What Should NEW Members KNOW?

[Adina P]

I would like to come up with some more permanent pages on DK.  Pages that we can easily direct members to when they ask very commonly asked questions.  It can be specific to groups (like the Food Group, Puppy Madness, Grooming, etc) or general types of questions. 

So think about "What did you first wish you knew when you joined the site?" and "To what info do you think members need quick and easy access?"

If, for example, some of these pages work well in certain groups each group can link to those pages and the pages can in turn link back to the groups if members have further questions. 

Right now every new member gets a link to this welcome page with BASIC info on using the site: http://www.doodlekisses.com/notes/Welcome_to_Doodle_Kisses!! -- But I'd like to create more than this and have specifics about the doodle experience AND using the site...for those who want more info.

So...shout out your brilliant ideas!

[F, Calla & Luca]

What's wrong with those people? : ) Don't love being online? I never was on line all the time before DK and it still is the main thing do online. But I routinely agree to all kinds of things in order to load a program, sign up for something etc. Who reads all that? Of course, sometimes three hots and a cot doesn't sound so bad so I no longer worry much what I agree to : )

[Adina P]

So how's the new banner at the top of the front page? It's temporary...will be working on a more useful one (with a few separate links) or other ways to display a smaller banner.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Well, they can't miss that or can they?

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

I think it is a great idea. It is very overwhelming when you first sign on even if you are internet savvy. I'll admit to being intimidated by all considering I thought I knew it all, already :) This should help a lot.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It's hard for me to view the main page as a newbie would, but it seems like a good idea to me.

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

I like the "Click here for more information.." part of the banner but the "Welcome New Members" part not so much. Maybe just "Welcome". I think that BEFORE I joined I would have liked to have had the "Click Here for Info" available. Then when I DID join I would have had a much better understanding of the site and how to navigate it properly and set up My Page. I had filled out My Page and loaded pictures before I got Adina's message (or at least until I noticed it!!). I just did most of those things by experimenting or searching around for information-eventually I went into EXTRA! on the off chance that it had info and found much of what I needed there. But I wasn't expecting it to be under EXTRA! I thought that was going to be fun stuff.

[Adina P]

Experimenting and poking around is what I WANT memebers to do... :)

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I like the banner. I think that is very important for new members to have a place that is obvious to click on. I think you covered lots of the basics. I wonder if more information for the specific areas could be added by links - like your tours. Like a more detailed guideline link in the forum/blog section for those who are new to this whole thing. It could include points like Karen mentioned earlier no puppy advertising, no breeder names etc. Also, and perhaps I missed it but I have found that people don't really know what the upper left box (friends, invites, alerts etc) means and even what private message means. That kind of stuff is often new to us older folk.

[Adina P]

The upper left box is described on the video tour. I'm not convinced that newbies will find the banner useful...but like Karen, I have a hard time visualizing how newbies view the site and in what order/way.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Duh, upper right box! I think people who routinely are on facebook only need a bit of a intro to show them what is here and where it is found. But non-Facebook members need more information - especially if they are not majorly computer literate. It can be a gradual learning curve - it has been for me, but I have grown with the site and I can see that it is big enough now that new non-techie members really need easily accessible directions to refer to. That is why I thought of additional links like the tours - which are good. I used them.

[Adina P]

Okay so we've established that some kind of welcome to the site link on the front page might help.
I still want more suggestions for what members need to know. What are YOUR suggestions for most frequently asked questions that we can answer? We don't need to keep it limited to 25 for brainstorming. We can vote later.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I haven't had a lot of time today to go through prior postings, but these are the things that quickly come to mind...

-Diet Options For Dogs
Commercial Foods - Selecting What's Best For Your Doodle
Homemade Diets
Raw Diets
Safe Treats
Recipes

-Parasite Information

-What to Look For In A Breeder

-Grooming - Link to Introduction Info in Grooming Group
Coat Types
Shedding & Coat Change
The "How To Groom" Diagram
Mat Removal

-Dealing with Common Puppy "Mis-behaviors"
Housebreaking
Chewing
Mouthing
Jumping

There are many more, but these are the ones that I thought of immediately.