Indeed. It's easy to understand why they close duplicate topics.

Yeah, at times they may seem rude, but that's only because they ask you to search in the first place. If you're not willing to do that, then you really don't want to find out anything about the band you've come here to find out about.

And I hate to do it again, but the main point in this board to beat into you guys is to read before you search. It can't be stressed enough.

__________________

Hi there,

My name is Jerry but everybody is calling me GIL b/c my evboard nick. Even I am not involved with the newcoming welcome committee, I am usually rather active here and there so would be glad to share my experience and first steps on this board. I'm from Barcelona, Spain, so i f you have Spanish as your mother language and still keep doubts of how things are working out, please don't hesitate to PM and will clear everything according the rules and what the committee stated for n00bs.

This board is very addictive, take care... but over all, works totally different of many other you knew before and mods are strict with their duties.

Love the board, follow the rules, learn to search, find everything you need about the band and lets have fun... if you don't... fuck you! (first lesson, Chapter I, Versus I of The Mighty ToB book of EVprophets! )

__________________

Hello, I'm Katya and I'm an Evaholic.

Okay, okay, I'll be serious.

My name is Katy but I prefer to be called by my username, Katya. I was a late-comer to this board; I didn't join until December of 2003. However, after the upheaval of the [e]board and a flurry of events that happened in my school/family, I forgot about it until January.

Like most n00bs, I bypassed the FAQ and such and just went to posting (bad idea). This is the second or third message board I've posted on ever, however, so I had ideas of what and what not to do. For example, I knew that AIMspeak was a no-no.

I was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of people on here and things to talk about. After a few posts, I finally read the FAQ and learned about the mods and such. I was awed by the mods and the people like Tracie and Cfw who were fountains of Ev info. I put my foot in my mouth a couple times (of course) but was set straight pretty nicely. I learned not to fight teh Mods the easy way...by watching other people get shut down with quick (and sarcastic) efficiency.

I really got into the swing of things in the Concert Discussion forum, because I bought tickets to the Roseland NYC show and got to know the people who were going. I met Tracie, WhisperedVoices, ThiefWhoreLiar, Lazarus, and a few other people from Evboard there, and had a great time.

So, I haven't been here for very long...but I've become somewhat of a veteran, as it were . I'm not on the welcoming committee, but feel free to PM me as well.

So..a couple pointers from yours truly...

1. Always be respectful. People have feelings, and blasting someone with a different opinion is not the answer. Be nice to the mods; it's not an easy job and they have to deal with a lot of crap.

2. Search before posting. This cannot be stressed enough. I was (and still am sometimes) a lazy ass when it comes to searching, and believe me, it's a tool that should be utilized to its fullest potential. Searching will help you avoid embarrassment and a locked thread to be upset over.

3. AIMspeak=bad. We have people from different countries who are learning English as they go along, and writing things like 'OMFG Amy n da band r0x0rs n i wanna c dem in concert so bad' just confuses them. A few things like OMG and 'lol' are okay for the most part. And trust me..if you bother to type things correctly, it helps your typing speed.

That's about all of it in a nutshell. Everyone else has summed up everything beautifully; I just thought I'd add my .02 cents lol. This board is something special; most other message boards are not so nicely structured or maintained, and not alot of the fan boards out there can say that the band members come on and post. The people here are excellent and are usually very happy to answer questions, offer help, etc. I've been met with nothing but support here and I have a fantastic time every time I come online.

So, have fun, and welcome to the Evboard. See y'all around!

__________________

Hi my name is Colleen, I have been on the board since sept '03. I found out about this place from a friend. I came, I saw, I loved. I too was a n00b making little mistakes. I have the wonderful mod's to thank for getting me on the right track.

I am the high priestess of the cult of Boo. Boo was passsed onto me by the high priest. I with Boo welcomes the new people to the board. But be careful with Boo he likes to feast on freashly roasted n00bs. We now how a bunch of great people on the welcoming commitee, If you have any questions come to us.

*Me hugs all the n00bs*

__________________

Being a n00b sucks, everyone ignores you and even when you arent n00b no more, they still ignore you.

Hmm... how to explain. This place is big Kriksis. It might feel like you are being ignored but trust me this isnt the case. We all appreciate your joining EvBoard and being here.

__________________
life is what happens when you're making plans...

Just give it a little time, and you'll see that it's not that bad. If you have any questions or feel like talking, feel free to PM me.

__________________

I made my way to this board when I heard about it on that evil place known as the O-board. One of the best things I did was take a few weeks and just lurk. I got to see how things worked around here, what was expected from the new people, things like that. When I finally said hello and started posting, I had a pretty good idea about what to do, and I've found it to be a pretty happy place since.

Everyone has made a lot of great points already (especially that last line from Head's post ), but I'd just like to add that this is a great, fun place to be. There are so many people here who have made so many close friends over the past year+ that EvBoard's been open. You'll make lots of new friends, too, so please, stick around, post, have fun! We're glad to have you!

Hey all, I'm one of the Welcoming Committee, though I don't start my officially unofficial duties as such until next week. Feel free to PM me with any questions you might have.

When I started here it was an intimidating experience because, while I was used to discussion and debate boards, this one was larger than most forums I had been on (with one exception) and was focused around something other than crucifying n00bs^H^H^H^H^H other posters in debate or focused discussion over a range of topics. Not a fan-forum for a music group.

Transitioning to this forum was surprisingly easy. I lurked for a bit and made my first posts inside threads made by others--that way it was less of a faux pas when I screwed up. I tried not to just post but to participate in the ongoing conversations. This really helped me get a feel for what worked and what didn't.

I've already written a general guide for joining any forum, not just this one, and if you look in it I mention several of our idiosyncrasies

__________________
"'Love' is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own... Jealousy is a disease, love is a healthy condition. The immature mind often mistakes one for the other, or assumes that the greater the love, the greater the jealousy. " -- R. A. Heinlein

Hello all! My names Denise *waves* I learned what to not do on this board by other people's mistakes. When I first joined, I basically just read what other people posted. My very first post, luckily wasn't locked, but probably should have been. I found though, everyone is really friendly. They warn you kindly if you are doing something that is frowned upon and what not. I mostly just reply to other peoples