# Suggestion for guidance to newly-minted Dopers **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [September 20, 2020, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestion-for-guidance-to-newly-minted-dopers/921093 "2020-09-20T19:07:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2020, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestion-for-guidance-to-newly-minted-dopers/921093/22 "2020-09-21T11:49:33Z")
I didn’t realize there was a link. And found the comment strange. ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2020, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestion-for-guidance-to-newly-minted-dopers/921093/23 "2020-09-21T18:28:09Z")
What link? ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2020, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestion-for-guidance-to-newly-minted-dopers/921093/24 "2020-09-21T18:33:12Z")
Not everyone has seen the same movies, read the same books, etc., something you might keep in mind when posting. I groaned when I saw your comment. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2020, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestion-for-guidance-to-newly-minted-dopers/921093/25 "2020-09-21T19:29:12Z")
When I read Discobot in a blonde wig it immediately conjured up Michael Caine in Dressed to Kill. Slasherbots need not apply. > **[Dressed to Kill (1980)](https://horror.fandom.com/wiki/Dressed_to_Kill_(1980))** > > Dressed to Kill ​is a 1980 American erotic thriller film written and directed by Brian De Palma and starring Michael Caine, Angie Dickinson, Nancy Allen, and Keith Gordon. It centers on the murder of a houseewife and an investigation involving a... ---
**Author:** ![MoonMoon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonmoon/32/2959_2.png) [@MoonMoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoonMoon)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2020, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestion-for-guidance-to-newly-minted-dopers/921093/26 "2020-09-21T19:31:03Z")
Same. I rolled my eyes and sighed. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2020, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestion-for-guidance-to-newly-minted-dopers/921093/27 "2020-09-21T20:09:42Z")
I thought it was perfectly fine (and funny), but I’m a fan of Galaxy Quest and knew what he was referring to. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2020, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestion-for-guidance-to-newly-minted-dopers/921093/28 "2020-09-21T22:11:22Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > No, we’re not. If a newbie accidentally raises a zombie because a google search brought them here and they didn’t pay attention to the post dates, they will be greeted by zombie jokes and complaints. And if they post something that doesn’t quite conform to our standards (not realizing that opinions about something should be in IMHO and that they should avoid such in GQ, for example) then again all they get are complaints for something that they could not reasonably be expected to know ahead of time. > > There are some folks who are warm and welcoming to newbies, but there are many here who aren’t. This is something that as a whole the SDMB community really needs to improve (IMHO). This should be bolded, underlined twice and italicized. This is not generally a welcoming place for newcomers. Besides what **engineer\_comp\_geek** pointed out there is the ever popular " look at his join date" or ,god forbid, a new poster joins into an ongoing thread and gets a reply of “who are you again?” There are a couple of long time posters who never fail to point out the new guy on the board, and it’s not to welcome them. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2020, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestion-for-guidance-to-newly-minted-dopers/921093/29 "2020-09-21T22:13:42Z")
BTW, I like **discobot**. It’s replies are usually funnier than anything **kaylasdad99** contributes. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2020, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestion-for-guidance-to-newly-minted-dopers/921093/30 "2020-09-21T22:14:51Z")
Now that was just hurtful. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2020, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestion-for-guidance-to-newly-minted-dopers/921093/31 "2020-09-21T22:30:09Z")
> [@mordecaiB](#): > > This is not generally a welcoming place for newcomers. I second and third and forth this. It is not a welcoming place for the most part. There are a few, very few, threads where a new person is allowed to feel welcome. There is a lot of escalating meanness and gotcha!! as if to show “what do we have to do to you so you will shut up and go away?” “This is an old boy/girls club and you are an unwanted interloper. Go away”. I’m sure untold many do, more’s the pity. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2020, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestion-for-guidance-to-newly-minted-dopers/921093/32 "2020-09-22T04:02:24Z")
> [@chela](#): > > When I read Discobot in a blonde wig it immediately conjured up Michael Caine in Dressed to Kill. Slasherbots need not apply. Nah, it’s this: [![](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/c/c70f5ded1f82875f58ccece26454c4f2ce7030d5.png) ](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/c/c70f5ded1f82875f58ccece26454c4f2ce7030d5.png) (And I hope that image haunts your dreams–or rather your nightmares–when you sleep!) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2020, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestion-for-guidance-to-newly-minted-dopers/921093/33 "2020-09-22T05:29:23Z")
More like [this.](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/enfuturama/images/d/de/Bend_her.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20081013190509) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2020, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestion-for-guidance-to-newly-minted-dopers/921093/34 "2020-09-22T12:53:56Z")
> [@mordecaiB](#): > > This is not generally a welcoming place for newcomers. Besides what **engineer\_comp\_geek** pointed out there is the ever popular " look at his join date" or ,god forbid, a new poster joins into an ongoing thread and gets a reply of “who are you again?” There are a couple of long time posters who never fail to point out the new guy on the board, and it’s not to welcome them. I hear this sentiment a lot but I don’t see it a lot. Admittedly, I read a relatively small percentage of the total ongoing threads on the board. I suspect a lot of older posters remember that we used to be quite insular and snooty, but I don’t really think that’s the case anymore. I see “welcome to the boards!” quite often and can’t remember the last time I saw somebody turn up their noses at a good-faith contribution to a thread from a new poster. For that reason, I like the little welcome message that the board generates. As for zombies, I have previously used the Stewart’s Sandwich thread (probably the #1-most zombified thread on the boards) to show that even new posters who are warmly or neutrally welcomed tend not to stick around if their sole purpose in showing up is to bump a very old thread. No newbie has ever been berated for bumping that thread, and I don’t think a single one became a regular poster. They come in, contribute their anecdote or new information, and then leave again. But fine, start warning people under the “don’t be a jerk” rule when they abuse a newbie. Whether this kind of thing is rare or rampant, punishing jerks is always good for the long-term health of the board. eta: > [@mordecaiB](#): > > gets a reply of “who are you again?” I have often seen this used as an insult directed at an established poster, but never at a newbie. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2020, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestion-for-guidance-to-newly-minted-dopers/921093/35 "2020-09-22T14:13:35Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > I don’t see it a lot. I saw it as a new poster. And I haven’t been here all that long. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2020, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestion-for-guidance-to-newly-minted-dopers/921093/36 "2020-09-22T16:28:10Z")
You’ve been here for six years! 😛 That may not be a long time relative to the age of this board, but in Internet Years it’s a very long time indeed. A more relevant consideration would be to investigate whether the posters who did it to you then are a) still around and b) still treating newbies that way. But like I said, stomping the jackboot on newbie bullies as a matter of policy sounds great to me. I just think you’ll probably find yourselves not doing it all that often, or spending an awful lot of time arbitrating the spectrum between gentle teasing (“twenty lashes with a wet noodle, someone will be along shortly with the hamsters”) and outright hostility. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2020, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestion-for-guidance-to-newly-minted-dopers/921093/37 "2020-09-23T00:37:07Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > If a newbie accidentally raises a zombie because a google search brought them here and they didn’t pay attention to the post dates, they will be greeted by zombie jokes and complaints. And if they post something that doesn’t quite conform to our standards (not realizing that opinions about something should be in IMHO and that they should avoid such in GQ, for example) then again all they get are complaints for something that they could not reasonably be expected to know ahead of time. And then the thread gets closed. I really disagree with closing (most) zombie threads bumped by a newbie. Not only do they get made fun of for a few posts, the one thing that brought them here is ended in a seemingly punitive way and it’s All. Their. Fault. Other existing posters that may have enjoyed responding to an old thread from before our time here or were simply missed are also shut out. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2020, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestion-for-guidance-to-newly-minted-dopers/921093/38 "2020-09-23T00:54:18Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > And then the thread gets closed. When I first became a mod I would close zombie threads just because that was what we had always done. I started to rethink that after some ATMB discussions, and these days I’ll usually leave the thread open, unless it’s clear that the revived thread is going to end poorly. Often we’ll get some new and interesting discussions, so I think it’s worth giving the zombies a shot at some new life. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2020, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestion-for-guidance-to-newly-minted-dopers/921093/39 "2020-09-23T02:18:23Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > I started to rethink that after some ATMB discussions, and these days I’ll usually leave the thread open, unless it’s clear that the revived thread is going to end poorly. You’re making it hard for me to stay mad. Thanks for moderating. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2022, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestion-for-guidance-to-newly-minted-dopers/921093/40 "2022-05-19T12:31:56Z")
Has the “this is the first time … let’s welcome them etc” “feature” been removed ? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2022, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestion-for-guidance-to-newly-minted-dopers/921093/41 "2022-05-19T13:20:44Z")
Currently being discussed elsewhere: > [@It's been \[time\] since \[user\] posted](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-been-time-since-user-posted/964531/10): > > this is a “feature” of Discourse and we don’t have any control over it. > > Feel free to give your opinion of it though. Discourse is still being developed and maintained, and the devs do at least occasionally read through the Site Feedback forum. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestion-for-guidance-to-newly-minted-dopers/921093.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestion-for-guidance-to-newly-minted-dopers/921093.md?page=3)