How to Better Look After Newcomers?

Nami wrote: @Astera I wanted to do it in order so people reading it could easily see the lessons, so they don't have to come through it to find what they're looking for.

Yeah, I get that. Before I decided that I liked the set order best, I had considered doing it out of order and creating an "index" post that I would edit whenever I posted a new lesson, so that people could see what order I had posted things in. Maybe something like that could work if you wanted to choose your own order yet still preserve ease of reading?

You only have an hour after it's posted to edit it.

Happy 100 posts!!!!!!!!! Nami you're not stepping on toes, and most of us looking at Ip's on the base level are kinda used to them changing up and what not, to be honest I learn a ton from reading newer IP's because we all have different views.

Nami, don't forget that you can also ask for people to proofread or give you feedback on your journal posts if you'd like.

I did some with samthrift a few weeks ago and what I read closely matches what I wrote in mine. It is also ok to look at other journals and read what they said so you can compare. Be mindful, though, that you don't steal their words. For watts' I looked at a few other journals to compare and was not surprised that a lot of people struggled.

It's some heavy stuff!!

Nami wrote: @Astera I wanted to do it in order so people reading it could easily see the lessons, so they don't have to come through it to find what they're looking for.

Thats why I did my IP in order too

Astera wrote:

Nami wrote: @Astera I wanted to do it in order so people reading it could easily see the lessons, so they don't have to come through it to find what they're looking for.

Yeah, I get that. Before I decided that I liked the set order best, I had considered doing it out of order and creating an "index" post that I would edit whenever I posted a new lesson, so that people could see what order I had posted things in. Maybe something like that could work if you wanted to choose your own order yet still preserve ease of reading?

I have followed the order as presented if nothing more than I couldn't come up with any rational arguments to convince myself that I knew any better than what order it was already in, and though I poked and prodded a tad to see if there were a better way, just decided to settle into it and do what I could when I could do it.

Watts and Campbell are heavy...but also setup well for Lessons 3 & 4 too...and I imagine that having those background chunks done now helps me get that down-hill-slope feeling as the more "Jedi" specific stuff trends towards the back of the IP.

I wrote out my "understanding" of the Code in some personal notes before really getting started. As I reviewed those today to jumpstart that portion in Lesson 5, I could already see how incredibly different my current view and understanding of the Code is, having suffered through the brain-heavy side-effects of trying to make sense of Campbell and Watts. I can hardly see anything which remains in that early understanding now, and imagine I'll look back in a few months even and still see growth and development beyond what I could anticipate right now.

We all function differently in the end. I am a creature of habit and rule-following. For the life of me, I can hardly be expected to step out of line when order is already present in front of me. Maybe this is a weakness.

I digress.

I'd love to offer more direct Q&A and WTH(heck) kinda stuff if anyone else working through the IP suffers any moto-lags.

Brick wrote:

SamThrift wrote:
What if some of that burden were shifted more towards the Novice ranks?

Like, sure, interacting with Apprentices and Knights is certainly still important. But if I am struggling in the IP, it is often more useful to talk to others currently working through it together, at the same time. I for one generally understand new material better if I have to immediately turn around and explain it to someone else. When you grasp a concept well enough to teach that concept, it sticks with you better?
...

Put the onus on us Novice types to work together more directly, help new members get started on the IP, and work through it more as a team...I could benefit a lot from that sort of approach to it myself, and suppose as such, should simply start moving in that direction whether or not my lil idea here gains traction anyway...

Regarding this: what if we created a "Novice" group or an "IP" group just for people who are working their way through the IP? (And for people who'd like to help others with the IP.) This would be a great way to build a sense of camaraderie among Novices/new members. People could discuss difficulties/successes, vent when needed, and just generally support each other. I know that I was disappointed when I first joined and looked through the site's different groups, only to find that there weren't any that applied to me. I'd create a Novice/IP group myself if I knew how to create one!

Astera wrote:

Brick wrote:

SamThrift wrote:
What if some of that burden were shifted more towards the Novice ranks?

Like, sure, interacting with Apprentices and Knights is certainly still important. But if I am struggling in the IP, it is often more useful to talk to others currently working through it together, at the same time. I for one generally understand new material better if I have to immediately turn around and explain it to someone else. When you grasp a concept well enough to teach that concept, it sticks with you better?
...

Put the onus on us Novice types to work together more directly, help new members get started on the IP, and work through it more as a team...I could benefit a lot from that sort of approach to it myself, and suppose as such, should simply start moving in that direction whether or not my lil idea here gains traction anyway...

Regarding this: what if we created a "Novice" group or an "IP" group just for people who are working their way through the IP? (And for people who'd like to help others with the IP.) This would be a great way to build a sense of camaraderie among Novices/new members. People could discuss difficulties/successes, vent when needed, and just generally support each other. I know that I was disappointed when I first joined and looked through the site's different groups, only to find that there weren't any that applied to me. I'd create a Novice/IP group myself if I knew how to create one!

I'm still game! I know there is some way to actually make "groups" of some sorts...but as you point out, don't particularly know how to get about doing that?

Open call for instructions on how to make actual "groups" (i.e. the Military Jedi, group, which I just recently accidentally found)...with the idea of an "IP Study Group" mentality?

EDIT: For the record, if any of you knew my general approach to study, you would know that I have NEVER studied for anything, EVER! Entering my final semester on my Masters...and still have yet to study for a single thing the whole time...so trying to kick along the idea of a "Study Group" almost seems somewhat counter to the very center of my being. But it excites me here. :woohoo:

Sorry for the extended delay. I wanted to be as "unplugged" as possible while my mom was visiting, and was enjoying the break from anything-not-necessary so I stayed mostly offline for another few days.

I did write up quite a wall of text off and on during that time, however, and I'll endeavor to whittle it down somewhat after I take a good look at what else has been posted in this thread in the interim.

Short version: I have 26 years of online forum moderation/video game leadership (most recently in World of Warcraft, where I've served as a raiding guild leader for 12 years) as well as offline management experience. Therefore, my "how to better help newcomers" answers will be targeted more at the administrative level, rather than the emotional level. You can't make people feel a certain way, but you can ease the leadership burden and delegate to a large enough group that there are more people involved in working with newcomers, which will then help alleviate any feelings of being neglected.

I have a pretty direct style of communication, so my suggestions may come across as firm, "You need to do this," kind of statements if you read them that way. That is not my intent. Please know that I mean to offer these in the spirit of just throwing ideas out there that I've personally utilized these past decades, because I feel like I would be remiss if I just sat on all that experience. The ideas will either be of interest or not, and can be modified or ignored as you please.

Actually, I can shorten my post a lot because I just looked at the app and um...I can start and maybe stop there.

For real, serious, why are you asking new people if they have a criminal record, just so they can gain access to post on your Jediism forum? Holy cats. That's amazingly invasive. I'm stunned. Like jaw on the floor stunned. I just wanna be able to thank someone for a post but y'all wanna know if I've been to jail before I can do that?

I mean I get it if someone is going to actually have some fiduciary duties then cool, do a background check at that point and stuff, but, um...wow. I have a squeaky clean record and I'm still completely put off by that. The only people who've ever asked me that are my employers, because I did handle money at several jobs, so I can understand why they'd want to check. Otherwise? No. Like my best friends and I haven't even had that conversation. I'm seriously baffled, you guys. And what if I had been convicted of a crime at some point? Um...so what?

I mean, I'm not even keen on giving out my address and phone number to strangers on the internet, either (which, you know, you are at this point and I have no idea how secure your site is), and having battled internet stalkers that doxxed me and threatened me at home, I'm not in a hurry to repeat that process. But if your version of an icebreaker is, "Hey, been to jail?"...um...wow. If I was out with someone and they asked that, it would be a really short date. LOL