Posted by Kim on February 20, 2015, 1:54pm
The RPR's friendly, welcoming community never fails to top the charts when I talk to people about why they like it here. Many of you have incredible stories about going from suspicious about joining any online forum, to enthusiastic evangelists after a surprisingly warm response to your introduction post. It's sort of a rite of initiation for most RPR members. And I can't tell you how happy it makes me.To thank and acknowledge those of you who go out of your way, month after month, to make sure every newbie feels welcome, safe and as little confused as possible, I'm introducing a new type of accolade.
At the end of every month, beautiful Celtic Friendship Knot accolades will be awarded to members who made an effort to welcome new members in the Introductions forum. The more members you welcome, encourage and assist in a timely fashion, the more colorful your accolade can be -- and there's a different batch of potential Celtic Knots to earn each month.
This month, you might earn yourself a green, red or pastel rainbow friendship knot -- next month, a whole new tangle of possibilities!
Thank you for all you do, super heroes.
Comments
Super late to the comment party, but I love this, Kim! I'm generally WAY too slow to welcome anyone in a timely manner. Though, as of recently I recruited about 5 IRL friends to join up 
I hope they end up loving it here as much as I do!
I hope they end up loving it here as much as I do!
For those of you questing for the new accolades, remember that timely responses is part of the criteria. Digging up threads that have been dormant for weeks doesn't help anybody! 
Naaw >w< doesn't this just give you the warm fuzzies. That was the first thing I noticed when I too joined the forums, everyone here makes such a conscious effort to welcome and be friends with all.
Shout out to Heimdall for the gorgeous celtic knot artwork, as well!
Love this
The RPR should coin a new term, "community innovation." That's what this is!
@Sanne - This is a great question. It could probably turn into its own entire news posts. As someone who tries to respond to every intro thread (though I sometimes fall short of this goal!), I have definitely run into this issue.
But here's a reframing -- If you attend a party, and one person approaches you and says hello, glad to meet you, do you then think that everyone else at the party is being redundant when they greet you as well? Would you feel ignored if only one person at the party gave you a welcome and then everyone else ignored you because they didn't want to be "redundant"?
Still, I totally understand that it's somewhat different in text, and often, you want to have something of substance to say to new members. Here's a few ideas other than just saying "hello!":
I'm sure other people will have more ideas, too! Please post your own welcome ideas.
But here's a reframing -- If you attend a party, and one person approaches you and says hello, glad to meet you, do you then think that everyone else at the party is being redundant when they greet you as well? Would you feel ignored if only one person at the party gave you a welcome and then everyone else ignored you because they didn't want to be "redundant"?
Still, I totally understand that it's somewhat different in text, and often, you want to have something of substance to say to new members. Here's a few ideas other than just saying "hello!":
- If the new member hasn't really said anything about themselves, ask some questions to let them know you're interested. What type of RP do you enjoy, how long have you been gaming, do you prefer pure story or do you like a dice system, what are your hobbies, do you have any pets, what book has most inspired you when it comes to character creation... the list of possibilities is endless.
- Sometimes if the intro post is very short and doesn't have any info, it's because they've put some info about themselves on their profile and/or characters. Check there for ideas on how to relate!
- If you've got any areas of interest that overlap with theirs, such as RP genres, art, music preferences, deep dark fears, or whatever, mention it! It's a great way to help people feel that they are among friends.
- If you don't share their interests but you know that other people do, find a forum topic, group, news post, help article or perhaps even another member that deals with that interest, and give them the link!
- Offer to answer questions! Or, if they've asked a question, answer it!
- Be encouraging! One of the reasons people post short intros is that they are simply overwhelmed and don't know what to do. Let them know you get it and it's okay. "It can be hard to join a new group/ learn all the ins and outs of such a big site / communicate in a language that isn't your native tongue / try a new way of doing things, but don't worry, because..."
- Some people like to include a silly image with their welcome, just to give it that extra warmth.
- And of course, if you feel so moved, offer to RP with them if you want.
I'm sure other people will have more ideas, too! Please post your own welcome ideas.
@Sanne: Normally I welcome people no matter how many others have said something already--I figure the more happy welcomes the better! I usually read their intro post and the rest of the thread if they've given a lot of information and try to find something in common we have to comment on Hope this helps!
That being said, what I cool idea! I love the pastel rainbow knot!
Hope this helps!That being said, what I cool idea!
I love the pastel rainbow knot!
Oh wow these are awesome and an amazing incentive! You are always coming up with great things for RPR
That is quite intriguing and I'll work harder to welcome more people.
booya
I've been wanting to reply to introduction topics but everyone always gets welcomed so quickly it sometimes is hard to figure out what to say! Do you have any tips for this to make me (and others) feel less like we're just spamming for the sake of an accolade with a one-worded welcome?
What a beautiful incentive.
Kim
February 25, 2015
9:30pm