when you first became a member on PS....

[Dancing Fire]

did you feel uncomfortable as a newbie ?

 

[jewelerman]

no...everyone was inviting!~felt in my element and right at home!

 

[FrekeChild]

A bit...

 

[freefly]

Date: 11/5/2009 12:40:58 AM
Author: FrekeChild
A bit...

Me too, everyone seems to know each other so well!

 

[TravelingGal]

I lurked for ages and quietly started posting. It was a smaller group back then, but didn''t feel intimdating or anything.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 11/5/2009 12:40:58 AM
Author: FrekeChild
A bit...

but you sure talk a lot since.

 

[miraclesrule]

I didn''t ...not after my first thread. Even though I totally invaded the BWW as a MOB and thought I would be treated like a leper. I was surprised that they welcomed me with laughter and support and it just felt like home.

I do feel like a dorky novice in the diamond and gem education area, but for the rest of the community...it was easy as pie. But then again, I am not a shy or sensitive person. If I were, it might be a bit intimidating at first.

 

[HopeDream]

Nope! Just dove in like a well meaning but stupid sheepdog

 

[yssie]

Not at all

But then, I''d lurked for two years before that, so the whole diamonds ''thing'' wasn''t exactly brand new

 

[lili]

still do in new threads.
hate to say this, but the only thread that i''m comfortable is the mommies thread

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 11/5/2009 12:55:50 AM
Author: miraclesrule
I didn''t ...not after my first thread. Even though I totally invaded the BWW as a MOB and thought I would be treated like a leper. I was surprised that they welcomed me with laughter and support and it just felt like home.

I do feel like a dorky novice in the diamond and gem education area, but for the rest of the community...it was easy as pie. But then again, I am not a shy or sensitive person. If I were, it might be a bit intimidating at first.

especially on those political threads.

 

[Kaleigh]

I lurked for some time before I joined. I lurked from September 2004, and joined in Noivember 18th 2004. I joined because I loved that there was a place for someone like me who loved diamonds and there was a place to discuss my passion.

I was the total newbie, had no clue how things worked here, so naive. PS is my one and only forum. I started posting, just jumped right in. It was different back in 2004, you could get your A** handed to you. So I was afraid of a few people. The people I was most afraid of?? They are the ones I have most respect for . They have taught me more than they know. They know who they are. I am proud to say they are my friends. I was a little whipper snapper when I joined. I got my butt handed to me a few times. But I needed that. and have the utmost respect for those that spend such a great deal of time making PS the great site that it is....

 

[violet3]

I was very intimidated to post at first - in fact, i felt like a complete idiot doing it. I''ve never been one of those overly confident people who says whatever is on her mind right off the bat. But after posting for a little while, i felt like i more or less belonged and i stopped feeling intimidated.

Ditto Kaleigh above that I''ve learned so much from the regular posters here. I''ve gotten so much great advice on here, and I am so glad I came here before i started looking to purchase diamonds!

 

[Cehrabehra]

Not right away - I made myself right at home... a bit later I realized that I was a noob and got a little self conscious... then I felt at home... then I felt like a dork... then I felt at ease... then I felt like a shmuck... and then I felt like a regular lol etc.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 11/5/2009 1:27:42 AM
Author: Kaleigh
I lurked for some time before I joined. I lurked from September 2004, and joined in Noivember 18th 2004. I joined because I loved that there was a place for someone like me who loved diamonds and there was a place to discuss my passion.

I was the total newbie, had no clue how things worked here, so naive. PS is my one and only forum. I started posting, just jumped right in. It was different back in 2004, you could get your A** handed to you. So I was afraid of a few people. The people I was most afraid of?? They are the ones I have most respect for . They have taught me more than they know. They know who they are. I am proud to say they are my friends. I was a little whipper snapper when I joined. I got my butt handed to me a few times. But I needed that. and have the utmost respect for those that spend such a great deal of time making PS the great site that it is....

nahh...i didn''t let Mara or Alj intimdate me.

 

[FrekeChild]

Date: 11/5/2009 12:54:44 AM
Author: Dancing Fire

Date: 11/5/2009 12:40:58 AM
Author: FrekeChild
A bit...

but you sure talk a lot since.

Someone has got to stand up to you DF!

I just felt awkward. Everyone knew each other very well, but I just jumped right in after lurking A LOT over a short-ish period of time.

 

[missjaxon]

Yes, I was worried I might not fit in, but everyone has been so kind. I am a shy person to start with so that could also be why.

 

[isaku5]

I too have to admit that I lurked for quite a while. I had belonged to another diamond forum, but postings there were few and far between. I did a search for a new jewellery forum and found this ''gem'' fairly quickly.

The one puzzle I couldn''t figure out at first was Storm''s use of ''kicken'' and ''kewl''. I was surprised that no one corrected him, but didn''t dare to do it as a newbie.

Over time, I figured it out - special code for our very special diamond designer to -be.

 

[LtlFirecracker]

Yeah, it took me months to come out of lurking. But this was my first time posting on any internet forum.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

I think for the most part the environment is very inviting and comfortable. I was definitely more comfortable in the LIW boards as opposed to Rocky Talky or the more technical areas of the forums. I''m still not really speaking up in those areas so I usually just lurk...

 

[gemgirl]

Yes, definitely uncomfortable as a newbie. It took me years to post a reply. Actually, I think I only started contributing two years ago.

 

[Madam Bijoux]

I didn''t feel uncomfortable at all. I was delighted to find a community full of diamond lovers and collectors.

 

[geckodani]

Uncomfortable? No. Awkward and clueless? Yup.

 

[Lauren8211]

I felt pretty comfortable in LIW, but moving to the other areas was a bit scary at first.

I lurked maybe 3-4 months before finally popping up in LIW.

 

[princesss]

Not uncomfortable. A little shy. Everybody seemed to know each other SO well, but eventually I started adding my voice to the fray and as I got to know more people it seemed less like chaos and more like going out to dinner with a bunch of smart, funny, boisterous friends.

I still feel like a total newbie in RT. I can pipe up sometimes when people ask for subjective opinions (do you like cut X or Y better?), but I leave it to the prosumers to answer technical stuff. I love the discussions over there about the theory behind light performance and cut and wavelengths, though. They''re fascinating! I don''t always totally understand them, but it''s like the most interesting science class I''ve ever been in.

 

[Maisie]

I didn''t feel uncomfortable at all. People like Ellen and Lorelei and Belle were especially nice to me. I feel more uncomfortable now than I ever did as a newbie.

 

[MonkeyPie]

Date: 11/5/2009 1:05:33 AM
Author: HopeDream

Nope! Just dove in like a well meaning but stupid sheepdog

HAHAHA me, too! I had no idea what I was talking about so I likely asked a bunch of ridiculous questions - but everyone was so nice

 

[arjunajane]

Date: 11/5/2009 1:27:42 AM
Author: Kaleigh
I lurked for some time before I joined. I lurked from September 2004, and joined in Noivember 18th 2004. I joined because I loved that there was a place for someone like me who loved diamonds and there was a place to discuss my passion.


I was the total newbie, had no clue how things worked here, so naive. PS is my one and only forum. I started posting, just jumped right in. It was different back in 2004, you could get your A** handed to you. So I was afraid of a few people. The people I was most afraid of?? They are the ones I have most respect for . They have taught me more than they know. They know who they are. I am proud to say they are my friends. I was a little whipper snapper when I joined. I got my butt handed to me a few times. But I needed that. and have the utmost respect for those that spend such a great deal of time making PS the great site that it is....

I like this topic and reading the varied responses!

I must ditto a number of Kaleigh's points..
This was and still is my only experience with forums, and after lurking for a short time I just jumped straight in - I admit I look back on some of those early posts and do cringe, lol...
....for example, calling Gary H a jerk (without realizing who he actually was yet!)

I felt initially comfortable due to the awesome welcoming wagon of folks like Ellen and Lozza, but I then def. over time started to become more uncertain and self conscious as I realized how little I really knew

Now, I think I know enough folks, a lil info and know my boundaries enough to feel comfortable again.

 

[janinegirly]

Uh no. I probably felt more free b/c I was new so truly anonymous! After time you develop an on-line personiality and friends which is fantastic, but have to be more aware of how you post..that or come back with names like ketchup and fries to post more personal things (disclaimer: none of those foods/condiments are me

).

glad to see DF still coming up with probing questions after hitting the big 10K..did you get a gift yet?

 

[lilyfoot]

Date: 11/5/2009 12:27:48 AM
Author:Dancing Fire
did you feel uncomfortable as a newbie ?

I guess I''m still somewhat of a newbie? But yes, I felt uncomfortable. I still do, I don''t want to offend anybody with something I say ...