have the mods send a PM to the author with a boiler-plate (and nice) message that gives instructions on how to search the site, where the wiki is, etc.

These posts just drive down the signal-to-noise ratio and make it progressively ha

I think this is the best way to do it. Deleting threads is not a good idea though, but closing them with a standard message that states there isn't enough info in the post, then links to the forum guidelines, the forum search option and the wiki should suffice in 90% of all the cases.
Deleting wouldn't work, because ppl would just re-create their topics.

Unfortunately, you then clutter up your searches with dead threads. Far better to delete them, and give them a response to be specific and make sure to hunt for the info first.

oandbtwi'mbeingwatched. stalkers. ;(

[Boylston]

Hell, give me mod rights and I'll move threads to the newbie forums instead of hammering them. Yes, I'm volunteering to help clean up the mess.

I'd also volunteer to help move/sort out newbie posts.