Newbies have feelings too, you know.
I'm so glad I didn't make a newbie thread when I arrived. Within seconds of posting, I'd have been claimed, sexored, and generally have people spam up my welcome thread. It's hardly surprising that most newbies don't stick around for more than a week. If I was new, I'd be scared stiff.
I'm not saying that everyone should be restricted to a generic welcome, but that people should tone it down a little. Newbie threads should be about the newbie, not about who can give them the funniest object.
Another thing that rather upset me was the treatment of kirk81 in this thread. Yes, the guy was kind of irritating, but the replies in that thread were just downright horrible, whatever way you look at them. I think we sometimes forget that most people who join EoFF come from mucher smaller forums, where short, generally topic-less posts are acceptable, and that making the transition to a large community such as this can be difficult. We've seen people mature over time, and I think we should do our best to encourage that, rather than criticising innocent mistakes. To be honest, it saddens me to see that thread in the archives. I don't want to remember that as a part of EoFF's history.
I guess that now it's done, there's nothing I can ask but for people to be a little more accepting of newbies. Point out their mistakes, yes, but don't criticise, and they'll do everything they can to correct them. Give them time, and perhaps they won't run away after only a few hours online.
