# Newbie Subforum?



## nickmcmechan (19 Jul 2009)

Whilst reading through a few posts recently it struck me that most on this forum have a level of expertise that is not found on most forums.

Other specialist forums, such as Discus forum all have Newbie sections, designed to encourage and facilitate growth of this part of the Hobby.

Would it be an idea to ask for creation of a Newbie forum to encourage the recent rise in popularity of planted tanks?


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## aaronnorth (19 Jul 2009)

i dont see the point really, if they are new, and have a broad range of questions then it can go in the general discussions section, anything in particular there are specialist sections. Every question gets an answer on here usually, and if they are new, we do (well i do) tone things down.


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## nickmcmechan (19 Jul 2009)

agreed....however the level of expertise may be intimidating to some and i suppose i was pointing to the opinion that a forum specifically named 'newbies' would be more friendly and welcoming than not having one

i do think that the members and experts here are welcoming and sensitive to new people (and i would also state i have this experience personally), its just that specifically having this sub-forum explicityl states so, which could only be for the good of the site?


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## Mark Evans (19 Jul 2009)

i personally dont feel a sub forum would benefit anyone.

when I first started this hobby and even till now, I very rarely asked questions. 

it's all about your own (noobs) research. it is possible to get ANY bit of info you need from this site without asking questions.

a sub forum, IMO would be full of pointless question and would probably be ignored by the more experienced, leaving the noobs still in the dark. 

now a thread full of stickys or something similar  by advanced members would be better.


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## SKP1995 (19 Jul 2009)

saintly said:
			
		

> i personally dont feel a sub forum would benefit anyone.
> 
> when I first started this hobby and even till now, I very rarely asked questions.
> 
> ...



I completely agree with this, I've never been one to ask questions much either and found the stickys and search function invaluable in broadening my knowledge.  More stickys and an emphasis on proper research would be good, though that's not to say that questions shouldn't be asked at all, just not the same ones every second day like a lot of other forums seem to have.


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## George Farmer (19 Jul 2009)

Also agreed.

Some people, in my view, are rather lazy and expect instant gratification through others' efforts.

It is far more a valuable exercise to at least spend at least few minutes attempting to find the answers to one's questions before posting a thread.  You are much more likely to learn more this way and it is good practice to research.

Some say there's no such thing as a stupid question.  This is true, unless the answer is already easily available...

This is not to say a newbie sub-forum is necessarily a bad idea, but I concur that it is unnecessary on this particular forum.

Plans are afoot to increase the amount of articles and tutorials on UKAPS.org, so watch this space...


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## paul.in.kendal (24 Jul 2009)

As a newbie myself, I've got to agree with others that a well-intentioned newbie section would probably be counter-productive.  

When I stumbled on this site, I started off by reading the articles and tutorials, especially Ed Seeley's outstanding one on setting up a high-tech tank.  The tutorials form the foundations of an excellent intro to the hobby.  After that I had all sorts of follow-on questions, so I started mining the fabulous knowledge-base that is the UKAPS Forum.  Only after literally months of reading (and drooling) did I start to ask questions online.  While that may be an extreme example, it's important that newcomers recognise that THEY WILL HAVE TO INVEST SOME TIME AND EFFORT INTO THIS HOBBY, if they are really going to get involved.  

Surely there has to be an acknowledgement from the outset that this is an inherently complex hobby - I'm sure this is part of the attraction in itself?  I know I'm drawn towards activities that stretch me, and we need to encourage newbies to understand that this hobby will do that, in a fascinating way.

Perhaps there's scope for a tutorial on how to effectively search the forum? And I'm not sure what the Home Page is for - I guess 99% of what UKAPS is about is this Forum; it feels to me a bit like the tail is wagging the dog.  Then again, I know nothing about website design. 

And I've still not yet got my first aquarium! (Any day now though...)


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## Jase (24 Jul 2009)

May I just add, I catagorically HATE the words 'Newbie', 'Noob', 'n00b' etc. They are derogatory terms invented by Geeks to belittle others. 

Rant over, I will return to my cupboard in the corner    

As a newcomer to the forums I just searched the individual forums to learn new stuff, by having a newcomers subforum you generalise the information needlessly.


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## GreenNeedle (24 Jul 2009)

paul.in.kendal said:
			
		

> And I'm not sure what the Home Page is for - I guess 99% of what UKAPS is about is this Forum



Indeed Ukaps is actually the forum BUT when we link to UKaps in banners or adverts etc. we send people to the front page.

It can be intimidating to come straight to a forum with loads of subjects in front of you.
It also means there can be an 'easy to chew' introduction to what UKaps is.  Like an advert and people can see what we're about before deciding to take the plunge 

I know sometimes I used to search and see a forum and it can be quite a bane to see the front end of a forum.  It doesn't tell the outsider much about the society without searching through everything and therefore a front end does the job nicely in a more user friendly way.

Most forums do have a front page but because of Google and searching people always end up in the forums 

AC


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## paul.in.kendal (27 Jul 2009)

SuperColey1 said:
			
		

> paul.in.kendal said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Well, there you go - an excellent explanation for why we have that front-end - thanks SC.  And it occurs to me now that the intro pages did exactly what they're meant to do when I first accessed the site! As I said, I know sweet FA about web design


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