All fine and said, I would like to add one more point. I have been guiding newbies on the FMS thread, & they repeat the same queries over & over again, & it's tiresome to address these. I would recommend that they should read at least 20-25 posts in a particular thread before posting their query. This helps folks who spend precious time in trying to help them out.
Secondly, I would recommend that this post in particular should kinda replace the homepage, it would force new folks to read the forum rules, before becoming trigger happy on the keyboard. How many of them actually could be reading the forum rules before typing in... I faced a similar problem on an ebooks blog (As a VIP there), I recommended to the admin. this aspect for newbies, & it's actually been implemented there with a lot of refinements. Tye!

For Newbies: The HitchHiker's Guide To The Pagalguy.com superway
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This primer is primarily meant for the newbies,old-but-still-not-comfortable,very-old-but-as-good-as-dead and the lost souls who come to this thread for salvation. ok maybe I am kidding about the last kind but hey one never knows....I have divided into three sections for easy perusal and the primer is more of the catechism kind.

Disclaimer: The views and suggestions in this primer are purely personal and is not necessarily endorsed by the administrator and mods of this forum!(yet!) So follow them at your own risk!

Section 1: This is for the I-have-no-idea-about-the-site-so-start-from-the-beginning junta

Section 2: This is for the cut-the-jazz-and-lead-me-to-the-mba-related-threads junta

Section 3: This is for the what-else-is-there-to-do-here-other-than-mba junta

Section 1:

Target: Junta who have absolutely no idea about this site and want to get started...

"Hey what is the big deal about this site with such a strange name anyway?"

Two years down the line I am still wondering too...but as Calvin says in his last strip "Let's Go Exploring!" It's irresistable and A D D I C T I V E! Which would be vouchsafed by the number of hits and regular members of this forum. It
was primarily meant to be a "cat discussion forum" but has grown beyond that now. To know more read on....

"mmm...so where should I start? There are way too many threads and it is kinda confusing to navigate thro' this labyrinth!"

Well if you havent registered yet you could do so by going here !

(Note: As of now there is no provision to change your login name once you have registered. So think of an innovative one if you havent registered yet. )Only members are allowed to post and we do frown upon ppl who merely use the resources and do not contribute in any way towards the betterment of the forum! If you have already registered you could go to this thread Introduce yourself and tell us about yourself.
If your idea of introduction is something on the lines of "Hi I am new to this forum. Hope to have a great time where we can help each other in our pursuit of MBA from IIM's"! well just dont bother posting there and save the server space....remember before you actually start posting in threads that is one thread where you can get a good launchpad for yourself. So make the most of it. :)

"Tnx for the unsolicted gyaan but what next? I am still confused with the various buttons and the subforums....would you throw some light on that?"

when you click here you go to the main page of the forum and there you see the various sub forums. I guess the purpose of the sub forums are self evident. If not a brief idea about what the subforum "contains" and "might contain" is given below the subforum heading.

Caveat: Under "Chit Chat" Subforum there is clause which goes "..You don't even have to make sense." That does not translate to carte blanche for spamming! What you say have to be relevant to the topic atleast!

Also peruse thro' the thread NEW at PG ... and Confused/Lost ? Check
this post out! thoroughly. Most of the queries would have been answered if not you can ask there and be rest assured pretty soon someone will answer it if it is a genuine doubt.

" oh really... cant I just start a new thread with my doubt?"

Nopes!! Starting a new thread involves quite a bit of ritual. Thou shalt read this properly as it is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT !

STEP 1: Thou shalt first formulate the exact qn in mind before jumping into starting a new thread.

STEP 2: Thou shalt see whether such a thread already exists. For that thou shalt religiously use the self evident SEARCH function. Try all the combinations of the query you have in mind
and see if it can "fit" in any of the threads thrown up by the search. If you master the art of searching you are in for a smooth ride out here else you will keep getting your threads locked and simply lose you way out here :)

STEP 3: After STEP 2 and ensuring that absolutely no way the query you have in mind(or the topic on which you have to discuss) is already present you can open a new thread in the relevant sub forum.

STEP 4: Remember it is a "discussion" forum so your job doesnt end up merely starting the thread. So thou shalt given your view first on the topic at hand and then further the discussion.

" I guess that's fair enough...so what about naming of the threads?"

"HELP needed", "Attention plz!" ," I am Eligible and Single!" are NOT the way new threads should be named! Thou shalt use your common sense and name the thread which gives someone more than an idea about what the thread might contain. Only then you can expect your thread not to be locked and get meaningful and swift responses. As the cliched phrase goes "Help Us To Help You"! Peruse thro' the forum first to get an idea about how threads should be named.


"Any thing to be kept in mind while posting in threads?"

We hate to say it but there are some rules you got to follow while posting too.

Rule 1: Thou shalt not copy/paste stuff from somewhere and pass off as your own. In other words thou shalt not plagiarize.

Rule 2: *if* you post something from the net thou shalt mention the Source. If you dont have the source thou shalt mention the same as "Anonymous". But if you do a google search it is very much possible that you will get the source. Anyway you are solely responsible for the contents you put up here and needless to say you have got to ensure that it is not copyrighted .

Rule 3: Strictly no personal phone numbers allowed on the forum. Except in certain threads thou shalt not display your e-mail id either unnecessarily. You can use the Personal Messaging facility for those purposes.

Rule 4: Needless to say it would be in the best interest of you to avoid extremely sexist,racist and risque comments. We are not exactly "prudish" but it doesnt reflect well on your personality if you indulge in it.(Common decency and public
etiquette) Suffice it to say you will be booted before you can say "Pagal guy"!

Rule 5: To the best of possibility avoid using vernacular language while posting if your target audience spans more than one state. The reason I guess is obvious and self evident.

Rule 6: Avoid CAPSLOCK and using bold fonts and colors for general posts.

Rule 7: Try to make sense in your posts cos' in an online community one is judged by his/her posts.(Again obvious!)

Rule 8: No surrogate or Direct Advertising of any kind!

Rule 9: No posting of results link before they are officially released!

Rule 10: No Ranking of MBA institutes(other words no mudslinging!)

Rule 11: Thou shalt not violate any of the above rules! :P

"Boy! you ppl sound quite draconian....so tell me when and how did this forum into existence"?

In the best interests of everyone the rules are inevitable. But hey they are hardly draconian if you think about it logically:) As for the second part of your question you might want to go thro' this thread History of PaGaLGuY.com !

"Wow! That was something....so who are the people behind all these?"

Well you could go thro' Who is Pagalguy ????! to get an idea(?) abt the person behind it. And dont forget the Forum Moderators who are doing a stellar job and the least but not the least the members themselves You could also try PaGaLGuY's Interview on CNBC - Young Turks - Thursday
"Now That is something! Though am new here is there anyway I can contribute to the forum?"

Well you could take your own sweet time to get to know the forum well and see how useful it is to you ( and we hope vice versa too!:)). Since the monetary aspect of running this is borne by one man a.k.a Allwin there is an initiative taken by Zango here Contributors invited - read thread starter for any doubts. And remember if you have a chronic habit of saying "Aye Aye" just for everything without actually meaning it just dont bother about the thread...:) We can sympathisize with the habit...unfortunately quite a number of our forum members is afflicted with it as you will realize if you go thro' that thread.

latasinghal Says

i hve heard dat der is sum sort of discussn forum in di site.bt m unable 2 trace it out.......can sun1 plz hlp me hw 2 luk 4 d discussn forum?

I have a small suggestion. This thread and along with many threads that are targeted for all the new joinees should also be put in FAQ section. They can be asked to go thru them so as to understand what this forum is all about.

Also if possible i would like to see this thread as Sticky in ALL sections

Gr8 work Oxy,QE and Khota

guys, how to delete my psot in a thread??

i dint find any option apart from editing...

Hey guys...

I have a query though m nt very sure that whether this is the right thread for it or not so pls forgive me in case u find it to be wierd.....
How can one stop some one from posting (block) a particular user on the thread which started by him?

let me make it simpler...
Mr. A started one thread....Mr. B posted something against the general interest of that thread.... NOw since "A" started that thread, can he block "B" from posting on that thread? and also can he delete any posts by "B" on that thread?....

pls reply asap!
thanks..

how can i set my fonts n change them to bold letters or italacize them???
i tried th icons on top of th message box bt nothing changes...
i really dont know y. is it got something to do with how many posts u ve posted i.e as i m a newbie so i cannot use these features.....
also is the signature size limited to 350 chars only or it gradually increases with th degree of pagalpan??

cool_manav Says

hi dere. plz guide me how can i start a new thread & how can i make contacts with pgs

Hi..

Is there any way to change a thread's title started by yourself (me)? I can't find any tools for that.. I think that i still have a lot to learn about being a pagal..

Raj.

well
i hope i get my query clarified here.
can someone tell me who the mods r,
r they employed or r they automatically made one depending on their posts.
also tell me what r the various posts that will make u into addict, harcore pagal, etc.
regards

great job

but i want to know few things 1) why it is so as to any thread default option is of instant email notification it really creates problem my suggestion is default shud be no email notifiacation if someone wants one ll change accordingly.

2) other thing is what is life of any thread .

why smillie :popcorn: doesnt work sometimes

hey.. thanx for ur help.. but i still dont seem to be able to get it right.. how am i supposed to be downloading an image.. or when it asks for da URL.. wat r u supposed to right...

well to be honest tis a bit embarrassing to admit dat i cant get it right.. but well dats da truth.. hope u would be kind enuf to help me once more... ?? :huh: Thankyou really....
Know wat.. tis nice to see ppl r ready to help ppl out here.. it really gives me pleasure to see dis..:)

..A.G..

hey.. thanx for ur help.. but i still dont seem to be able to get it right.. how am i supposed to be downloading an image.. or when it asks for da URL.. wat r u supposed to right...

well to be honest tis a bit embarrassing to admit dat i cant get it right.. but well dats da truth.. hope u would be kind enuf to help me once more... ?? :huh: Thankyou really....
Know wat.. tis nice to see ppl r ready to help ppl out here.. it really gives me pleasure to see dis..:)

..A.G..

jus one thing i couldnt get was how to go bout dis avtar business... :whatthat: n how are PGites differed ...? (newbe...hardcore..certified..).. Iam a bit confused..:new-alie: So if anyone of u could jus help me on dis regrad...:)

...A.G.

oh come on! Tell me the last time you actually went thro' a manual or "Rules" whenever you got a hardware or joined a community? Well I confess I dont do it voluntarily and it is safe enough to assume so doesnt almost 90% of the junta who join this forum. so the best we can do is guide them and ppl who wanna stay on will eventually pick it up. So let us think abt ways of making the newbies read this thread and keep adding to this to make it as user friendly as possible for someone who comes to this site for the first time.

So any additiosn to be made? was the "flow" coherent enough? Any particular link which you think a newbie might be interested in? and anyway of spreading the message to the newbies? For starters if you could allocate some space in your signature.....

@Khota and QE : Great work! good compilation! Perhaps we could add a bit more on CAT related threads cos threads directing to pertinent threads is woefully inadequate in the above FAQS compiled. We have to start thinking in the minds of a newbie who is a CAT apsirant....

"mavericK" Says

Well each time a member joins, we used to send them a mail regarding the forum and lots of FAQs. And lookin at the way most of the n00bs behave once they join the forum, Its pretty obvious that no one goes through such intro mails. So I dont see any point in teaching them how to use the forum, when they are not interested to learn

ILLUMINATUS Says

guys.. is there a way by which u can make every new member to go thru this thread, n the other threads such as introduce yourself etc etc before they can actually start postin? cos no matter how many times v tell them not to post their mail ids, they end up doin that.. i'm assumin that they dont read these must read threads.. is there a way by which they can b lead to these threads b4 they can star posting?

zango Says

We will. however, i request people not to post "Good work" messages to this thread. Please keep this thread for the new users.

user 1's quote

user 2's quote

" image to wrap html codes around selected text...try that...
Same in the case of editing signature

Q) How do I get my "avatar" picture shown when I post...
A)get to the user cp
Q) How do u manage the server capacity.. I mean with the number of posts and the soaring numbers of the members list how is the server managed?
What is the capacity of our PG server?

A)Check out this thread for server info...and if you feel like you need to contribute , check this thread....
As for server loads...well the present server is indeed, like PG said, enterprise level...Its gonna take a LOT more ppl to crash it

Of PG POLICY
Q) Can I change mine Login ID ?
I dont want to stay with that id in Caps, made it under excitement at the time of result...
Also , I dont want to new id ,, coz I dont want ours avatar again as newbie . . .

A)- Sorry, that feature's off now

Q) If I report a bad post, whom does the report go to ? Administrator or the section mod ?

A) that is the red circle with every post which when clicked on u can send a report which will be delivered through mail to all the mods and the administrator.

Q) I cant understand the policy of not allowing the college comparisions thread here on PG.

A) I dont really know how long you've been following these forums....I've been for over two years...And can say one thing....Most people tend to get into a highly defensive shell when it comes to anything wrt their b-school...nothing wrong...thats what each b-school also tries to encourage. a unique culture and a level of bonding with the institute.....But put the same b-schooler against another and Lo....behold fireworks


Q) failed to figure out the reason that it is considered sacrilegious to post your email ids and phone numbers in your post. (Well I have always abided to that) . I know there must be a logic behind it but ,unfortunately analytical reasoning isnt ours strength.

A) Sadly, analytical reasoning ain't ours strength too, but TO attempt to solve your question email ids, phone numbers...well...its for the poster's own good....In these days of increasing spam, where I have umpteen bots crawling all over the forum harvesting email ids.....I dont really see a compelling reason to allow email ids and subject ppl to more spam...as it is, the forums are heavily spidered tel nos.....nah, no way.....This forum is a public forum, and it shall remain that way....That means privacy would be respected :)

Q) I want to discontinue as a member and if possible want all ours threads/replies be locked or removed. Though I must say this is a gr8 forum and indeed was a pleasure experiencing to b part of it.

A) Just stop visiting :)

Glad we could be of help


Q) Notice that when anybody makes a post about. IIP'M' , the word is blanked out n is replaced by ****. is posting about **** banned here? rather why is it?

A) this a feature in the software which is enabled by administrator himself just for fun

Q) What is the max limit of size on your post?

A) 10000 characters

Q) i'm a newcomer on this forum. can u tell me if I can chat with people on this forum if they r online....if yes how? and can I change ours username....I tried all the options but there is none for username

A) You can't technically 'chat' with Users Online......At best you could send them a Private Message by clicking on the Users Profile and then clicking the send PM link.
Alternatively....if the user in question has given a Yahoo Messenger Id...Click on that