Changed my mind - how about a required "introduce yourself post"?

1. 83

   Pcunixposted 14 years ago

   OK, I heard the objections to my idea of no hubs/no forum posts and see the validity.
   
   How about a mandatory "Introduce yourself" post that has to survive not being flagged by X number of people in X amount of time and if they pass, they have access to every forum.  Otherwise, no posting.
   
   Yes, they can lie and make up a story we will buy.  But that takes a little effort and a little time and a little intelligence.  Most call girls won't bother.   Most children won't be able to do it well enough.  Most drunks won't either.  The laziest of the spammers and sock puppets might, but we might filter out one or two.
   
   Any reason not to do that?  If you want, you could even tell people flat out it's fine to make up the whole thing if they want- we might get some very creative and fun to read posts!
   
   And I DO NOT mean it has to be autobiographical!  Whatever you put on your profile page would be fine.  Just enough for people to know or be fooled into thinking you are not a call girl, a child, or a drunk.

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      anonimuzzposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Hmmm... I don't see that many people bothering themselves to read every single introductory post, analyse it in order to filter spammers and such and, on top of that, flag it if the poster doesn't 'pass the test'. I'm not discussing the idea now, just the method. Introduction threads are among the least interesting there can possibly be on any forum. Again, I think they just serve to create a false sense of security among new members, thinking that they automatically make them part of the community. In my opinion, our integration within any community is determined as time goes by, not on the moment we introduce ourselves, lol. Anyway, and to stop rambling, how many people, realistically, will do as you suggest not only on the beginning, but at all times, until the rule is changed or erased?

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         EmpressFelicityposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Yeah.  What you said.

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      Rafiniposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I actually like this idea.  A mandatory introduction post in the forums when you sign up.  Maybe even automatic?  Like the emails sent to all your followers, except it would go to the forums - then all new hubbers would have the opportunity to gain followers, and everyone who's active in the forums would have the opportunity to get to know new hubbers as they come on board.

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      Shadesbreathposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      
      
      Hey, I thought we were friends! Don't be a hater.

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2. 69

   lrohnerposted 14 years ago

   PCUnix, I actually agree that people with no hubs shouldn't be able to post. After all, HubPages only exists to write hubs, not to give folks a platform to voice their political/religious views. That's just a perk.

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3. 89

   wildernessposted 14 years ago

   Irohner, I've read most of that other thread, and agreed with it for the most part.  Until I remembered my own beginnings.  I originally came to HP to post on a controversial hub and eventually found the forums and posted there for a while on some interesting threads before I had any idea what HP was about.
   
   Without the forums and the ability to post I would never have written my first hub - I didn't even know I could!
   
   I would love to get rid of the spammers, but don't have any good way to do it except what the staff now does.  It takes a little time (although I don't find that objectionable) but I would rather see that than lose a bunch of good potential hubbers.

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      lrohnerposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I hear you...but the bottom line is that you wanted to post on the forum and that's how you got started. Would you still have done that if you had to write a hub first? If the answer is yes, then great. That's what HP is all about. If the answer is no, then buh bye.
      
      I do believe you are the exception rather than the rule.

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         sofsposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         I agree with you, we need to have some standards  in place, just to get rid of the spammers.  Writing one or two decent hubs is not a big deal at all for a person who is serious.
         Post that are flagged down need to be taken off faster.

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         wildernessposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         My point was that I didn't even know I could write a hub!  Therefore I wouldn't have.
         
         And I agree that I am the exception; few people nowdays are as ignorant as I am about the commonplace workings of the internet and particularly those of social sites, which is what I perceived HP to be.

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4. 76

   mega1posted 14 years ago

   just like in ordinary life, a certain amount of discerning attention on our part will prevent us from having to spend too much time on sock puppets, trolls or spammers.  Just look at it - report it if you think it needs to be reported and get on with things - I think more rules and regulations would change HP into something else - something not as wonderful and free and diverse as it is now.  I don't happen to like it when people come to the forums just to flirt - it is distracting and silly, often redundant and not too smart and sometimes crude - but what the heck - I can get past it and I wouldn't want there to be a "no flirting" rule.   We'll be alright - people have often advised me to just ignore the things that bother me so much on the forums and for the most part it works for me.  no more rules, please!

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5. 70

   LeanManposted 14 years ago

   Hi mega, not seen you for a while.. how are you? Missed seeing you around. Do I have to stay up till 6am just to see you??
   
   Oh... freedom... yeah...
   
   It is not too hard to report spammers, not a big problem. Even if they have to publish a hub they can publish garbage then start to spam.. So we either report the garbage hub.. or the spam in the forum..
   
   I hope they don't ban flirting mega....

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      mega1posted 14 years agoin reply to this

      oh gee, no, just SOME people's flirting - dumb flirting, you know?  I have no idea who or what I'm talking about - and no one's flirted with me ever since we had our little fling!  Maybe they think I'm a monogaflirt?  anyway thanks and nice to see you too, have been trying to spend less time online and more time in the real world - but it is not easy!

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         LeanManposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         I hope you are not avoiding me after..... last time. I know you want to chat some more...
         
         I have been staying up till after 6am here just to see you again...
         
         I like monogaflirt... great term... you're the best mega...
         
         Been taking stalking classes... do they work??

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            mega1posted 14 years agoin reply to this

            I was gonna go watch a homosexual movie, but I'd rather stay and talk to you!  you win!
            
            for a little while - I put it on pause
            
            stalking classes?  you have to have someone teach you how to obsess on someone?  I thought that came naturally to all us perverts!  First, pick someone you know you can't have - then try to find out all about them, then ceaselessly follow them - be careful to not cross the line into perverted senseless killer.
            
            no, on second thought, don't.   You can follow people on HP without being a stalker, no one cares!  In fact, I go for that! big time. 

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6. 76

   mega1posted 14 years ago

   sorry for the hijack - I give back thread now, ok?

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7. 65

   relacheposted 14 years ago

   How are you going to get people who can't be bothered to read the site rules under present conditions to create a satisfactory intro post?

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      mega1posted 14 years agoin reply to this

      that's the thing, see - what they're saying is if people don't read the rules and post spam or other we flag them - which is what we do anyhow, so I don't see why making another rule that people have to introduce themselves would improve HP - I really don't see it.

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         relacheposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         I don't see how what is being proposed is going to be any different from how things are now either...

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            Pcunixposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            First - it is not "passing muster".  Nobody would have to approve - just that you couldn't have 5, 10, or whatever number you want to set disapprove, as would obviously happen with call girls etc.
            
            And it is different from now, because it keeps them from posting for a galf hour or an hour or whatever you want to set, which will send the call girls and the laziest spammers to an easier target.
            
            If you don't get whacked, you can post.  If by chance somebody legit gets delayed,  they can complain, the admins can look at it and fix it.
            
            That is different.
            
            Slowing people down works.  I wrote comment spam control software at my iwn site and part of its method is to delay them when things look fishy.  It works - they give up and move on to greener fields.

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8. 76

   mega1posted 14 years ago

   are there a lot of new hubbers?  wouldn't the forums become inundated with "intros"?  Would current hubbers be exempt?  Would current hubbers have to read the "intros" and vote? What about people who want to just write hubs and aren't interested in the forums - do they have to do this intro too?
   
   There are many reasons why this is too unworkable! and I hope people will see that HP is what it is - why not accept it?  continue to report those who spam (not really that many in forums) and sockpuppets too, that takes care of that!  With all this dissatisfaction with HP as it is - why not go to some other forum where the conditions are more to your liking?

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9. 61

   Lisa HWposted 14 years ago

   PC, I liked some version of your other idea better.  I don't really like a "passing muster" approach as well as I like "meeting a minimum requirement" approach.   

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10. 61

    Disturbiaposted 14 years ago

    I don't like anything that is mandatory.  Why should anyone have to pass muster or minimum requirements anyway?  Who gets to decide what those are?  And do you really read those intros?  I've read some and they are all the same old boring stuff...  Hi, I'm "soandso"  from "someplacestupid" and I'm new to hubpages (as if we couldn't tell) and I'm all about about blah, blah, blah and I hope you like me, and by the way, how do I get more traffic to my hubs, and how much money can I make, and what's a good hubscore and more blah blah blah. YUK!   
    
    And what do you have against call girls anyway?... LOL
    
    Save the slings and arrows please, I'm kidding here... I shouldn't even have to say this but the world if full of humorless people who often don't get it and I don't want to start a moral uprising here. 
    
    Have a nice day

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11. 87

    WryLiltposted 14 years ago

    I'm not getting involved in the argument (referring to other post as well as this one) - I hate spammers as much as anyone but I can see pros and cons for both sides (including good honest folk might not stay because they can't post, and spammers might be willing to do that extra bit of work anyway, but will stop at least 75%.)
    
    However the idea of an introduction forum post is a good idea, even if not mandatory. There's a chat/forum site I occasionally visit that reminded me of this idea. Basically upon signing up a big "Please visit the forums and post on the 'fresh meat' forum" sign appears in big letters at the top of the page. It's not mandatory but it does get the attention and give the newbie somewhere and something to do.
    
    There's my feedback. Although I can't see any clear way to implement either of your exact ideas, personally, hopefully the staff might be able to use it as a general jumping off point at some stage.

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       Disturbiaposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       I like the "fresh meat forum" idea.

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          anonimuzzposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          I like it too. Lots of good stuff to eat.

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12. 87

    WryLiltposted 14 years ago

    I'm wondering why this topic has fallen while the other is still going. I think this might be a better idea in the end...

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    IntimatEvolutionposted 14 years ago

    I don't do well with what's require.

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14. 60

    Teresa McGurkposted 14 years ago

    Hi, there: my name's Teresa, and I'm Pisces. No--scratch that, I'm Aquarius, really.  Anyway, I'm not a call girl, and I don't like Spam (even grilled); I must admit, though, that I once shared a taxi with a prostitute in Paris.
    
    It just seemed appropriate.  She looked tired, and I felt sorry for her.

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       Pcunixposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       Sounds like a perfect fit, I think.

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       IzzyMposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       Hey I used to drive a taxi for a living! I took many a prostitute home, or out, or even to places with her clients.
       God love them - most of them barely more than children but with a heroin addiction:(

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          Teresa McGurkposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          You must have seen a few sights, driving a taxi. What I remember most is this lady's shoes, which were so impossibly high that I don't know how she was walking on them.  I didn't feel sorry for her because she was a prostitute by the way, as she obviously had way much more money than I did; I simply felt sorry because she looked so tired and she needed to get across the Bois de Boulogne.

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       Shadesbreathposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       Never give up on your dreams, Teresa.  I too am not a call girl, but I won't stop believing. Until then, I just keep trying new SPAM recipes.

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          Teresa McGurkposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          Thank you; you are all so kind to newcomers, here. I feel welcome.
          By the way, what are your favorite Spam recipes?

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             Shadesbreathposted 14 years agoin reply to this

             I like a nice warm SPAM smore.  You can heat the spam on your stick the same time you hold the marshmallow over the campfire, then drop them both on the chocolate bar and grahm cracker. MMmmMmmm, that's good eatin' right there.

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                WryLiltposted 14 years agoin reply to this

                I think I just threw up a little in my mouth.

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                Teresa McGurkposted 14 years agoin reply to this

                That sounds so inviting, I must try it sometime.  And do you eat it, then, or simply drink in the warm aroma?
                
                edit: oops, you just said you ate it.

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                   Shadesbreathposted 14 years agoin reply to this

                   You are quite right about the aroma.  Nothing sings, "Ambrosia!" like the scent of warm pork gristle and melting chocolate whispered upon an olfactory wind.

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                      Teresa McGurkposted 14 years agoin reply to this

                      Ah! reminds me of my days as a waif on the streets of Madrid, watching the butcher in the market trimming fat off the chuletas, and slinging it at the happy cat sitting on the counter beside the meat so fresh it needed no dyes or packaging to hide in.

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                      Randy Godwinposted 14 years agoin reply to this

                      MMM MMM!  Hush yore mouth!

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