new members' first post

[gll99]

Ai Haibara wrote

Actually, I thought the delay before new members could post was to discourage spammers and spambots, more than anything else.

That probably was the main reason why Baldrick introduced and or kept this process but even before that problem became an issue the subject of delaying first time questions was discussed here many times in the context of encouraging new users to read a bit before posting. Some felt that this would help to eliminate these simple questions.

It probably wouldn't be popular to create 2 tiers of members but imagine the advantage a mod would have if they could bounce a member back to read only status for a while until they went through the tutorial again if they asked those types of questions.

Although at times I may have made some differing comments on this topic:

Having been around a long while I've always felt that this subject comes up from time to time and the problem is usually over stated. On occasion when those questions come up, those who want to answer do so and those who don't just ignore the question. Occasionally an experienced user has politely redirected a new user to some reference material and they have taken offence at the suggestion and became rude. As I recall those were dealt with by the mods. In some other cases the experienced user was the one who was rude to the new users by belittling their simple question while offering no real guidance. As more experienced users we are better off just staying out of such a thread instead of flaming the newbie. Unless we are directing the person to some helpful material, Instead of attacking the new person, the suggestion to report the thread and let the moderators decide, is the best answer. It then becomes a non issue for the membership at large.

[TooLFooL]

damn, i didn't know i was gonna start such a huge debate! lol

but again, i wanna emphasize the point that: it's not just that they don't take the time to read first, but that their intentions are simply 'how to copy a dvd' - a subject that has questionable legality in most places, and the one question that can probably jeopardize this site more than any. when week after week you see people signing up to ask (you don't even have to sign up to learn that), it just seems that's the sort of thing these people should be quiet about... i'd hate to see something bad happen because of it.

[gll99]

that their intentions are simply 'how to copy a dvd' - a subject that has questionable legality in most places, and the one question that can probably jeopardize this site more than any

I for one understand your concerns and in the past probably felt much the same as you but my feelings have changed somewhat.

I wouldn't worry too much about VideoHelp and what vocabulary is used in the question. The context of the topic should clarify what the user is trying to do. If it's unacceptable at VideoHelp it will be quickly nipped in the bud and if it's flagrant, the user will likely lose their membership though an immediate ban.

Copying is kind of a generic term and best describes the function of replicating all or part of the content of a disc. It says nothing nor implies anything about ownership. In fact it doesn't even address it.

We seem to favour the word backup because to some it has developed into a term that implies that we own an original but I wouldn't expect a new user to see the nuance.

Terminology is funny because in the case of purchased commercial DVD9 most of us don't even truly back-up our discs. We may extract and re-encode the main movie to xvid/divx, or shrink it to fit on a dvd5 but only a few back them up as in creating a duplicate copy to dvd9. Even those who copy a disc 1 for 1 archive the original and use the copy as a primary disc to save the original from damage. So which is the backup? It's all words really until we understand what the person is trying to do. That is why the mods allow so much leeway until the intentions of the user are clearly against site policy and then they respond and act accordingly. All we can do to help is use the report feature to flag suspicious queries and statements so they can be examined and monitored as needed.

[dphirschler]

Newbs tend to think they can just:

1) put in a disc, click a button and backup.

2) plug their VCR or camcorder into their computer and make a DVD... even though there is no capture card installed.

3) improve a shit-quality source video by copying it to DVD.

So it's understandable that they ask the questions they ask. It's also understandable that they don't know where to look. Sometimes a little guidance is what they need so that they know where to look within the guides, or know where to search in the forums.


Darryl

[Guest]

Isnt that kinda stuff what the Newbie forum is for?
If this kinda stuff pisses you off, maybe you should offer help in the more advanced sections. If this kinda stuff is posted outside the newb section,get out the sniper scope.

[JohnnyMalaria]

Isnt that kinda stuff what the Newbie forum is for?

Maybe the Newbie/General Discussion forum should be split into Newbie and, separately, General Discussion.

I like to help answer newbie questions. I get frustrated when more seasoned members reply with an RTFM-type suggestion. It adds noise to the thread and, I'm sure, gives many of the newbie posters a bad impression of this place.

If you don't like the questions, why not stay quiet so that others that do want to help people who are genuinely overwhelmed with the technology can respond.

[Capmaster]

I for one remember being a video noob, back in 2002. I joined Heyday's DVCII forum, now dazzlegeek.com and was received with nothing but patience, sage suggestions and gentle nudges when needed. I will never forget how welcome they made me feel, and how much I learned in an atmosphere of patience and understanding instead of intimidation and derision.

This site's name is "Videohelp", not "VideoGurus" or VideoPros". It's "VideoHELP", and people come here to get help. Let's not lose sight of that fact