Adopting newbies?

lynn... see email re PA that i just sent off... hugs, maia

 

Mammamaia, your last post made no sense to me. Maybe it's b/c I'm on super high dosage painkillers right now, but wha??

 

Lynn, basically her point was....getting published does not a "good" writer make.

 

I can see that. I mean there's plenty of mainstream fiction (like Twilight) that is badly written. Can't argue over the fact that people love it though.

 

Haha, very true. But then again, the books *were* written for young adults

 

Don't forget Harry bloomin' Potter.

Anyways, why don't we just give the idea a tryout? All it would need is a new subforum branching out of New Member Introductions and then give it a month or two and then if it turns out to be a bad idea (going on the votes of those who participated and the supporters(IMO)) then you just delete the subforum, if you don't then why not rename Suggestions and Feedback to just 'Feedback'?

 

I dunno...I just think that'd be extra work for the mods you know. Everyone here sort of does the adopting thing, only it's on a plenty general scale.

 

I wouldn't mind being responsible for it, as it was my idea. I like the idea of trying it out for a couple months to see if it's worthwhile or not.

 

...if the very last post before this was what confused you, i was just telling you that i sent you an email about your comments re Publish America, rather than hijack the thread with stuff that's not relevant to your original purpose for it... if you didn't get the email, please let me know and i'll send the message as a pm, instead...

...as for you trying out your idea, that may need moderator approval... why don't you talk it over with cog privately, and see if it's doable?

 

At a site I used to belong to, they started a mentor thing, which sounds like what the OP is talking about. Since we all help out new members anyway, I see no point in formalizing it. It just begins to create elitist attitudes.

 

Rei, I'd disagree. I don't think mentoring creates elitist attitudes--you either have one or you don't. That's been my experience, in any case. And I might just talk it over with him privately, maia. Good idea.

~Lynn

Oh, and I did get your email.

 

Sounds like the perfect idea to me

 

There are no across the board experts here. We all share what knowledge/opinions/ideas we have, anytime we can. As we hang around a while, we discover who seems to be most knowledgeable in various areas, and learn to either aslk tat person directly, or to wait for that person to respond. For example, there are certain quesations about publishing guidelines that I look for Terry or Maia to respond to.

Over time, that is the kind of mentoring that really takes place. Members learn that one person or anothe has some useful perspectives on a particular area of interest, and a partnership develops.

 

Actually, I think Daniel may be the one to talk to as Cog is obviously not a supporter and so would entwine his personal opinion with the mods' opinion you're looking for.

Plus, I see no harm in trying it out ... adding a subforum takes, literally, two minutes. Oh, and look at your amount of posts, Cog, 14097 is not the kind of newb we're talking about mentoring ... people new to writing and new to these forums won't have your knowledge.

 

Adding a new forum is not done lightly, to avoid site clutter. There needs to be a good case for a need for it.

A solution that does not require site modification should definitely be explored first. If it proves useful enough, it would strenthen the case for adding a forum.

Othman, my point was that a good mentor in one area of knowledge is not necessarily a good mentor in other areas.

 

I second that opinion.

And why, if you've got a forum full of experts specialised in various ares, do you just want a single person as your mentor?

 

Cog I emailed you my suggestion for this. And Neha, I think it could be a good idea to have a thread for those interested in mentoring (both to mentor and to get mentoring) so that people can see *which* areas each possible mentor is good in so that they can get help faster without having to spend tons of time trying to figure out who to approach.

~Lynn

 

I have to throw in my two cents and suggest (Again) using you signature to both ask and offer help.

Is it so hard to edit your signatuure to say:

I need help with this area__________? (or) Where could I find___________? (or) I'm well versed in ________and __________, so drop me a line if you need help.

Or! And this is big! Looking at threads of interest to you and seeing who is dropping insightful responses. Follow that member and ask for help.

There's also new member intros where you can state your credentials and your weaknesses. Were freinds here, somebody is sure to respond with an, "Oh, I could help you with that." or "So and so is good at that, " and a member name or site that could help you.

I honestly don't think the whole new subforum is neccessary. I know I'm not a mod, just a member, but I still wanted to throw in my two cents about this.

 

^^I'm editing my sig now Zorell, though I'm not much use..

 

We're going to try this out with a thread in the new members forum for a month or so. Feel free to stop by there and check it out

~Lynn

 

I am saying this based on what I have seen before, so it's unfair to tell me it can't happen. It does because all the people who are mentors can start to feel like they are elite members. What's the point of creating a special program if everyone helps out the new memers, anyway, without creating formal arrangements?

 

Nowhere in my post did I say that it *can't* happen. I said that I don't normally see it happen. Please read what I'm saying more carefully.

And secondly...not everyone helps out newer members. So far I've only seen a handful really be active with the new members around the site. And having a place to go to look for some help when you need it is never a bad thing, is it?

~Lynn

 

Playing devil's advocate, won't those same people still end up doing the bulk of the mentoring?

 

This is the way things almost always go. No need to set up a system for mentoring. There are members here who already take active roles in helping new members settle in. I see no reason to make an institution out of it, especially when I doubt we'll find many people wholly committed to such a system on the adopted or adopting side.

Let newbies learn the natural way. When they ask for help whoever is around and willing will give it.

 

Still, a pilot program has been set up in this thread, so let's see if it can be made to work.

Accordingly, I am closing te debate here at this time.