Do we need an "Advice for Newbies" sticky?

Maybe there should be a  HELP CENTRAL thread  to which everyone could be referred to for help.

Unknown said:

From what Ian's been saying there is another community upgrade due so we all may need Help Central if the chaos is same as last time.

 

Maybe  GRAND CENTRAL HELP STATION

 

If an upgrade is due I hope they have sorted some of the problems in the present software.

I am a newbie and you have all been so helpful in pointing me in the right direction about posting, ids, general advice etc I am sure I would not have looked for such help and advice from a designated area; the email advice aside. obviously as old hands you find yourselves repeating the same old advice but that makes it more of a community. we learn better from mistakes particularly when they are so delicately highlighted. of course others may find it VERY useful.

I think this is a good idea. When it comes to birding I am still a novice! The brown bird blog has certainly taken me on a higher level where I am now thinking of the identification and recognising birds and learning about them, as opposed to just watching them feed

Hazel b said:

Maybe there should be a  HELP CENTRAL thread  to which everyone could be referred to for help.

I do so agree Tiger. I kept saying this after the last "upgrade" chaos. Lots of others were saying the same thing but nothing happened. Navigating through the Community pages is a nightmare when you start and I know I still keep finding things I hadn't known were there.

The best bit of help I can give is, first don't ever sign out. Second, "favourite" all threads or places you think you want to return to. Third when you enter the website, click on your name at he top right which takes you to your own page where you will find favourites in the right and your recent posts etc. on the left. 

Cheers

Jenni

I'm new and fairly used forums and blogs and found this one generally OK to find my way round but there's a couple of things that aren't intuitive or usual that might benefit from being put as a sticky.

Phographs:  is the same as most forums except for the fact that to get the facility you can't just use the fast reply box and have to select the 'use rich formating' button - not exactly an intuitive label!

Configuration and mapping: is complicated with these different areas and so many topic areas.   I sometimes can't find where I saw a thread I'd seen before. Something more prominent or intuitive or less complicated would be great.    There's ever so many topic areas, many overlapping too which makes it all the more complex. 

Following me:   I had an email telling me someone was following me and with a link which took me to my profile page?  What's that about ?    I didn't have any friends requests or messages as far as I could see.  Or should I expect someone behind the hedge in my garden when I go to feed the birds today ;-) 

Stickies with general advice/links.   Things there that's good for everyone to know like eg nest boxes, bird table feed dog's and dont's , what to do if you find an injured bird, trichonomosis and what to do if you suspect a bird has it.

Now the above may all be covered and I've just not found it or figured it so it's just a perspective from a newbie member.

Thanks

I agree with all the good ideas suggested so far;   just wish the Forum could be simplified, as others have said, it is difficult to navigate around or know exactly where to post things and it would be better for the BOP to have their own separate section so it's not intermingled with general topics.   I think a good idea would be to have a Home Start Forum Menu would be helpful giving itemised links to basic areas like Photos,  Help & Advice,  How to Upload pics, video, etc.,   and  another for ID's  instead of all the millions of links.    It may be nice for the Newbies to have a "common garden bird" section with proper photos of the birds you are most likely to see in your garden so as to help them get off to a good start with recognition of species and Seymour's Topography chart.      

Could be a great idea even those of us who spend too much time on here get baffled at times,or is that an age thing with me ? Getting an e mail to say someone is following you  could be worrying and I for one do not totally understand that.

I don't know if it's 'following' someone but, if I've missed a few days and want to catch up with regulars, I clink on one of their posts and look at their recent posts at the bottom of their profile.

If I've caused and worrying emails, I'm very sorry.

Grandmamac said:

I don't know if it's 'following' someone but, if I've missed a few days and want to catch up with regulars, I clink on one of their posts and look at their recent posts at the bottom of their profile.

If I've caused and worrying emails, I'm very sorry.

I reckon many of us do that Grandmamac it also sometimes helps knowing what area people live in when looking at i.d. queries,not sure if that causes the e mails though.