Forum users dwindling?

sax11

Moneybot wrote: »

we do seems to be having a lot of the "I'm a newbie what should I do?"

There would be less people posting if i said what i really want to about those topics

there are guides available for the newbies, RTFM as the old saying went , applicable to these forums too

matt.warman83

:rotfl::rotfl:
See all it took was one little post to start this off!

sidsnot

Never understand why it bothers others so much about newbies asking for advice when you can just skip past it and let anyone who wants to link them to the relevant section do so. Seems like it's just finding something more to moan about when there is nothing else at times. Maybe remembering we were all newbies at one time and not everyone is as adept as others at navigating round forums might be a good idea before you get so wound up at something so trivial.

gholmes724

I resent the term 'a bit of cheese' - I have Cheese Corner in my freezer now and cannot foresee a time when I will ever need to buy any again.

1trainer1

sidsnot wrote: »

Never understand why it bothers others so much about newbies asking for advice when you can just skip past it and let anyone who wants to link them to the relevant section do so. Seems like it's just finding something more to moan about when there is nothing else at times. Maybe remembering we were all newbies at one time and not everyone is as adept as others at navigating round forums might be a good idea before you get so wound up at something so trivial.

Sorry if I sound harsh but newbies always seem to be asking what's your secret, how do I win? etc...


or complaining when they haven't won for a week or two...


I could do without the post telling everyone how unlucky they are....

weeowens

1trainer1 wrote: »

Sorry if I sound harsh but newbies always seem to be asking what's your secret, how do I win? etc...


or complaining when they haven't won for a week or two...


I could do without the post telling everyone how unlucky they are....

New members are just that ie new.

Let's just cut them some slack & help out where needed re guiding them.

There are enough old members that are a PITA to keep us all busy :-)

Plus the odd new member may become the "star" poster of the future

gholmes724

Took me ages to work out you could click on the cross and mark the ones you had done!

weeowens

gholmes724 wrote: »

Took me ages to work out you could click on the cross and mark the ones you had done!

No worries.

A few tips here: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/1014121

Applicable highlights below:

Getting Started (II)


1 Does it matter what sex you are for entering comps?
Unless stated in a comp T & C, blokes can enter for spa pamper days & handbag comps & girlies can enter for men’s razors, laptops & toolboxes. Do be careful though as some comps will not allow the prize to be transferred, so think twice before entering for a full body wax or a visit to playboy mansion!


2 How do I keep track of which comps I’ve entered and what are the green ticks and red crosses for?
Do make sure you are a member of MSE because when you are logged in it will make keeping track of the comps you have already entered a lot easier.

Note: If you are not logged in ‘Thanks’, ‘green tick’ and ‘red cross’ buttons do not appear.

When I look at the forum, I can sometimes tell from the title of the thread if it is a comp that I would be interested in entering. If I see a comp that I don’t want to enter then I click the faded red cross button to indicate to myself that I have already made a decision about entering and have decided to skip it.



If I can’t tell from looking at the title if I want to enter, I open that thread and read more to make my decision. If I don't want to enter, then I click the 'Thanks' button (since I’m in the thread anyway) to thank the OP (Original Poster) for sharing. (It is hard work to find a comp that hasn’t already been posted!) I also click the red cross button to let me know that I’ve already checked out that comp and decided to skip it. Either of the red crosses that you can see on the post will do the job!



If I decide to enter, I click the 'Thanks' button to thank the OP, but will also click the green tick button to show me that I've entered.



By using the red cross and green tick buttons, I can very quickly see the comps that I haven’t yet reviewed. If you click any of these buttons by mistake then click again to reverse the action.

Some comps will void your entries if you enter more than once so I strongly recommend using these buttons to help you keep track.


When you return to the main forum page, you will see which comps you have skipped/entered as they will have a red cross or a green tick. You can focus your comping time and energy most efficiently on the comps with just a faded red cross as these are the comps that you still need to review.



Please note: Don’t reply to the post "thanks" or "just entered" etc. This will bump the thread back to the top of the Forum which can result in eager MSE Compers entering again by accident. This is very frustrating as they can then potentially disqualify themselves. ‘Bumping’ is also against the Forum rules (which I asked you to read in the Introduction). Don't be a bumper!

Before we had these buttons, the only way we could try to keep track was by subscribing to the threads themselves once the decision to enter/not enter had been made, (as well as click the ‘Thanks’ button to show your thanks to the OP). That displays a symbol beside each thread subscribed to. This is not something I would now recommend as it is clumsy and takes a more clicks than our lovely new buttons. (Please see insert below from MSE, as having too many subscribed threads can cause issues).


MoneySavingExpert.com Insert: Could compers please try to ensure you subscribe to no more than 10,000 threads please as it can slow down the forum. Many thanks!

To subscribe to a thread, open the thread & click the 'Thread Tools' > 'Subscribe to this Thread'.

On the next screen click ‘Add Subscription’.

You will then notice that there is a symbol beside the thread name on the Forum page which used to indicate that you had entered the comp.

3 When I closed the comp entry form, there was a pop up behind it advertising another comp! Shall I enter?
Be careful, some pop ups that contain comps are from sites that are well known for using your details for the world & their family to then send you unwanted spam email & even nuisance marketing calls. If you enter or not is your own personal choice, but it is definitely not something I’d recommend without checking the list of sites later on in this Guide showing MSE Compers combined experience of spam generating comp sites. There are plenty of comps on here without resorting to pop up comps of potentially dubious parentage.

fire**fly

sax11 wrote: »

go away lurkers :rotfl:

:eek: didn't you ever lurk :D

Moneybot

sidsnot wrote: »

Never understand why it bothers others so much about newbies asking for advice when you can just skip past it and let anyone who wants to link them to the relevant section do so. Seems like it's just finding something more to moan about when there is nothing else at times. Maybe remembering we were all newbies at one time and not everyone is as adept as others at navigating round forums might be a good idea before you get so wound up at something so trivial.

Doesn't really bother me, it's just it makes ccc rather boring if all the threads are a variation on the I'm new theme.