Moving forward, new members will get the title "LQ Newbie", as opposed to just "Newbie". If your current title is Newbie, it will not change automatically. I'd like to reiterate that neither title or post count should be taken as indicative of anything except participation level at LQ. Thanks for the feedback.

--jeremy

jeremy, Thanks for listening & thanks for the change. This solves the "new to what" (Ted Ts'o* is a newbie?) part of the problem. It also solves most the "it's an abusive word" part of the problem.
* How did I double check my spelling of his name? -- man fsck!

It's obvious that only a few here ever experienced serious abuse as a beginner for being a beginner. I am working on list of links, especially to novels, that might help to illuminate this problem. I am not yet sure whether or where (this thread?, the Wiki?, my Wiki?) to post it. Feedback welcome.


Meanwhile, I would like to propose a way to make the post count more useful: In addition to total posts, add the number of the current post -- "Post: n of m". So acid_kewpie is going for "Post: 26,000 of 26,000" . This would help in indicate the LQ experience level of a poster at the time of a particular post. I know the date of the post gives similar information, but this would be more exact. It would be particularly helpful the case of reading an early post of a now experienced member. It would be incredible if this could be made, however slowly or gradually, retroactive.

The numbers still would be indicative only of participation level at LQ.

Drat, GrapefruiTgirl has changed her sig; well, it used to contain something like "my Senior status doesn't mean I know a lot, only that I talk a lot". That would remain true.

For me i guess they would have to keep bumping be from newbie-member-newbie because i keep trying out new distro's even though i have selected the one that i use on a regular basis. Newbie, if anything, might attract a little more attention from members that regularly help with problems. The title would also let member know that you are new to the site and they might give you more resources than they would another member.

Hern_28, I think I'll clarify this a little if you don't mind..
(emphasis mine)

I think that if you see a person is new (to LQ! LQ titles aren't about linux knowledge... ) you will post links, like: "check out the LQ wiki ", rather than "check out the wiki." It's not that older members get the short shift, but more that newbies get a bit more hand holding. (simply because they might not know where stuff is yet.)

Of course, this is just random observation of LQ culture, not a rule or anything.



titanium_geek

Good clarification titanium_geek. Have interacted with newbies that know a great deal more about linux than I (possible most on this site ). But even experienced users can still gain valuable insight from the wiki's and how to's on the site due to the fact no-one has done everything .

Hi,

I just went looking for the thread because someone took my newbieness away, and I wanted it back??

regards... andrew.

aal- don't worry about it- titles aren't really a big deal. Moving on to "member" means you've been here a while- a good thing! It's not going to change who you are or how helpful other members are- they will still answer your questions, but perhaps assume you know a little more about LQ culture/where things are/etc and so don't have to spell things out so painstakingly.

Besides, titles are about LQ participation, not Linux Knowledge. (personally- my linux knowledge sucks. I've never compiled my own kernel for instance... shhh!)

TG

PS- the reason "it went away" wasn't because someone took it, but because your post count went up.

Hi,

I now know that it's like virginity, but you get 29 free.

But seriously, whatever this title system is supposed to be for, what really matters is how users actually use it, especially newbies (of both the linux and LQ varieties). In my case, I started out here thinking that "senior member" or even "member" implied that their posts could be taken seriously, and the caveat emptor truth dawned only gradually. I'd love to mention names, but it's better to refrain.

Anyway, I thought it was a just a little bit dangerous. Nothing alerted me that these titles just go with the raw number of postings. Such a system should provide some quality assurance feedback.

Suggestion: Number of posts should be divided into (say) four types:

1. Posts to your own threads
2. Posts to General, Feedback, etc type of non-problem resolution threads.
3. Replies to other people's threads
4. Replies to other people's threads that helped them to solve their problem.

I agree (reluctantly) that taking away the LQ newbie title is okay after a set number of posts, but surely advances through the levels beyond simple "member" ought to be driven by category 2 & 3 alone.

eg: Posting in (say) 250 different problem threads with (say) >50 rating one's answers helpful or very helpful qualifies one to bear the onerous weight of the "senior member" title.

Whilst moderator is clear and carries the right connotations, I don't find either of the titles "LQ addict" or "guru" very helpful in this context. Expert member would be better, but the number of posts should not be of overarching importance. An expert member is a senior member who has been recommended to the title by a sufficient number of forum moderators.

Just a thought, just a starting point.

regards.... andrew.

That sounds pointless to me and just overkill. Everyone knows the status titles don't really mean anything here.

Besides, General already doesn't count, and I'd strongly disagree with removing LQ feedback posts from the count- posts here are concerned with the actual LQ (the meta forum... a forum about a forum... etc etc.) and are important.

TG

Perhaps it would be an idea to do away with titles all together (more or less). If, as the moderators and Jeremy say, title is only indicative of post count then it is redundant information as actual post count is already there.

There could be then just three titles: root, moderator and member.

You forgot one .

Just goes to show how much notice I take of them!

Hi all,

By which I presume you mean either "everyone who has already been here long enough to know" or "everyone who uses other forums regularly"?

In particular, I did not know. Therefore, it is strictly speaking untrue that "everyone" knows. The reason I began to use forums at all was because I'd picked up a linux distribution, installed it on a machine I happened to have lying around and soon found it was Oh So Much Better than that other OS I'd been using up to date. I had (and still have) no intention of developing an especially high level of unix expertise. But I would need to get support somewhere.......

My post mainly concerns providing the best information to people who are both kinds of newbie: linux newbies as well as LQ/forum newbies (N2Ks). Part of the problem here is that linux has left its childhood, and is now strong enough to be taken up by people like myself, the unwashed masses of the computer game, those who foolishly use computers merely as tools to get work done. The N2Ks.

This seems pertitent:


Given one can see both the post count and the title, isn't the N2K entitled to think the title has something to do with expertise rather than length of service?

When I was an N2K I certainly assumed it had something to do with linux / unix knowledge. Silly me. I've expended quite a bit of time processing advice that turned out to be pretty much irrelevant to my problem at the time. I'd like to know if other people ever made the same kind of mistake, and how long it took for this to dawn on them? One has to be an N2K - both kinds of a newbie - to fall into the trap, I think.

So, unfortunately, the opinions of all you who are the old hands at this forum are essentially disqualified.

Let me repeat and expand upon the basic premise:

*If you are going to have a titles system, then (whatever it is intended to do and whatever afficianadoes think it does) one way or another dilettantes are going to interpret it at face value.

*This can be a little bit dangerous for newbies (especially N2Ks), who are liable to assume that the quality of the advice correlates with the title. Not major dangerous, just a little something that could be improved upon.

*The LQ systems should be explicitly and consciously designed around N2Ks needs rather than around the needs of experts and forum regulars, who are not going to be disadvantaged by such things anyway.

Why do I say this? let's say ~95% of all the desktop computer users in the world are still not yet loving linux. Aren't forums in a sense a candidate natural monopoly? So isn't your available membership base dominated by N2Ks? Isn't LQ the natural number one world leader amongst linux forums? Isn't it paramount to capture and hold the newest members?

LQ already does a magnificent job of facilitating the N2K transition. But it should always strive to make things easier and clearer for beginners.

Once a group forms, there is always a tendency to develop common understandings that actually divide members of the group from outsiders.
If one is to be serious about the LQ mission, it is important not to be seduced by this. People can even end up saying things like "Everyone knows....".

regards..... andrew.

PS: I'm not seriously suggesting you should divide posts into four subcategories, way too complicated. It's just a suggestion to illustrate that the data is actually available that could make the system more meaningful.

Shouldn't it be GNUbie, anyway?