What advice would you give to a Fluther newbie?

Welcome!

Read the guidelines. Love ‘em. Live by ‘em. I’m on the phone or I would look up the really good Q about advice for Flutherers for you.

Another welcome! :)

Don’t complain about a free service.

Don’t re-ask questions that are still on the first page (or any that come up as top hits on a search).

The faq is a really good starting place. Make sure you read the section on textile markup… and the guidelines, of course.

No plagiarism… and I’d even suggest placing your answers in context of your experience. If you’re just gonna guess at an answer, that’s fine… but make it clear you’re guessing.

Lurve, and be lurved, freely.

—

Ask anything you want! We’re glad to have you.

Observe. Observe. Observe.
Take your time.
Watch for common patterns and habits in what you consider to be good questions vs. bad questions, see how that stacks up against what other people (and the guidelines) think.
Make good, thorough use of the google search bar in the upper right hand corner.
Avoid personal attacks.
Comment often!
Lurking is okay.
Read the guidelines.

Welcome! : D

Never follow Champagne with hard liquor.

thanx for asking, i was wondering the same myself

All good tips so far—thanks! I read the guidelines, and only hope I can refrain from being too “Vague, confusing, or generally non-sensical.” ;)

AstroChuck, also good advice. To be safe, I will only drink martinis.

I will also practice styling my text.

About the lurve—how “freely” does one lurve? For example, if I am happy with a comment that isn’t exactly an answer, is it OK to show some lurve? Is it wrong to giggle every time I type the word lurve, or is that acceptable since you all can’t actually hear me giggle?

Never drink champagne with @AstroChuck (unless you prefer Log Cabin to the real thing)!

Other than this one fault, @AstroChuck is a god.

As freely as you like, @MissAusten. There is no reason to be stingy with it. I lurve comments I like for just about any reason, from deep and pithy to a good wisecrack.

You’re going to max out at around 100 for any one person anyway, so whether you give them early or late doesn’t matter. But if you ask a question and people give you thoughtful answers and then see 0 GA (“Great Answer”) points, they’re going to think you’re not paying attention. The GAs (and GQs) still register even if they don’t add to the person’s score.

Giggle away. It’s a silly word and fun to play with.

To your original question: Amoebic gave a great answer (lurve), as did several others. And a big welcome to you.

Miss Austen I sent you LURVE for asking this question. I give out lots of love in real life, and find, I’m NO different here. :)

<bows to AstroChuck>
The great and powerful, HILARIOUS, God of Fluther!

Also want to add that if your question is held for moderation do not take it personally simply re- read the guidelines and re work the question so that it better fits in them. :)

WELCOME TO FLUTHER!

Spatzie, just seeing that baby picture here makes my day! :)

I think I’m getting the hang of things, but don’t understand how you all do this: @MissAusten (but in red, of course) Are the responses written that way to emphasize them? How do you do it? I didn’t see it on “the list.” Please excuse my ignorance!

:) Looks like you figured it out just fine!

Read the FAQ, read this thread and click things in it, always search first before asking a question, never mention a time stamp, don’t ever bitch in public at a mod – it will backfire and is more effectively done via PM, avoid feeding the occasional troll, give lurve freely but not like a crazy person.

And WELCOME!

Oh, an refresh occasionally in a thread, as edits are not updated in real time like quips being posted.

@asmonet bookmarked! golden.

Aw. :D

Bienvenue MissAusten.

Question everything.

@Dog There we go! That last time was cheating with copy and paste.

@asmonet—Thanks for the link! I’ll look at it more carefully after I get these kids to bed.

Run… run while you still can.

I am fairly new myself, but I have found that reading answers and answering questions has taught me a lot about the interaction here. I clicked on “Fluther” and read as many Fluther related questions as I could, and even asked a couple of things on the chat.

I’ll just put one don’t here because it bugs me so much: don’t come in with questions or comments that rail against the rules here.

Ask, enjoy, answer, contribute, read, laugh, offer, relate, joke, smile, lurve, question, lurk, send, receive, inform, reveal, and entertain.

Not necessarily in that order. Welcome to Fluther. =)

You’re doing just fine, MissAusten.

Welcome to the collective!

(Also, most of us tend to appreciate good grammar and word usage which you seem most adept at. :-))

Don’t take things too personally beyond modding too. When you ask a question, people are just posting an answer. This is just the internet, after all.

Correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation are always appreciated for clarity’s sake, but it doesn’t seem that you have any problems with that.

Lurve and let lurve – it’s a confidence booster and a way to encourage quality answers.

Being up on fluther memes (as @asmonet directed you to) will help reduce confusion about frizzers and pancakes for sure.

Seems like people have hit on most of the important stuff, so overall; welcome!

Thank you all again for the welcome and the advice. It’s good to know things like grammar, spelling, and punctuation are appreciated here. Mistakes of that kind are a pet peeve of mine, even though I know I’m not perfect.

Informing myself about fluther memes has been educational and very entertaining!

@MissAusten By the way, is your first name Jane and have you written six of the best novels in the English language? If so, we are more than “honoured” by your presence!

@janbb Sorry, no, but I have read six of the best novels in the English language. I’ve also been kept awake late at night pondering the unanswerable question: “Mr. Darcy, or Mr. Knightley???”
I’m leaning toward Mr. Darcy.

Sorry – but Darcy is already taken! You can have Mr. Knightly; although I was trying to save him just in case.

You could have Mr. Collins if you want him.

He is all mine.

Mr. Collins, indeed! That’s not even funny!

Welcome. I am kinda new here, too. Just jump right in and ask and answer and have a good time.