10-23-2009, 10:23 AM
I've been here a little while now, but I'm thinking back to that first day, when I was given a link to this forum and told I should join.
I wasn't really told what it was ABOUT and looking at the front page, I was having a hard time understanding why I would want to join.
'Mock Forum'? I thought... what, it's not a 'real' forum? ::dunno::
I was thinking along the lines of the 'Mock Turtle' from Lewis Carroll.
So, I looked through the info. The rotating quotes under the banner were confusing as well. It seemed to me, that this forum might be for immature assholes who just wanted to bash on people. I didn't actually 'get' it, until I started reading through the Newbie initiation stuff... I was seeing that sure enough, most of the folks who were 'applying' for membership were immature idiots, but the actual 'members' were funny, smart, witty... I found myself starting to laugh at some of the comments that were made. I started thinking 'I like these people' and signed up.
The point of this post, is to try and somewhat examine the way people perceive Mock when they first encounter it. Are we unknowingly turning off the very people who are most welcome here (funny, witty, smart) while waving welcome banners to small-minded, mean-spirited, immature people with low self esteem who are really just looking for a place to crap on people? If we try to appeal more to the intellectual folks, will we just be overrun by pompous snobs?
I'm not sure, but those were my first impressions and though processes. I very nearly decided NOT to try and join, but after making the 'plunge' initially, I never regretted it.
I wasn't really told what it was ABOUT and looking at the front page, I was having a hard time understanding why I would want to join.
'Mock Forum'? I thought... what, it's not a 'real' forum? ::dunno::
I was thinking along the lines of the 'Mock Turtle' from Lewis Carroll.
So, I looked through the info. The rotating quotes under the banner were confusing as well. It seemed to me, that this forum might be for immature assholes who just wanted to bash on people. I didn't actually 'get' it, until I started reading through the Newbie initiation stuff... I was seeing that sure enough, most of the folks who were 'applying' for membership were immature idiots, but the actual 'members' were funny, smart, witty... I found myself starting to laugh at some of the comments that were made. I started thinking 'I like these people' and signed up.
The point of this post, is to try and somewhat examine the way people perceive Mock when they first encounter it. Are we unknowingly turning off the very people who are most welcome here (funny, witty, smart) while waving welcome banners to small-minded, mean-spirited, immature people with low self esteem who are really just looking for a place to crap on people? If we try to appeal more to the intellectual folks, will we just be overrun by pompous snobs?
I'm not sure, but those were my first impressions and though processes. I very nearly decided NOT to try and join, but after making the 'plunge' initially, I never regretted it.