It's exciting for me to go back several hours or a day or so in Fresh Meat threads and find that a decent portion of them have actually taken it upon themselves to earn gold for clothes. ^w^ For me, seeing that is an acknowledgment that they're content with the site and are willing to stick around.

And for those that have taken the effort to buy at least one article of clothing... I'll usually stop in and say hi and shave some gold off the top of my pile to help out in case they had the next item they wanted to get in mind. I'll usually reserve this donation process for people who seem like they'll honestly appreciate it and aren't just going to disappear never to be seen again. (And I'm just so nice of a person... slowly my gold stockpile is dwindling down faster than I can keep bringing it in. *sweatdrop*) It's usually only around a 100g, but I like seeing that the person already has that much, too.

Usually I get an awesome thankyou response~ because if it were me I know that I'd appreciate it. (Back when -I- was new to this site there was the 'old' fishing game, which had a glitch in it that some people were taking advantage of -- I had no idea about it, but as compensation to the general populace of Menewsha, everyone was given quite a lump of gold. I bought my first set of clothing with it. I remember. *OLDmemberisold*)

Well, I don't spend a lot of time in there... >.> I've given users links before though. <.<; Mostly what I saw other people doing, assumed that was what was expected. XD

I"ll try to get around there a little more. >.>

Originally Posted by Bartuc

Fresh meat is very active. @__@ I spent 10 hours in there one day and just about fried my active brain cells.

I will punch you if your rude! D:< Don't think I wont.

LOL! :lol: Phear Bartuc! He's sick and grouchy!!

Hmm....is it alright to post a link to my charity to invite them to chat with us there? After all its supposed to be a place to welcome and help out the newer users ^.^

Of course I will still greet them more informally as well, I do not mean spamming the fresh meat forum. Just simply letting them know there is always a place they can feel welcome.

I remember two years ago when I joined and I was too timid to post a second time in my fresh meat thread for fear of that being "double posting" and against the rules - which I had checked out on my own.

I also remember that even a "here, read the rules" greeting would have been better than the "I hate noobs. Rape. Rape. Rape." greeting I got on gaia as the first reply to my welcome thread there. :sweat:

I never really post in Fresh Meat, I'd probably only post there if someone I knew just joined then I'd go welcome them... I agree on this though, I would hate to have rules thrown at me as soon as I join. It comes off as rude. I know to read the rules when I join a site, and sometimes I have already read them before making the first post. I've noticed that this community in particular loves to tell people to read the rules for some reason.

I've only just joined about tuesday. I thought the greeting I got was quit welcoming. Though it helped that when you creat an account in incurages to post a hello. Which I never do anymore. But here I did and i didn't want to sound like a cheesy everyday hello so I looked at a few other people's hello's and I was to make a greating that people seemed to like. So I think that helped in the friendly greeting factor that people gave me.

Hey Jelly-chan!

Sure thing... :) I know that feelin of being bombarded with reading the rules... ..but i hardly go in Fresh Meat.. I probably should more often. :)

Actually I'm glad that I was given the help. ^_^ I'm still new and I'm trying not to be a big pain in the but. >.> I'd been looking for a while for the how to threads and such untill someone showed me the links..then I felt uber stupid five minutes later once I found out that they are listed at the bottom with the rest of the site info..>.> >.<

I came, I read, I'll help out a little better.

Thank you for posting this. I know for me personally it makes me feel like I've already done something wrong if someone provides me a link to the rules. You're right, it is off-putting.

Are newbies directed to the rules and newbie guide when they join up? I think maybe if they were shown the rules from the get-go (because the rules still should be obeyed), members wouldn't feel as much need to provide the links in their posts. That way it wouldn't be a reflection of how members of the Menewsha community treat newcomers. Menewsha's members are rather mature in the fact that most members don't use chatspeak and type literate sentences and I think members are just afraid of this becoming like a site like Gaia.

I have mixed feelings on this announcement. I tend to just greet people normally and only direct them to rules or threads if they seem lost or confused...

However I do not feel there was a need to make a site wide announcement on this matter. I also do not feel it's prudent to hint that you might get zapped for spam if you continue to post like that.

people choose to greet new comers of their own prerogative and I don't feel they should be dictated on how to post in that regard or anywhere else on here for that matter..

I feel 'hinting' at punishments for not conforming to what feels appropriate to the staff is a very unfair view point as well. No rules are being broke if someone chooses to in a kind way direct people to the rules or threads for help.

Further more I feel that trying to dictate how someone posts in general is a very poor move on the staff's part. If I want to greet someone and direct them towards rules or offer them help if they need it, as long as I am courteous and friendly with it then that should not be any concern of the staff's in any shape form or fashion regardless if it's a newbie or not.

Honestly I feel the staff here are starting to get a bit full of themselves as of late. What exactly are you hoping for Menewsha to be? Sure you don't want this place to be another lawless 4chan jr like Gaia but if you become to strict with things it will be even worse... I for one would like to know I can post confidently without worrying that it might not be acceptable by unknown terms or rules...

Do you plan to make it an official rule? tack it on under the spam section?

Do not post rules, guides, etc .. Unless specifically asked to.

What's next? threats of punishment for out of RP posts in the RP section? or a specific style of bracket that must be used to denote OORP or its akin to spam and punishable?

I fully understand the point of this announcement and though I do not feel it was intended as insulting I cant help but feel that way. People greet these newbies because they like this place and want others too as well. They should not be dictated on how they greet them.

Not to mention you feel shoving rules and guides into a new players face makes this place seem too strict or oppressive ... and yet we are now being told suggested how to post in the fresh meat thread? ... am I the only one seeing this Irony?

Now I understand the spam infraction threat was based on the 'cookie cutter' message. However I feel if there are at least a few alterations to the message then these people should be applauded for their efforts to greet the new comers instead of leaving a bunch of 0 replies streaming down the fresh meat section. I mean after all you can only type out the same type of message so many times before it starts to look like a cookie cutter reply ...

So to sum all this up I feel people should greet new comers how they feel is appropriate and as long as no site rules are broken certainly should not get nagged over it.

Announcements like this will just intimidate people into not greeting others at all in fear of not doing it right or their greeting they typed out 50 times that day starting to look the same and getting punished for just trying to help.

Good thing I have my ring of fire resistance on today, I have a feeling im gonna get flamed like a mofo over this.

Hmmm...after reading the announcement and reading what Gary had to say I'd have to agree with what Gary posted.

When I first joined here a few days ago, I know I was welcomed lovely and not once told to read the guidelines.

I understand what you mean, I went and read them myself, but had someone said it as the first thing to say to me, I would have felt forced, and may not be around now.

hey i'm new...i just wanna ask u if u know how can i find a cloth 4 my avatar...:)

You are quite right, Gary. I really like Menewsha, but I no longer make threads because I hate the consequences, and do not really feel comfortable posting anywhere except the three threads I do have.

thanks for the information

Originally Posted by Sakura Lucia

hey i'm new...i just wanna ask u if u know how can i find a cloth 4 my avatar...:)

You can find clothes in the shops at the top of the page dear. You will need gold to purchase them which is earned simply by posting or playing games here. If you have more questions feel free to post in the Information Desk area. You can also PM a mod or myself as well.

However threads need to stay on topic so I would recommend asking questions in the info desk over anywhere else.

Additionally the stickies in the fresh meat thread are full of handy info. Speaking of Fresh Meat I see you have not made an introduction thread yet. Why not skip over there and introduce us to yourself so we know a bit more about you? >:3

I joined with in the last 24hours and I posted in the fresh meat forum... and i am sad to say that i was only welcomed by other new comers...

But in the future i shall remember to be friendly and not so much READ NAO!! :P

thanks for the help jelly! you just made it easier for me to do it i hope i can greet the new people soon if i have time.

I haven't exactly been frequently attending the forums for the past month or so, so I can't comment as to how things may or may not have changed..

However, ere my inattendance, I never saw anything but good natured (albeit excitable) interactions, and no unreasonable demands of any sort, much less pressure to read the guidelines.

In fact, there was likely too little encouragement or direction towards the guidelines.

Rather, the discouragement that drove me to almost leave before I got situated- and that DID drive a half dozen people that joined at the same time as me- was how harsh and heavy-handed the mods were.

Strictly disciplined for rules we weren't aware of, without any sympathy or encouragement,
combined with permanent marks on our accounts and an otherwise initially daunting site, and you have the core of what at least used to be the primary deterrent to new users staying on the site.

So, to relate to the current situation-
It is hardly a problem to present a link or reference to the rules, so long as it isn't done repeatedly or with undue intensity.

At the same time, the reactions to this thread were at least as ridiculous-
So far, nothing unjust (so far as I know) has been done. As such, speak with courtesy and abstract reference to the details- don't carelessly and rudely throw out accusations and the like.

That is to say, present your points with intelligence and respect, rather than argument. The time for that can come later.

:yumehkitty:

-pats Darkeyes on the back- I loved your post!

I didn't really agree on the whole debate over this crapola until I read Darkeyes' post, because he (or she? I'm sorry to be presumptive, but I'm too lazy to look at profiles at the moment... I myself fall victim to the gender-presumptions every day... xP) reminded me of the incident that occurred a while back.

To be honest, even though that occurrence was technically rule-breaking and thus the Staff was technically just in doing what they did to control it, it still left this foul taste at the back of my mouth.

Which really just hasn't seemed to have gone away. :|

I've increasingly become at odds with some of the choices made around these parts, especially in regards to this announcement.

Now I wouldn't go so far as to agree with Gary about this being more or less a conformist movement and what have you, but I do agree that it's just another way to... control us.

I understand we're a rowdy bunch at times, and we occasionally fall out of line, but there shouldn't be a need for us to be constantly regulated and watched over without us knowing. We should be able to roam free, in moderation, but still on our own terms for the most part.

Perhaps this is just one of those things that is unpreventable when the Staff is so closely intertwined with the regular userbase... Perhaps it isn't, though. Regardless, I think there should be more of a democratic approach to this, involving discussions, suggestions, debates, opinions, etc., before these things are finalized as rules and all of that jazz.

I just feel like we're slowly losing that bond with you lovely Staffers, and I'd rather keep it intact far longer than it has lasted so far. Just don't sneak up on us like this next time, mmkay? Even if you just take several users aside and ask their opinions on future rule modifications (in the strictest of confidence, of course), it would benefit us greatly.

Sorry to be such a Negative Nancy, I just really was rather displeased that this announcement... well, exists, to put it bluntly.

Gary, the purpose of an announcement is so that there is a public statement made for all to understand, rather than making only certain users aware of their actions and why they are so privately. Everyone needs to know the sites stance on rules, not just the couple of users who are unlucky enough to ruffle a few feathers.

Fresh meat is NOT the same as the rest of the site. It is generally a users first thread on the site, first chance to meet some new people, and first chance to break the rules. However a bunch of users who have more than likely got a strong desire to show they are staff worthy have been running around fresh meat like they are the new sheriff in town telling users they are breaking the rules, throwing rules at them before they have done anything wrong, and generally doing the staffs job without any authority. We do not appreciate back seat modding in the fresh meat forum, this includes reports, telling users they have broken the rules within their first two posts, or pointing them at the rules when they have barely even said hi. The fresh meat system does point out the rules to the new users, it's their choice whether they ignore them or not. The staff have been told numerous times to take it easy on users in their fresh meat thread, it is their thread, let them have some fun. Sure if it's a thread outside of the fresh meat forum that they break the rules in please by all means let them know, we appreciate it, but why would you want to make the first ever response a user receives to be getting told off? Even if it's said in a nice way, it still puts an elitist spin on the site. We don't want to look like snobs do we?

I might sound harsh here, but take this into account. If there are 200 new threads posted in fresh meat, and you were to post in every single one of them, you have a VERY easy way to clock up a bunch of gold. Users are being rewarded for welcoming by not being told off for posts of very little substance over and over again. However as always some users are taking it upon themselves to add cookie cutter additions to every fresh meat post they make just to boost their gold or as mentioned above - show they are staff material.

Lets take some good examples shall we.

http://www.menewsha.com/forum/commun...fy-spiffy.html

The user has double posted. The first response was nice and welcoming and didn't point out the rule breakage, but hinted at it by pointing out the need to read the rules. The rest of the responses are friendly and contextual.

http://www.menewsha.com/forum/commun...w-friends.html

A great example of a nice contextual response, nice and friendly :)

Just to reiterate... Fresh meat is a place where back seat modding should be avoided. Fresh meat is a great place to earn easy gold and posts of little substance are acceptable within reason. Fresh meat threads do not necessarily follow the same rules as the rest of the site as strictly for the topic creator. Adding cookie cutter bloat to welcomes is not appreciated and is considered to be spam. Welcoming new users is awesome and greatly helps the site, plus who doesn't like easy gold?

I love it! So much more welcoming. But Steele still has tiny kind of stupid question, but she wants to be sure. Is it okay for us to offer help if they need it like:

...If you have any trouble feel free to ask myself or anyone around here.

Yesh, it is a stupid question, but Steele would hate to get an infraction.
Edit; Thank you Inso!

Originally Posted by MySteeleHeart

I love it! So much more welcoming. But Steele still has tiny kind of stupid question, but she wants to be sure. Is it okay for us to offer help if they need it like:

Yesh, it is a stupid question, but Steele would hate to get an infraction.

As long as you're not the 500th person in the thread saying it I don't see any problem at all :)