'Probie' Status for New Members

[Melia]

Alright. That makes really good sense. Another question, about how long wil it take for my posts to show up?

[Jper]

Alright. That makes really good sense. Another question, about how long wil it take for my posts to show up?

Let me first say: Welcome to GateWorld Forum! *waves*

As to your question about your posts appearing, it all depends on Mod availability. If a mod is on-line and has time, they'll appear quickly, if not, it can take a few hours. Mods are people with real lives. Posts of members on moderation (= your posts need to be approved before appearing) need to be manually cleared by a moderator. I wouldn't worry about it too much. You'll be off Probie status, and thus also moderation, soon enough. Besides, most of the time there's always a moderator available/on-line every few hours.

As to when you'll be off Probie Status, as PA said, that's a closely kept secret, but it does factor in your post count, membership duration/time and green count. You won't be taken off Probie Status manually by a mod though, it's all automated. Even though they tell us they have the ability to do it manually, too.

Hopefully this answers all your questions. Don't hesitate to ask any further questions about Probie Status here.

You can also come say hi, in the "Welcome New Members" thread or ask any other forum-related non-Probie-Status question in the "Members helping Members" thread. If you have a specific question you specifically want a Moderator and no one else to answer then there's the "Ask the Mods" thread.

[Melia]

Thank you Jper that really did answer a lot of my questions. And thank you for the welcome. I've been thinking of joining for a while and I'm glad I finaly got around to doing so.

[Thunderstorm]

So does this mean I have to post a lot in order to chose an avatar and gain the privilege? I was going to register a while ago, but wasn't sure how worthwhile it would be.

You will be able to chose an avatar from the selection available as soon as you are off probie status. To create a custon avatar you need about 2000 posts (not including those in Off Topic threads).

The purpose of this forum is to discuss various topics and exchange ideas. Custom avatars and signatures are nice bonuses. If your reason for joining was to get a cool avatar then you might want to go somewhere else. If you are here for some great conversation, then welcome to GW and I look forward to seeing you in other threads!

[Melia]

Okay so what do you mean by signiture and once I'm able to, where can I get one of those banner thingies at the bottom of all of my posts? And how many posts do I need to get one? And where do I get one.

[Girlbot]

Okay so what do you mean by signiture and once I'm able to, where can I get one of those banner thingies at the bottom of all of my posts? And how many posts do I need to get one? And where do I get one.

Signature means those "banner things" that you see.
If you can't make one for yourself there are lots of posters who would be willing to make one for you.
Once you are off probie status, (a time set by the mods ) you will be able to put a sig in.
Just keep posting and your time will come.

[Melia]

Thanks for the clairification Girlbot. I'm not very computer savy.

[Girlbot]

Thanks for the clairification Girlbot. I'm not very computer savy.

You're welcome
Click this link and any member will be glad to help you with something like a sig, or info
http://forum.gateworld.net/threads/2...istance-Thread

[Melia]

Thanks Girlbot. I'd heard of that thread once I'm able to make a signature I'll have to go there and ask for help. Thanks again.

[spaceship]

I have to say this is the harshest policy I have ever encountered on any Internet forum. The thing that gets me the most is that I can't activate email subscriptions to threads. So I never know when someone replies to my posts until I login to the forum and search for my old posts.

[syfygyrl]

I have to say this is the harshest policy I have ever encountered on any Internet forum. The thing that gets me the most is that I can't activate email subscriptions to threads. So I never know when someone replies to my posts until I login to the forum and search for my old posts.

It's designed to keep spammers away. Why spam GW when it's so hard? But don't worry. If you do a lot of posting, etc. as Jper mentioned earlier it won't be long before you're off Probie status.
I found it irritating when I first joined too but after Skydiver was kind enough to explain it to me it seemed a small price to pay for a non-spammed forum.

[Jper]

I have to say this is the harshest policy I have ever encountered on any Internet forum. The thing that gets me the most is that I can't activate email subscriptions to threads. So I never know when someone replies to my posts until I login to the forum and search for my old posts.

Nuhuh, you can get "e-mail notification" subscription even if you are still a "Probie". Here's how:

Go to the thread, put in a new reply, the message you want to post, in the box and then click "Go Advanced". Then scroll down to the "Additional Options" box. Once there, look for the "Subscription" part. It says: "Subscribe to this thread and notify me of changes:" Then select the option you want. Instant, Daily or Weekly. Or if you don't want e-mail notification: "No e-mail".

After that click "Submit Reply". Your message will be posted in the moderation queue and you'll be subcribed to the topic. And as you say, you'll also be able to check your subscriptions in your user control panel (My controls).

Once off Probie Status, and thus what you can't do right now, you'll be able to change your general settings, and then you'll be able to change the default subscription settings for each thread you post in. Now, however, as I explained, you can change this manually with each reply for the particular thread you're posting in.

So, since you're still on Probie status, which means you haven't been posting a lot, this shouldn't be a lot of work, and thus it shouldn't be a big problem.

It might be annoying, but Probie status helps this forum to be a spam-free and better place.

[Skydiver]

considering we get from a half dozen to a dozen spam posts a day, don't blame us, blame the spammers

we started the probie system after we got hit by a 100 spam posts in a single day. many of them quite vulgar. we hadn't locked out the profiles, or vm's or pm's, so next the spammers Pm'd their junk to people, then vm'd it, and when that didn't work, they'd fill their profile with junk links and then invite people to check it out.

I know it's frustrating, but the spammers are to blame.

[Seaboe Muffinchucker]

Another board I'm on had to kill signatures because of spammers. We've got it good, here.

Seaboe

[syfygyrl]

Another board I'm on had to kill signatures because of spammers. We've got it good, here.

But only because the Mods have these restrictions at first for Probies. Which, of course, is why they have them.