yup, me stirring the pot again...

another forum i belong to has "the playground" which is a lot like RnR. in order to even view the threads you have to be a member for X months and have X posts.

any thoughts on making RnR like that? things get quite heated over there and you need a tough skin... even though the header is prefaced with the disclaimer, it's been taken VERY personally by some newer members lately.

Perhaps anytime you click on a thread link or the forum that would take you into RnR you would first go to a screen that says in HUGE letters something like this:

LBT Rants and Raves *** Off-Topic DEBATE AREA *** Want debate? Get it here. Gripe, complain, moan, fight, rant and rave. Enter at your own risk!

This is an area of no-holds-barred discussion, some of the views and thoughts expressed here may be disconcerting to some, if you don't like it, don't read it. It can be a place for people to vent, RnR is not a "support" forum.

By clicking to continue you agree to the above statement.

Transformer:

You have written succinctly and I so agree with what you have to say.

(and God, I hope I haven't written in any dumb questions in my early days on site)

I think it would be a fantastic idea to have the RnR section as a separate site or completely separate section so that people wouldn't stumble onto it accidentally. I like faith's idea of having a warning page to help keep this from happening.

Great Idea. I think even us "old timers" need to be reminded of this from time to time. Not sure if the programming would be difficult but it would sure be useful. It is too easy to stumble into RNR without realizing it if you aren't paying attention.

Perhaps anytime you click on a thread link or the forum that would take you into RnR you would first go to a screen that says in HUGE letters something like this:

LBT Rants and Raves *** Off-Topic DEBATE AREA *** Want debate? Get it here. Gripe, complain, moan, fight, rant and rave. Enter at your own risk!

This is an area of no-holds-barred discussion, some of the views and thoughts expressed here may be disconcerting to some, if you don't like it, don't read it. It can be a place for people to vent, RnR is not a "support" forum.

By clicking to continue you agree to the above statement.

OOPS - Could swear I clicked the Quote button before replying the first time but obviously not. It was Faith's Suggestion I was agreeing with. I think the waiting period idea isn't bad either but Faith's seems the best idea all around.

What about locking in a thread in the pre op and post op sections that would answer what we think are redundant questions? The pb's and slime. The everything you need to know section? I know these question get boring and they have been answered a thousand times but people will not dig through pages and pages to look for answers to there questions. I know a few months ago, I need some help on something I did not post because I knew someone else had to go through what I was going through. I dug and dug until I found it and it was a pain.

Anyway just my 2 cents.

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f7/non-band-related-forums-34851/

For people interested in this topic of hiding threads to protect newbies and other sensitive people, you might want to read this other thread where it was debated quite a bit before.

No matter how "easy" you make it some newbies and not so newbies will still ask rather than dig. Just now I tried looking for quick "sticky thread" answers to your 2 examples and found that there wasn't one I could find for the question about slime but I did find a great thread in the Basics for Beginners Lap-Band Surgery FAQs and References Forum titled Abbreviations and What They Mean that listed definitions for PB and many other common abbreviations.

The thread was dead easy to find and very obvious. Yet even though it has been there since the month I was banded I can still remember asking someone what PB meant myself a few months later on an unrelated thread that had used the phrase a few times. I guess that made me one of those idiot newbies at the time, Oh well, it wouldnt be the first time (nor last I fear) that I'm accused of being stupid.

Don't get me wrong I still thing the stickies like the abbreviation sticky is GREAT! and it probably weeds out a few of the repetitive questions from newbies. I'd even like to see one that lists some of the common terms that we bandsters use that aren't abbreviated but still might be confusing to the un-innitiated such as the "slime" reference.

One other suggestion might be to send an automated welcoming e-mail to each new member with either a link or an actual breakdown of the answers to some of these most common questions. I know another local band group that does something similar. It still won't stop people from forgetting that they were e-mailed these answers when they joined or remembering they got them but not knowing where to find the old e-mail when they need it. I guess us "old-timers" might just have to grit our teeth and thicken our own hides up a bit when we keep seeing these same questions over and over. After all we have the same ability to ignore those repetitive posts as everyone else does to ignore the RNR's that push thier buttons.

One other suggestion might be to send an automated welcoming e-mail to each new member with either a link or an actual breakdown of the answers to some of these most common questions.

just cause you send someone something doesnt mean they are going to read it. :scared:

i'm a newbie, and i have posted some dumb things (i ate cookies in the mushies phase). however, i am fully aware that my decision was dumb. and although, the squirming stomach thing had not ever been explained to me, i truly thought the only thing that i could hurt was the caloric intake.

anyways, i have read several posts and have responded to a few in RnR. i see no reason to block it from newbies. as someone mentioned earlier in this thread, the time frame of being banded or being a member of this thread says nothing of your immaturity.

however, i was a newbie, i NEVER asked what Pb, slime, etc. meant. i just read until i found it out. that is the type of person that i am. actually, it's kind of funny now, but i thought pb meant port block..lol..how can your port get blocked..geez.

i would imagine that "what is a pb, what is a slime, and how do i put a ticker thingy on here" are the most common new threads. i think a lot of people type before they read, but not all. and the RnR forum is OFF TOPIC DEBATE.so..newbie or not, your opinion is what it is...

if you are dumb enough to post in one of those debates and say something like "come on guys, this is not the place for this, we should be talking about being banded, and losing weight, please stop talking about this", then you are dumb enough to get bombarded with all of the replies reminding you that this is an "OFF TOPIC DEBATE FORUM". :scared:

Lol, well said.

if you are dumb enough to post in one of those debates and say something like "come on guys, this is not the place for this, we should be talking about being banded, and losing weight, please stop talking about this", then you are dumb enough to get bombarded with all of the replies reminding you that this is an "OFF TOPIC DEBATE FORUM". :scared:

or too sensitive ... "QUIT PICKING ON ME" wahhhhhhhhh

i'm a newbie, and i have posted some dumb things (i ate cookies in the mushies phase). however, i am fully aware that my decision was dumb. and although, the squirming stomach thing had not ever been explained to me, i truly thought the only thing that i could hurt was the caloric intake.

anyways, i have read several posts and have responded to a few in RnR. i see no reason to block it from newbies. as someone mentioned earlier in this thread, the time frame of being banded or being a member of this thread says nothing of your immaturity.

however, i was a newbie, i NEVER asked what Pb, slime, etc. meant. i just read until i found it out. that is the type of person that i am. actually, it's kind of funny now, but i thought pb meant port block..lol..how can your port get blocked..geez.

i would imagine that "what is a pb, what is a slime, and how do i put a ticker thingy on here" are the most common new threads. i think a lot of people type before they read, but not all. and the RnR forum is OFF TOPIC DEBATE.so..newbie or not, your opinion is what it is...

if you are dumb enough to post in one of those debates and say something like "come on guys, this is not the place for this, we should be talking about being banded, and losing weight, please stop talking about this", then you are dumb enough to get bombarded with all of the replies reminding you that this is an "OFF TOPIC DEBATE FORUM". :scared:

Right Arm!!:peace:

if you are dumb enough to post in one of those debates and say something like "come on guys, this is not the place for this, we should be talking about being banded, and losing weight, please stop talking about this", then you are dumb enough to get bombarded with all of the replies reminding you that this is an "OFF TOPIC DEBATE FORUM". :scared:

or too sensitive ... "QUIT PICKING ON ME" wahhhhhhhhh

or the ever annoying "WE ALL THINK LESS OF YOU NOW FOR PICKING ON HER"

I've probably been guilty of it too, but I swear nothing feeds a fire worse than everyone else jumping in the middle of those "Quit picking on me" aguments.

I think its a great idea to have a pop up come on telling you that you are entering a RnR section. I dont see why it would be such a big deal to have it. You guys that dig RnR....would it be so bad to have it? I think it would just help keep people that perhaps didnt want to participate in the posts free from it. Especially if they havent figured out how to unsubscribe from threads or to only view the threads they participate in by clicking their user cp.

This is a HUGE board. We can have our individual experiences where people who dig rnr can have it, and people who are here for just support can have that too. I think the rnr section has grown so large that it really could benifit from its own distinct section, dont you?

You guys dont want people like me in there, and i dont wanna be there...if that makes me SO STUPID then so what? i am then, and i need a little pop up that says "hey you dont want to go in there" to pop up when i accidentally click a new thread not realizing where its sectioned off in. I dont really think its asking too much.

I think then you can have the experiences online you seek and others can have theirs too. it doesnt STOP anyone from going in, it just warns them they are about to enter it.