I have noticed that newbies whom join the forum always seem to have a hard time finding a place to belong on here. Why is it so difficult to find your spot on the online world?

Because you can't be shy about it. Being shy got me nowhere. Commenting in threads and starting my own was what really got me talking to people. Now, in a matter of a few days, I've picked up the most delightfully odd collection of people on Mene. ^_^

Although, I completely understand the intimidation and frustration, you just have to keep at it. Eventually, you'll find the perfect place in the forums, even if you have to make it yourself.

Well, it can be tough at first. It's kind of a Goldilocks method: try something and see if you like it, and keep trying until you find what's perfect for you.

I suggest you start based on your interests, whether it's in a forum or looking for threads with acertain keyword. People here are friendly, and if you keep talking sooner or later you'll make a connection.

I guess it's a lot like moving to a new school: try to be friendly, don't be too shy to start a conversation, and be persistant.

I think my problem is that I don't really get involved in a lot of discussions in the forums... I'm usually just a bit too shy. I've started to make a few more friends through 1 x 1 role plays but sometimes I still have a difficult time fitting in. I guess I just get a bit intimidated seeing how most of the people on certain sites seem to know each other and I feel a bit odd being sort of "out of the loop". I think that might be the same sort of thing that other people have problems with. ^^;

As a newbie myself, I think it has a lot to do with the size of Mene. It's fairly small, especially compared to a lot of other avatar sites, and as such is difficult to fit into to. Since most people know each other, you can feel a little left out =(
The fact that it displays your gold amount is also somewhat daunting XD

Oddly, even though this site is quite small, I've posted a lot more here than on many other similar sites. I guess it's got something to do with the quality of the threads, on some sites it feels like 50% of the topics are pure spam, and a lot of people are rude.

And yeah, finding something that you are interested in is important, it makes discussion both easier and more enjoyable :)

It's not that it's hard or anything like that. I think it's more based on experience in the "cyber world" that make it a little hard for some people to find a place online.

It's like a giant inside joke.

I'm as welcoming as I can be to people new to the sites I'm on, particularly this one.

Hmm, I think like everyone has said you need to put yourself out there. I've only made 20ish posts (if that) I don't really expect to have made a connection with anyone just yet... I'm only just finding myfeet :)
Once I get more experience here I'm sure I'll make some actual friends :)

Feel free to go to my profile and see where all I've posted, there are plenty of nice people in my favorite hangouts and charities.

What makes it hard for me is finding something to say that hasn't been said already. I also find it hard to connect with people outside my age group.

Probly just the fact that you want to find somewhere to fit in and you have a variety of choices. GD is always the forum for me lol. It IS an online community so it would be nice to just find somewhere to "dwell"

It always takes a while to find your niche no matter where you go.
I'm fairly new and have just started leaving the Fresh Meat discussion. xD
For some reason talking to people is much easier when everyone is new, must take some of the stress away of appearing way more lost then you should be. ^^
Although I bet the even has helped people a lot, its something that everyone on at the time had in common so it made it easier to bond with people. =)

I know what you mean.
I'm afraid of saying something stupid -.-''

I don't find it that hard. Then again, I'm not too shy. I just go to many different threads, and post a lot. If I find that the thread isn't for me, I'll just leave. Otherwise I stay and take over. ;D Buaha.

I don't really think it's that hard, just find something you're interested that also interests other people and you're good to go. Then again that's just my philosophy. I'm currently most active in the GD and the RP forum, when I get better acquainted with this site I'm sure I'll visit a good variety of the many forums on here rather than just those two. That's usually what I do when I'm in other sites like this and it always seems to work out. x3

When I first started out on websites like these, it was really easy for me to make friends. However, now I've gotten used to those certain friends. I know their names, their likes and dislikes, and I feel as comfortable as one can be with someone who lives halfway across the world.

So, by the time I got here, I just didn't want any new friends. I don't come here to joke around or hang out on the web. I come here for the discussions, and because I can talk about things that my friends on other websites either don't know about or don't care about. I think it's harder making new friends because you're so used to other people; you don't know how to act around the new ones. You're never sure when you're going to say something that is going to make them blow a gasket. You don't know their likes or dislikes, so you don't know how to carry discussion beyond the 'Hello, how are you?' stage. I suppose it's also a bit intimidating on a small site like this even if you can find people with similar interests. As some others have said, it seems like a lot of people already know each other, so you feel like you're someone unwanted who is butting into someone else's conversation when you try to say hello.

I think it's easier to just private message someone that looks friendly than to hop into a conversation already going on between two or more friends.

im new...and i guess i dont. you just got to post..like you did :D

I agree with much of what everyone has said already. I'm always a little shy, whether online or offline - a unanimous introvert, I guess you could say. I 'warm up' to a particular crowd eventually, but I'm more of the quiet type. Being this way makes it harder to form relationships of any type, but when I do, it's a lot easier to ascertain whether or not that relationship is a good one! viz.--I make more real friends than simple acquaintances.

But on to the main point. I guess it's just experimentation - trial and error, &c. &c., you see? You can't know for sure unless you try in certain things. So far I've only posted in the Poetry subforum, this board, and the Fresh Meat forum. I'm still looking for what's right for me! And, no doubt, more forum boards will be added to Menewsha in the future, in order to appeal to larger audiences. That should help in the long run, as well.