Howdy all... I'm basically soliciting input here: I've talked this over with the PTB, and it was suggested that it was a good idea... so: I'm thinking seriously about working up a "Beginner's Guide to Renderosity", to kind of help orient newer members to the site and what we have to offer. I've introduced a number of members to here over the months and one of the first things I hear is generally: "My god! This place is HUGE!", followed by: "Uh... where do I start?", "What does what?", and other questions.... Some people just kind of glaze over and sit there, others feel their way around gradually, some stick to the galleries and never go anyplace else, and a few just jump in and they're off and running. You get the idea... I was thinking that a kind of a site orientation page/FAQ would be a good idea, and you know how that goes - no good deed ever goes unpunished so I was asked to help design one. ;]p What I'd like is input from people on what they think might be handy to have for new comers to be able to find. Any ideas? One idea I did have was that a list of people for the FAQ page who didn't mind having newbies instant message them to ask questions might be a nice touch. Any volunteers?

Hrrrrrrrrmmmmmmmmm...... a FAQ may be ko.... or even a multipart FAQ running from "I've never used one of these contraptions before" to "where's the beef?" IT'd have to be accesable from "the outside" as one of the big questions is.. "Where do I sign up?" and with the side bar going flakey now and then 8 ) hrmmmm.. In Compuseve we had the New Users Forum.. I used to Sysop there in fact. a forum set aside just for the new people that were without a clue about anything ... the rough bit is it'd have to be heavily monitored.. to keep the riff raff out.. nothing destroys a budding artist's dreams than having some bozo jump all over them because they don't know where to look for information or ideas.. that was one of the nice things about the NYF... most in there were new people.. they'd move on to other forii... then return to help other new people... we'd get the occasional butthead that would come in and try to take advantage.. and they'd be booted... sometimes permanently... I'll keep an eye on this thread ... Cheers

That's not a bad idea... that's one of the types of things I was looking for. There are other private forums, that wouldn't be impossible to work out a newcomers forum... One thing would be, how long does someone stay a newcomer, and when do you kick them out of the nest so to speak?

usually tis when the person feels they've learned enough.. and when confusion re-hits.. they return.. no real time limit, some of the older ones may start up a new programme have no idea where to look for information.. they pop in.. get it..say thanks.. and move on again 8)

A nice DO's & DON'T's list also. Do: Ask questions. Browse Around Visit the Forums Don't: Ask for pirate software Bash for the sake of bashing etc. :) I would also like to belly up for assistance if needed. Back in '90 I "worked" for a budding company as a Help Room "Guide".. later they changed their name, combined their three services into one.. and now, I just wish I had gotten stock options ;) Did that for 6 years.. or was it 7 ??? shesh.. even some time in the Kids area. :) (they were a blast!!) Another though to help keep Russell up late ;) .. a tour feature. Take them on a few page planned trip through some of the highlights. :) - Rim

Hey, Bear. New user's forum & FAQ all sound lovely. i didn't really have any problems with getting user to Renderosity, but then i'm a web designer & cut my teeth on pre-Net BBSes. i, too, will volunteer to help. i spent a stint at allexperts.com as a highly-rated Photoshop expert, and am always willing to help out there, especially for folks needing how-to for post work. Thanks for your tours! Nan

Thanks nfredman, and Rim and everyone. It's coming together... but it's going to take me a while to get a Faq in and amognst my other projects. I'll keep plugging at it though...

Bear, that's why they say "Ars longa, vita brevis." (Art is long, and life is short.) i'm like an overburdened CPU, myself. It goes, but slowly. :^)

Yeah I here that. ;] I just burned the candle at both ends today untill there's no wick left in the middle. ;] Time to call it quits for now and plug some more when I awaken. Heh heh. That's also why, in the words of Brother Anthony, they say... "Illegetimus non Carborundum." [Don't let the bast*rds grind you down] snicker I don't vouch for the vulgar latin - it's been way too many years since high school latin class.

Ideal! Just what I need. Fairly new to the site and this whole forum thing. Some pointers on the postings and replys etc. would be fab. The Do's and Dont's would help ensure I do not offend accidentally :) So far - well impressed with the whole place, wish I had thought to look for tutorials online when I started using 3d software. Cheers

Tolerant? Could you clarify a bit? {You can do it via email to me at s_barnes@swbell.net if you have something you'd rather not post to open forum.]