"Welcome to the Getting Started boards!" Topic

I've been worried for some time that TMP needed a "place" for new gamers to ask questions, so I've launched 'Getting Started' boards in most of the interest areas.

Let's see how this works out…

May I humbly suggest my guide for getting started in the American Revolution:
TMP link

Crossposted

Is it April 1st already….

The traditional Internet solution to this is "sticky" threads and FAQs.

The repetition of questions on this site is a direct result of new users being unable to find the information they want. The most straightforward solution is to provide it where they would first look for it. Sticky threads or FAQs floating at the top of each topic (and/or in a section on the front page?) would stop a lot of the redundant newbie questions.

I already have trouble finding things in the vast proliferation of boards and groups of boards and sections of groups of boards, so I'm not sure adding a bunch more boards is a net benefit. Are the grognards going to hang out on the newbie boards to minisplain?

- Ix

The usual term is "grogsplain," Yellow Admiral.

I guess this might be useful? I'd suggest instead of using it like a general set of forums, it might be better to have it as a holding category where other threads that have turned out to be useful get crossposted. A rules discussion thread in SF Discussion turns out to have some neat insights into how to start, poke the editor to crosspost it to GSwSF. Sort of a greatest hits collection with a focus on newbies rather than somewhere most people intentionally start threads.

Is there a bot that will find broken links and images? There's a ton of old content with references to placeholder websites.

The usual term is "grogsplain," Yellow Admiral.

LOL! That's awesome.

- Ix

Is there a bot that will find broken links and images?

Tons of tools like this exist. They are all tuned to specific db implementations.

I doubt that would be possible, it would have to be done manually.

I have had college computer science juniors and seniors (with the occasional sophomore who got into the class) do such a thing as a two-week lab assignment, dependent on another two-week parser assignment being done first. Basically, everyone who doesn't fail everything else gets it.

It's not too hard.

Assuming you had a development environment available, I would call this a 12 and 12 project … buy me 12 beers and give me 12 hours.

Winston, I applaud you greeting this board in the spirit in which it was created. Navigating boards is absurdly simple and there is a search mechanism that isn't board limited so I don't get what all the angst is about Maybe some people are just too lazy to put in the effort. But, again, kudos to Winston for doing the right thing.

I think this section is a good idea as some questions asked by a beginner may come across as being perhaps trivial by nature .

having asked a ton of basic questions recently, I think its a great Idea to have all that basic stuff in one place as I bet people were just repeating themselves. Not sure if a dedicated forum is the best way but its certainly better than nothing. I think a basic Napoleonic(and ACW and …) sticky would have been good, but it requires someone to go to the trouble of writing one, where at least with a forum it will grow organically.

It certainly a step in the right direction, and expect a post from me once I start on my highlanders…

As a someone tempted to return to his childhood interest in Napoleonics, and who wishes to graduate to gaming and learning a proper set of rules, I think it is excellent to have a place where I can try to discover the most basic stuff about wargaming.

Learning what half the abbreviations mean will be a start.

I enjoyed Winston Smith's guide for getting started in the American Revolution. A very enjoyable and intelligent approach to building up representative forces for a given theatre, if I may say so.

Though an alternative guide for getting started in the American Revolution might be simply to disguise yourself, steal some tea, and throw it in a convenient harbour.

Look forward to developments.

@ Westerner

I think that some of us who have been involved in the hobby for a while forget not everyone knows the basics.

So welcome & don't hesitate to ask questions. There's a number of very knowledgeable folk here who will respond.

@ Ochoin

Many thanks. I look forward to displaying my ignorance and being led to the sunlit uplands of enlightenment!

I agree with ochoin.

Abbreviations, acronyms, and other forms of short-hand abound in the various TMP fora. Any time you have a set of participants with deep experience discussing a topic at the Nth level of detail, a newbie may struggle for quite some time with low comprehension and feel too intimidated to ask very basic questions ("What does it mean when he says 'FoW still relies on igougo'?").

A starters' board is little more than taking the very well developed MMG approach of having tiers, so that beginners have an easy way to start while experienced gamers have a gaming environment that is challenging enough to keep them interested. This is little more than game theory brought to chat forum practice.

I say it's nice to have a "welcome station" that gives the newcomer a place to start, where those who are willing to help bring the novice up to apprentice status can share their experience and perspective.

-Mark
(aka: Mk 1)

Hi, everyone. I have a question… Which Warhammer Edition is closest to AD&D 2nd Edition?

v.5.3.2 released in 1996.

When I crossed over from 2nd Edition AD&D to Warhammer it was 3rd Edition, since the magic levels were more numerous & profiles had more characteristics.

However, the later Warhammer versions are easier to use (less complex).

I eventually ran a Hero Quest / D&D hybrid where characters had profiles in each so that they could easily move in & out of Warhammer (Hero Quest was Games Workshops answer to D&D).

The kingdom where my adventure party resided was at war, so they sometimes found themselves in the middle of a battlefield or going off to fight to earn so quick xp.

Who said that this wouldn't be useful for Napoleonic newbies?

Abbreviations, acronyms, and other forms of short-hand abound in the various TMP fora.

Indeed, and to the extent that sometimes I cannot understand the full content of one or two poster's submissions. However, flicking backwards and forwards between a post and a glossary is not the answer to that issue.

The first time a poster is minded to use an abbreviation or Three Letter Acronym (TLA) they should do it the correct way and write it in full followed by its TLA or abbreviation. Then there is no need for a glossary and everyone can understand what the poster is trying to say. But this is The Miniatures Page (TMP) and so I don't hold out any hope of this happening any time soon.