Introduction/Welcome Forum Guidelines
Writing an Introduction
There's no word count maximum or minimum, so feel free to write whatever you feel does you justice! (that said, if your intro post is a giant wall of text, people are less likely to read all of it.) 3 to 4 sentences or so is a decent regular length.
What to talk about? Here are some ideas:
- Why/how you joined the site. Maybe you found the place through reddit, deviantart, tvtropes, or the Containment Breach game. Other members have too! Here's the start of a sharing of interests.
- What do you want to do on the site? Writing, commenting, voting, all of the above, or just lurking, people can give you pointers on all these things.
- What are some hobbies you have? Some others might share your interests, and can maybe recommend SCP articles that you might enjoy reading based on those.
- Any concerns or worries about the site you have? If you're worried about your first SCP divebombing or not being able to access chat, let people know. There are plenty of resources with the info you need to hit the ground running here.
Things to keep in mind:
- The Containment Breach game is not affiliated with the mainsite. Not that many people here actually play the game. If you want to talk about CB, they have their own forums.
- These threads aren't intended to get very long. If you want to strike up a continuous conversation, try the IRC chat.
- Don't put any images in. All images need to be collapsed on the forums, and you really shouldn't need one in your intro anyway.
- Don't feel like you have to say anything beyond a hello, and don't hesitate to ask questions if you're confused!
- Seeing as this is a writing site, if you use proper grammar/punctuation/spelling/syntax, people are more likely to take you seriously. ;)
Writing a Welcome
Generally staff members write welcome messages, but if you're a regular member and you'd like to lend a hand in welcoming in new members, feel free to do so!
Some things you can do? HERE, HAVE SOME IDEAS.
- Links! If you notice that someone mentions wanting to write for the site, link them to the sandbox, forums, and/or chat. If they're interested in reading, suggest a few SCPs or tales you personally like a lot or you think make for a good introduction to the site.
- Guides. If someone is new to the site and wondering about a specific aspect to writing, forum-going, or general etiquette, tell them about different ways they can read up on what to do and how to do it.
- Share personal experiences. It's reassuring to a new member if they hear that they're not alone in having sandbox issues or the like.
Things to keep in mind:
- Above all, be courteous. Don't snipe people if they seem to be misinformed about the site, and don't make any snide comments. If someone's got a mistaken belief, politely explain to them or let a staff member handle it.
- Make your welcome specific to the intro. If the person introducing themselves has taken the time to list some of their particular interests, respond to those! Generic "oh hi welcome" messages seem half-hearted and don't really engage new members much.
- THE BEST WELCOMES ARE UNIQUE! Ideally, your welcome should be something that is relevant to the one person you're responding to, not something that could be easily used for several other new members.
- Do a background check. If a person says that they're interested in writing, check if they've got a sandbox and/or forum threads before telling them about those things (since they'd already know!)
- Don't overstep boundaries. Don't suggest private messages or chat meetups right away. Let the person acclimatize to the site first and open up communications on their own initiative.
- If you'd like to welcome someone, but someone's already posted a response, don't feel like you need to move on. The more the merrier, after all! So long as your welcomes are sincere and not spammy, they're much appreciated.
- If in doubt, wait for staff.
If anyone's got any further questions/comments/concerns/suggestions, feel free to post in this thread or PM me (Zyn). Happy forum-ing!
(account deleted)
