[Colonol Dekker]

I don't keep track of how many i've welcomed.

Welcomed Newbies: 45

I'm not having a pop. 

[Mobius]

46

I started counting them, I can't stop now.

[Grizzly]

is PMing the members also considered harmfull?

[caibrenden]

well who actually checks their inbox 
well i know some people do
BUT WHO ACTUALLY USES IT < sorry for caps if it was annoying >
  use ur head and think
how many times do u receive a pm

[karajorma]

Lots of people use them. Just cause no one wants to send you one...

But I don't think sending PM is any better. In fact it's worse. How can you tell someone else hasn't sent one?

[vyper]

Plus it gets creepy.

[haloboy100]

sorry to bump up an old post (but it is an announcement thread, so should it matter?), but i think PMing them isn't so bad. But then again kara has a point.

But i also thought of an idea. Why not just ditch the entire user-generated welcome beam, and just give them the Beam with/without the welcome speach automated after they register? I dunno, maybe display it after they hit the "join" button (or whatever) on their screen, or have an automated one PM'ed or even e-mailed? Or they can check a box during registration saying "display welcome beam" or something.

[Goober5000]

I have stated, and others have stated, repeatedly, that there is nothing wrong with the welcome beam per se.  The problem is with the welcome itself.  The point of a welcome is to ease a newbie's transition into the forum, answer their questions, and solve their problems.  Spamming them with irrelevant information (including in-jokes that they won't understand) and then running away, leaving them helpless, is completely counterproductive.

Since allowing people to discuss this seems to have confused the issue more than clarified it, I am closing this thread.