I HATE the Welcome Wagon...but I love it's meaning...

Yea, I said it... I hate... hate.... HATE it.

I LOVE it's intended purpose, of letting the new ones pop in and say hello. I love seeing the new photos, hot new girls.. and even look forward to meeting some of them...

What makes me hate it are these things-

1. It is abused.

I personally try to overlook a provider that has been here a month or even two sometimes who posts a "hi" thread. But there are girls posting that have been here almost a year, only because they are coming to the local area... there was even one girl who posted WW thread because she was coming back to the area from tour(this is her home). The "guideline" on the top of the section states it is for your FIRST week of membership.. but I think that might be hard, since it takes a while to learn how to navigate.

I tend to hit the RTM when - I see the poster has been here more than 2 months. There is more than ONE WW thread by that user(happens a lot) or I notice multiple handles.

2. Dogpiling, attitudes, and bullying. (even I am guilty of this once in a while)

There is a steady group of welcomers. Which is a good thing. EXCEPT-

You have guys telling girls what activities are acceptable or damn near required. It seems like pressure towards the new girls.

There are people that will "mini-out" the new girls. Who cares what she went under on a different board/ads, if her name here is "Megan" and on another she is "Summer"... maybe that is her business. I agree that this is the perfect time to "get new girls in line" with the one personna attitude, also a perfect time to collect data and put into one place, but sometimes this looks as if you are making her out to be a criminal because she likes different names. Just because she uses different names does NOT 100% mean a bait and switch or worse.. "our" rules don't apply to most of the internet. (meaning small communities/forums -vs- the mass hobby net life)

3.Information, or lack of...

There is at least one person who tries to post on every new thread "how to get VP status"... but that isn't saying much. Most of the information for these new girls is spread all over the board. I am USED to where to look/what to look for.. and even I get turned around. I can't imagine being new all over again.

While I like the idea of a local "newbie" section. I wonder if it wouldn't be better to have just 1 Welcome Wagon and all the relevant stickies at the top of that section. Where/how to get VP status, Premium Access for the guys, how to post ads, and other tips newbies need.

This would also be a perfect spot to place a "how this board works" about the general membership/community, some of our hobby rules, and conduct thoughts. A true "welcome" note...

4. Too many of the girls disappear afterwards.

I expect a lot of the BP/CL crowd is venturing here, and why not? This IS the place to be. BUT- since they don't have any understanding on how this "board" functions, WAY different than either Cl or BP.. they tend not to stick around past FOTM. I think this would be solved by having that damn "Welcome" thread I mentioned above. It might not help most, but I think it would some.

I talk to girls all the time where they are not yet VP, but HAVE seen members of this board. Guys won't help verify them, posting the reviews etc. Sometimes the WW threads have comments of guys that "say" they have seen the girls, but still no review. While there are many nefarious reasons for this, most of the time it is simply because of laziness. Even if a guy visited with the girl and didn't like her, he should at least be willing to verify her. Bias is not why the system is in order. (hope that point was made clear*wince*)

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I am sure there are other issues with the WW that I am missing, please feel free to discuss.

I DON'T want to scare off newbies, I DO want them to acclimate into our group in the easiest and most stress free of ways..

ever the thoughtful, logical, and helpful person.
i knew i liked you bunches.

but, ze, as with many things in this sub-culture and this board, you may be pissing against the wind.

not that there's anything wrong with that [attempting to educate folks] .....


seriously, if people read instructions, followed common sense, and had a fucking good time [remember LAGNAF??], we wouldnt have to deal w/ this. but they dont always, so we will have to.

The Welcome Wagon is a great forum, but it needs a mod on duty 24/7.

The Welcome Wagon is a great forum, but it needs a mod on duty 24/7.

No lie...

I'm with you, ZE, I both love and hate it. I see now why ASPD/Dallas never had one. It's a good idea in theory but unfortunately, it doesn't work the way it should. Too many people abuse it.

I'm definitely guilty of number 2.75 of your numbered list, and as far as I know, you may be referring to what I wrote on Jemma's WW thread. I was planning on just telling her she was a hottie, but, while I was typing my response I read what the guy right before me stated and I just basically made a request in response to that statement.

All I know is, I agree with your number one point that the WW is abused. Many girls/pimps just post ads as a way to get around getting verified. It's really become a joke IMO, and the WW has turned into CL/BP minor. I'm going to make a concerted effort to stop posting in the WW.

I thought the purpose of the welcome wagon was to identify the new girls who probably don't screen. This way all the guys with behavior issues in the past can get a fresh start and find new girls to try and manipulate, stalk, blackmail or just talk into a little innocent bbfs.

I've come to both love and hate it, too, but not quite for all the same reasons.

I believe the rules favor people who really are trying to hide from their hobby past. We have some members here who are excellent at putting 2 and 2 together, and the "welcome only" nature makes it more difficult to tie their findings/experiences to the "new" member.

Also, with CL (and eventually BP) now no longer an outlet for pimps to advertise their women, we are seeing more of these types pop up in the WW. IMHO, welcoming human traffickers to this site will eventually make it a target, too.

EDIT: I forgot to add this thought. Although members are prohibited from posting anything negative in the WW, starting a thread in the Co-Ed section (or one of the private forums) and providing a link does appear to be an accepted way to bring up the questions without steering the WW thread itself into a potentially negative direction. It's a little awkward, but can be just as effective.

I thought the purpose of the welcome wagon was to identify the new girls who probably don't screen. This way all the guys with behavior issues in the past can get a fresh start and find new girls to try and manipulate, stalk, blackmail or just talk into a little innocent bbfs. Originally Posted by monkmonk

Ditto.