As a test, I have set the minimum trust level to post new topics to “1”. This means brand new accounts cannot create new topics immediately. This speed bump may limit (or prevent) new users discovering this site, and immediately asking support questions. I am happy to turn this off again if it’s too much of a stumbling block for brand new users who actively wish to contribute to the project.
In addition I have added a further note to the confirmation mail new users to the site get. This details that the site is indeed not for technical support.
I hope these two steps may reduce the number of support requests we get here, and will quickly direct those people looking for technical support to the best place for them.
No. All new users are level 0 by default. After a while of using the site, interacting and reading, they get “upgraded” to level 1. At that point they can start new threads.
It might not work, it might be too blunt of a stick, let’s see.
when I first logged in there was a banner above the forums which I dismissed and can’t get back, a mention of how/where to post would ideally be mentioned there
also what do new users actually have to do to be able to create new threads? I have some idea’s on how to improve Ubuntu I’ve been told this is the right place to post them
@popey I agree with @regulator , I am also a new user to help improving Ubuntu.
I cannot see any info about the limit for new users in the welcome message and FAQ either.
When I finished writing in Create a new Topic window and clicked Create topic it says You are not permitted to view the requested resource. which is very confusing and unfriendly.
If you have a great topic to raise, but lack permissions, then:
Use the Search feature. It’s likely that somebody has already created an open thread on the topic. If so, then use it…often it turns out that you didn’t need to create a new thread after all. Participation in threads is how you gain trust and permission here.
If there really is no appropriate thread, then message a moderator (like me) with a summary of the idea. We can bump up permissions on folks who can demonstrate that they are a) Not a bot, and b) Not a crank. The summary of the idea is so we can direct you to an appropriate discussion or venue, and keep the level of discussion high.
Tip for new-idea folks: Some new ideas are great. Some new ideas are terrible. Many new ideas are not actually new after all. Try to avoid ideas that are basically:
Fix my bug
Somebody should do an enormous amount of work for me
Let’s change the default behavior for everybody
A support request
This killer app will make Ubuntu spectacularly popular
“…we temporarily limit what new users can do. You’ll gain new abilities (and badges) as we get to know you”
Suggestions on how to improve the welcome message are welcome. Keep in mind that many folks won’t absorb even such a short message, so longer may-or-may-not be better.
Edit 2: As @ian-weisser composedly reminded me, this is probably just a bug in discourse config, so sorry for the sarcasm.
Original reply:
Very annoyed friendly new user here.
So I’m limited to 3 replies pr post, which, when reached I’m kindly informed by the friendly discourse bot that, (paraphrased) “You can’t reply anymore because you’re a new user but please re-edit your previous replies”, WHICH I CAN’T RE-EDIT BECAUSE I’M A NEW USER.
Nice friendly Catch 22 rule there
Edit: And now, (actually while I was replying) 24 hours after I joined I can suddenly edit,- but I only discovered it because I allowed notification for discourse.ubuntu. I was very close to deleting my account in anger because of this.
Please, I can understand the 3 replies rule but then don’t disallow re-edits of their replies for brand new users, and, for extra insult, let the bot mock them with it,- that’s just plain silly.
