Should we have a community-edited welcome page of some sort?

Sounds like a wonderful idea.

Hmm, if only there was something exactly like that.

I think it would be a great idea for all new users to be auto-directed to the page.

@jeffgoldblumsprivatefacilities And who made that?

@jeffgoldblumsprivatefacilities And does it explain lurve parties? or the full history of the site?

So you want a user-created version of the FAQ, blog and a history of the site?

Heck yes. I think it would incorporate a little more Fluthery attitude into the first impression on new users.

This site is pretty self explanatory. I had an account, posted a question, received responses, figured out the awards and the lurve all within minutes of initially finding the site. I do not think this is necessary. In fact, I think it is beneficial to the site to have the questions appearing on the front page – this is what drew me in and made me decide to join. I thought it was a great idea as soon as I saw it. If I had been confronted with a long page of text about how to use the site instead, I probably would have just closed the window.

I think a better addition to the site would be consistent moderation (when a question belongs in the chatroom seems ambiguous), and a way to search for friends or members by geography, interests, expertise, etc – it should be easier to find people.

But yea who can explain the mysterious ways of the frizzer.
Some arcane knowledge is dangerous. Best to stay in the shadow of the reef.

Umm, this has been done.
http://www.weshouldbedancing.com/fluther/wikka/HomePage

Feel free to add to it.

@johnpowell, but how does the wikka page anchor to Fluther? I get where Fred’s going with this… Most people find the site, look around a bit, and decide to set up an account. After user set-up, there a landing page that has a Welcome message, and then has tips that newbies might find helpful. Like, we don’t do homework, unless you can turn it into an interesting question, there is a chat room for idle chatter, etc., Lurve fests, etc. And then the user clicks okay, and off they go.

From a usability standpoint, it’s a great idea.

@PandoraBoxx :: People don’t like to click on shit. Adding a extra step is going to result in less users.

@Fred931 “And does it explain lurve parties? or the full history of the site?”

No, it doesn’t. But how did you learn about those things? How did everyone in the community learn about them?

I know that I learned by joining up and spending some time learning about and experiencing Fluther. The FAQ link I posted has everything a new user needs to know about how to ask and answer questions, and the basic functioning of the site. But I think that it’s a more valuable experience if new users spend some looking through old questions, learning the memes, and learning about other users, rather than having one page that says “Here’s everything you need to know about Fluther, from A-Z”. In my experience, learning about the whole Fluther culture isn’t something a new user is going to do on their first day here.

I think @johnpowell‘s Fluther Wiki is a great way for new users to begin experiencing and learning about the site.

I would still like a more generic home page- Intro, New Users click here. I don’t like an essay without a cover page and I don’t like a web site without a clean, simple home page with minimum wording. And FAQ is not a clear direction in my estimation for the new user. In fact I’ve never even seen the page until today and never even knew who every moderator was. I’ve never looked either but a new user who is immediately given the etiquette will only help the site because once you’re operational you generally will not look again. That’s like reading the directions and who does that? not me I’m a man And besides it would save countless questions.

It’s a nice idea. I don’t know how the technicalities would be worked out. An introduction to the fluther culture and philosophy, standards, some of the standard “inside jokes”. Melding the FAQ section into it, etc.

I think something that expresses multiple perspectives on the culture of fluther would be very helpful.