'Newbie Slating'

starlite_2

I am guilty of it myself on a couple of occasions, but have noticed it happening more and more on mse.

If you are new to the boards and get silly responses like 'don't listen she's a newbie'
or 'you've got a lot to learn' etc etc
then surely it's detrimental to the growth of this site
Why be rude just because someone has only just come across the site?

The worst is on coupons boards where people ask questions and just get sarcastic, and unhelful responses.

Fair enough there are people who are new, and spam or 'troll' but in the majority it's genuine questions that are derided by those who think they are in the 'm.se elite'

So please..be friendly to all..old or new! We all started out on here as 'newbies' after all.

spender

Yes I have noticed over the past 6 months several members believe they own the site. However the best thing is to ignore their postings, they are not better than anybody including newbies and there is no reason for them to feel superior. Lets face it you don't know them so it is easy to laugh at them and wonder why they feel the need to belittle people, something must be lacking in their lives. As this site has become more and more popular you will get all sorts on here just as you do in any office. The best thing this site can do is get read of the star ratings and postings, lets face it some people just give one word answers so their postings go up. No need for stars etc.

Shantin

I have noticed this as well, and it has concerned me.

I have also only been registered here for a short while, and seeing some of the comments doesn't make one feel all that comfortable (I have not had any problems personally tho). I participate on numerous forum boards, so understand how they work, but I am sure many newbies are literally that ... totally new to this concept ... and thus obviously have to learn the ropes.

MSE is a huge site and there is sooo much to wade through, especially as a newbie!! I am sure it is easy to miss an old thread about an issue and I can understand how someone can post it again, believing they have found something exciting, or that will be of interest/value to others. It is fine to point someone in the direction of the other thread, but seems so unnecessary to do it is a harsh and unfriendly manner :rolleyes:

That said ... this is a brilliant site, and I have already learned so much!! :T :T

Keep up the good work ... and may we all continue to learn how to better look after our hard earned cash!

Poser

Its not just newbies also think its the members who have been here long time haveing read a lot of posts

sra

I sometimes think there should be a newbie board where people who are new to the forum can find their feet, ask silly questions, and us nicer regulars could go in and really make them feel welcome.

I'm sure that for every newbie that's posted and got a negative reception there are probably a few guests who saw the exchange and were scared off.

Other times I think that would be a bad idea. I'd hate it if newbies were relegated to an area of the site or if they were ever made to feel that they were restricted to only posting there.

starlite_2

Or maybe an 'introduce yourself' forum..?
then people would know whos a genuine newbie and who's a troll/spammer

Quasar

Newbies are newbies to MSE, but who is to say that in "real" life they are not highly experienced in things that are beyond most of us? We were all newbies at one point because we all started with post no.1. Unless a newbie is an obvious troublemaker, anybody asking a legitimate question should be treated with courtesy.

I'm not exactly new myself but, being human, I am ignorant in many areas and often need advice on things that to some other users are child's play.

Anyway, I have always thought that rude and offhand comments tell more about those who dish them out than those at the receiving end.

CosmoCat

but why would asking a basic question be deemed as silly anyway? :dunno:

i don't think a separate newbie board is the answer, because as sra rightly said, why should new users be relegated to one part of the board because they don't have experience posting on this forum.

just my two penneth.

MarkyMarkD

A converse view is that there are people (especially, but not just, newbies) who come on MSE to have a rant about something, and then aren't prepared to listen to anything other than "yes, you're quite right, ABC Co are c**p".

They don't seem to understand the concept of a discussion forum which is to have a discussion, and that threads aren't meant to be exercises in mutual admiration.

Former_MSE_Andrea

Hi

Without starting a witch-hunt, please remember, if you feel there are particular people persistently being unfriendly/rude to anyone else please do report them to the forum team so that they can look into it and take action if they feel it's needed. If you don't tell them they don't know about it and can't do anything about it.

Thanks

Kool_Kool

I have felt very welcome on MSE so far, and have met with friendly users.

On another forum I have seen newbies, including myself, being dismissed and belittled because our opinions differed from that of some domineering and bullying members. A few have stopped posting, but others like me have continued posting there, and the temptation to wind up the gits is strong...:D