[Goober5000]

I'm getting a little tired of the way the welcome beam and the welcome speech are being abused.  They used to be a friendly way to welcome newbies; now they're just a moronic way for immature forumites to inflate their post count.  I get the distinct impression that most of the serial welcomers care too little about the person being welcomed and too much about the complexity of their welcome speech and the number of times they've posted a welcome first.

It's also undoubtedly annoying for the first-time posters.  When I see a thread consisting of a question, five welcomes, and no answers, I can't help but think the newbie will get the impression that we're all show and no substance.  Welcome speeches may make us appear friendly, but it's content and answers that will convince people to stay.

So I'm going to start cracking down on abuses of the welcome beam.  If your welcome speech is too long, your post may get deleted.  If you commit a serious infraction -- like if your post consists of four welcome beams and three paragraphs of text -- you may get temporarily banned.

As a rule of thumb, your welcome speech should not be longer than your substantive reply to whatever the thread is about.  It certainly shouldn't be the only thing in your post, especially if the newbie's question hasn't been answered yet.  The only exception is when a newbie posts a pure "hi, I'm new here" thread, with no problems or questions.  If he has problems or questions, he deserves an answer.

Many of the moderators, such as karajorma and Taristin, share a similar opinion, so I imagine they'll start doing the same.  Consider this newspost a statement of intent -- more than a regular post, but less than a change in policy.

[achtung]

Yay!  That whole thing was kind of getting to me too.  Seeing about half a page of welcomes and maybe one answer.

[Polpolion]

[Mobius]

Ok, got it...

[Tyrian]

Good, I keep thinking about the time when I was new here and had questions.  I got a welcome, then an answer.  Now it just seems like it's all welcomes, no substance.  It's got to be tough and offensive to a new guy to get welcomed, then have no one care enough to answer their questions.

[Centrixo]

about time too...

[CP5670]

Good move on this. I think the beam itself is fine, but the subsequent speech is getting increasingly tiresome.

[karajorma]

The beam is fine when used properly. First person who is actually posting a useful reply uses the beam.

The problem is when being the person who used the beam becomes more important than actually welcoming the person.

[Turey]

The beam is fine when used properly. First person who is actually posting a useful reply uses the beam.

The problem is when being the person who used the beam becomes more important than actually welcoming the person.

It's becoming just like Slashdot's "First Post".

[Mr. Vega]

Just go back to "Welcome to HLP. Exits are to the rear and left, in case of an emergency, shotguns are located under the seats."

[Grizzly]

like if your post consists of four welcome beams and three paragraphs of text -- you may get temporarily banned.

... (ashamed)

[caibrenden]

so its like


hello Freespace 2 lover/newb who wants to learn to mod/develop freespace2_open
Our current version of Freespace2_open is 3.*.*
If you need help please do not hesitate to ask our friendly admins

[Colonol Dekker]

Goober i have to say, i'm inclined to agree with you on this one. 6 months back i admit i was caught up in the whole "gotta be the first to tag a noob" atmosphere. Looking back since my return i can see how frustrating it would be for someone looking for a genuine answer only to recieve up to seven welcomes.

[Bob-san]

So is this okay if I answer their question? It's a bit lengthy I guess but I always try to at least offer them a little bit of direction.

Welcome to Hard Light Productions! Here are the minor offenses, and their corresponding punishments! Never comined "F", "S", or "3" in a thread! This minor offense is usually combated by the use of our standardized Flame-throwers! But, due to budget problems and a few legal concerns (lawyers don't like clients charred to their bones), there is no longer napal in the flame thrower, but rather holy water! Another major offense is disturbing our little buddy (hey! That was my lunch!) called Carl, the resident Shivan who has taken a fancy to living in our walls! Throw him your lunch, and you should be fine... But if you happen to be caught in the wall with Carl, simply take the emergancy saw, and cut off a few limbs! Carl should stop persuit, but if he doesnt... you're on your own! If you wish to leave HLP, simply walk to the back of the ship, and operate the airlocks! The only problem with that choices is the airlocks no longer work! You may check-out any time you wish, but you many not leave HLP! If you should have any concerns, simply walk to the bridge and open up the weapons locker. Inside is your standard AK-47 and Plasma Rifle! However, most of us have a bit of a hard time getting in, as only moderators, the hyper-intelligent shade of blue, and have keys in! If you are a bit weary of staying on HLP, simply blow through the airlock and try to make your way over to the Game-Warden sister-station. Be careful, though! We are out of space suits, and I hear space doesn't have much oxygen... or much of anything! Good luck and enjoy your stay!

[perihelion]

If you feel you have to ask, then maybe it needs to be trimmed down a bit?

_{Honestly, I always found the whole thing a little silly...}

[Wobble73]

You have my utmost apologies for welcoming new-comers to this wonderful forum! 

[vyper]

The beam is fine when used properly. First person who is actually posting a useful reply uses the beam.

The problem is when being the person who used the beam becomes more important than actually welcoming the person.

[Flipside]

It's best not to offer generic help, most people post on a few boards, and know the general stuff when they come here, and a lot of people just find that large blocks of text like that will get skipped anyway, I severely doubt many newbs actually sit down and read the welcome speech.

I've never made my apathy toward the welcome beam a secret though personally, I still would have gone with the changing the text on the beam to 'I'm Annoying!', would have done just as good a job, and given us a laugh with it

[Mobius]

so its like


hello Freespace 2 lover/newb who wants to learn to mod/develop freespace2_open
Our current version of Freespace2_open is 3.*.*
If you need help please do not hesitate to ask our friendly admins

You're giving for sure that a noob doesn't even have FS Open. Read Admiral Koth registered more than one year ago and posted for the first time only a few months ago(he created a thread about a FS Open error). A Welcome Speech^TM should be about something else...

It's best not to offer generic help, most people post on a few boards, and know the general stuff when they come here, and a lot of people just find that large blocks of text like that will get skipped anyway, I severely doubt many newbs actually sit down and read the welcome speech.

I've never made my apathy toward the welcome beam a secret though personally, I still would have gone with the changing the text on the beam to 'I'm Annoying!', would have done just as good a job, and given us a laugh with it

I use a trick

You have my utmost apologies for welcoming new-comers to this wonderful forum! 

I still remember your "I stopped LGM's evil plan"


Anyways...

We need a chat of some sort, using which we can solve problems in an easier way....without creating threads.

[spartan_0214]

Yay, three cheers for Goob!