Perl Monks Welcome Mat

Hi Monks :)

I had an idea I thought I'd share with the rest of the class :). Recently, I've found myself strolling through the new monks section of Newest Nodes, and sending out a few "welcome" messages when I had time, remembered and found the nodes either through curiosity or direct search. It's starting to become a little bit of a habit, and I'm sure lots of others think about the same type of thing. Of course, I'm a bit apprehensive about it because I don't want to bother anyone who's joined already bogged down by numerous projects, I myself am very new and feel a bit silly welcoming other new monks...( "Hey, yeah we're all vets here, us Perl programmers, you'll get used to it.." koolgirl's stats--member for less than 2 weeks; see what I mean?) and I tend to feel guilty over picking some to welcome and not others.

So, just out of curiosity, how does the Monastery feel about a "Welcome Mat" of sorts? Something a bit like this:

A "Welcome Mat" node, sort of a node new monks would be directed to in the Guide To The Monastary. Monks who so chose, could become a part of this node, and have links to their home nodes for the new monks to come have a look. It could include some tips from these users, based on their own experiences, or whatever the Monk chose, but basically, there would be a little phrase or tip or what have you, next to each participating monk's home node link. It would also list all links new users need, PM FAQ, Write-up Formating Tips, etc., perhaps a few unwritten rules of conduct and courtesy some of the older members could put together, and also a link section dedicated to resources.

I know almost all of the resource links and such are already in place here, however, I just thought that, coupled with some friendly monks offering their support (kind of a "Hey welcome to the neighborhood, call us if you want a buddy..." type of a thing) and some codes of conduct and courtesy easily pointed out, might be a nice little node to think about?

As most of ya'll know, I am very new to programming, so sorry I have nothing to offer with this idea in the form of how it would done from a technical point of view, but I am very willing to learn, and would of course be more than willing to donate my time to help something like this, or another monk's idea along. :)

So, what do ya'll think? Too much? Waste of time? Nice thought? Perhaps a reality? I just thought about it, because I did receive a few private message welcomes when I first got here and it felt so good. It really makes people feel warm and fuzzy, when someone personally offers it, not just a guide. I know this site was not created to make warm and fuzzies, and I know as new as I am I certainly might be out of line to make any suggestions, but as I said, I am willing to donate my time to helping a welcome process along, whether it's my idea, or perhaps the idea of a more experienced monk, who knows a better route :)

So, Perl Monks, Welcome Mat node, a good idea?

Just trying to contribute something back, as Perl Monks has already done so much for me. :)
koolgirl
In addition Monks, I know this might be a bit over my head, but I would be more than willing to put this page together. I think it would be a great learning experience for my Perl venture, and I would love to be able to contribute something I worked on, as so many other greats before me have, to Perl Monks. :)

Comment on Perl Monks Welcome Mat

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re: Perl Monks Welcome Mat by jdporter (Paladin) on Sep 02, 2008 at 17:34 UTC
"Welcome to the Monastery! Make yourself at home." was one earlier monk's attempt at doing exactly what you've described. Since he is no longer active here, the content of it is rather stale. Note that that post is in the Tutorials section, and specifically in the sub-section named Understanding and Using PerlMonks. If you feel so inclined (and I believe I heard you volunteer ;-), you may post a Tutorial to go in that section. That way it has exactly what you think it ought to have. I should point out that I, when I was a new Monk, had exactly the same impulse as you are having. It resulted in PerlMonks for the Absolute Beginner. So you see, the power is in your hands. Anyway, the PerlMonks FAQ should contain everything a new Monk needs to know. I myself am very new and feel a bit silly welcoming other new monks So why do you? Don't be so quick to discount your intuition. I for one don't like "Welcome..." posts, almost as much as I don't like "Thank you" posts. Between the mind which plans and the hands which build, there must be a mediator... and this mediator must be the heart.	[reply]
Re: Perl Monks Welcome Mat by zentara (Archbishop) on Sep 02, 2008 at 20:52 UTC
*So maybe PerlMonks is about warm and fuzzies!* Bahh! I say whip'em until they use warnings and strict. I'm not really a human, but I play one on earth Remember How Lucky You Are	[reply]
Re^2: Perl Monks Welcome Mat by Argel (Prior) on Sep 03, 2008 at 00:22 UTC
The beatings shall continue until the new monks feel warm and fuzzy!?! Yeah, I think I could go for that! ;-) Elda Taluta; Sarks Sark; Ark Arks	[reply]
Re^2: Perl Monks Welcome Mat by DrHyde (Prior) on Sep 03, 2008 at 11:07 UTC
I say whip 'em until stiff. And then use them to decorate a cake.	[reply]
Re: Perl Monks Welcome Mat by Argel (Prior) on Sep 02, 2008 at 17:45 UTC
I think your post is a perfect example of why PerlMonks rocks. I think its great that a new users can show up with so much enthusiasm and begin fitting in right away. Different people contribute in different ways. Who knows, maybe five to ten years from now you may look back at these early posts with nostalgia. Well, and maybe a little embarrassment too! :-) As for warm and fuzzies, I think adding a slight feminine touch to The Monastery would be great!! And besides, I'm sure some of us get all warm and fuzzy from using Perl and/or helping others. So maybe PerlMonks is about warm and fuzzies! :-) Elda Taluta; Sarks Sark; Ark Arks	[reply]
Re: Perl Monks Welcome Mat by shmem (Chancellor) on Sep 02, 2008 at 19:14 UTC
So, what do ya'll think? Too much? Waste of time? Nice thought? Perhaps a reality? Welcome to the monastery, koolgirl (just in case I didn't say that already :-) Jokes aside - all of the above. The monastery is open from all sides, each and every information for a newcomer is just a click away, so it seems it would make little sense to concentrate that in a welcome node. Then there are so many corners, fantastic nodes, wonderful code examples lurking in forgotten corners that is is impossible to list them there either, and it is great fun discovering them. Pointing out monks willing to help newcomers is a good idea; but then, I guess that would be more or less all of the active monks. On the other hand, the "Information" Nodelet with PM FAQ, Tutorials etc is by default way down the page, and a short summary of the most important pages for beginners, together with some welcome words and a bit of etiquette (a.k.a How Not To Annoy Regulars) is a sensible idea, ++ for that. As you can see I've not yet made up my mind completely, but I probably support the idea ;)	[reply]
Re: Perl Monks Welcome Mat by ww (Archbishop) on Sep 03, 2008 at 01:49 UTC
Personally, I think The Honorable and Reverend Breather of Fire's suggestion in the CB (that the Monastery needs a Grue to keep NodeReaper company) has special relevance here. from Wikipedia: A grue is a fictional predator from the Zork series of interactive fiction games by Infocom. The word grue was first used in modern times as a fictional predator from Jack Vance's Dying Earth universe. Vance probably took the name from an archaic/dialectal English verb derived from a Scandinavian word meaning to feel horror, shudder (OED), now most commonly encountered in the word "gruesome". Dave Lebling introduced a similar monster, whose name was borrowed from Vance's grues, into the interactive fiction computer game Zork. Zork's grues fear light and are ravenous devourers of adventurers, making it impossible to explore the game's dark areas without a light source. The Monastery's Grue might, IMHO, be a somewhat gentler monster, charged with leading initiates and other newcomers to the light in the likes of How do I post a question effectively?, Markup in the Monastery and company, specifically including those cited by jdporter, above. Update: Punctuation changed for clarity.	[reply]
Re^2: Perl Monks Welcome Mat by planetscape (Chancellor) on Sep 03, 2008 at 06:15 UTC
Er, no, actually that was injunjoel. I merely seconded the suggestion. HTH, planetscape	[reply]
Re: Perl Monks Welcome Mat by parv (Parson) on Sep 02, 2008 at 23:42 UTC
Instead of "Welcome Mat", I would much prefer a news reader's kill file like facility. Only if `/ignore` could apply (outside of chat) to the posts based on title & author too!	[reply] [d/l]
Re^2: Perl Monks Welcome Mat by planetscape (Chancellor) on Sep 03, 2008 at 06:23 UTC
You may wish to employ a solution such as shmem outlined here. HTH, planetscape	[reply]
Re^3: Perl Monks Welcome Mat by parv (Parson) on Sep 03, 2008 at 06:59 UTC
Thanks for the link (thus saving me from confirming my memory) listing the CSS. Now, I just need to create a program which would give me the number given a user name, optionally outputting the selectors.	[reply]


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