Info for New Members

[roddy]

There are various restriction on new members:

1) No access to private messaging

2) No access to member profiles (including your own. Hopefully we can change this in the future, but at the moment it's the only way to limit access to profile comments and status messages)

3) No blog starting or commenting

4) Posts are checked before appearing. See below for more info.

These restrictions are removed after a certain number of posts have been approved. If you need access to any of these functions sooner - ie, you have a particular reason to contact a member by private message - email admin@ with an explanation and ask.

If your posts have not appeared, it is probably for one of the following reasons.

1) Advertising something. Ask first.

2) Lack of content - If you just post 'ha ha' or 'interesting', post links without explanation, say 'I can help you, email me', etc, the post gets deleted.

3) Not posting in (readable, understandable) English.

4) Post is irrelevant or repetitive - read and understand the entire discussion before posting.

5) No language exchange requests, thanks.

If you need to, send the content of your post and a link to the topic to admin@ and ask why it disappeared.

[骏马的丕沿?]

Hello, Roddy. I just saw the list of requirements for being able to be visible by other members within the community.

 

I find it quite odd that, as a new member, I am required to post in English. This is a forum about Chinese, and, as such, I’m not sure why the ideology of embracing Chinese culture (in this case, specifically language) from within, while sharing with others and encouraging others to grow, should be rejected.

 

I have made a few replies in Chinese to others so far in the community, and I find it unfortunate that my responses cannot be seen due to my not strictly following of the rules. I know from personal experience that embracing the culture (including the language) from within is the first step in making significant progress, which drives me to practice only in Chinese with community members.

 

If you could kindly reconsider the rule of posting in English, as you explained in your original posting, then you may have my deepest gratitude.

 

Sincerely,

 

Jun

[roddy]

Hi Jun, 

 

I can understand why it's annoying, but we've been doing this since we started almost twenty years ago and I do believe there are good reasons for it. We're all for embracing Chinese culture, but for many of our members, posts that are all in Chinese make that harder, not easier. 

 

If you like I can approve the posts you've made and you could edit in English translations (or just brief explanations, so learners know what they're missing, or can decide to take the time to read the post). 

 

On 6/29/2004 at 1:51 PM, roddy said:

• This is an English-language forum about Chinese. Posts and their titles should be mostly in English, except in sections specifically for practicing Chinese. Obviously the use of some Chinese is necessary for examples, etc, but a non-speaker of Chinese should still be able to understand the purpose of your post.

[889]

There's a sub-forum here, Chinese Corner, for discussions in Chinese. It's pretty much withered now from lack of use, but if you'd like to revive it, please do so.

[骏马的丕沿?]

Hi Roddy,

 

Thank you - I appreciate your taking the time to read and answer my comment. Perhaps it is indeed the case that, for members who are just starting out in Chinese, using English as a medium for engaging with Chinese culture/language is relatively beneficial.

 

I think you bring up a good point - if, in the future, I do decide to contribute something in Chinese, I should provide an English translation. Alternatively, I could first post in English, and the intersperse usage of a little bit of Chinese, or something of that sort. The main point, though, is that it’s important to help not only relatively experienced learners, but also those who are just starting out. And It seems like the best way to achieve this is by using a combination of both Chinese and English, so that everyone has the opportunity to get involved.

 

Again, thank you for replying to my comment. Before I had come and read your original posting here, I had already made a few replies, in Chinese only, to other members’ posts. Since then, I’ve tried to go back and edit my replies so that I can re-write them, in English. But, alas, I haven’t been able to find my original replies! (I’m relatively new to the site) Beyond that, I have made two additional replies (that are both in English and in Chinese) within the community, and I hope not only that others will find my contributions helpful, but also that my contributions are within the scope of the forum’s rules.

 

Regardless, thank you for your time, and I hope to continue interacting and growing with the community.

 

Jun

[roddy]

There are probably plenty of people on here who aren't even learning Chinese, they just have an interest in China.

 

Anyway, you'll be able to find your posts via your profile and there should be an edit option under the ... menu to the top right of your posts, if you want to edit in some English. Hope you enjoy the site.