Should it be required to introduce yourself first?

I have been on some forums where your first post had to be in "X" sub-forum before you could post to the main forums.

Currently on this site it is accepted practice that new signups should introduce themselves first. I think this is a good idea and many do, but many don't for one reason or another. Perhaps they didn't see the Introduction forum or didn't realize it would be rude to just start off with a question. When this happens they are often very rudely welcomed by some of the regulars and I don't see how this is a good thing for the forum. We were all new at one point and I know if I had been verbally attacked after my first post that I probably wouldn't have come back.

I agree that all the new people asking questions that have already been answered is a little aggravating, but telling them off after their first post is definately not the way to handle the situation. This forum is great because many people are open to sharing ideas, and if we scare people off they will never have the opportunity to contribute to the community in the future, even if they may not have much to add at the present time.

Perhaps it should be mandatory for the first post to be in the Introductions forum (if that is an option with the current software) or another option is that their first post must reply to an all encompassing "Read this first FAQ" sticky post that answers some of the really frequently asked questions, and tells people about the introductions forum, how to use the search feature, how to ID metals, link to the Escrap FAQ, etc etc. I think it could help the site a lot by being more welcoming to new users and less tedious for some of the regular posters who are obviously getting frustrated by all the new inexperienced users.

Your thoughts?

as compitition grows in our business, if there arnt some protocals we will all be swamped with answering question that are answered infaniten.
the last poster not only asked an obvious question, he/she/ did not give the administrators, the members or any one else the courtisy to
! read about the forum.
2 introduced him/her self
3 read any stickys
4 read any thread headers.

to me this shows a lack of respect to the forum, the administrators, the moderators, and the members.

it may not be important now but how about a year from nowwhen a million more unimployed, are wanting you to tell them what, where , and when, without any effort what so ever on their part. just my .02

Originally Posted by KZBell

Some seem to treat the forum like a staffed help desk and think folks are just sitting around waiting to answer questions. .

Agreed. I feel very privilaged to have had several questions answered by experts - I certainly wouldn't expect the same courtesy from any scrappers round my way. If all I have to do is introduce myself first, that's OK with me. This forum is a mine of free info! Being part of the community makes the experience more worthwhile and ,as pointed out, is best for security.

Some people here have no sense of smell !! If you smell a rat you get defensive. Who but a idiot or a scammer would come on a forum like this and ask how to identify different metals I ask you ? I think I'll go on the gold forum and ask them to show me pics of different pm's. And then I'll complain when I don't get what I want in just a few hours. Yeah... I've asked before if it were somehow possible to require an intro and a "trial period" where a noob could only read and not post. Must not be an easy adjustment for admin..or they decided it wasn't the way they wanted to go....I respect their decisions, but I hope they'll look into it again. Sniff, sniff.

Originally Posted by Dumpster-Dee

Who but a idiot or a scammer would come on a forum like this and ask how to identify different metals I ask you ?

Looking to identify different metals is precisely the reason I came to this forum in the first place, and many of my first posts (and some occationally still) were about that subject.

I guess I must be 'a idiot' or a scammer? Come on now Dee... you seem like a nice person who should be above that.

In college a professor once told me something about educating others that I'll never forget, and it changed how I think about many things. He said "there are many things in the world that are so obvious to a person that they can't see how it wouldn't be obvious to other people. But ask yourself how you thought about something 30 seconds before it was obvious to you, and it may help you see things from their perspective a little better."

Originally Posted by KZBell

Some seem to treat the forum like a staffed help desk and think folks are just sitting around waiting to answer questions. Some answers may come off harsh and that may be the intention but often times are from folks with thick skin that don't take offense easily either.

I think an intro should be required and as CMHN and others have suggested, better use of the header when posting by members to improve the search feature.

I agree that many people use the forum as a help desk, and 99% of the information they require is already available in the archives, and this is a bit frustrating. Thats why I wonder if a Welcome/FAQ/Intro-Yourself/How-to-use-the-forum sticky that they are required to post in and hopefully read might be a good addition since it would at the very least give a little more of a barrometer on how to judge someone and tell if they are just naive to the way the forum works or if they are completely lazy.

Right now the idea of "I have a thick skin so I can be abbrasive to all new people if they ask a question I don't like" that many have adopted is just not good for the community. The internet is a tough place to judge tone, and even if it wasn't your goal-- it is easy to make someone feel unwelcome, or even scare them off entirely. If their reasoning for treating others this way is because they are feeling like the new people are disrespectful because they didn't post in the intro section, or asking dumb questions that are easily searched for, why not have all that spelled out specifically somewhere easily visible to new signups like a read this first sticky.

I beleive that a introduction should be a requirement because it is the polite thing to do.As for the asking of questions people should use the search feature before asking. I for one think that people should take the time to research on their own BECAUSE YOU CANNOT HELP SOMONE WHO WILL NOT HELP THEMSELVES.

What some of you are failing to notice is the site is so packed with good information that almost every question that could be asked has been asked and answered with a hundred different views. For those of us who keep coming back after having already learned 99% of scrap metal industry this has become a COMMUNITY. Some of us have made friends, some have made enemies, and some have even formed sub-groups. INTRO's are needed but when you jump someones a** for not using the search bar it's un-called for. Because the questions that were asked last week might have a different answer this week. Just me rubbing my 2 copper cents together

As far as I can see there is no rule or requirement to make an introduction on this forum. Based on that I do not understand new posters being admonished by veteran posters to do so. Is this a forum run by rules or is it a clique with a few wanting to impose their own wishes?? Don't take that offensively but it is what it is. This is vbulliten software and would not be a big deal for a newbie to be in a user group that could ONLY post in intro forum.

And I think that anyone piping up to tell a newbie to write an intro post, really ought to be replying to ALL intro posts. I see that does not happen though which is kinda hypocritical imo and validates the "in clique" perception.

Is it a rule or isn't it...............that's the only question.

My 2 cents