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

yeh iv not seen so many flooting around as i normally do

Are you suggesting that the GAs are all drunkards, Intern? Oooh, that's terrible!

Me never would i

ill check the doorways on the way home to my page make sure they move on towords home

I deliberately avoid these conversations for good reason, because it's always three or four people whinging on about how they're the only ones who do anything in the Aces scheme. In their opinion I'm a "Bad Ace".

I'm a "Bad Ace" because I detest impersonal copy & paste greetings and refuse to use one to greet 20 or more newbies at a time in the interests of 'clearing the newbie list'.

I'm a "Bad Ace" because I don't greet several newbies a day.

I'm a "Bad Ace" because I don't greet newbies every time I log on.

I'm a "Bad Ace" because I don't greet several newbies a week.

I'm a "Bad Ace" because sometimes I'm lucky to greet even one new user a month, and sometimes I can't even do that.

Every time this subject is brought up it centers around a new users list that is a mile long that gets cleared by three people using generic copy & paste greetings then complaining that the other Aces aren't 'earning their keep'.

But, of course, they don't mean the Aces who are away sick or on holiday.
They don't mean the ones who are busy with coursework and studying for exams.
They don't mean the ones who are neck-deep in real work.
They don't mean the ones who are having personal problems at any particular moment and can't make the time to do greetings.

So who, exactly, do they mean?

I'm a "Bad Ace".
And there are a number of times when I've come close to handing in my badge because I'm thoroughly sick of all the conversations that come up here and on the e-group complaining about all the things I'm not doing. But I'm keeping my badge. It's shiny and I like it.

Besides that, I've earned it.

I've earned it by checking all the two-star new users, usually several days' worth at a time, to make sure that at least one of the conversations on their pages was started by an Ace.
I've earned it by making sure that any questions these users have asked their Aces have been adequately answered.
I've earned it by leaving personal greetings for new users who've been missed by Aces that are only checking one-star users.
I've earned it by replying to conversations new users have inadvertently left on their own user spaces.
I've earned it by checking to see if new users have used their journals and replying to journal entries that will otherwise be ignored.
I've earned it by replying to postings and journals with questions to engage new users in conversations.

But since none of these things racks up my 'greeting quota', I'll continue to be one of those deadbeat Aces that the three "Good Aces" continually bash.

I'm a "Bad Ace" - and really proud of it.

I don't think a copy and past welcome is the end of the world when the need to welcome so many.


Well, 20 copies to one newbie may be... But each welcome *is* personal as it's only one person reading it.

As someone who took a big sabbatical from ACEing last year due to personal reasons, I have never had a go at those who can't ACE for whatever reason. Real life will and does get in the way and I am well aware of that.

Please don't think that I'm getting on at people who don't do 20,000 welcomes a week or whatever. I only clear the list not because I feel obliged to do so or to earn a halo or anything, I do it because I feel sorry for the poor new researcher who has had to wait sometimes up to a week for a welcome, a friendly face to come by and say hello

But seeing as you are here, how do you interperet the ACE Code of Conduct?

Broeline..........

i deliberately avoid these conversations for a good resaon becouse its 3 or 4 people whinging on about how there the only ones to do anything in the Ace scheme....

whining well im afraid as you can tell with back log on this thread im of the opinion that they should express there view its not whining i know my self when i was a Ace loging on and finding up to 20 or more researchers needing a welcome and the very fact that no other Aces can be bothered to do them yes bothered iv checked to see what Aces are on line and found two/three Aces on at the same time who have gone past newbies to there own page and cought up to there messages and its not been untill these aces have gone to the Aces home page to ask for help have they done it in some cases not even helped then

no one at any time has any one said that the ones who slack off when it comes to welcomeing should use cut and paste or do 20 at a time some times when a Ace has been left with 20 messages then it has been a bit faster to use it to clear the back log if per chance any one who now dose not do a welcome could at least 2 1-2 messages then that would be good as doing 20 of them

if all the Aces could do at least one no one would need to cut and paste or do 20 messages becouse you would find that the list was keept at a resonable lengh and the ones who perhaps wanted to do a couple more and clear it it would be all good

But its not working like that the same people are forced into doing 20 and useing cut and past becouse some Aces just cant be botherd to have a newbie around the neck who needs the way showing a bit untill they get used to h2g2

Aces who are sick/on holliday.....i doubt they have been on holliday or sick from the day i left Aces till now if so i want to know what job they do and is there any jobs free

exams...yep fair enough they are studying but like i said before if there on the whos online list then they are online thus not studying and could do at least one welcome

Aces do some of that and still do Aceing when ever they can tho when they reply to a welcome they are gadging in conversation with you

How do I interpret the Aces Code of Conduct?

In a nutshell: Make the Site Sticky.

So in making the site sticky, as an ACE if you have nothing stopping you in making an effort?

thats why in my opinion its better to get a welcome to a newbie asap get in there early before they give up and make it sticky not like ford said leave them a week see if there still there then make it sticky

Sorry to butt in, sorry to butt in, I have read the backlog...

broelan, you don't sound like a bad ACE to me! I'm no shining star in the ACE scheme, but it sounds to me like you do something that is incredibly hard to quantify, requires a lot of hard work and, well, good on you for it!

I'll go back to lurking now...

Absolutely! It's the ones that quote the old not being obliged to do anything phrase in the Code of Conduct that should be put against the wall and shot

Intern, I'm confused - I didn't say to leave people for a few days to see if they hung around was okay. I said that I've come across people who have been online for that long and have never been welcomed

Road kill....

im sure every one will agree its open for disscution and all points of view on this are welcomed no matter what stand point you are comeing from

Ford...

it might be a typo ill check put to make it clear

i dont thing its right in any cases to leave newbies without a welcome they should be welcomed asap not left like i said before its not makeing the site sticky becouse they are more likly not to know where to go like im new and find it to hard to use/navigate h2g2 thus just leave outside the few options it gives you across the top or down the left hand side

No worries Intern

Right, time for supper and bed!

Intern

I'm just interested in what is being said at the mo, rather than contributing overly

Did anybody use the phrase 'bad ACE' before post 104?

I thought the opposite was being put forward, there are good ACEs. Just the priority of a welcome is being skiped over... Making a few appear like they are the only ones that welcome.

Nobody is "bad" just others are better.

Thank you, Roadkill

"So in making the site sticky, as an ACE if you have nothing stopping you in making an effort?" Sorry, I'm not understanding the question here

"thats why in my opinion..." That's right Intern, it's *your* opinion. I have an entirely different opinion on how to accomplish this.

"It's the ones that quote the old not being obliged to do anything phrase in the Code of Conduct that should be put against the wall and shot" No, they should not. Because they bring up a very valid point: we are not obligated to greet new users every time we log on. We are not obligated to greet X number of new users per week or month. Being an Ace does not obligate us to any specific duties on any specific time schedule.

Ford iv tipexed it out

night night

broelan......

please see page 3 post60 in reply to that i had this argument earlyer