IMNEWS NEWBIEHELPING INTRODUCTION

  
  
I. What It's All About
  
There is almost no service you can perform for Imladris more important than helping newbies. Our newbie-helping is the face we show to the outside world. If we treat newbies well, people elsewhere who hear of us are more likely to try us out. And it is how we treat newbies that determines whether they stay and become active.
  
Newbie-helping can be frustrating sometimes, because some newbies are clueless, some are selfish and unresponsive, and most of them ask questions they could have answered if only they'd actually read the help files. That's the way it often is.
  
But newbie-helping can be extremely rewarding. It's a great way to meet new people, to help them get their feet under them and learn what they need to to enjoy online life here. As a newbie helper you partly shape the sort of player that your newbies will become.
  
So the first rule: as a newbie helper, you need to be pleasant, patient, and helpful. We do not need newbie helpers who ignore newbies, who dismiss their questions, who treat them impatiently or sarcastically. Newbies need help because they ARE newbies, and it's our job to provide them with the help they need.
  
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