October 17, 201411 yr I hope you all don't mind if I bring a concern of mine to your attention. When I log on to the QT site, the first thing I do is click on the "View New Content" tab. In recent weeks, the vast majority of the listed threads (many days it is ALL of the listed threads) are oriented towards humor and/or socializing rather than to serious discussions about quitting smoking. I don't see frequent "bumps" of old but exceptionally good posts. I don't see constant references to our pinned threads or the Newbie Database or the links to Joel Spitzer's videos. (Yes, there are some references to these things, but only once in a while, not day after day after day.) I don't think that this is the face we want to present to the world but I don't know how to change it. Any suggestions?
October 17, 201411 yr hi Chrysalis I think you have some good points from a Lurkers prospective but on the flip side I would also hope that people would see that quitting smoking is not all doom and gloom Some people get through the rough patches with humour as thats what works for them and for others when they post that they are in trouble everyone drops the ball and comes to support them for instance yesterday Nancy saw Jess in trouble and let members know about it and before you knew it 10 replies were there for jess I often see threads encouraging lurkers to join and post as we can then support them when we know whats going on but I also see your point that they might feel we are a close knit community and they are reluctant to join in I am sure a balance can be found here and a discussion would be good for the train and for future members my suggestion - once a day a great post even if pinned put in MQ feature of the day x
October 17, 201411 yr Some fair points C and a good response T. All about balance, I guess. A bump a day!
October 17, 201411 yr Jess reached out to quit train on Facebook because she wasn't yet validated to post and was so excited about this place and felt it was a great support site. Our recent gardener feels the same way. I had these concerns in the beginning when we first started and didn't have newbies but Im not anymore. I've gotten a lot of feedback from newbies to reassure me. The beauty about the socializing aspect ensures that there is always someone here. Always. That's the great part...so when someone is in trouble, they have someone to help them.
October 17, 201411 yr I understand your concerns Chrysalis and I think that Bandito makes a great point. Bump a thread a day... Here is my opinion and I will base it on my experience with both places. I left there before you joined, and I attempted to give it a second chance but it wasn't for me. The feel of what is lurking in the shadows there is enough of a driving force. Tracy made a point of it not having to be doom and gloom which is exactly what I feel when I even visit that place. When I quit that was the only site. I read the newbie package and I scoured the site (all while games were being played) on my own and found whatever info I thought would help me. When I was sick of reading for the day I would play in the games section because it kept me distracted and you get to know the people that are on the site with you. You get a feel of who you can go to and talk to when you need them. Also, Babs is right as soon as an SOS was posted we dropped what we were doing and rushed to that person, even posting in the game thread that help was needed so that other members would see and jump on board. There were SOS's over there that went overlooked because people were too busy fighting to notice. That is the difference, as a newbie over there I learned real quick what was going on, I think that we all do. Do you think that if we consolidate the "winner" threads... guys, please?... into one thread that they can post in, instead of new ones popping up every day that might help? ETA: The other huge difference that is noticeable and as a new quitter would make me choose this place is that ALL methods are accepted here. You will not get torn into shreds and disciplined like a child because you chose to quit a different way than I did. They say that is okay to have different quits but once a post differs from an opinion... hold on to your hat. I don't just mean Ecigs either they aren't fans of any NRT they hold their tongue but you can see the contempt in their posts when someone mentions patches and gum. I promise I won't edit again. One other major difference is we don't have the old "go to" threads that we used to bump and point newbies to here because we are a newer site. I am talking about the gems from JWG and my favorite from a member about "riding a wave". I looked at the site as a guest and the "view new content" option is not available, you have to navigate the forums without it as a guest.
October 17, 201411 yr Firstly, I very much dislike the word 'clique' by definition 'a small close-knit group of people who do not readily allow others to join them' - you know that we will let ANYONE join us, there are no conditions, even being quit is not a requirement... I welcome every single person on the whole internet with open arms and no judging...I agree with some others that perhaps we can bump a few of the better threads more often - but what better thing for a newbie to see on a new site than a whole bunch of ex-smokers who are HAPPY and not depressed about not smoking?! This place is for quitters of all lengths and all people. I hope that this is what people see when they look here.ETA - I hardly click on the 'new content' button so cannot comment on what comes on screen.
October 17, 201411 yr Being a newbie, please allow me to express my thoughts on this subject. I think you all make wonderful points. When I took my last puff six days ago, I thought it would be easy because I really wanted to quit. Well by Monday, I was on edge, antsy, moody and besides myself. I was really at the point where I couldn't stand attitude..my poor family! I did a search on quitting smoking and found QT. I signed up. After I signed up, I couldn't access the sight. My anxiety was high and the junkie thoughts flourishing in my mind. I tried Facebook and Barb responded and made sure my account got validated. Finding this sight saved me from taking that puff...so far. I know I have a long way to go. Barb you saved me :) I spent a lot of time just trying to figure out how to navigate this site. I'm still working on figuring it out. What I have found here is a open caring group who really seems to care. I have felt welcome and secure in asking for help. I think the closeness I see of the members is an awesome expression of human kindness. This group has bonded and supports each other across the world. I see your point Chrysalis, being a newbie can make one feel a little out of the circle dependent upon your personality. What I see here is friendships that have formed over a common addiction..all in different levels of nope. For he introverted person, they may be intimidated. Therefore, I think my suggestions would be: whoever validates accounts please do so as soon as possible. For me I was so close to taking that puff. Maybe have a forum welcoming newbies to post and encouraging them for their story their struggle. Assign a "sponser" to help navigate the site and check in....maybe you do this I feel like I have one Keep playing the games. It is great to see life after smoking continue! And most of all keep paying it forward! Right now, I feel like all of you are the only people who get and understand my struggle. I seriously could not do this without you and certainly would not be excited to hit one week smoke free tomorrow! Hope my 2 cents is worthy! XO Jess
October 17, 201411 yr Author Firstly, I very much dislike the word 'clique' by definition 'a small close-knit group of people who do not readily allow others to join them' - you know that we will let ANYONE join us, there are no conditions, even being quit is not a requirement... I welcome every single person on the whole internet with open arms and no judging... I agree with some others that perhaps we can bump a few of the better threads more often - but what better thing for a newbie to see on a new site than a whole bunch of ex-smokers who are HAPPY and not depressed about not smoking?! This place is for quitters of all lengths and all people. I hope that this is what people see when they look here. ETA - I hardly click on the 'new content' button so canno comment on what comes on screen. Oops! Looks like some people are feeling offended by my remarks. I know perfectly well that everybody on this site welcomes newcomers-- I'm not calling this a "clique". I'm only pointing out the impression a visitor might get. Please do try to take a minute to look at the most recent threads and posts here (whether or not you use the "View New Content" tab) and PRETEND that you are shopping around, scared, confused, perhaps desperate to quit but fearing that you are doomed to your addiction. Is QT the site you would most want to join? Personally, I doubted that I could last a whole week without smoking, much less a month or a year. So what I was really looking for when I was shopping around was stories about the people's experiences and tips during the very beginning of their quit. I never expected to get to be one of the "good old boys" who felt safe in their quit. I admired them, of course, and valued their advice. But to me they were a different species entirely. But, hey, maybe that's just me. Others may have had different priorities and expectations when looking for a quit smoking forum.
October 17, 201411 yr Oops! Looks like some people are feeling offended by my remarks. I know perfectly well that everybody on this site welcomes newcomers-- I'm not calling this a "clique". I'm only pointing out the impression a visitor might get. Please do try to take a minute to look at the most recent threads and posts here (whether or not you use the "View New Content" tab) and PRETEND that you are shopping around, scared, confused, perhaps desperate to quit but fearing that you are doomed to your addiction. Is QT the site you would most want to join? Personally, I doubted that I could last a whole week without smoking, much less a month or a year. So what I was really looking for when I was shopping around was stories about the people's experiences and tips during the very beginning of their quit. I never expected to get to be one of the "good old boys" who felt safe in their quit. I admired them, of course, and valued their advice. But to me they were a different species entirely. But, hey, maybe that's just me. Others may have had different priorities and expectations when looking for a quit smoking forum. It's OK Chrys, I'm not offended, I just do not particularly like the word clique... from past experiences :( I am going to take your advice, logout and have a look at the site as a guest and see what it looks like... ;)
October 17, 201411 yr Being a newbie, please allow me to express my thoughts on this subject. I think you all make wonderful points. When I took my last puff six days ago, I thought it would be easy because I really wanted to quit. Well by Monday, I was on edge, antsy, moody and besides myself. I was really at the point where I couldn't stand attitude..my poor family! I did a search on quitting smoking and found QT. I signed up. After I signed up, I couldn't access the sight. My anxiety was high and the junkie thoughts flourishing in my mind. I tried Facebook and Barb responded and made sure my account got validated. Finding this sight saved me from taking that puff...so far. I know I have a long way to go. Barb you saved me :) I spent a lot of time just trying to figure out how to navigate this site. I'm still working on figuring it out. What I have found here is a open caring group who really seems to care. I have felt welcome and secure in asking for help. I think the closeness I see of the members is an awesome expression of human kindness. This group has bonded and supports each other across the world. I see your point Chrysalis, being a newbie can make one feel a little out of the circle dependent upon your personality. What I see here is friendships that have formed over a common addiction..all in different levels of nope. For he introverted person, they may be intimidated. Therefore, I think my suggestions would be: whoever validates accounts please do so as soon as possible. For me I was so close to taking that puff. Maybe have a forum welcoming newbies to post and encouraging them for their story their struggle. Assign a "sponser" to help navigate the site and check in....maybe you do this I feel like I have one Keep playing the games. It is great to see life after smoking continue! And most of all keep paying it forward! Right now, I feel like all of you are the only people who get and understand my struggle. I seriously could not do this without you and certainly would not be excited to hit one week smoke free tomorrow! Hope my 2 cents is worthy! XO Jess We have Introductions You can read others and start you own BLOG and tons of information Quit Smoking Discussions HERE maybe we could have a 'newbie' packet in an email once someone has signed up but, it is all here. Poke around ! Have fun !
October 17, 201411 yr Being a newbie, please allow me to express my thoughts on this subject. I think you all make wonderful points. When I took my last puff six days ago, I thought it would be easy because I really wanted to quit. Well by Monday, I was on edge, antsy, moody and besides myself. I was really at the point where I couldn't stand attitude..my poor family! I did a search on quitting smoking and found QT. I signed up. After I signed up, I couldn't access the sight. My anxiety was high and the junkie thoughts flourishing in my mind. I tried Facebook and Barb responded and made sure my account got validated. Finding this sight saved me from taking that puff...so far. I know I have a long way to go. Barb you saved me :) I spent a lot of time just trying to figure out how to navigate this site. I'm still working on figuring it out. What I have found here is a open caring group who really seems to care. I have felt welcome and secure in asking for help. I think the closeness I see of the members is an awesome expression of human kindness. This group has bonded and supports each other across the world. I see your point Chrysalis, being a newbie can make one feel a little out of the circle dependent upon your personality. What I see here is friendships that have formed over a common addiction..all in different levels of nope. For he introverted person, they may be intimidated. Therefore, I think my suggestions would be: whoever validates accounts please do so as soon as possible. For me I was so close to taking that puff. Maybe have a forum welcoming newbies to post and encouraging them for their story their struggle. Assign a "sponser" to help navigate the site and check in....maybe you do this I feel like I have one Keep playing the games. It is great to see life after smoking continue! And most of all keep paying it forward! Right now, I feel like all of you are the only people who get and understand my struggle. I seriously could not do this without you and certainly would not be excited to hit one week smoke free tomorrow! Hope my 2 cents is worthy! XO Jess Jess this is so helpful, thank you! And I agree, Babs is the tops! I'm really glad that you found us, and we can help you on your journey to freedom! You deserve it :)
October 17, 201411 yr I hope you all don't mind if I bring a concern of mine to your attention. When I log on to the QT site, the first thing I do is click on the "View New Content" tab. In recent weeks, the vast majority of the listed threads (many days it is ALL of the listed threads) are oriented towards humor and/or socializing rather than to serious discussions about quitting smoking. And not only are the treads about humor and socializing, many of the posts within the threads indicate that the posters all know each other pretty well, they have a shared history and shared jokes, and they have--for the most part-- already successfully quit smoking many months ago. If I was a smoker looking for an online support group, I probably would not register here. Especially when I compare QT's threads and posts to the threads and posts I see when I click on the "View New Content" tab on the "other site". Check it out for yourself and see the difference. Pretend that you are a newbie thinking about quitting smoking-- ambivalent about quitting, afraid of how difficult it will be, shy about exposing your fears and your failures, reluctant to force yourself into an established group. Which site would seem more relevant and welcoming to you? On the QT site I seldom see other newbies posting about needing help and advice for quitting smoking or sharing their day-to-day experiences with quitting. I don't see many posts to or from newbies at all. I don't see frequent "bumps" of old but exceptionally good posts. I don't see constant references to our pinned threads or links to Joel Spitzer's videos. (Yes, there are some references to these things, but only once in a while, not day after day after day.) Here I see a clique of people who have already quit smoking and are now just fooling around and joking with each other. I don't think that this is the face we want to present to the world but I don't know how to change it. Any suggestions? And chrysalis..thank you for starting this post ....it shows how invested you are in others success and the importance of this website! XX
October 17, 201411 yr We have Introductions You can read others and start you own BLOG and tons of information Quit Smoking Discussions HERE maybe we could have a 'newbie' packet in an email once someone has signed up but, it is all here. Poke around ! Have fun ! There is the introduction section but honestly, when I got on the site and was a wreck and inches from a puff....wasn't thinking straight. What would have gotten my immediate attention would have been "newbies check in here" just a thought
October 17, 201411 yr There is the introduction section but honestly, when I got on the site and was a wreck and inches from a puff....wasn't thinking straight. What would have gotten my immediate attention would have been "newbies check in here" just a thought This is a GREAT idea, Jess.
October 17, 201411 yr There is the introduction section but honestly, when I got on the site and was a wreck and inches from a puff....wasn't thinking straight. What would have gotten my immediate attention would have been "newbies check in here" just a thought Oh, I like that very much!!
October 17, 201411 yr It's OK Chrys, I'm not offended, I just do not particularly like the word clique... from past experiences :( I am going to take your advice, logout and have a look at the site as a guest and see what it looks like... ;) Quoting myself here... 'View new content' is not available for guests. As a guest, I can only go to each category or sub forum... If I go to; SOS board, introductions and about us, quit smoking discussions, daily nope pledge and celebrations, all I see are great supportive posts from all the guys here! It's true that the non-smoking lounge is very social, but that what I would have expected going into it. It tells me that the site is extremely active, and that there are people are here all of the time... if I should need them. I do like Jess' idea too, as her recent experience is priceless.
October 17, 201411 yr There is the introduction section but honestly, when I got on the site and was a wreck and inches from a puff....wasn't thinking straight. What would have gotten my immediate attention would have been "newbies check in here" just a thought Jess, would you mind posting your suggestion here? http://www.quittrain.com/forum/12-questions-suggestions-for-admin-moderators/
October 17, 201411 yr There is the introduction section but honestly, when I got on the site and was a wreck and inches from a puff....wasn't thinking straight. What would have gotten my immediate attention would have been "newbies check in here" just a thought Great idea. Additionally, I'm going to see if I can have a link to just that in the email you get when you register. Love the idea.
October 17, 201411 yr Chrysalis, Thank you for your thoughts. The moderators and I will discuss and see where we're at. Please keep the suggestions flowing as we want to be as open to everyone as possible. "None of us are as smart as all of us".
October 17, 201411 yr Nice work Chrysalis - a really useful thread I think, teased out some great ideas already. :good3:
October 17, 201411 yr I am thinking about the layout of the page... The space where 'recent topics' lives is really hot real estate, maybe the Newbie info place could be right there always on top. Recent Topics can go below...and not be much affected and it would be nice to have that first space be 'newbie-centric' It would be noticed first thing !
October 17, 201411 yr I know you mean well Chrys. Anytime somebody makes comments comparing us to them negatively, you need to understand people are bound to become upset. Some were treat so horribly over there, the QT became a safe haven and allowed us to escape that. A lot of friendships were formed as a result of that friction, that is true...but a clique we will never be. All are welcome at the QT. Sure there are lots of fun and games, however, they do a lot more good than what might be obvious on the surface and on several levels. They are a great distraction and have saved many a quit, mine included. That said, it is always nice to hear ideas. I believe we have Sue to thank for the OTR forum. Also, if you think a thread should be bumped...by all means, go for it :)
October 17, 201411 yr anytime the class starts to be fun the teacher got to screw with it..... buritto is just the teachers pet action president of glee club newbie...we aren't sure your not a narc yet... babbles is a bad egg and we like that... the rest of us are just misfits
October 17, 201411 yr ps -she said one minute in title...I assumed it was over since it took me more than minute to type answer
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