Newbie Handling?

[Ashman]

I am pretty new to this forum as well. I feel pretty welcome here. I am on some other forums that are a bit more inviting to new persons but I have also seen worse. Whenever I have seen technical questions about gear or general information, I think this community does a GREAT job of offering sound advice and direction. This site can be overwhelming with the number of threads and posts going on. It blows my mind the number of conversations that are going on. Walk away for a few days and you never really can get caught up on it all. That is a solid testimony to the information that is put out there. If I have seen a few times when a more veteran member gets prickly because a common question get asked again and retorts about the search function. That is well and good but not always a good option. Often the newer user doesn’t know what he or she doesn’t know and doesn’t know how to narrow the search to make it meaningful. Often great threads devolve into some esoteric or stat flinging conversation that begins to look like an academic attempt at an urination contest. (Hot water in Nagalenes, Freezer Bag Cooking, Nutrition) The “hot topics” are often unknown until you experience them, (Walk in the Woods comes to mind) and the resulting firestorm can be daunting to the newcomer. As with any online community it takes a while to learn the personalities of the “regulars”. Once you do that, it is much easier to know how to take the conversations you are reading as well as comments directed towards you. Joining an online community always has an ongoing tension. Many hesitate to join in because they are still learning “the lay of the land” and how things are but often it is participating in the conversation that helps you learn those lessons. New members and vets alike need to remember that. I’m curious Alligator, what prompted the thread?

[Jack Tarlin]

Ashman:

First off, welcome!!

But I have to say, suggesting to folks that they might want to check out the search option isn't necessarily a bad thing. There are certain subjects that come up again and again and again, (examples: The need for Maps; whether or not to use Maildrops; Hiking on a Budget; Hiking the Trail on a Tight Schedule, etc). Instead of essentially repeating comments that have been made many times previously, sometimes it makes more sense to direct people to already existing threads. This doesn't mean that anyone is avoiding or ducking some newbie's question. It merely means that in many cases, the question has been asked.......and has been well answered and extensively discussed......somewhere else on the website.

[Chaco Taco]

Ill admit, at first I was intimidated and some people irritated me and still do. Thats just the way it is. I love this site and think the people are great, even the one's I disagree with. I look forward to meeting many of you this year!!!

[Alligator]

... I’m curious Alligator, what prompted the thread?

I was looking for the original thread but could not find it a while ago, but I started the thread because someone made a comment that newbies were treated poorly. I thought that was off-base so I started this thread and put a short (I think it was 30 days) time limit on the thread so that I could get input back. I also made it a "closed" poll so that no one could see how folks voted (admin can, I can't).

It got more posts than I expected.

[mudhead]

Ashman nailed it.

Even if I had to squint.

[maxNcathy]

When I first came on this site everyone was fair minded to me and so they remain. Thanks.

But if I started to act more like a know-it-all then I would expect others here to speak up and point out the errors in my mind.

I come to learn and share stories and advice.

I would rather be hiking though ..sitting around camp ..speaking with you all in person.

[Ashman]

[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']

Ashman:[/font]

But I have to say, suggesting to folks that they might want to check out the search option isn't necessarily a bad thing. There are certain subjects that come up again and again and again, (examples: The need for Maps; whether or not to use Maildrops; Hiking on a Budget; Hiking the Trail on a Tight Schedule, etc). Instead of essentially repeating comments that have been made many times previously, sometimes it makes more sense to direct people to already existing threads. This doesn't mean that anyone is avoiding or ducking some newbie's question. It merely means that in many cases, the question has been asked.......and has been well answered and extensively discussed......somewhere else on the website.

Jack thanks for the welcome! I think I did a poor job of communicating my idea. I agree that the search function can be very helpful but sometimes it gives TOO much info. I did a search for "Hiking on a Budget" and got 9 pages of results! I scaled the search down to "hiking and budget" and got 5 pages of results! One of the first threads from that search is the "low income thru" a 22 page thread the quickly got hijacked. You can wade through all of this but it is overwhelming to a newer member. I think it is very understandable that a new member might ask the question rather than search. I think the new member has an obligation to the community to do a little searching to see what is here (like your excellent Article a very good read BTW). I would hope that it would be understood that sometimes the search isn't going be a help to the newer member who doesn't know enough to refine the search or that some threads have 22 pages of posts that have maybe 2 dozen responses that are on point spread out over 400 posts of ("I'm right you’re a weenie, HYOH but this is how you do it) that type of thing. I hope this is making sense.

[Jack Tarlin]

Ashman:

You made perfect sense.

Another good idea for newbies is to check out the "Articles" section of this website, where there are some full-length essays dealing with many of the subjects that seem to come up all the time, such as budgeting; scheduling; where to buy food; how to stay in touch with folks at home; general tips and suggestions, etc. There is a great deal of really useful info in most of these articles, and spending time here may spare you working through threads that are 40 pages long, or ones that have meandered off-topic, etc.

And finally, don't ever be afraid to ask a question here.

It can seem kind of intimidating to new-comers, but every Trail "veteran" here was a newbie once. The "thru-hiking" period of most people's lives is relatively short, especially when compared to their hiking lives, which can last fifty years. Every know-it-all thru-hiker with an "expert" opinion was a newbie once, or a weekender, or a short-timer. And every thru-hiker, when their long-distance hiking days are over, is fated to be a dayhiker or weekender again.

Some of us need to keep this in mind.

But keep those questions coming, and once again, welcome!

[SGT Rock]

I'll have to say that even though I have been here for a long time, searches when looking up past topics often don't help me find what I am looking for either.

[saimyoji]

I'll have to say that even though I have been here for a long time, searches when looking up past topics often don't help me find what I am looking for either.

Either I'm inept at using the search function or its not great, but I agree with the 1st Sgt. Many times I pour over pages of threads looking for the info I want....sometimes it is easier to throw out a repeat question. Nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong with recommending a newbie search on a topic either.

[SGT Rock]

I also made it a "closed" poll so that no one could see how folks voted (admin can, I can't).

It got more posts than I expected.

I never thought to look at that until now. Something that I found interesting is the folks that said either Very Poorly or Not So OK were for the most part old timers here. I wonder if that is a reflection of how the old timers sometimes percive things.

[ed bell]

Either I'm inept at using the search function or its not great, but I agree with the 1st Sgt. Many times I pour over pages of threads looking for the info I want....sometimes it is easier to throw out a repeat question. Nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong with recommending a newbie search on a topic either.

I'm in your boat, and I have found that it takes some time to really find what one is looking for in the advanced search. Once I got the gist of it I was able to find a bunch of great info. Having said that, there is nothing like asking a question and having people care enough to respond. I think that helps the newbies, the dedicated contributors, the current content of the forums, and the website in general. Myself, I would rather answer a question person to person than suggest a search.

[Programbo]

It can seem kind of intimidating to new-comers, but every Trail "veteran" here was a newbie once. The "thru-hiking" period of most people's lives is relatively short, especially when compared to their hiking lives, which can last fifty years. Every know-it-all thru-hiker with an "expert" opinion was a newbie once, or a weekender, or a short-timer. And every thru-hiker, when their long-distance hiking days are over, is fated to be a dayhiker or weekender again. ......Some of us need to keep this in mind.

I`m of a mixed frame of mind with all this...I sold backpacking gear for near 11 years and LOVED helping the new people who came in prepare for their first day and weekend trips and hoped they would love it and become lifelong hikers....Now people want to bypass that learning experience and join some sort of 2200 mile long reality tv adventure...I can think back to my youth and when I started hiking and while it is true that all the "veteran" or "thru-hikers" had started as "newbies" I think the vast majority of thru-hikers then were longtime experienced backpackers....Today it seems a LOT of people come on and say they are going to thru-hike the AT next year and they are asking what they should pack or eat as they`ve never spent one night on the AT or any trail...I am sure I am in the minority but that just bothers me for some reason...I am sure it wouldn`t bother me so much if there was a higher success rate among these people but when 25% quit within 32 miles (Or even on the approach trail) and more than half are gone 160 miles out (Which can take them a month to reach) I feel something is very wrong with the whole picture.
Meh...I guess I`m just a grumpy old dinosaur now

[adamkrz]

Backpackers on the trail seem more laid back, Here I get flamed pretty quick..

[SGT Rock]

That is a symptom of the Internet. Sorry about that.

[Maple]

I joined WB about six weeks ago and have found a wealth of information on here. At the same time, I am still finding my way around the site. Almost every day I learn something new. The site is very large and it takes a while to get used to it. I finally learned just the other day how to post a new string, and today I learned there are different formats. Tomorrow I am sure I will learn something else about the site that I don't currently know.
Patience with newbies is very important in my opinion.

[Alligator]

I never thought to look at that until now. Something that I found interesting is the folks that said either Very Poorly or Not So OK were for the most part old timers here. I wonder if that is a reflection of how the old timers sometimes percive things.

Optimally I would run the poll and only ask new members to vote. But I don't have any way to restrict that easily, nor do I think admin does either. If I leave it open, I suspect any negative voters may feel reluctant to vote. So I will rerun it in Jan and leave it open for either 60 (90?) days. I would think that would get the most exposure to new members. And maybe make it a sticky.

[Smile]

From where I sit, it seems that most of the negativity happens amongst those who have known each other a long time, who have met in person, or who have a nemesis here whose words or opinions rub them the wrong way.

I remember going to the SoRuck'06 and getting to see people and put the faces to the names on the net. Some of the names I'd recognized had what I'd considered "heated posts" with each other - but they were there, getting along fine and seemed to be having a great time!

WB is a such a great resource, and I've gotten some terrific advice as well from other hikers. It's all about continuing to learn.

We all had to take our first step into the woods, acquire our first piece of gear, and we were all newbies when we first found WB

[ed bell]

Backpackers on the trail seem more laid back, Here I get flamed pretty quick..

Example? I just looked at your posts and it seems like you have been treated respectfully. Maybe I am missing something. Don't take this post as a flame.

[Mags]

Internet groups tend to bring out the worse in people (I'm guilty as well at times over the 20 yrs since I've been online...)

In the alt-history group I used to read, people get in heated debates over Panther vs. T-34 vs Sherman tanks. Silly perhaps. But any sillier than our debates over Checmicals vs. Filter Vs. Not Filtering for treatment of water?

SOOOO...realize that most people on this forum are geneuinely nice and want to help. Ignore the occasional flame. It is an ugly reality of almost all discussion groups on the Innertubes.