talkmagic.co.uk

Now then I think this is in the right forum. It seems to me that at least once a week someone new pops up with the same annoying questions, all of which could have been answered by simply following the rules they were informed of and reading the stickies. You know the sort of thing, 'which books or dvds should I buy to start with' (one of the more acceptable ones), 'what trick can I buy now to amaze my friends with tomorrow' (the opposite), 'I've been doing magic for a month how do I get my first gig', etc.

Is there a way whereby the process of becoming a member includes some sort of mandatory reading of the stickies and rules, preferably with a little test to confirm that the applicant understands what the boards are for and how to get the most out of them? Maybe I'm just too grumpy today because I'm hot and having to decorate my own house for nothing, but there's just so many annoying threads about that I want to cry.

And while I'm moaning, can we have a moratorium on filesharing videos of the pass or ACRs? Just a month without seeing either would be lovely.

Thanks.

bronz wrote:I'm just too grumpy today

Yeah you sure are

Nah just kidding i totally agree with what your saying 110%, and I think the idea of taking a basic test to gain admission to the forums is a great idea.

However I do believe this topic was covered almost identically before, and so if that thread hasn't amounted to anything, I wouldn't build your hopes up on this one changing anything.

However I could be very wrong and this could be the last clinching thread so we'll all have to wait and see how things unfold

The main counter-argument is that any sort of restrictions on entry would dissuade people from registering at all - why go here if you can go somewhere else where you don't have to read all the rules and so on?

Kati

katrielalex wrote:The main counter-argument is that any sort of restrictions on entry would dissuade people from registering at all - why go here if you can go somewhere else where you don't have to read all the rules and so on?

True, but the counter-counter-argument is that it might weed out the quality contributors who don't just want shortcuts and freebies - and the trolls.

Citrus, this probably has been covered before and I apologise for repeating it (and thereby doing a n00b myself by not using the search function!) but I felt I had to make my own point.

Kati, I agree that people would be dissuaded from joining if they had to put a bit of effort in, but I don't see that as a bad thing. Fresh blood is good and necessary but like everything else in life you should have to work to get worthwhile results. Therefore if someone isn't willing to spend 10 minutes extra when registering to show us that they've at least understood the fundamentals of the site they don't deserve to be here.

I know I'm still quite new myself but since I've been here I've made a concerted effort to be constructive and I've learned a lot. I try to give as much as I take. Magic is a fantastic hobby that really rewards the time you invest in it. Personally I'm always happy to give someone pointers as to where to start but the very nature of the craft means that you can't afford to be too open, it's a self-motivated journey to success and forums like this one are here to smooth the ride, not provide a taxi service.

katrielalex wrote:The main counter-argument is that any sort of restrictions on entry would dissuade people from registering at all - why go here if you can go somewhere else where you don't have to read all the rules and so on?

Kati

Heheheheh—this is my idea of a utopian magic forum A fantastic forum, where people had to make an effort. And they would appreciate the benefits of harsh registration criterea, because the reward of a clean, idiot free forum would be worth it.

seige wrote:

katrielalex wrote:The main counter-argument is that any sort of restrictions on entry would dissuade people from registering at all - why go here if you can go somewhere else where you don't have to read all the rules and so on?

Kati

Heheheheh—this is my idea of a utopian magic forum A fantastic forum, where people had to make an effort. And they would appreciate the benefits of harsh registration criterea, because the reward of a clean, idiot free forum would be worth it.

I think it would be fine if it was a simple enough test. I don't really see anyone serious enough to be a good consistant member not joining for that little fact.

But, maybe it would be better to have a splash screen that says

READ THIS BEFORE ENTERING TALK MAGIC IF YOU ARE NEW! ALL MAGIC SECRETS REVEALED!

Of course you wouldnt reveal the secrets, it would just get them in there and reading. I am only half kidding.

I might point out that there isn't really one READ THIS NOW thread...

I know there's a lot available as stickies in the different rooms and through the search function but maybe it would be a good idea for the mods to get together and create one essay-style sticky for everyone to read? That is:

- concise rules and link to full rules

- concise explication of TM rules/standards/conventions and links

- links to the quintessential beginners thread

Opinions?

Kati

Good idea. For example, it's not in the rules to ask for secrets - but TM doesn't tolerate that sort of thing. So maybe they do need clarifying, and everything drawing together. I know of other non-magic related forums which do some things like this.