n00b adoption idea

[mozza]

I have been on a forum where there is a "nAA - n00b Adoption Agency". A "n00b" posts in the thread and states their Likes, Dislikes, Favourite Gaming Platform, and Other Useless Info. The user who wants to be the parent figure then PMs the n00b asking if they want to be adopted by them and such. I think it is a good idea and it would help n00bs get to know their way around the forum because they could trust the person who has adopted them to reply to any questions.
Just an idea.

[MrColossal]

We already have stickies above every forum telling you how to act. We don't get a lot of jerky people here who don't know how the forums work and if we do they usually get adopted by the community as people tell them how it all works.

And as an ironic side, your signature image is too large for the restrictions in the rules, check the text above the box you inputed your sig file into.

[Andail]

we tried a mentor system some years ago, but it never really caught on. We could make another attempt, I guess.

[Haddas]

I think the main problem with that was that people needing a mentor weren't sure if the people mentoring were serious. I wasn't sure. And I was afraid to go to them, because I was afraid I'd annoy them.

[Raggit]

Sounds good to me, but at our luck, the rudest among us would be first up to adopt somebody. Ã, 

Seriously though, it seems that n00bs have trouble following the rules right off the start, and get flamed. Ã, So it'd be good in that aspect to have mentors. Ã, 
On the other hand, how many n00bs would be willing to be "adopted" by other members?

[MrColossal]

and how many N00bs do we have that this is even necessary?

[Squinky]

I vote no. How do you define who is worthy of being a mentor? Or who is a newb?  Sounds elitist to me....

[mozza]

I think the main problem with that was that people needing a mentor weren't sure if the people mentoring were serious. I wasn't sure. And I was afraid to go to them, because I was afraid I'd annoy them.

If someone offers to adopt you they are taking on the responsibility to answer your questions and such. If they are being rude or not taking it seriously you could report them to a mod or admin.

How do you define who is worthy of being a mentor? Or who is a newb? Sounds elitist to me....

A n00b could simply be someone who feels they do not know as much as they should before doing something, so they could ask their parent figure about it before doing it. It would definitely reduce the number of questions in the Beginner's Tech that could simply be solved by reading the manual.

[Scummbuddy]

I've just had people instant message me on AOL and I answer whatever they question. It's no big deal and I haven't had to block anyone yet. 

[Kinoko]

Way too many problems with this thing, so many have been mentioned already.

The way I see it, the forum is here, people chat on it and whatever. If there's a general concensus that someone isn't acting like they should, people let them know. It's working pretty well as this is the most decent and friendly (while still being relatively free and interesting) forum I've ever come across. There's no need to introduce quirky games and systems.

I really hate the word 'noob' anyway. It's usually something people who haven't been in the "community" very long use to those who have been around for an even shorter time than them. The fewer labels, the better. People are just people and if they act maturely and fit in, then who cares what their imaginary internet status is?

[Andail]

One thing that makes our forum a bit special is that it's based on a program that requires extra knowledge, along with ideas of design, music etc.
Dunno if people would like to have a private tutor rather than publically post their problems, but if they do, I guess it would be allright in a hypothetical point of view.

Another point is that if problematic elements appear, like whenever "certain" people post pretty useless stuff in the critics lounge, the mentor can deal with it directly, so that every Tom, Dick and Harry won't have to tell their opinions and blow the whole deal out of proportions.

[Nacho]

I don't see the problem in making a thread for newbies demmanding for tutorizing and oldies adompting them, but apparently, older members than me have been witness of a failure of a similar attempt. Dunno... It might help, but we should do a quick poll for trying to pressume how many people would participate. I would, if someone wants to know.

[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

Well, we already have the little icons under our avvies... not to mention a board specifically for begginer's questions, and one for more advanced ones... and there's #AGSTech...

I think things are fine as they are, but that's just me.

[IM NOT TEH SPAM]

I'd participate in something like this, but someone ought to look at the members page.  Almost 3000 people, most of them with none to 3 posts?  Mabye this could help bring them into the community, or mabye it will waste all our time with people who sign up simply to say "i like pie" and leave.

[Phemar]

I adopt FlukeBlake!!!1!1!11

But seriously, I don't think this idea will work too well -- and I'm not just being pessimistic. The ACR thread is a prime example of this: So many people asking for help and so little being given.
I think in the end most of us have our own busy lifes to attend to and not much time to lecture newbies. If a newbie DOES have a question, they can just PM the moderators, and seriously, how much lecturing would an adoptee have to do? Copy and paste a URL to the rules?

[Tuomas]

The way I see it, experienced users offering to do tutoring for "nOObs" would be a much more effective way. That way the beginners could choose to ask someone who is dedicated to helping... Otherwise we might find the response to help requests rather scarce. But now that I think of it, there is this "offer your services" obstacle out there...

But I must admit, the idea sounds very supportable as it can be hard to adjust into a world like this, that, as Andail said, requires extra knowledge. I know I had a hard time, if I ever even did

[Traveler]

As far as I see, tutoring already works - you post something in the critic's lounge, you get advice. You post something in the tech forum, you get programming advice. You post something in general discussions, you can discuss ideas, etc. Having a private tutor system would hide all this information from others who might also need it but don't ask, for whatever reason. There may be a lot of people, who don't post but still lurk around the forums.

[mozza]

As far as I see, tutoring already works - you post something in the critic's lounge, you get advice. You post something in the tech forum, you get programming advice. You post something in general discussions, you can discuss ideas, etc. Having a private tutor system would hide all this information from others who might also need it but don't ask, for whatever reason. There may be a lot of people, who don't post but still lurk around the forums.

There is no problem with the Critics Lounge as it is, but some people will get annoyed if you post in the Beginners Tech with something that could be fixed by reading the manual. Even so, it will reduce the number of these posts if a "tutor" coiuld help the "n00b". If there are others who "don't post but still lurk around the forums" and want help on something, it is their own responsibility to actually post and do something about it.

[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

But that's the beauty of a forum - a LOT of questions are already answered. Even those we consider to be plain as the nose in your face. If people don't SEARCH and/or READ THE MANUAL, how will a mentor help, really? Having a mentor kinda means that you're willing to learn, but if you can't even look for the answer in the first place...

[MrColossal]

Having a mentor kinda means that you're willing to learn, but if you can't even look for the answer in the first place...

Wow, that perfectly sums up my feelings on the matter... Nicely put!

Also, your sig image is still too big Mozza!