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ArcticMyst Security by Avery

New? What to include in your Welcome Thread!

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If you clicked this you are most likely about register, or already have which is great! All that being said, here a couple tips you should include in your "Joining/Welcome" thread which will help other members to better understand you, your background knowledge about the amazing world of lasers along other important information about yourself :)


Your Name:
Name? Sounds pretty silly to make a welcome thread without including possibly the most important part of it, what people call you right? If you take a look at previous "Welcome" thread you'll see some newcomers you haven't included their name which is very important as it makes it a whole lot easier for members to address a person instead of writing out a full username(if they wish to call someone in this manner) plus it also shows more respect toward yourself/others So, Include your name!!

Your Age:
Again, listing your age seems like common sense, but along with the name has been omitted from some newcomer's welcome threads. Why would knowing my age be so important? Simple answer, safety! Some members who build lasers on LPF will refuse to sell any laser capable of causing harm to yourself or others due to the responsibility they will bare if you do not meet a certain age requirement(most is 18 years old).

Your Location:
Now, location(which may sound creepy at first) actually isn't. Nobody is going to come over to your state or city and try to find you, instead it helps members know your whereabouts and better help you if you need to ship items or are looking for a member/lasers nearby! Really, it's all in your best interest so add it!!!

Your Previous Experience With Lasers:
Now this one is just for fun and interest. As this is a laser hobby, duh, members love to hear about newcomers experience/knowledge about lasers, even not having any experience/knowledge is fine, just have fun with it.

Interests? Why you joined?:
Again, around here we love to hear about what other people's interests are and even meet people with similar interests or hobbies so including it will make people around here happy! Also, why did you join? Was it just because? Did you want to join to because a members of this amazing hobby? Were you forced to? Again, We want to know!!


If you've read through everything congrats! Including all the following information(dosen't need to be long) is a good way to start your long life on the forums and honestly, dosen't having a strong welcome thread sound better then......

"Hey, my name is *** and I joined because I want a burning laser, where can I find one?" See?

I hope you found this helpful and we'll see you around the forums :wave:

-Alex
 





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dosen't having a strong welcome thread sound better then......

"Hey, my name is *** and I joined because I want a burning laser, where can I find one?"

That's a great example of what not to say in your welcome thread.

I also suggest you consider adding a photo of yourself, it's certainly not required but it's always nice to see who your talking to. In your "User CP" there's a place to post a photo so it shows when someone visits your profile. If you view my profile you will see a photo of me. We also have a "Post a picture of yourself!" thread. Here on page 71 post #1123 you can see photos of me from early last year:
http://laserpointerforums.com/f57/post-picture-yourself-43721-71.html

Here is my welcome thread from 5-16-2013.
http://laserpointerforums.com/f37/hello-snohomish-county-washington-82462.html

Alan
 
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That's a great example of what not to say in your welcome thread.

I also suggest you consider adding a photo of yourself, it's certainly not required but it's always nice to see who your talking to. In your "User CP" there's a place to post a photo so it shows when someone visits your profile. If you view my profile you will see a photo of me. We also have a "Post a picture of yourself!" thread. Here on page 71 post #1123 you can see photos of me from early last year:
http://laserpointerforums.com/f57/post-picture-yourself-43721-71.html

Alan

Thanks!

Yes, a profile picture is always a good thing to add as Alan said, it's nicer to put a face with a username instead of just a blank picture :)

-ALex
 
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This is very very very good stuff. This should certainly get a sticky. Nice work Alex! I would've written my intro different if I had seen this thread first :na:
+rep
 
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This is very very very good stuff. This should certainly get a sticky. Nice work Alex! I would've written my intro different if I had seen this thread first :na:
+rep

Awesome, appreciate the rep! I hope new members use this though haha :p

-Alex
 
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I disagree about the photo though. No one should be pressured into providing their picture if they don't want to. Buying something is one thing but personal information is another and shouldn't be pushed. I already feel that making a welcome thread is pushing it tbh
 
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I disagree about the photo though. No one should be pressured into providing their picture if they don't want to. Buying something is one thing but personal information is another and shouldn't be pushed. I already feel that making a welcome thread is pushing it tbh

You have a point on the picture. That being said, making a welcome thread is always a good thing as we know when a new member joins and helps us know each other interest/dislikes instead of just having a newcomer post a reply into a thread and everyone wondering..."Who is this guy"? :)

-Alex
 
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You have a point on the picture. That being said, making a welcome thread is always a good thing as we know when a new member joins and helps us know each other interest/dislikes instead of just having a newcomer post a reply into a thread and everyone wondering..."Who is this guy"? :)

-Alex

But that's the nature of forums. It's the nature of the internet. We don't need to introduce ourselves to every single person we talk to. Some people just want to learn rather than join the community. Imagine if wikipedia was like that, where you would have to get to know the staff just to read up on how the hell Justin Bieber became so popular :D I kid I kid.
 
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But that's the nature of forums. It's the nature of the internet. We don't need to introduce ourselves to every single person we talk to. Some people just want to learn rather than join the community. Imagine if wikipedia was like that, where you would have to get to know the staff just to read up on how the hell Justin Bieber became so popular :D I kid I kid.

Haha! No but I agree, I do. You don't need to make a welcome thread if you don't want to, no need to over think it. Just think it like this, if you decide to make a welcome thread, don't just write a one line sentence with no detail! I much rather reading why people decided to join LPF and their laser background then just someone who(as listed above) just wants a HIGH POWER BURNINZ LAZORZ :D

-Alex
 

Teej

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I think of it AS a community....so, introductions make that aspect work.

Its also online, so, some people have a right to protect their privacy.

Hence screen names instead of just your name, and so forth.

If you could not see profiles unless registered etc, as a QA/QC step on security...perhaps with mods able to see who looks at who in case there's a spammer, etc.

Both parties friending or something to acknowledge willingness to share info, etc, could work?

So, on a purely social basis, give it IS a forum...more info is fun/interesting...but mandatory info, published, might be bad.
 
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I think of it AS a community....so, introductions make that aspect work.

Its also online, so, some people have a right to protect their privacy.

Hence screen names instead of just your name, and so forth.

If you could not see profiles unless registered etc, as a QA/QC step on security...perhaps with mods able to see who looks at who in case there's a spammer, etc.

Both parties friending or something to acknowledge willingness to share info, etc, could work?

So, on a purely social basis, give it IS a forum...more info is fun/interesting...but mandatory info, published, might be bad.

Well summarized! Of course, anything you don't feel comfortable sharing to others need not be written but members should try to include as much information as they can within their comfort zone :)

-Alex
 

Gabe

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Good thread, would've been very useful if it were around when I first joined... :D Yes I agree, this would make a good sticky. Help get some more lively intros in here, because I especially like the community aspect of LPF. Some people are "here to learn and teach, not make friends", well that's not me.
 
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Good thread, would've been very useful if it were around when I first joined... :D Yes I agree, this would make a good sticky. Help get some more lively intros in here, because I especially like the community aspect of LPF. Some people are "here to learn and teach, not make friends", well that's not me.

Thanks Gabe!

-Alex
 

APEX1

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I think this is great Alex. I look at this forum as a huge family. well at least the serious ones. I definitely have to update my profile after seeing this. +rep man
 
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I think this is great Alex. I look at this forum as a huge family. well at least the serious ones. I definitely have to update my profile after seeing this. +rep man

Thank you! Yes, LPF is one big family and we need to look over for one another :beer:

-Alex
 




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