Recently in OT, several people who have tried relentlessly to be helpful by answering questions posted in the K-1 forum have expressed that they are quickly losing interest in continuing to do so.


How about an automated response system for new members? As an example, for the first 3 days of joining VJ, after logging in and when they click, 'Add New Topic' they are prompted to a series of questions first before being able to proceed with a new post.

Let's say Mr. X joins today. He logs in and is feeling anxious and overwhelmed not just with the process but trying to navigate through the site. But he wants to get involved and thinks he'll ask something about the I-129F form. He clicks on 'Add New Topic' and he is then prompted by the first question - "Have you viewed the guide on filling out the form?". He clicks, 'yes', then the next question would be, "Is this a question concerning a K-1 Visa?" Again, he clicks, 'yes'. Eventually, if he answers 'yes' to all the filtering questions he'll then be able to post his question.

This is much like the automated phone systems and as frustrating as those can be sometimes, it's usually only after you already know what you need, which is why I'd recommend a 3 day (or for the first 3 times someone tries to post a new topic) limitation for it to be triggered.

The only problem with that is that this is a "pre-packaged" message board program and would require extensive modification to implement such a feature.

Can't we have new members join but not be allowed to post for a week-10 days? Might limit some post & run questions?

Thats one way to lose new members who really need help

To me anybody who joined in 2006 is new..........*smirks*

I joined in january of 2006 and i certainly dont concider myself new.

I'm not claiming to be an expert at programming but I did take PASCAL in college (almost 20 years ago though), and it would be a simple boolean - a series of 'yes' or 'no' responses. This site already has in place a way of remembering which posts we've read so that part wouldn't be difficult either. I guess whoever would be setting this up could determine whether it would be too much trouble or not.


In any case, I think it would be worthwhile to look into possible solutions so that those who do want to answer questions aren't feeling beleagured by so many questions that can easily be answered by someone reading over the guides.

In this case, it would require an extra bit of code in each function that is related to posting. That part wouldn't be difficult. The difficulty I was referring to was actually finding all of these instances, since Ewok/Wookie didn't write the code for the board. PHP message boards are notorious for having various functions scattered about in different php files.

As for the actual code, it's simple enough. A very basic version would be:


Or some such thing. I didn't concern myself with proper format there.... just threw up an example.

The point is, unless you wrote the code for this board, it can take a LOT of time to find all of the necessary functions and files.

The major downside is maintainability of the code. Adding this to a third party script means updating it manually each time the third party code gets updated as well as changing it when their code changes each time. After a while there are just too many little things to keep track of. An easier suggestion may be a welcome PM that directs new members to the "welcome new members" page.

Ah, ok. A welcome new members page does sound good.

With a big fat red arrow or automatic redirect to the guides!!!!

kittykatty: like this one?


Time to reprise my world famous siggy?

It was classic !

Yes, I do believe the time HAS come. But then again, what will do about the UTI and large tonsil questions?

heheh.. I *so* wanted to add this oh-so-apropos link to your thread...
http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...c=43920&hl=

Classic.

How big must those tonsils BE, anyway?

thats awesome!

Is is back then?

Since it wasn't all that long ago when I joined VJ, I can remember feeling overwhelmed and daunted by the number of forums. In fact, for the first month the only forum I ever viewed was the K-1. I did look over the guides, but there's a lot of excitement and anxiety going into the process and the urge to post a simple question is much like tossing a road map aside, pulling alongside somebody at a street corner and asking them for directions. I think it's just human nature until we become familiar with something.

BRING IT BACK! Put it somewhere so all us older VJers can put it in our siggies too!

eww, I feel guilty! lol

devil: where am I supposed to put it? It's at photobucket now...

I have to agree with you on that... I know I didn't post nothing for about a month or so after I joined..

Me too Marilyn. It was a month or more before I posted.

I think it's kind of odd the way some folks just burst in here and start firing off posts full of questions. To me, it's sort of like walking into your neighbor's house and immediately heading to the kitchen to raid the refrigerator.

Like this example form today? 4 posts since joining at 1AM today!!!!!

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=44293

Like a hyper poodle that humps your leg....

I waited for a bit to post as well. Felt like I needed to get a feel for the 'unwritten rules' and board etiquette. Some people don't care about that tho.

This is a good thread... I've found myself a bit disinterested in answering the same questions over and over again.... but I also haven't had much extra time lately, so when I do log in, I'm very selective in what I read and post...

Jen