# A Newbie Thank You **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 5, 2005, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-newbie-thank-you/293108 "2005-03-05T18:31:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gommsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bcef8e/32.png) [@gommsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gommsn)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2005, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-newbie-thank-you/293108/1 "2005-03-05T18:31:12Z")
[B]polycarp\*\* , **Earlyout** , **Zsofia** **Eva Luna** **Johnnie LA** , A big thank you to all for answering my first post. I hope everyone is as patient as you seem to be with a new person on the boards. I hope to become a regular around here, so there will be lots of opportunities for learning. While I’ve got you here, a couple of questions. How long does a thread stay viable? How long do we have to answer? Is it possible to respond to a thread once it is closed? If I need more clarification on a particular subject, what are my options? And finally, perhaps this is for one of the mods; Can I pay my membership with a debit card from Canada? WHEW! When you hunt and peck like I do, you tire quickly. BTW, Johnnie, I hpoe I did that correctly. I’m not a rocket scientist on the computer! ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2005, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-newbie-thank-you/293108/2 "2005-03-05T19:05:28Z")
It is good of you to take the time to thank your correspondents. I will point out some board etiquette (since you seem eager to be polite). (Well, duh, you’re **Canadian**.) 😉 It is not necessary to start a new thread to offer thanks. If you wished to acknowledge the help you received, you could have simply posted it in your original [A Lurker Question from Canada](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=305484) thread. (This saves on system resources where a new thread “costs” more than an additional post to an old thread.) Occasionally, one might have a desire to post a _general_ thread of thanks to a group for a series of actions (or something that occurred off the **SDMB** ). In that case, the polite action is to post it in the **MPSIMS** Forum. (Yes, there is a chance that your audience may not see it, but it keeps the other Fora free for the types of threads to which they are intended.) I almost merged this thread with your Lurker thread, but I’m leaving it here for the moment to give you a chance to see it. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2005, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-newbie-thank-you/293108/3 "2005-03-05T19:13:10Z")
> [@gommsn](#): > > While I’ve got you here, a couple of questions. > How long does a thread stay viable? How long do we have to answer? Is it possible to respond to a thread once it is closed? If I need more clarification on a particular subject, what are my options? And finally, perhaps this is for one of the mods; Can I pay my membership with a debit card from Canada? And just for your information (and I’m surprised **tomdebb** didn’t make note of this), but the appropriate forum for these questions is **[About This Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/forumdisplay.php?f=2)** or **ATMB** as it is abbreviatedly known. Some of your questions are already answered in the “stickys” (posts that permenantly stay at the top of the queue) and others you can address to the board where some Mod or Admin will provide a good and succinct answer. Again, welcome to the Boards. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2005, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-newbie-thank-you/293108/4 "2005-03-05T19:44:03Z")
The board ate my third paragraph–honest!! ---
**Author:** ![gommsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bcef8e/32.png) [@gommsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gommsn)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2005, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-newbie-thank-you/293108/5 "2005-03-05T19:53:57Z")
**tomndeb** Thanx, someone over in the Pit explained the mistake I made in thinking a thread was closed. Think I got that one straight. And **Tomndeb** , maybe my next couple of days would be well spent in the “stickies”. I do fully intend to join, so I better make myself presentable first. ---
**Author:** ![gommsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bcef8e/32.png) [@gommsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gommsn)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2005, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-newbie-thank-you/293108/6 "2005-03-05T19:55:46Z")
**Stranger!** OOPS!!!Sorry ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2005, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-newbie-thank-you/293108/7 "2005-03-06T09:24:57Z")
> [@gommsn](#): > > **Stranger!** OOPS!!!Sorry No worries, mate. It’s not like you are spamming about some [fictious invention](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=5894534&postcount=38) or anything. I think you’ll find most Dopers are pretty accomodating about normal misunderstandings…'cept in **The Pit**. Boy, they love to roast people there. 😃 Stranger