New Member Introductions?

#1: Post by **WatchManUSA** » October 15th, 2022, 9:47 pm

I have spent that hour trying to find your New Member Introduction area of your for group. I thought it would be good for me to read about the what new members think they need from the current members.

Maybe I missed the new member lounge sign.

#2: Post by **another_jim** » October 15th, 2022, 10:14 pm

Welcome.

It may be different from the forums you know. There's a read me section and an FAQ section. HB is more information than personality oriented, so we don't do welcome newbie posts.

October 16th, 2022, 4:39 pm

My apologies. I'm guessing everybody on this forum has forgotten more about espresso than I can ever hope to know. I've learned my lesson.

#4: Post by **Ken5** » October 16th, 2022, 5:58 pm

Welcome Duaine!!!

Looking forward to seeing you participate.

#5: Post by HB » October 16th, 2022, 6:17 pm

WatchManUSA wrote:Maybe I missed the new member lounge sign.

I've found that members get to know each other through regular discussions/questions.

Admittedly, we intentionally don't have an "off-topic" forum so the discussions focus on coffee/espresso. Other site's I've participated in with off-topic forums almost always get overrun with political discussions, unrelated hobbies, photo sharing from vacations, questionably funny jokes, memes, etc.

Some members really like water cooler type conversations and I appreciate that viewpoint. However, we want to prioritize quality information exchange so the data/noise ratio is higher than typical elsewhere. It's been my observation that long-time members who often have the most advice to offer are less likely to stay if they have to wade through a lot of unrelated side discussions. On the other hand, so-called "newbies" are the lifeblood of a community since they bring a fresh perspective to old topics.

It's our hope that we strike a fair balance between these two audiences, i.e., ideally a good mix of friendly discussion with focus.

October 24th, 2022, 3:25 am

Sorry for posting a comment late. I've been ill for a while. I picked up COVID about 2 weeks or so ago, it wasn't too bad. After about a week the COVID was gone but I got bronchitis. Then after 5 or 6 days of bronchitis I took another COVID test I prescription for returning to full activities. Well, instead of getting the green light to resume normal activities I tested positive for COVID a second time. It happened to my spouse as well.

Back to the original topic. I was merely offering a suggestion. As with all suggestions, some are accepted, some rejected and some are taken under advisement for further review.

My initial reaction to the 2 or 3 who made direct comments to my well intended suggestion seem very defensive. Then in great detail I was told why I was wrong. A lot of effort went into the comments back to me. However, if you didn't like my suggestion telling me, "Welcome to group and thanks for your suggestion. Sometimes when you have have been in a group for a while you develop a lot of content and group history focused for people that have been members for many years. Sometimes you forget that we need fresh content for the new members joining. Thanks for reminding us that we need to make sure we help new members to feel they belong. Thanks for your input."

There isn't much commitment in the response, it's welcoming, positive and upbeat.

On a third topic, I made a decision of my espresso machine purchases. I'll post something about it when I figure out which area of the forum to place it.

#7: Post by **pcdawson** » October 24th, 2022, 9:31 am

Welcome! I find that the members profiles section provides me with an opportunity to present the broader community with some basic introductory information about myself. It has also provided me with some opportunities to learn about the interests and backgrounds of some of the folks who I regularly read and communicate with. Looking forward to hearing about your espresso experiences in the months and years to come.