I'm going to create a new welcome page for new people to see right after they register a username on the site. What kind of information do you think would be useful to include on the page? Some ideas include:

- How to check personal messages
- Links to the CoC and FAQs
- How to view the newest uploaded images
- Who to ask if they have questions

Any others?

i) Brief description of possible "Jobs" and where to find them.

Ie. "Comment Requests", subscriptions to imagery/discussion threads et al.


ii) Would like to see a link provided to "How to Give a Good Review" ... and subsequently, if at all possible ... an expansion of that page.

Suggestions for the above, found here in the intial posting of this discussion thread:

"Is Critique Dead? - Part II" ... the 'How To' stuff.

If need be, I would be more than willing to pare it down and in an effort to avoid any infringement on the originating author's article ... re-write this section, if deemed a worthy consideration.

Annnnnd ...


You sir, rock and/or ... rule. :o)

1- Note that opting out of the c-index will be offered at upload time.

2- The need to vote prior to uploading.

I really like the idea of 'who to contact'....that encourages them to ask questions....almost as a personal invite.

Way cool idea all the way around.....:=) Many thanks for the hard work !!

I think brief instructions for a new person wanting to join here...

If there are too many 'if's & do's' this might deter them!!...

Keeping it simple would be my wish!....

I really like this "Getting Started" page for new members. As owd Bob said, I believe keeping it simple would be best. Maybe a "welcome" with a few shortcuts to get you going would be the way to go. And, short descriptions of what will be found in "Navigation," "Control Panel," and "Jobs."

Too much information may be overwhelming. I think the fun part of this site, as a newbie, is in the looking around and in investigating all of the buttons.

I personally think this is a fantastic idea & agree with both John & Bob about keeping things simple. And if you feel this mad overwhelming insane desire to link them to the threads mentioned, I hope they are pared down considerably.

How to subscribe/unsubscribe from a page.
Explanation of inclusion in voting booth requirements.
Copyright notice and disclaimers (because many won't read the CoC in full figuring it to be "the fine print" and that would clear up a lot from the outset).

I'd like to suggest a change to the organization of the FAQ's while we're at it. While it's not as long as say... a post by myself or Les, it is long enough that navigation may be a little difficult/overwhelming for a noobie.

I'd like to suggest splitting it into 3 categories:

"Can I?"/"How can I?"
"What is?"
"Why can't I?"

Create a "Ask a member link" Current members could volunteer to be on the list to help with anything a new member needs to know. Keep it simple.

I agre with bob and john on this one...simple is best...although I would like to see some sort of coc and pared down how to give a good comment right on the page. I think Gregg's comment /\ right there is great!

~try's to bring thread back to life~ Maybe under "Ask a member link" a few mods could also volunteer to answer more technical questions.

Often some of them ask me about how they can vote. They're a bit unsure, maybe that could be included along with making them feel welcome to comment and critique. Simple is best I agree. V

Is there a way to link from the username page to their respected gallery? That would be handy. (Something for the Christmas wish list? <sigh>). J.

RE: J_E_F

what do you mean, exactly? ..

the "stack of photos" is a link to your gallery .. you wouldn't be the first to miss this (*raises hand*)

and .. if you'd like to give friends+family a "link" to your gallery just use:

http://J_E_F.caedes.net ... your name at the top backtracks to your profile

if I missed the mark .. explain further

Yeah...but Les HAS to share his cookies with each new noob!

On a comment from a friend, I did a brief breeze through - and noticed my friend is right. There is no obvious "contact us" link/info for those who are new to the site, and need help navigating how to get in touch with any Senior Management.

After some navigating around, you can find a link to pm *caedes and his e-mail address under "Other Stuff" > "Official contact information". Other than that, there's a link for "The caedes.net team" - but looking on that page doesn't explain any methods on how to contact anyone on the list. In looking at the list, if one doesn't know how the PM system works, it could reasonably be assumed that the only way to contact anyone is via e-mail - if they have an e-mail address listed.

I'm cool with email only.. works for me

plenty of plausible deny ability in my email access compared to the rock-solid PM system

(*curse you *caedes' coding skills*)