h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Well, my other self (who is an ACE) has posted a link to this conversation in the ACEs' e-mail group, so hopefully we'll have more ACEs joining this conversation in due time...

Meanwhile - is a copy&paste identical impersonal welcome message posted to 10 new users worth more than one individual, personally worded welcome message?

Are ACEs who only check the 'one-star' newcomers doing a better job than those who put a lot of time into checking *all* new researchers (which takes more time and therefore is more time-consuming) because the second star might mean that someone who is *not* an ACE was the first to start a conversation?

Is welcoming newcomers more important than being subscribed to (and replying to) new conversations linked to entries that are bound to attract the attention of new researhers (like the Guide-ML Clinic, Hi I'm New, What do I do now, etc)?

One more thing - I've noticed a trend lately (or for some time, actually) of people signing up to become researchers, and who are never heard of again.

So again I ask you - which is more important?

Giving each new researcher (regardless of if he/she shows up ever again after registering) a welcome message - or to help those that *do* stick around and start asking questions at previously mentioned places?

I don't know... *shrugs* ...it's just that I feel that 'emptying' the list of new researchers have become somewhat of an obsession with some ACEs - but does it pay off? Is it that all-important?

It'd be interesting to see some kind of statistics of 'researchers who have been ACEd' to see if they:
a) replied to the welcome message
b) followed any of the advice given in the welcome message
c) ever logged in again, posted in a conversation or created an entry

I've been an ACE for just under three years and until recently, the scheme basically ran itself. People actually did some ACEing and many was the time I went to the New Users page only to find all the new researchers had been welcomed. Abi used to do a roll call every so often to ask if you still wanted to be an ACE, which meant that people who weren't ACEing were taken off the scheme and their badges given to an applicant.

Sorry, missed those posts there!

In my view, everything you said is surely all part of the ACE job description? I use a generic cut and paste greeting to save time, but if the researcher has updated their User Space or figured out how to do this or that, I adjust it accordingly. And although it is a cut and paste job, one newbie actually said how nice it was I still took the time to read their intro

My other self (Kristina the Flamenco Dancer, btw) has already pointed that out in the ACEs' e-mail group (the roll call thing) but never got any reply from the Italics

Yeh thats good to hear we mighht get something done then talk might just turn into possative action

copy and pasting at the moment is a effective way there are so few Aces welcomeing its a faster way to get through the backlog of researchers joining as i know you seem to get a few sign up at the same time or at least a couple of hours appart but becouse of the problems join the allready long list iv been told at the moment it seems to have died down a wee bit im not sure i dont go to the newbies to welcome page any more thats going off topic tho

This dose seem to be a problem tho researchers meaning well do welcome new researchers and give them dead links if you like or miss infomation a Ace would give them feisors page etc but im sure it dosent hurt if its not buisy welcomeing wise then to go through the 1* researchers to see who has been missed

but the above is not realy called into questions it has been notest by a few that there are some Aces not doing any kind of welcome to talk of and these are the ones who could do a bit more perhaps

in my honest opinion tho how easy would you say its for a newbie to find im new guide ml clinic etc without a welcome

Ace=welcome=different other areas around the site that are not on the tool bar at the top of the page or on the left hand side

So you look at a new researcher and go they dont look like there going to hang around dont welcome them they are they need a welcome its working a % but there will be some in the dont welcome who come back no ones left a message a welcome or kiss my(yep yep)so they will think its very clicky to hard to use (etc)and give up

Intern - a *lot* of researchers have actually made their first posting/started a conversation at one of the entries I mentioned *way* before (several hours) they received a welcome message from an ACE.

Just curious - how come you're so engaged in this issue considering you decided to not be an ACE any more?

Absolutely. There will always be people who sign up and decide the site's not for them, but we still have a duty to help these new people. ACEing isn't just about welcoming and that's why I'm subscribed to the help pages, as every ACE should be.

In response to posting no.68:

So you think posting a welcome message to a new researcher is *the* most important task, more important than any other kind of response?

In response to posting no.70:


...that's why I'm subscribed to the help pages, as every ACE should be


Does it explicitly(sp?) say so in the 'What do the ACEs do'?

Or is that something each and every one ought to be able to figure out themselves?

Spelugx did a stats. page A1911296 now out of use, but how would ACEs feel about an official league table?

Could even have bet's on pedboy or Jordan getting the number 1 spot...

So now we've got three (please correct me if I'm wrong) researchers involved in this discussion that are not ACEs - of what interest is it to them?

It may not state that, but come on! It's common sense! In fact, it should be in there anyway! Think about it - how can you expect to be a competent ACE if you're not even subscribed to the Aces and help pages?

People leave the ACE scheme for various reasons, but there's no law saying they can't hang about...

They can certainly hang about, but do you think they're justified in demanding ACEs to do this and that when they don't need to do it themselves? I mean... isn't that one of the reasons they stopped being ACEs?

Im still subscribed to the help pages even tho im not a Ace on the off chance some on needs help and there dosnt seem to be a Ace about then i can help

the number of im new posts from newbies is two in a while i didnt go to look if they had a welcome and they was a few days appart as well so there is still a few researchers who dont know there way to im new so its better to be airing on the side of cortion and give them the links asap from a Ace in the way of a welcome they feel this is a grovy place to be and welcomeing friendly place insted of no ones bothered im here how do i make freinds most of them think i dare not post on a convo incase im not welcome and get a verbal assault thrown at me as per other sites/chat sites

Im bothered becouse i was a Ace who did welcomes as soon as i came on site and was there hours becouse not a lot of others would do them i still have friends in the Aces group who only seem to welcome newbies becouse of the problems of some Aces so im of the same opinion as them is time for something to be done now and im not a yeh yeh talk talk in private convos or my space im willing to stand up for them and get them a fair shake of the stick

Reply to posting no.75:

And have you always found new ACEs to be aware of all those things without anyone giving them any clues what-so-ever?

On the "What intrest" question...

When there are some good WELCOMING ACEs now missing from the ranks... That would be of intrest to all. ie 'Mort' is one that give the lack of effort by others as a reason for giving-up being an ACE.