The FastDay Forum

[Moogie]

It has been suggested to me that it may be better to have a 'newbie thread' in which new members can introduce themselves without the need to create a new topic.

I'm in two minds about this as on the one hand it may add to the community feel if new members get posting in a large topic straight away, but on the other hand I'm concerned that some new members may be overlooked if several post in a short space of time.

I thought it best to ask for opinions from the community Do you think it's better to let new members create 'their very own' hello/introductory thread, however short-lived it may be, or would it be better to have one large thread in which new members can introduce themselves/ are welcomed?

I wonder if in some ways the individual threads are more beneficial in terms of making it easier for others to find members in a similar situation, eg when looking for members who for example have similar medical conditions etc?

I don't know, so let's vote! Feel free to state your reasons too!

[carorees]

I'm a member of a couple of other forums where they have just one newbie topic and unless I visit regularly, I miss the newbies' posts most of the time, so I think keep separate topics. They should stay in view on the first page long enough for a few folks to be able to welcome them before being relegated to page 2 as we get new members!

Slightly off topic, sorry, but arising from this: I don't quite understand how the 'new posts' page is populated, but my impression is that at busy times posts that are recent but not recent enough disappear off it, and at quiet times posts that are the most recent, but not recent enough in time, disappear off it. I think it would be better if it had at least another page to it and posts were not removed simply because they were too old, only because there were more recent ones (in number)?

[Moogie]

I believe it works on a 'per visit' basis, as in it lists the posts which are new since the last time you visited. If you then go away and come back again, the list updates with the posts which have been made since the time you last left the forums.

Oh, thanks for the explanation Moogie, that is actually quite clever (unlike me, evidently...)

Hi Moogie - thanks for this!

As it's presently set up, every new poster is isolated on their original post - there may be a
couple of responses, but then they don't go anywhere. And to welcome them you have to click on each individual thread, which obviously takes time.

And, as The Fast Diet gains in popularity - especially if Mike Mosley either does a follow-up, or the Horizon programme is repeated - this forum could become snowed under just with new posters announcing themselves all under new topics.

If you had just the one thread, that people could add to, then 'older' posters could welcome new ones - who would become welcoming posters themselves. That way a sense of community would build up. In fact, when posters join the Newcomers thread, they would instantly become part of the community.

This is the way the Mumsnet thread works, which has worked well for the past 5 months (over 9000 posts since August!).

The advantage of this forum is that you have all the other sub-forums - Research, FAQs, Recipes - your new Progress Tracker, etc, which the Mumsnet set-up hasn't got. And, of course, new posters can be directed to the sub-forums by more experienced posters. The Mumsnet set-up is limited in comparison, although I love it. If we had just the one newcomers thread, you'd get the best of both worlds - the real community feel (not that there isn't already a community feel on this forum!) plus the benefit of all the sub-forums.

For anyone who hasn't seen the Mumsnet thread, it's here:

http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/big_slim_whatever_weight_loss_club/a1663998-5-2-Diet-Thread-Perfect-number-10

Cheers, Paul

One thing that I think would be useful is to have something to flag up when there has been a new post on a topic so you know if someone has replied etc.

Angelax

[Moogie]

The icon to the left of the topic should change colour to red when there are new posts as well as there being a little paper/arrow icon beside the topic title to link you straight through to the latest posts

You'll also see a 'view new posts' link to your left which shows a list of any posts made since you last logged on.

There is also an option to subscribe to a topic and be notified by email if there are replies!

Hopefully one of these will suit your needs

As a new member I would very much appreciate a forum just for newcomers where we can meet people in the same boat- just joined and a bit "dazed" by it all, creating a platform to introduce ourselves and make contact.
What do all the other newcomers feel?

Yes I agree, just joined two hours ago. So very new.

I think you're looking for the 'New to 5:2?' board here: http://www.52fastdiet.co.uk/viewforum.php?f=1

I voted for individual topics for the same reasons as Carorees

Can I make an alternative suggestion, that the option for 'Notify me upon replies by default' is turned on for new members? I think at present it is off. Frequent posters might prefer it off or their inbox fills up with automated messages from the forum, but new or occasional visitors may not realise that their posting has been answered. I think it might help some new members to 'stick' which is quite important for the forum to thrive.

[Moogie]

Good idea Dominic! I think I've found a quick'n'dirty hack to make that the default for newbies, so fingers crossed it works!

Yep, I've just joined too. I'm sure I'll find my way around in time but it'd be nice to dip the toes before plunging in.