Do you use welcome on board private message?

[Anachiwo]

Most of the forums that I have been a member on use this feature of sending an automated welcome on board message to their new members. It gives the new members a brief guide on how to catch up on the forum in where to make their introduction and section to get their discussion in. Also, pointing out where to read about the forum rules, terms and conditions.

For those forum owner who doesn't use this feature, why do you think that it's not necessary?

 

[Cory]

My personal experience is most stuff the welcome message tells I already find out through lurking on the forum. If you make the accessibility of your board well-rounded enough where everything is laid out properly and in an organized fashion, I don't think a welcome PM is 100% necessary.

 

[Anachiwo]

My personal experience is most stuff the welcome message tells I already find out through lurking on the forum. If you make the accessibility of your board well-rounded enough where everything is laid out properly and in an organized fashion, I don't think a welcome PM is 100% necessary.

I just try to take into account that some people can be lazy with looking out for how they are supposed to go about their way on forums which it why the welcome PM seemed necessary. But you have a point with how the boards are set up with just a glance, you can navigate through it easily.

 

[Arantor]

One feature I looked at doing some time ago - never got around to it - was to have a pool of preset messages, from different admins (if you had different admins) where the message could be sent a semi-random delay after a person had joined to give it the feeling and vibe of being more personalised than the usual 'everyone gets the same message'.

I think this is also very important if you have any features on your forum that are atypical, or you have some kind of extended sign-up for whatever reason. But most forums don't need one, really, and I'll be honest, I roll my eyes at most of them.

 

[Kale]

No I think it is off on my forum. I don't mind or care for it. I don't always read the PMs all the time.

 

[Cedric]

I try to personally welcome every member here on Admin Junkies as soon as they register by posting on their profile. In many cases it has shown me that it's an effective method in making members welcome and encouraged for posting an introduction thread. As we have a very heartwarming community here, the rest will follow. I think @Niko is one of these cases that will back this up. But do tell me if I'm wrong, Niko.

 

[Niko]

I do agree yeah @Aerodynamic
Even in my community we strongly invite the new members to introduce themselves and to get in touch with the community and the team. and we also do that with a welcome private message. i think it is a good practice to make the new members feel "at home", especially when you are completely new to the community

 

[Cory]

I might need to re-invest in an introductions forum or welcome people via their profile on my board, as the only way I have of getting to know my members is the Member Q&A forum, which very few people seem to take interest in.

 

[Kale]

I might need to re-invest in an introductions forum or welcome people via their profile on my board, as the only way I have of getting to know my members is the Member Q&A forum, which very few people seem to take interest in.

I too have noticed no one on mine seems to use the AMA forum as much. Probably gonna keep it around anyway and hope as more members join, the more it'd be used. I mean members post in it, just not every single person.

 

[Cory]

I too have noticed no one on mine seems to use the AMA forum as much. Probably gonna keep it around anyway and hope as more members join, the more it'd be used. I mean members post in it, just not every single person.

I guess one reason users might not use AMA forums much is that they don't plan to be that active. I see boards where the AMA section is a pretty big success, but those are generally more active boards where a lot of the same people visit all the time.

It just seems like with an introduction forum it's mostly so repetitive where people mainly post "Hi, I'm new!" and other people post "Welcome to the board!" I know some people tell a little about themselves in their introduction, but most people keep it short and to the point.

With that being said, I suppose I could understand using the PM feature for welcome messages, but in the same sense, I stand by some of my previous reasonings.

 

[Anachiwo]

There's one forum which I joined some time ago, I can't remember the name. There was a plugin that was set to create a new thread by the site owner welcoming the new member. Who knows what plugin does that?

 

[Ravenfreak]

I never do this on my forums, I just prefer to welcome new members by posting a thread or at least responding to their introduction thread.

 

[Reverie]

Some people who are more introverted or might just be more into lurking the forum might appreciate it in my opinion. Giving them a few links to things around the forum to help them learn how to navigate the forum is nice. I don't think it is 100% necessary, but I do think it is helpful.