The 'Souls Welcoming Committee

1.  What is the 'Souls Welcoming Committee?

The pack leaders and staff team realized in April 2010 that there was confusion among staff and leaders as to who was coaching and helping which newcomers, and also that there were newcomers that didn't get any attention at all when they joined or registered. In an attempt to better utilize our efforts and cut back on lost and confused newcomers, the 'Souls Welcoming Committee was created! The SWC is a separate branch in the pack leaders' private OOC forum where newcomers are tracked and leaders/staff can volunteer to personally welcome them and answer any questions they might have. Most of all, it is a log system.

  • In short, the staff- and leader-run SWC's foremost purpose is to make sure all brand new faces on 'Souls feel as welcome as possible and that they have someone they know they can ask questions and get help from.

2.  The SWC Procedure

  1. Upon seeing a newcomer -- whether posting as joining in a pack or as a loner, wandering the board, or simply having registered their account and started filling out their profile -- any leader or staff member creates a topic in the SWC subforum with the character's name as a title (for tracking purposes).
  2. The newcomer is contacted and welcomed by the person who posts the topic in the first place, and if any confusion is apparent, the leader/mod/SAer who is contacting them attempts to guide them onto the right track immediately. PM exchanges are logged in the topic to ensure all newcomers are getting proper attention and quality help.
  3. The topic from then on tracks any problems that need to be addressed for this character, or whether there are things they appear to need help with.
    1. It also tracks progress made and any problems resolved.
    2. Often, questions asked by the newcomer themselves are discussed in the topic, if it is not an easy question or does not have a clear solution.
    3. Newcomers lacking graphics (avatars, signatures) and posting tables are also noted, because we like to help out and make gifts for them to help them feel welcomed!
  4. As soon as all of the problems have been resolved/the newcomer has been helped, the topic status is altered to closed. All topics are kept for future logging.

Usually, the leader of a pack handles their own pack's joiners, and the SA handle loner and creature joiners. Newly registered members can technically be contacted by anyone, but preferably someone with access to the SWC subforum. Who is in charge of aiding that newcomer is established during the thread, and that sole person has the responsibility of following up unless the responsibility is given to someone else.

3.  How can you help?

  • You can help by alerting a leader or staff member that a new person has joined the board (though we are many and see it rather quickly anyway).
  • You can help the newcomers by making them graphics! Many do not have posting tables and lack avatars, and who doesn't love gifts?
  • You can help by being in the chat and answering questions that newcomers ask there before they formally join. We have a public channel AND a members' channel on purpose!