New Users/Welcome Guidelines!~ [Winter 2011]

[Meganium]

New Users/Welcome Guidelines!~

Ciao, and Hello! Welcome to the New Users/Welcome board (or NU/W in short)! Or... if you are a new member of this lovely community, WELCOME TO THE POKECOMMUNITY! We (Megan & Snivy) very delighted to see that you joined us! This board is completely dedicated to all the new members that join. You are more than welcome to introduce yourself to other members, meet up with other fellow new members that joined at the same time, and be welcomed by our friendly members. You can ask a couple questions while you're at it...just don't go overboard! You are more than welcome to ask at the Community Questions & Feedback, or ask a staff member in bold colored names. All in all, NU/W is the start line for new members, so we encourage all new members to make a thread and be heard!

Listed below are a few guidelines everyone (whether a new member or a regular member) needs to follow. :)

Posting an Introduction (New Topic; New Members Only)

★~This board is for introductions and reintroductions only.

The only threads allowed in this board are introductions made by new members, as well as reintroductions for returning members who have been inactive for thirty (30) days or more. If you have questions, you have the option to post them at the Community Questions & Feedback section of the forums, or you can always ask a staff member. I.E, a thread asking for team help would be best for the Competitive Battling Center's In-Game Team-Help, or a thread asking for a quick trade would be best for the Trade Corner.

★~Do not make a thread if you've been an active member (and have accumulated posts) for two months.

If you've been a member for more than two months, and have accumulated a fair amount of posts, there really isn't a point in creating an introduction. You *may* have introduced yourself in other ways rather than here.

★~Do not post a "leaving" thread.

"Leaving" threads such as "Farewell, PC!" or "I hate this place, GOODBYE!" are prohibited in this forum. This is New Users/Welcome. The point of this board is to welcome new members, and highlight beginnings for them. Please refrain from making those types of threads. However, if you would like to let your friends know that you're leaving, you can post in the Leave/Absence thread. Just a reminder that when posting your leaving statement, all PC rules apply. So, if you have profanity in your post or anything that might attack a member or a staff member, they will be deleted.

Posting a Reintroduction (for returning members)

★~Do not create a thread if you have posted within the last thirty days.

There isn't a reason to announce your return to PC if you've been gone for less than thirty days, or even for a few days. We understand that people come and go all the time, and that's alright. If you want to announce your return, you are more than welcome to do so in the Leave/Absence thread.

★~Do not create an alternate account and make a thread pretending to be a new member.

This is a rarity, but if you make an alternate account, and make a thread here *pretending* to be a clean new member, you are Sock Puppeting. You are more than welcome to make as one, two, three, even a bazillion accounts as you want, but please don't act new. I, Snivy, as well as the higher staff can check IP addresses, and we do it often. So, don't fool us. ;)

★~Do not create a thread if you're switching to an alternate account.

Name-Changing has been disabled in the past, and it's become quite a difficulty to stick with our old names. If you decide to be active with another account, it is best if you don't announce it in New Users/Welcome. If you would like to let people know that you're going under a different name, you can place your announcement on your signature or Private Message/Visitor Message your friends.

★~Do not make a thread if you are returning from a ban.

Members returning from a ban for whatever reason are not entitled to a reintroduction thread. Even if you've been banned for a month or more, you're still prohibited in making a thread.

Rules for Welcoming New Members (for EVERYONE, whether new or old)

★~Follow all PokéCommunity Rules.

This is pretty much self-explanatory. All PokéCommunity rules apply here, including the 4-word, 25-character rule, and intentional double posting. These rules also apply everywhere else in the community. Just be sure that you are aware of them!

★~Do not copy and paste your greetings.

Copying & Pasting your greetings is very rude, especially to the new member. We understand that you're trying to boost up your post count for some reason, especially the almighty 15, but this isn't the way to do so. Be courteous to the new member, and be unique! The PokéCommunity Forums wants our newest members to return!

★~Short & simple "Welcome to PC" posts are not allowed.

Please read the introductions! It'd be totally awesome if more members welcomed the new members, but please refrain from posting generic (short & simple) "Welcome to PokéCommunity!" posts repeatedly. It's also rude, and sometimes it can break the 4/25 rule. Make sure your greetings are more than just "Welcome to PC".

★~Silently report threads/posts instead of "mini-modding" in-thread.

If you see a member's post that is breaking the NU/W rules or PC rules, please use the little itty-bitty report button that's located at the top right corner of each and everyone's posts, and report it to us and/or a higher staff member. It's awesome that you're trying to help us out, but posting in a thread where a member is breaking the rules just makes things worse. Don't be scared to report! Mini-modding can get you in trouble. Always report if you see anything wrong. and seriously, Megan love reports. lol

★~Do not revive threads.

This, from the PokéCommunity rules, applies here. Do not post in a thread that hasn't received any replies 30 days since the last post date, even if you are the creator of the thread. If it reaches Day 31 of the post date, it is considered dead, and must not be revived. Doing so just creates nothing but spam. If you've been gone for more than 30 days, you are more than welcome to create a new thread stating your return instead of reviving your introduction thread.

Multi-Reply Policy

Some of you guys may be wondering about the Multi-Reply rule NU/W has had over the past, and why it's not in the rules anymore. "Is it still in effect? Will I get in trouble if I reply to an introduction thread more than once?"

The One-Reply (I call it the "Multi-Reply") rule was no longer enforced since October of 2011, and it was axed in order to encourage more discussion between new and experienced members. So, yes, regulars! You can now respond to an introduction thread more than once! Regular members can now answer new members' questions as well as get to know the new member a little more…right inside the introduction thread instead of having to take it to VM or PM. Neato, isn't it? It's also a nice way for new members to meet their first friends here at PC!

BUT…there's the downside to this, though. Snivy and I still have the right to ask regular members to take their in-thread conversations to VM or PM if I see that a discussion is off-topic, spammy, or if it's back-and-forth between two non-new members. You can reply more than once, but try not to derail the thread too much (example: don't use an introduction thread for trading Pokemon).

Tl;dr, discussion is always encouraged in introduction threads, just don't take the thread somewhere else!

Staff Contact!

If for any reason you have any questions regarding the forums, or these rules in general, you are more than welcome to contact one of us NU/W moderators, Meganium90 and Snivy063. We have an open door policy, which means you can always leave a visitor message on our profiles, or send us a private message... and we will respond as soon as possible. Both of which are acceptable! I've also created a small quick links section for the new members, filled with very important information, as well as quick access links to some of the community's most visited threads. Again, we're always around for any questions. We really don't bite!

Have a pleasant stay here at the PokéCommunity, and we look forward to seeing you around! :)

~ Megan & Snivy
(Meganium90 & Snivy063)
★Moderators of New Users/Welcome

Credit for the rules goes out to the previous NU/W moderators, including Hiidoran, Drew, sammi-san, BeachBoy, & more.