Your Opinion On New Mars

Marsman · 2005-09-22 19:54:26

As I'm reasonably new here I just wanted to know what current members thought of your forum's appeal to new comers rated at, and could there be an room for improvements. Are things quiet here or busy? Do the big posters ignore the new people or is there a good mix? It would be good to know the answers to some of these things. What unwritten rules do new people need to be aware of so that they can integrate properly into the forums? Thoughts?

Rxke · 2005-09-23 02:59:00

Hi Marsman,

As I'm reasonably new here I just wanted to know what current members thought of your forum's appeal to new comers rated at,

Good question. as a regular, it is sometimes hard to keep that in mind, or to place oneself into the boots of a newcomer.
in theory 9and largely in practice,) NewMars is a rather 'welcoming' place for people with widely ranging sets of opinion, knowledge, beliefs... You might've noticed there's no big "FORUM RULES" section to be found here, and that's with a reason. Common courtesy being the unwritten rule. You can get away with a lot here, except spamming.
Do not, however, see that as an invitation to go and make an idiot of yourself here (not personal, heehee, just a generalisation) or you will get the cold shoulder...

and could there be an room for improvements.

Always. The board has recently switched 'engine' and this is the time to bring some suggestions in (this is the right place)

Are things quiet here or busy?

Depends. Sometimes eerily quiet, sometimes rather busy, but nothing like space.com's boards. A busy day will have, say, 5-10 registered members online at any time of the day (not summed up, i mean.)
given the fact that some members post rather intensively, some topics can evolve pretty fast. Of course, much depends on what's happening in the 'real world' Be it either on terra (say, the new NASA plans being unveiled) or on Mars (the rover landings were a hectic time here...)

Do the big posters ignore the new people or is there a good mix?

I guess that depends. If you, as a newcomer, come up with a good question, it will get answered, complete with the all-but ritual welcomings from 'veterans.'
If you introduce yourself, or have some interesting news, it will be welcomed...
But... if you comment in a heated, on-going discussion, it will very likely be ignored. Don't take that personal, that's just human nature. People tend to have a wait and see approach to find out if newmember#xyz is ok... Just like in real life.
Ah, and... if you start here by showing off, how superplusgood you are, compared to others, you very very likely will get the cold shoulder or a special treatment from some of our more errrr... assertive members.

It would be good to know the answers to some of these things. What unwritten rules do new people need to be aware of so that they can integrate properly into the forums? Thoughts?

To conclude: just behave as a friendly human. keep in mind that making jokes can be risky on a messageboard (lack of facial expressions, wide-ranging membership equals wide-ranging opinions etc. But be sure we do like to joke, heh.
Golden tip for newcomers: don't start posting in the political section rightaway, heehee...

Disclaimer: that's how i percieve the boards, other people might think different.

Palomar · 2005-09-23 05:25:33

*Hi Marsman: Welcome to New Mars.

I agree with Rik's comments.

We could all offer many comments but ultimately you'll only get to know New Mars through interaction.

Unfortunately, IMO, we are in a slump. New Mars peaked in early 2004 as talkative and knowledgeable members went. Mid-2002 to early 2004 was a "prime." Some were interested amateurs (myself), at least 2 were professional scientists. They vanished (no reasons given, but then none is required), unfortunately. Requests were sent out for their return; no luck.

Recently we lost (perhaps permanently, though hopefully not) a knowledgeable contributor due to a personal dispute.

Just post about stuff you're interested in. If people chime in that's great of course, and if not don't take it personally (I'm not implying you are -- just saying). If someone doesn't know the answer to a question, they might not post simply because they don't know.

--Cindy

clark · 2005-09-23 05:31:20

Welcome.

Just enjoy the ride.

Marsman · 2005-09-26 20:10:03

Thanks for the info guys, just about myself, I'm a moderator at Red Colony, a member of the Mars Society in Australia also and a general total Mars freak. You mentioned that you are in a slump and I understand what you mean. From my own experience I have found that a forum that people feel ignored in is one that will struggle. It's not easy to know what to do sometimes but I have found that some people(and this goes for any forum anywhere) want attention and want to feel important and if they are ignored or disagreed with too much they just go elsewhere. Being a person who is fully dedicated to the Mars cause I have had disagreements over time but my attitude is to learn from others because I don't know everything and I want to make a positive contribution. I don't want anyone to take this the wrong way but one thing that might help you is to be more responsive to new people because you just never know who they might be. It surprises me that with 1200 members it can be in any kind of slump but this can happen to anyone. Thanks for your advice, and I hope to see things improve for you all here. Just as a side note, I think Josh Cryer was once a busy member of Red Colony but he left, well things have improved vastly since then so maybe he could check us out again.

Marsman · 2005-09-26 20:35:34

On another note, it's good to ask ourselves- "What do we want to accomplish in a Mars forum?" What are your own goals for this place? Having some knowledgeable scientists/engineers on board is a must but strict moderation is needed to keep such people. Sure, they should be able to take criticism but some criticism goes beyond just academic differences and I have noticed that people can take things very personally. In other words, you need to work hard at getting the right people and in keeping them because one or two of them are far more valuable than 500 who know nothing. Red Colony was once at over 400 members a year or two ago and by now we should have 600 or so but our actual number is 176. This is due to the fact that we made an affort to get more serious and to attract more of the right people. This turned many off but over time we have made progress. You can do the same. It's also a good thing to have some average "people" persons here who can take on the task of welcoming newcomers and integrating them into the community. I think New Mars has great potential and if I can help in any way I will but first you will have to bring up to speed on a few things.

clark · 2005-09-27 05:27:40

So why are you posting here?

Marsman · 2005-09-27 06:20:36

Good question Clark. The simple answer is to foster better inter-space advocate relations, something which is sorely needed. So many groups exist now, all with their own agendas, all with fiercely loyal members and many of them won't tolerate interactions with people from other groups for fear that such interaction may take something from their own group. So my own philosophy is to try and work with whoever will work with me, no matter what group they are in. I'm posting here because I care about Mars issues as much as you do and I believe that we should all try to work harder at encouraging such members. Actually clark, the answer to your question lies in my other posts which I have been putting up for some time now. If you read them all and then check out what is happening at Red Colony you will see what I'm doing. I'm in the middle of forming a new group called the MarsDrive Consortium and I have been trying for weeks to get people's attention here. We will be putting up a fully operational website in the next month and many other programs are in the process of starting up. Instead of making wild claims and demanding people look at my group like I have seen others do, I am trying to be respectful of New Mars and contribute in some way. You no doubt want meaningful posters here and so in whatever way I can I will contribute. I really would like to have people look at the MarsDrive effort but even if you don't thats OK too. It's something myself and others have been working on for some time now, and in time you will likely hear more about us. But in short, I'm here to stay and will prove myself a regular poster just as I have at Red Colony, no strings attached. Thanks for the question Clark.

clark · 2005-09-27 06:45:51

I wish you luck, Frank.

Anyway, I'm a local misanthrope, so don't mind me.

If you want an idea to run with: Man on The Moon letter campaign. Have people write letters, or send postcards, addressed to "The Man on The Moon" C/O (care of) NASA administrator.

It will give school-kids something to do (and teachers a way to teach writing, or science). It will allow space advocates to demonstrate their support, and give NASA and the administration hard evidence of the popular support for returning to the Moon (and eventually Mars).

Every year kids write to Santa, so why no the Man on the Moon?

This is a grass-roots, free PR campaign. It gives the general population something to connect to in relation to space exploration (a little less esoteric than the general reasons proferred).

This can of course segue into a Mars campaign, or a Jupiter campaign, or whatever. But I think, personally, it would make the most sense to push the Moon (since we ain't going to Mars before, so make the best of the situation).

Just an idea. And no, I won't help.

noosfractal · 2005-11-02 15:23:43

Myself I have been looking forward to the release of this movie :
http://www.themarsunderground.com/
Any news on that ?

The distributor

http://www.ocule.com/market.cfm?market_id=2

says they'll be screening it Friday (Nov 4) at AFM in Santa Monica. Good luck Mars Underground movie 8)
_

JoshNH4H · 2008-03-08 14:04:28

I don't like to make new threds, so whenever possible, I just tack whatever I want to say to the end of an old one.

That said, why is it NEWMars? I mean, Mars sounds a little weird, but there isn't an Oldmars. NewMoon, I would undersand. But Newmars? I can't see why :?: :oops:

Josh Cryer · 2008-03-09 13:11:48

It started as more of a blog about colonization and getting to Mars, and *becoming* Martians. In other words, it was visionary in its idea of creating a "New Mars" with people who lived on Mars. If you go to the main page and read the archives, you can find some lovely commentary about this (I especially like Stu's writing on the subject).

JoshNH4H · 2008-03-09 14:07:00

oh, thanks.

falkor · 2012-10-17 15:57:42

Some members obviously have huge technical know how and quite often this comes out in threads, to newcomers threads littered with hugely technical explanations and arguments can be a put off

but then, better that then the other way around

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#1 2005-09-22 19:54:26

Re: Your Opinion On New Mars

#2 2005-09-23 02:59:00

Re: Your Opinion On New Mars

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#4 2005-09-23 05:31:20

Re: Your Opinion On New Mars

#5 2005-09-26 20:10:03

Re: Your Opinion On New Mars

#6 2005-09-26 20:35:34

Re: Your Opinion On New Mars

#7 2005-09-27 05:27:40

Re: Your Opinion On New Mars

#8 2005-09-27 06:20:36

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#9 2005-09-27 06:45:51

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