Here's a big welcome to all of you "new" members!
The more established members here are more than happy to have you here. I know, because it wasn't so long ago that I was also a "newbie."
My advice to anyone who is thinking of posting on ANY forum is to read the FAQ and "lurk" for a week or two to get the "feel" of the forum before posting. That way, you'll have a better idea about some of the "characters" that you're going to encounter, and who you can tease, who is very serious, and who you should just ignore! Also, even though it's not absolutely necessary, it might be a good idea to search the old posts before asking a question...a lot of topics have been discussed before. However, MOST of us don't mind a recap
, but some will let you know it's been covered. I did the same thing; the best response is to say, "Oh, sorry, I didn't know." and leave it at that.
You may inadvertantly step on someone's toes! Again, a quick apology will generally smooth things over. If your toes are aching, you can always PM someone for an explanation of what he/she meant.
We share a lot of information on this board, but we aren't an "information please" service. Sometimes, it might take a while to answer your question, and sometimes members might "drift" away from the topic. Please don't get angry!! Just ignore the drift, and keep checking; sooner or later the information you're looking for will appear. If not, it's time for that nifty PM feature, again. Just send steve a PM. If he has the information, he'll share it. If not, he'll repost or try to get it from his sources.
I think all of the members will agree that no one likes to feel that someone is going to "critique" his/her posts for spelling and/or grammatical errors. Invariably, any post pointing out someone else's errors will have mistakes in it, and make the poster look foolish!! I would much rather have people sharing their information/opinions/stories freely; I'm happy to wade through the misspellings, etc. to get to the heart of the post.
What I'm trying to tell you is if you come here and treat people with respect and courtesy, the majority will respond in kind. If they don't, the other members generally give them a "gentle reminder" or steve will step in to restore order. However, please don't judge ALL of us by the behavior of a few. Conversely, if you come in here and start behaving rudely don't be surprised if people respond the same way and treat you meanly.
There are some of us who enjoy friendly banter, which can get risque or sarcastic at times. If you don't enjoy that sort of thing, please don't participate. If you've found you've wandered there accidently, please use the PM feature to let the person know, or notify steve.
All of this being said, if someone comes on and makes inflammatory statements(as happened recently), all bets are off!! I'm sort of an unofficial "mom"/"den mother" around here, and nobody attacks my kids while I'm around. I can be the sweetest person here, but if I think you are purposely hurting someone, watch out!!
The majority of us are here to enjoy ourselves! Please, come on in and look around. Share a joke, a story, information , your concerns, your fears; there's something for everyone here. Yes, it's about all things Disney, but there's a whole lot more! This forum may not be to your liking...that's fine. My advice applies to any forum, please take it with you, you won't regret it. If you do like what you see here, WELCOME!
ONE LAST THING....steve has provided us with lots of wonderful smilies. Please use them if there is a chance that what you say might be taken the wrong way!! I use the "I'm only joking, please don't take this the wrong way" wink all of the time. It makes things a lot nicer around here.
The more established members here are more than happy to have you here. I know, because it wasn't so long ago that I was also a "newbie."
My advice to anyone who is thinking of posting on ANY forum is to read the FAQ and "lurk" for a week or two to get the "feel" of the forum before posting. That way, you'll have a better idea about some of the "characters" that you're going to encounter, and who you can tease, who is very serious, and who you should just ignore! Also, even though it's not absolutely necessary, it might be a good idea to search the old posts before asking a question...a lot of topics have been discussed before. However, MOST of us don't mind a recap
, but some will let you know it's been covered. I did the same thing; the best response is to say, "Oh, sorry, I didn't know." and leave it at that.You may inadvertantly step on someone's toes! Again, a quick apology will generally smooth things over. If your toes are aching, you can always PM someone for an explanation of what he/she meant.
We share a lot of information on this board, but we aren't an "information please" service. Sometimes, it might take a while to answer your question, and sometimes members might "drift" away from the topic. Please don't get angry!! Just ignore the drift, and keep checking; sooner or later the information you're looking for will appear. If not, it's time for that nifty PM feature, again. Just send steve a PM. If he has the information, he'll share it. If not, he'll repost or try to get it from his sources.
I think all of the members will agree that no one likes to feel that someone is going to "critique" his/her posts for spelling and/or grammatical errors. Invariably, any post pointing out someone else's errors will have mistakes in it, and make the poster look foolish!! I would much rather have people sharing their information/opinions/stories freely; I'm happy to wade through the misspellings, etc. to get to the heart of the post.
What I'm trying to tell you is if you come here and treat people with respect and courtesy, the majority will respond in kind. If they don't, the other members generally give them a "gentle reminder" or steve will step in to restore order. However, please don't judge ALL of us by the behavior of a few. Conversely, if you come in here and start behaving rudely don't be surprised if people respond the same way and treat you meanly.
There are some of us who enjoy friendly banter, which can get risque or sarcastic at times. If you don't enjoy that sort of thing, please don't participate. If you've found you've wandered there accidently, please use the PM feature to let the person know, or notify steve.
All of this being said, if someone comes on and makes inflammatory statements(as happened recently), all bets are off!! I'm sort of an unofficial "mom"/"den mother" around here, and nobody attacks my kids while I'm around. I can be the sweetest person here, but if I think you are purposely hurting someone, watch out!!
The majority of us are here to enjoy ourselves! Please, come on in and look around. Share a joke, a story, information , your concerns, your fears; there's something for everyone here. Yes, it's about all things Disney, but there's a whole lot more! This forum may not be to your liking...that's fine. My advice applies to any forum, please take it with you, you won't regret it. If you do like what you see here, WELCOME!
ONE LAST THING....steve has provided us with lots of wonderful smilies. Please use them if there is a chance that what you say might be taken the wrong way!! I use the "I'm only joking, please don't take this the wrong way" wink all of the time. It makes things a lot nicer around here.
