posted
How about I answer your questions in order - all imho only.
Probably. And you're not alone in this. No, I don't think so. Unless that's how you see yourself. And you're not alone in this, either. Probably. And again, you're not alone in this one either. Definitely not. Yes, absolutely.
Mimsies, I hear you. Sorry I don't have any decent advice or anything right now.
Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
I wonder at what point newbism fades away. I still somewhat feel like a newbie too. Post counts and registration dates don't make you feel like one of the guys, no matter how high the count, or old the date. At least, not for me anyway.
I think maybe by the end of this year I'll feel like one of the community. And hopefully one day I'll be a pillar of the community, as it's something that certainy deserves support. And hopefully by then things will feel a bit more cozy.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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posted
Wowbagger, you're wrong on the score of no one knowing you. Well, not to say I know you know you, but I do remember you and your posts and I've commented - on at least a few occasions - that I love your screen name.
Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
I still feel like a noob. Which is ridiculous, considering how long I've been here. But I still don't feel like I fit in.
Posts: 4655 | Registered: Jan 2002
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posted
I mostly stopped feeling like a newbie about a year and 2000 posts in, but I still get insecure after I make a post I've put a lot of thought into, thinking people are going to hate it or I'll've killed the thread. I'd say it's a natural part of life and don't worry about it.
Also, that I don't think of you as a newb.
Posts: 7954 | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
I don't think of anyone who has posted in this thread as a newbie.
There are, however, people who have been here for a while and have high post counts that I do still think of as newbies. This is generally because they haven't yet figured out how to be a real Jatraquero, for whatever reasons. I think that you have to act like a Jatraquero to be considered one (and not a newbie). I don't, however, think you have to be a "pillar" to belong to the community.
I used to think so. I used to resent the fact that everybody knew my husband but no one knew me. Then I stopped worrying about it and started enjoying Hatrack for what it was to me. I've enjoyed it more since then.
Posts: 1903 | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
I don't feel like a newbie, exactly, since the word to me simply means being green. I feel comfortable enough posting and I feel that I probably have at least a little name recognition.
Part of the community is another story. If that implies that I have friends here, then I'm not. If that means that I'm part of Hatrack, then I am. And I don't mean the general type of friends, like we're all friends, sort of thing. I mean people I talk to outside of hatrack about our lives. I think most regulars at hatrack have that, too. I think that's part of what makes hatrack special. It's just not something I'm able to participate in at this point in my life. But I still like it here. I think ya'll are pretty cool.
So, I think I can relate to how you feel mimsies, and even though I have a different definition of newbie, I think by your definition, yes, I still feel like that.
Posts: 2880 | Registered: Jun 2004
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posted
Aha! I knew I'd had an interesting thought concerning this topic and then I forgot it, but you reminded me Valentine! Thanks!
Over the past couple months I've been in contact with several Hatrackers through email and also had some good times in Hatrack Chat. As a direct result of that, I've felt much more a part of the community. I don't really have enough time to spend building relationships with Hatrackers, and though I live near some, I'm under 18, so scratch cons and gatherings, so the feeling hasn't had much of a chance to grow, but it is there, and I attribute it directly to off-the-forum contact.
Posts: 2827 | Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
I had been on Hatrack for a while before I stopped feeling like a nOOb. I have a different take on being a nOOb than some people do though, as I don't see it as a negative term at all. At least the people I know here at Hatrack don't use it as one.
I think that everyone is still a nOOb at times.
All that mean to me is that a person is a little green and hasn't been around for long or contributed much - that I have seen!. Different people are nOObs to each of us because nobody's interactions here at Hatrack are completely the same. We read the threads that interest us and post on the ones we have something to contribute to, and no two peoples experience here is completely the same. I may not run across you a lot here, mimses, but that isn't because I don't like you or am avoiding you, but because there is so much going on here that we pass without knowing.
I do remember you, and since I have been here for years now (as weird as it feels saying that) a lot of people seem a bit new to me.
I had people here accusing me of being a plant or an alt when I first got here, because I began posting right away, and most nOObs do an into thread. Not all of us do though, and I have never been real shy so I jumped right in. It took a year for me to convince some people I really was just me and not an alt name of someone.
In that same time I had other people tell me I was one of the reasons they like coming to Hatrack, as I was one of the people who fit in here really well right off the bat.
nOOb and "Pillar" are not titles, nor do they confer any special status, unless you let them. While I do think of some people as such, that doesn't mean I never disagree with them, nor do I think they have any greater (or lesser) right to Hatrack than the rest of us.
If you love Hatrack, come here on a regular basis, and feel comfortable sharing things that really matter to you, then you are probably not a nOOb, or on the way to not being one.
Only you can decide when to stop being one though, that's the funny part.
posted
I'm so new I ought not to even post in this thread.
Oops.
I've been on other forums where I felt more a part of things much more quickly, but they weren't as big as Hatrack. There are just so many people here, it takes a while for people to even realize I'm here. On the other hand, it's small enough that most of them recognize each other's names and know their personalities; not a board of a million strangers. So fitting in is a little intimidating. Like a new high school....
I swore I wasn't ever going back to high school.
Posts: 1522 | Registered: Nov 2005
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posted
This isn't High School though, not at all. It IS just like anyplace else in some ways....people tend to clump up based on their interactions with others.
The difference here is that most of those "clumps" are open to anyone who feels comfortable in them, and that there is no real status benefits to belonging to them. People may be more likely to believe or disbelieve your statements based on them, but that is because they have a pattern of behavior to based that on due to previous interaction.
Also, most people belong to more than one...
Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
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posted
I still feel like a newbie, although for me that's a step up from being a lurker.
For me, I think I'll stop feeling like a newbie when I feel like I've established enough of a personality on here that others can have a grasp of who I am, other than another name in a sea of facelessness. I do feel more comfortable at Hatrack than at other forums I visit - there isn't a sense of exclusivity here, to my perception.
When I first started lurking, I couldn't always immediately tell who the newer members were just from their posting style - everyone seemed to have this great comfort level with participating in all the discussions. (And yes, I did look registration dates, but for some people I just thought they'd switched to a new name, not that they were new altogether.)
Posts: 952 | Registered: Jun 2005
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posted
Katarain, you're a teacher, or former, or future teacher or something like that right? I remember that, I remember that I like you, that I respect your views, and you're nice.
Posts: 5362 | Registered: Apr 2004
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posted
*grins* Well, you're the only one here on my AIM list, although I am hardly ever on AIM anymore. Thanks for remembering. But I really meant that I have a hard time sometimes even deciding on the BIG issues, let alone taking a side publicly. What makes Katarain tick??
And I'm a former teacher, and hopefully future teacher... Does that make me one now, too?
Posts: 2880 | Registered: Jun 2004
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posted
I still feel like a newbie, but I guess that comes with the territory. I lurked for a long time.
Posts: 1789 | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
Oh wow, I don't think you're on my AIM list, or if so I've forgotten who you are, though I think it was similar to your name here.
You're a semi teacher, or at least that's what my mom calls herself, she's a former teacher who is currently a substitute teacher.
Posts: 5362 | Registered: Apr 2004
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posted
I lurked for a long, long, long time, so at first I didn't felt like a newbie. But no one knew me, so I am a newbie to them, and that made me realize I was a newbie.
So I feel comfortable here, yet I feel like a newbie too.
Posts: 239 | Registered: May 2004
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posted
I'll send you a message next time I'm online. Which probably won't be tonight!! And my name starts with kat... I won't say it here.
Posts: 2880 | Registered: Jun 2004
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posted
I'ld think that at 1000+ posts one is nolonger a newb but its possible at post #1 *cough* me */cough* its possible for one to nolonger be a newb just because how kickass that person happens to be.
Posts: 1567 | Registered: Oct 2004
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posted
You can still be a n00b at 1000 posts, or 5000 posts, or beyond that. You are no longer a n00b when you are comfortable on the board, and there is a general respect, you don't have to agree, you don't have to be "real" you just have to be able to respect others feelings. We've established that this is hard for some.
Posts: 5362 | Registered: Apr 2004
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posted
I don't think of myself as a n00b, since I feel quite comfortable on these boards. But I only post if I feel that I have something unique and relevant to say. I hate repeating what others have said, and only do so by accident if I neglected to thoroughly read the entire thread. In other words, I'm a lurker, but a longtime veteran lurker.
I'm probably REGARDED as a n00b by some other people, particularly by those that think I am an alternate username for a particular user. I don't know how to lose the stigma of THAT particular bit of slander...
Still, though, I have fun reading and responding to the posts on this forum, and admire many people on here for their demonstrations of intellect, analytical skills, philopshy, and reasoning. I salute you.
Posts: 1099 | Registered: Apr 2005
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posted
I've attended about 8 gatherings, met over 108 people, been posting for 3 and a half years, and have over 9000 posts on my main SN, 400 something on this one, and another one that has about 120.
And yet, I still feel like an outsider at times. So... I really have no advice but to say that those feelings are pretty much going to be normal for just about anyone, I suppose.
Posts: 530 | Registered: Jan 2003
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posted
I am very new and do not post much. But except for the fact that I lack the wit and sense of humor that many hatrackers possess, I nevertheless feel comfortable posting when I do. And I appreciate the many of you who have made me feel at home.
Posts: 195 | Registered: Nov 2005
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posted
I still feel like a noob sometimes, and I'll have been here 2 years in June. I guess just don't post often enough for people to really remember me.
Posts: 1401 | Registered: Jun 2004
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posted
It seems a lot of people spend a lot of time here and still don't quite feel like they belong. One reason I think I've felt this way is that I see so much interaction on this board between people who seem to be so comfortable with each other as to give the illusion (in some instances -- I'm sure there are many, maybe most, instances where it is not an illusion) of close friends and family even if they're not. I wonder how often I think someone looks like they 'belong' here simply because they are (or appear) so comfortable with themselves or with the current conversation. I'm not as comfortable or confident in most of what I say here so I don't often say very much.
JennaDean, I just want to tell you that I've noticed you -- that when I'm skimming a thread I always read your posts. You have struck me as the kind of person I would consider myself fortunate to bump into if I were stranded alone at night a long way from home.
Posts: 270 | Registered: Jul 2004
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quote: I wonder how often I think someone looks like they 'belong' here simply because they are (or appear) so comfortable with themselves or with the current conversation. I'm not as comfortable or confident in most of what I say here so I don't often say very much.
I agree with this. People who are more sharing of their peronal beliefs, ideas, and lives seem to get past the newb stage pretty quickly. Those of us who tend to be more tight lipped stay newbs for a while.
And JennaDean, I also enjoy your posts. I think that you and several other new people completely dispel the theory that Hatrack is going down the drain.
Posts: 1947 | Registered: Aug 2002
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posted
On this part of the site, I consider myself a newbie. But I will refrain from using the negative term 'n00b'/'noob' due to the fact that it means idiotic person.
I don't consider myself new on the Writer's Workshops though. I haven't been there for years or anything, but I have been there since October/November.
Posts: 63 | Registered: Feb 2006
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posted
I am pretty new here and I don't feel as connected as some people here obviously do so I guess in that sense I feel like a newb. But I know that as I continue to post and learn about people on the board, that will change.
I was surprised the other day when someone I thought was a long time Jatraquero had only been here a few months. There are certainly some here that give off a more long-timer vibe than others.
I have only really had a few n00b moments. I think there is a HUGE difference between n00b and newb.
Posts: 1319 | Registered: Jul 2005
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I still feel like a newb, not because I don't know a lot of you or enjoy talking to you, but because I don't spend enough time here to catch all the Hatrack history in the making. I don't get involved in the debate threads and I know I miss a lot.
I'm also pretty sure that my posting rate is such that most people wouldn't notice if I stopped posting all together. Add to that my obsessive need to be nice and make everyone happy and you have a forum member who shows up sometimes, but doesn't really say anything provacative or noticeable. Hence that newbie feeling.
Posts: 6415 | Registered: Jul 2000
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posted
Yeah, I still feel like a newbie because I really am one on this site--I mostly read threads rather than respond to them, and much of my posting has been on the other side so far, so I haven't participated in many of the get-to-know-you type conversations that abound over here.
It doesn't bother me at all, though. I'm one of those people who is content to just watch from the sidelines, introverted, etc. A sort of "look, don't touch" philosophy.
I may start coming over here more often, as my daily Internet time limit has been extended and my parents are finally making the move to high-speed (a double plus)! I'll have more time to look at and respond to posts on fora I'm interested in, rather than just using my webtime for homework.
Posts: 973 | Registered: Apr 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Farmgirl: I don't feel like a newbie -- I feel like a "has-been" -- and just don't have the interest or desire to Hatrack much anymore...
FG
I kinda miss seeing you around, FG, I always enjoy your posts. Stick around, I'll cook you some lamb chops!
Posts: 239 | Registered: May 2004
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posted
Wow, it is nifty to have so many responses.
I want to clear up that I don't feel BAD or unwelcome. I'm not necessarily asking for advice.
I was reading another thread with much talk about newbies, and at the same time pondering how I feel like in general I have a hard time making friends... My friends tend to disagree, but *shrugs*
SO I thought I'd ask, because I figure other people probably have much the same feeling. I've been discovering lately that in most ways I'm pretty typical and not totally neurotic and messed up like I used to assume.
I want to point out thaqt I DO recognize everyone who has posted in this thread so far, and was delighted to read every response!
Hey Narnia... I remember when I was much newer, and answered a thread asking about people's favorite screen names on Hatrack and I named you, along with Kwea, and I don't remember who else, but they mostly ended with an "a". My son is highly impressed your name too! He wants to register as King Peter.
Posts: 772 | Registered: Feb 2005
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posted
Like a newbie, Posting for the very first time! Like a noo-oo-oo-oo-bie Something something, something rhyme
Posts: 2911 | Registered: Aug 2001
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posted
After you said that you recognized everyone who had posted so far, I was wondering if I ought to post and ruin your track record. Well to be honest, I kind of wanted to be the one to post that you didn't recognize, it seemed appropriate somehow.
I am definately a newbie, though I have lurked around the forum for a while. Like JennaDean, I am a bit intimidated by the size of the forum and the spead of the posting here, but I do feel like I am starting to recognize some people. I certainly don't expect people to recognize me, but I'm kind of like that in real life.
Maybe when I get as many posts as JennaDean I'll write an intro thread .
Posts: 234 | Registered: Oct 2005
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posted
I still feel very noobish sometimes. Other times I feel a little more established. I think for the most part I'm still a noob, not a lot of people who aren't from Bloomington know me that well.
Posts: 3295 | Registered: Jun 2004
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