Welcoming and Helping New Members

[DohcBikes]

This is not a lecture, it's a serious question: Does anyone here care anymore?

Be honest with yourself vets, when was the last time you swung by to welcome a new member here, or tried to help somebody new get their trike going over the net? Are we all too wrapped up in the drama and post likes? I realize that we see the same questions and it gets frustrating at times to explain what we perceive to be simple things to a new guy, but this is a community. They need your help and hospitality, or they will just leave. Is that what we want? Get yourself up there, do some good, say hi to somebody new, and get that warm fuzzy.

[yaegerb]

Apparently you don't read my posts.

Or El's, onetrackmind, clean, 007, dirtcrasher, weezy, BKM, onformula1, Glamy, etc.....

:welcome:

[bkm]

Honestly, I've never cared for the newbie probation period and confining them to a segregated section of the site. I think that has lead to the decline in participation. I get the whole quality over quantity thing, but as veterans become less active we need new members to take over. I don't think the newbie probation is conducive to filling the gaps left by less active veterans.

But, to answer your question, I never think about the welcome section and most forums I've been on the welcome section is not a hopping place. My opinion, if they were allowed access like everyone else, there would be more participation across the board.


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[yaegerb]

Honestly, I've never cared for the newbie probation period and confining them to a segregated section of the site. I think that has lead to the decline in participation. I get the whole quality over quantity thing, but as veterans become less active we need new members to take over. I don't think the newbie probation is conducive to filling the gaps left by less active veterans.

But, to answer your question, I never think about the welcome section and most forums I've been on the welcome section is not a hopping place. My opinion, if they were allowed access like everyone else, there would be more participation across the board.


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Yet you still help them. Good man!

[3wheelieo]

Well im new here and i have been whole heartedly welcomed by everyone ive met . Shortline 10 got me in touch with ol duece , and he got me set up with my steering stem . I found mickey dunlap on here and he has helped me out a lot too . Im glad to be here . And i look forward to picking up where the vets choose to leave off .thanks to everyone on here and our head administrator for making the sight better all the time

[Mr. Clean]

Does anyone here care anymore? Yes, I always have and always will. Perception and reality, my reality is nothing has changed on this site for me, others think it has.


Be honest with yourself vets, when was the last time you swung by to welcome a new member here, or tried to help somebody new get their trike going over the net? I think the last time was the dude who uncovered the Nick 500 here in PHX, still trying to give him for free a 200x hub, I will do a self audit and see if I have helped anyone out lately.....oh wait there was a gas tank....I am sure I will remember more examples.


Are we all too wrapped up in the drama and post likes? No, drama on the boards is so unnecessary, but there are those who thrive on it, and always will. There is still so much I have to learn about the history of trikes, that is one of the reasons I enjoy this forum.


I realize that we see the same questions and it gets frustrating at times to explain what we perceive to be simple things to a new guy, but this is a community. They need your help and hospitality, or they will just leave. Is that what we want? This is the internet and a forum, people come and go for many reasons, not just due to redundant questions and frustration by the poster and person replying. You reap what you sow, always have and always will.



Get yourself up there, do some good, say hi to somebody new, and get that warm fuzzy. OK, but I am not into the whole warm fuzzy thing, others may be.....but that might better suited on another social media site.

[DohcBikes]

Apparently you don't read my posts.

Or El's, onetrackmind, clean, 007, dirtcrasher, weezy, BKM, onformula1, Glamy, etc.....

:welcome:Ok I get that but there's still a lot of unreplied to commencements and lots of unanswered questions. At least it got the conversation started. There's a lot of long term members that never post there, and that's fine, but what's wrong with a little reminder :)

[YTZ drew]

I'll admit I haven't been very active here lately, but I do try to help out when I have an answer. Not looking for recognition, more of an admission of lax participation. As far as excuses, I only gave an attic- bedroom renovation to blame. I will have to make a point to be more active, I do enjoy helping others on here as others have helped me.

[AK47KID]

Just my $0.02 but I've seen newbies ask questions then get a reply from a well known member here then the newbie not reply at all.

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[bkm]

Just my $0.02 but I've seen newbies ask questions then get a reply from a well known member here then the newbie not reply at all.

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That's not indicative of just this forum. It happens on every forum. People register for a specific problem, get advise on how to fix it, then disappear.

I try to help out on things I'm familiar with. I can give someone advise on the third gen 250r, but I've never owned a Yamaha 225, so I skip that thread. Lots of newer members seem to have the utility or hardtail bikes. I would be doing a new member a disservice if I tried to fix problems on bikes I've never owned or worked on.

[AK47KID]

That's not indicative of just this forum. It happens on every forum. People register for a specific problem, get advise on how to fix it, then disappear.

I try to help out on things I'm familiar with. I can give someone advise on the third gen 250r, but I've never owned a Yamaha 225, so I skip that thread. Lots of newer members seem to have the utility or hardtail bikes. I would be doing a new member a disservice if I tried to fix problems on bikes I've never owned or worked on.
What I meant was the newbie would say something like "I'll let you know if that worked out" when a vet here is trying to help and the newbie would vanish

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[bkm]

What I meant was the newbie would say something like "I'll let you know if that worked out" when a vet here is trying to help and the newbie would vanish

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I know what you meant and is exactly what I said happens to every forum. This is not isolated to just here.

[AK47KID]

I know what you meant and is exactly what I said happens to every forum. This is not isolated to just here.
We should make every newbie sign a life long wager stating they won't be a flake

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[atc300r]

The way I see it is I give a newbie advise and they dont respond back,I figure said advice worked and they are out riding and enjoying.

[RubberSalt]

I just like to build/fix things. I see a question, I answer. I hope said problem is fixed.

I'm not sure what the average age on the forums are, but I feel the younger crowd won't feel safe unless there is a fourth wheel. This will drive our community down. I know when I head down to Waynoka, I typically see 1-2 trikes. Our toys are on life support, and the younger guys don't know how they work. Heck, when the little ones grow up, 2 stroke engines are going to be legends, and 3 wheelers will be a myth only heard about in grandpas stories.

We need to find a way to bring in some new guys or members. Maybe when we buy/sell, we should promote the forums and suggest the buyer or sell to look at the threads to see the outcome of the machine?

It's to early to try and make sense. Sorry about that. lol

[oscarmayer]

Just make sure you ignore that "hot dog" guy. He sucks butt.


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[RIDE-RED 250r]

3wheelio: I see you are from Blossvale NY as I am. Curious as to where you live, maybe we know or at least know of each other??? Cool to see another member here so close by. :beer


As to the question posed in this thread,

Like others have stated, I refrain from trying to offer advice if i don't have first hand experience to back it up, unless the question is general in nature. No I don't post as much as I have in the past, but I still cruise this forum daily unless I am out of town on vacation or something like that. But lately, I just don't have any builds I am working on to post about. I always check out the new member section to see if there is something I can help with. Admittedly, I don't always respond to a question a question I know the answer to and for a few reasons right or wrong. Sometimes it is an extremely well covered topic that a forum search would net plenty of results on. Other times the question is so generalized like "help, my trike won't start" that I am not inclined to invest the time and effort into educating someone through the typed word on the most basic of mechanical principals and figuring out why the trike won't start when I can't even put my hands on it in person

. Sometimes you get the feeling that the other person is someone who barely knows where the fuel cap is. And I am not saying that in a derogatory or insulting way, we all learned from ground zero, myself included. But sometimes things are better and more effectively taught in a face to face, hands on situation. That is how I learned how to work on my own stuff as I was a kid growing up in the 80s before things like internet forums, Google, Ebay, or the internet itself. If I was lucky, I had a service manual. But more important than that was advice and hands on assistance from people like my Dad, grandfather, etc...

Anyway, I'm getting off topic...

I do like to help a fellow out when I can but admit that I get a little lazy sometimes..

On the topic of the new member section: I understand the reason for the new member probationary period but I also I see BKM's point on the topic as valid. Maybe just restricting new members from using the classified section for a period??? Probably better to start another thread on that topic though....

One last thing: what qualifies a member here as a "veteran"?? Just curious....

[Jmoozy27]

One last thing: what qualifies a member here as a "veteran"?? Just curious....

Being involved in at least 3 separate heated arguments in 2 different post areas with at least 1 build thread completed to it entirety.

Or does that qualify you as a senior member?:wondering

We may need to consult the "inner circle" to figure this one out. Or just ask glamy:beer

[RIDE-RED 250r]

Being involved in at least 3 separate heated arguments in 2 different post areas with at least 1 build thread completed to it entirety.

Or does that qualify you as a senior member?:wondering

We may need to consult the "inner circle" to figure this one out. Or just ask glamy:beer


LOL! Thanks, and noted... :beer

[ironchop]

I go in short bursts. Any more than five or six posts in one day and I feel like a post whore and nobody wants that.

As others have posted, I also gloss over stuff I've never owned or worked on but I read what others reply so I can learn stuff too.

The third thing is I lose my temper too quick especially if the reason someone is asking for help is because they want YOU to do the googling and searching and copy pasting for them in one centralized location so they don't have to. If the information or the process is too particular or detailed, they really just want you to tell them how to jerry-rig it so they can ride it till the wheels fall off. Or tell you you're wrong because their cousins friend from highschool said otherwise.

I also no longer like the waiting period. I think it discourages participation too. When I joined, I was ready to dive in immediately and my ADHD would have run me over to .org instead if I had to wait that long back then.

Yes, good things do come to those who wait. Also narcissistic sociopaths are also very patient soooooooo............who, exactly, are we trying to deter besides spammers?

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[El Camexican]

I try to be helpful. Whether or not I am is another thing.:lol: I enjoy trying to solve problems even if I have no past experience with the topic.

I'll often post some speculative advice on a newbie's post that seems dormant just to get others thinking. Lets face it though, many people post questions and don't even come back to look at the answers, or try to rebuild an engine with 12 separate threads "My 200X piston", My 200X crankshaft", My 200X camshaft"... That tends to piss me off at times. Then there's the Loganm type questions. It's all I can do to not recommend he soak his carb in muriatic acid for a week to see if it fixes his issues.:rolleyes:

Bottom line; no one minds helping if there's a chance someone can be helped, but after enough people don't listen to the advice, or even respond to those who've answered, people stop being as helpful. Sad but true. If a long time member asks a question they get answers simply because the rest of us know our time is going to a worthy cause, but most are skeptical of the newbies.

[El Camexican]

Being involved in at least 3 separate heated arguments in 2 different post areas with at least 1 build thread completed to it entirety.

Or does that qualify you as a senior member?:wondering

We may need to consult the "inner circle" to figure this one out. Or just ask glamy:beer

Inner circle membership is still available to anyone that can copy paste the 3 Mason logo. Frankly I'm a little disappointed that everybody didn't do it at the time. Messes with your eyes when everyone on a thread has the same avitar:lol:

[Queef Chief]

Inner circle membership is still available to anyone that can copy paste the 3 Mason logo. Frankly I'm a little disappointed that everybody didn't do it at the time. Messes with your eyes when everyone on a thread has the same avitar:lol:

So this isn't an "invitation only" secret society?


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[DohcBikes]

narcissistic sociopaths are also very patient No doubt! I have it on good authority that some could even wait up to a year just to post on these boards :naughty:

[RIDE-RED 250r]

I try to be helpful. Whether or not I am is another thing.:lol: I enjoy trying to solve problems even if I have no past experience with the topic.

I'll often post some speculative advice on a newbie's post that seems dormant just to get others thinking. Lets face it though, many people post questions and don't even come back to look at the answers, or try to rebuild an engine with 12 separate threads "My 200X piston", My 200X crankshaft", My 200X camshaft"... That tends to piss me off at times. Then there's the Loganm type questions. It's all I can do to not recommend he soak his carb in muriatic acid for a week to see if it fixes his issues.:rolleyes:

Bottom line; no one minds helping if there's a chance someone can be helped, but after enough people don't listen to the advice, or even respond to those who've answered, people stop being as helpful. Sad but true. If a long time member asks a question they get answers simply because the rest of us know our time is going to a worthy cause, but most are skeptical of the newbies.

Said it better than I was able to.

[x-rider]

You guys can help me all you want when I get my crankshaft back and start putting my motor back together. Ha ha.

[El Camexican]

So this isn't an "invitation only" secret society?


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Hell no dude! You're is welcome as anyone to use it. PS it was nice meeting you at trikefest

[Louis Mielke]

There will always be varying levels of participation. I know me personally I go really hard for a week or so on trike related stuff and then I have to make up for not focusing on my family. Trikefest is a good example. Basically the 3 weeks leading up to Trikefest my wife knows I have it on my mind so she gives me room to focus on it. I definitely don't ignore my children but I give them a little less focus than I normaly do. As soon as I get home from Trikefest it's like I forget about 3wheelerworld and trikes and it's all family around the clock. This happens for other events too, race weekends, the imperial invasion. My wife is amazing to me really.

The newbie section guys is a double edge sword. Yeah, it kinda stinks for new members and stifles some participation but you would not believe how many spammers it's cut down on and it gives the mod team a buffer period to weed out trouble makers. I know it's hard to remember but there was a time things were pretty bad with low quality posts and shoddy new members who were joining strictly to sell something and then disappear.

All I can say, is add a visit to the new members and welcome sections to your 3WW visit list. Put it at the top, before even looking in trikesylvania, hit the other sections first.

[RubberSalt]

I remember those days Louis. I looked at some of the first threads I've ever made. Evidently, my search button must have never worked lol

[Queef Chief]

Hell no dude! You're is welcome as anyone to use it. PS it was nice meeting you at trikefest

Same here Nico. It was nice finally put a face with the witty humor I enjoy on the site!

[Jd110]

My hat is off to the many of you that take the time to help others and put up with nonsense. There are a lot of you that post regularly, few come to mind that seem to always be there. You veterans are the engine that keep the wheels turning imo. Thank you for your support.