If you were just joining GolfWRX today . . .

[profsmitty]

If you were just joining GolfWRX today, what would you have wanted to know early on that would have made you feel more at home?

 

GolfWRX tries to be as user friendly as we can possibly be. But the truth is, like any complex place, GolfWRX has a "language" of its own, many "do's", and a few "don't's". For those of us that have been around for a long time, there are also probably many "it goes without saying"s" that shouldn't go without saying.

 

I'd like to put together a new user's guide to GolfWRX. Help me. What would you have like to know that would have made your first weeks as a GolfWRXer more enjoyable?

 

I'm also interested in whether a "FAQ" would be helpful, even for old members. If so, what would be your most "FAQ"? I'll start it off:

 

1. What is a FAQ. A place where a user can find answers to frequently asked questions about the website.

[highergr0und]

The real question or issue at hand is whether or not someone would even read the guide..... It doesn't mean that there shouldn't be one though. If it's written well, it might be an entertaining read, chock full of advice including which threads you want to avoid starting as a newbie like driver distance, handicap, or Tiger. You could even throw in some advice on how to perfect (or avoid) the passive brag.

Now the FAQ could be a good thing. Without going into the philosophy or whether certain things work as advertised, I believe having quick access to the basic ideas and definitions of things like COR, MOI, spining, hard stepping, soft stepping, etc could be beneficial to readers of all levels.

Another interesting section could be a DIY type area for golf club maintenance and modifying. Kind of like with the articles, give users a chance to photograph steps or make videos performing stuff like regripping, shaft pulling, paint filling, etc. I know when I was newer to the site I would have to spend a lot of time searching and hoping the people explaining stuff on the results were giving the correct advice. Now this might be beyond the scope of what you're looking to do, but it just popped in my head.

[GooseHook]

A couple things that might help a new user:
[list]
[*]louder formatting for stickied topics. Someone new to the forum, or any forum, wouldn't necessarily know what that means. And maybe a note at the top, like [i]new users, please read the sticky threads first!![/i]
[*]To expand on higherground, I think it'd be awesome to have a collaborative glossary of some sort, like our own mini Wikipedia.
[/list]

[Kadin 25]

The first thought that comes to mind...

"SEARCH before posting"

This Is the best tip I can give to a new member.

[Willie Malay]

First thought on that is ' Search Police'. Nothing turns a new person away faster than someone that posts ' did you do a search first?'

[GolfChicago91]

A huge warning stating:

WARNING! Golfwrx may cause excessive spending of money on golf equipment and unwarranted/frequent changing of such equipment. Golf Wrx is not responsible for the actions of club ho-ing, nor the development of such a problem.

[SurfinTurf]

Should any of your first 100 posts be for a low launch / low spin shaft recommendation, you shall be permenantly... uhmm.... dismembered.

[MtlJeff]

I think it could be cool to pin something on the main forum page called like "the golfwrx bible" or something like that. I'm not sure how many people would read it as higherground states. But i also think it could be a fun way to show new members we are a good bunch here, and some things have been beaten to death and are best to stay away from or do a search for. It would also be cool to have like a golfwrx legend of all the terms we use and etc.

It also might be cool (and i'm just going out on a limb here) to have "champions" for certain various topics. Like have certain members volunteer to have their names down as experts in certain fields, so new members (or even old members) can mail them if they have questions about anything. Like a who's who in the zoo type thing.

Also, if you need help writing it i'd volunteer my services

[farmer]

I would never read any thread dealing with blades vs GI.

[KYMAR]

I think you should make a a FAQ page, A new users page, and a test that the new user must get 8 out of 10 answers correct to proceed but then have the test in a dead language. Anyone know how to write "what is the proper method for fixing a ball mark on a green?" in Sanskrit?

[KILLEDBYASHANKEDWEDGE]

Most new users find WRX through Googling about the Golf question they have. Then , after they join, using the WRX search will be what they go to instead of forum guides.

[prsgtrman]

i think most users that find their way to a forum and actually join are savvy enough to either a) figure it out b) have prior forum experience

[TheMackDaddy]

[quote name='MtlJeff' timestamp='1353367336' post='5955535']
I think it could be cool to pin something on the main forum page called like "the golfwrx bible" or something like that. I'm not sure how many people would read it as higherground states. But i also think it could be a fun way to show new members we are a good bunch here, and some things have been beaten to death and are best to stay away from or do a search for. It would also be cool to have like a golfwrx legend of all the terms we use and etc.

It also might be cool (and i'm just going out on a limb here) to have "champions" for certain various topics. Like have certain members volunteer to have their names down as experts in certain fields, so new members (or even old members) can mail them if they have questions about anything. Like a who's who in the zoo type thing.

Also, if you need help writing it i'd volunteer my services
[/quote]

Think this is a cool idea as well.

[kmayer99]

The answer to Kymer's question

 

[Sean2]

I also think it would be nice if more members would welcome new members. Sometimes there might only be two or three members welcoming a new member when the new member makes an introduction. Not very welcoming, eh?

[Rhythm&TempoRenzo]

I believe that a "lingo" section would be helpful, terms like softstep, hardstep and many others like IMHO or the infamous "club ho" can help the newbie post more comfortably.

[mukster]

[quote name='MtlJeff' timestamp='1353367336' post='5955535']
I think it could be cool to pin something on the main forum page called like "the golfwrx bible" or something like that. I'm not sure how many people would read it as higherground states. But i also think it could be a fun way to show new members we are a good bunch here, and some things have been beaten to death and are best to stay away from or do a search for. It would also be cool to have like a golfwrx legend of all the terms we use and etc.

It also might be cool (and i'm just going out on a limb here) to have "champions" for certain various topics. Like have certain members volunteer to have their names down as experts in certain fields, so new members (or even old members) can mail them if they have questions about anything. Like a who's who in the zoo type thing.

Also, if you need help writing it i'd volunteer my services
[/quote]

Great idea. However, I just hate the term "champions"!

[duffer987]

Funnily enough I do this for a living, so I know people mostly don't read the guide/help, lol.
But an FAQ can be a great method for delivering key/oft repeated info.

That said, in a typical single genre based forum, $£&!@!!! search you lazy so and so, is usually the most important thing to get across, outside of Classifieds do's and don'ts

[tembolo1284]

Beware the hogan forum.

[j.lapp]

[quote name='highergr0und' timestamp='1353330603' post='5952813']
The real question or issue at hand is whether or not someone would even read the guide..... It doesn't mean that there shouldn't be one though. If it's written well, it might be an entertaining read, chock full of advice including which threads you want to avoid starting as a newbie like driver distance, handicap, or Tiger. You could even throw in some advice on how to perfect (or avoid) the passive brag.

Now the FAQ could be a good thing. Without going into the philosophy or whether certain things work as advertised, I believe having quick access to the basic ideas and definitions of things like COR, MOI, spining, hard stepping, soft stepping, etc could be beneficial to readers of all levels.

Another interesting section could be a DIY type area for golf club maintenance and modifying. Kind of like with the articles, give users a chance to photograph steps or make videos performing stuff like regripping, shaft pulling, paint filling, etc. I know when I was newer to the site I would have to spend a lot of time searching and hoping the people explaining stuff on the results were giving the correct advice. Now this might be beyond the scope of what you're looking to do, but it just popped in my head.
[/quote]

Agreed 100%

[bobfoster]

[quote name='farmer' timestamp='1353367625' post='5955559']
I would never read any thread dealing with blades vs GI.
[/quote]

Blades are better. (hahahahahaha).

[SunkTheBirdie]

Random thoughts from a newbie.

There are some GolfWRX shortforms that I hadn't seen used previously such as AOA (Angle of Attack).

I found Feedback score confusing as I didn't know it was just for Classifieds. I think the Reputation score would be better to display than the Feedback score.

I find this site very slow. Certainly to the point where it impairs overall usability.

I wish the slicefixer thread could be a forum.

The best part of GolfWRX is the super knowledgeable users .. especially russc.

[raynorfan1]

I think it depends what, exactly, these "new user guide" and FAQs are. If the FAQ is a glossary of undisputed technical information (i.e. "hardstepping means XXX" etc.), I think it could be a huge asset to the broad golf community.

However, in most forums where I've seen these sorts of things implemented, I find them to be antithetical to what I'm looking for in a forum. A healthy forum is sort of organic - members come and go, perspectives change, and [i]new perspectives come in.[/i] When you tell someone to "do a search for X", it shuts off discussion of the topic, even if a member who didn't contribute the first time around has something interesting to say.

I'll give you a good example: Tom Wishon joined the forum in 2008. From my perspective, his views on clubmaking / fitting are incredibly valuable. What if a newbie in June 2008 had asked a question that was right in Tom's wheelhouse, and the response was: "dude, we beat this to death last year, do a search." So we don't get Tom's perspective on the question (because the question was "answered" before Tom was a member). I think that's a net loss.

One forum that does this to the extreme is flyertalk (a forum for frequent flyers). I fly between 100 and 200K miles per year, so you would [i]think [/i]that place would be great for me. But it sucks. You throw out a question like: "I've got to do a layover somewhere in the midwest, which airport has the best admirals club", you get shut down with a "five years ago we established an exhaustive rank order of all clubs, please refer to that list." Like nothing has changed since then. As a result of their attitude, I don't contribute there despite having quite a lot of knowledge on the topics they cover. I'd hate to see GolfWRX trend in that direction.

So my advice is that I think it can be done. Can be a huge asset if done well. But please don't screw it up.

[Jarri]

If I were joining wrx today...... hmmm.... I'd read the forum for about half an hour and then make my first post talking about my 300+ drive with this new driver.

[mdgboxx]

[quote name='MtlJeff' timestamp='1353367336' post='5955535']
I think it could be cool to pin something on the main forum page called like "the golfwrx bible" or something like that. I'm not sure how many people would read it as higherground states. But i also think it could be a fun way to show new members we are a good bunch here, and some things have been beaten to death and are best to stay away from or do a search for. It would also be cool to have like a golfwrx legend of all the terms we use and etc.

It also might be cool (and i'm just going out on a limb here) to have "champions" for certain various topics. Like have certain members volunteer to have their names down as experts in certain fields, [b]so new members (or even old members) can mail them if they have questions about anything. Like a who's who in the zoo type thing.[/b]

Also, if you need help writing it i'd volunteer my services
[/quote]

I agree with you 98%.

The 2% is actually a question:
If someone PM's you a question, it doesn't appear on the board and neither does the answer. Isn't that a contradiction to an open board?

[MtlJeff]

[quote name='mdgboxx' timestamp='1353881476' post='5977393']
[quote name='MtlJeff' timestamp='1353367336' post='5955535']
I think it could be cool to pin something on the main forum page called like "the golfwrx bible" or something like that. I'm not sure how many people would read it as higherground states. But i also think it could be a fun way to show new members we are a good bunch here, and some things have been beaten to death and are best to stay away from or do a search for. It would also be cool to have like a golfwrx legend of all the terms we use and etc.

It also might be cool (and i'm just going out on a limb here) to have "champions" for certain various topics. Like have certain members volunteer to have their names down as experts in certain fields, [b]so new members (or even old members) can mail them if they have questions about anything. Like a who's who in the zoo type thing.[/b]

Also, if you need help writing it i'd volunteer my services
[/quote]

I agree with you 98%.

The 2% is actually a question:
If someone PM's you a question, it doesn't appear on the board and neither does the answer. Isn't that a contradiction to an open board?
[/quote]

In my head i was thinking you would post the question on the forum and also send the guy a PM. Because there is no guarantee that person will check the forum, but if you PM him he would get an email notification.

For example a guy like J.W is a great source of info on new Titleist products. You could start a thread called "looking for info on the new 913" but he might not check it for a few days. Of course there are many people here who can provide perspective in the end. But I just think it would be cool if some of the more senior members who are experts in certain fields volunteered for that type of list. It would give new members a chance to get to know some of the good guys too when they are relative newbies.

Even someone like me, a 4-5 year vet of the site, i often have weird questions about clubbuilding. Sometimes you post it and no one answers, and then when you bump it finally someone does. It would be nice if there was a list of a few clubbuilding gurus i could PM.

Of course the caveat would be that they would have to be regular users. Not guys who frequent the place once a month

[mdgboxx]

One of my early questions, if I was a new member: How the HELL do I upload an avatar without being told that it's to big and then, can't have it automaticly resized? THEN, I have to register to GRAVATAR for no other reason!

To make things easier (for ME, still today), a "GolfWRX Urban Dictionary" and deffinitively a "How to section"/"Tutorial, GolfWRX related" section.

Now, I feel like a CURMUDGEON (new word I learned on here) so, I'll quit while i'm ahead!

[MtlJeff]

golfwrx urban dictionary is a must!

[mdgboxx]

[quote name='MtlJeff' timestamp='1353882368' post='5977457']
[quote name='mdgboxx' timestamp='1353881476' post='5977393']
[quote name='MtlJeff' timestamp='1353367336' post='5955535']
I think it could be cool to pin something on the main forum page called like "the golfwrx bible" or something like that. I'm not sure how many people would read it as higherground states. But i also think it could be a fun way to show new members we are a good bunch here, and some things have been beaten to death and are best to stay away from or do a search for. It would also be cool to have like a golfwrx legend of all the terms we use and etc.

It also might be cool (and i'm just going out on a limb here) to have "champions" for certain various topics. Like have certain members volunteer to have their names down as experts in certain fields, [b]so new members (or even old members) can mail them if they have questions about anything. Like a who's who in the zoo type thing.[/b]

Also, if you need help writing it i'd volunteer my services
[/quote]

I agree with you 98%.

The 2% is actually a question:
If someone PM's you a question, it doesn't appear on the board and neither does the answer. Isn't that a contradiction to an open board?
[/quote]

In my head i was thinking you would post the question on the forum and[b][u] also [/u]send the guy a PM.[/b] Because there is no guarantee that person will check the forum, but if you PM him he would get an email notification.

For example a guy like J.W is a great source of info on new Titleist products. You could start a thread called "looking for info on the new 913" but he might not check it for a few days. Of course there are many people here who can provide perspective in the end. But I just think it would be cool if some of the more senior members who are experts in certain fields volunteered for that type of list. It would give new members a chance to get to know some of the good guys too when they are relative newbies.

Even someone like me, a 4-5 year vet of the site, i often have weird questions about clubbuilding. Sometimes you post it and no one answers, and then when you bump it finally someone does. It would be nice if there was a list of a few clubbuilding gurus i could PM.

[b]Of course the caveat would be that they would have to be regular users.[/b] Not guys who frequent the place once a month
[/quote]


First bolded part:

It would have to be a: MUST

Second bolded part:

I have a specific question for you (the topic guru) but, you're in the process of burying your great-grandfather, so, you won't be on-line for a week.
Who am I to expect an answer from you within 5 minutes. I have to feel confident that you will answer [u]eventually. [/u]

That is the reason behind: First Bolded Part.

People have lives outside of GolfWRX (so do you). It may not seem like it to you but, I'm on your side here.

[MtlJeff]

Who told you i had a life outside WRX?