Early Retirement Extreme Forums

This is a darknet thread spinoff thread to discuss ideas that will help newcomers learn about the forum, understand the common topics in the forum, and generally get value as quickly as they can so they want to stay for the long term.

There have been a couple of ideas floated in the darknet thread. I'll bring them over here via quotes (in subsequent posts here in this thread), then we can discuss each idea, report which ones have been implemented, etc. We can also propose additional ideas.

The goal is NOT to make this forum more welcoming for people who would be better suited to go to the FI discussions on reddit or the MMM forums or other lower WL forums. This is to make the transition to the ERE forums for those who have learned all they can from MMM/reddit/etc go more smoothly.

Here is an idea:

When a person creates an account, they should receive a welcoming packet. Within this packet would be the goals of the forum, the importance of the book as a precursor, netiquette, the culture we would like to propagate, and expectations of participants. And of course a welcoming!

This could be written in a fun way as if you would be advising a friend, informal but it gets the point across. You could also post this as a "Read this First if you are new here" for lurkers on the main page. For those of you that would like a small barrier to entry then it is just a matter of spelling out expectations of participants and I think most people would self-select.

And of course a disclaimer that one doesn't have to follow, fully understand or mimic anyone else here to become a member as long as the general ethos is accepted.

Just a couple thoughts.

Totally agree with the welcome idea. It would be nice if folks got a PM like you described, ffj. @jacob: Is it possible to automatically send newly registered users a PM with a welcome?

It is possible.

Currently, when newly registered people get the activation link, it's signed in a fairly unwelcoming way like this. (I got tired of dealing with spammers.)

activation email wrote: Thanks,

IMPORTANT! Please read the FORUM RULES before posting. SPAM will be deleted immediately!
See: viewtopic.php?p=99735#p99735

Does anyone want to write it? I'm not exactly the "welcoming type".

Welcome to the Early Retirement Extreme forums! We’re excited to have you here.

Just a couple of things to get you started:

SPAM has a 0% tolerance here. If you are looking to sell or promote something, find somewhere else please.

Catch up on the forum rules here here. We have a small community feel and like to keep it that way, so anything breaking the rules will be promptly removed.

First thing is first, come introduce yourself! We have a whole section dedicated to intros, so please make a post about yourself and your goals here.

We recommend all newcomers start a journal. Check out thousands of others’ journeys on the page and consider starting one for yourselves. Going back and reading the earlier sections of many of the journals may give you some ideas of different methods our forumites have used to start ratcheting up savings rates / resiliency / and some of the best practices of journal keeping. We’ve found keeping a consistent journal one of the best ways to stay accountable and get help from others in whatever you are struggling with. Start a journal here. Some best practices are documented in post form here.

The link to the ERE wiki is here. If you are getting lost in some of the jargon while reading around the site, there is a page explaining some of the shorthand we are using here.

Find some of the highlights of the ERE forum over the years here. It is by no means inclusive of all the good posts made throughout the 10+ years this forum has been around, but it is a quick way to find some incredible posts.

Welcome to the community and we hope to hear from you soon!

———————————————————
First attempt. All feedback welcome. I need to update all the hyperlinks, but not at a pc right now. I’ll try and link things up to the correct pages in the next couple hours.

Nice, Slevin! Thanks!

A few points:

• The intro section is a different place than the journal section, but you indicated `<add hyperlink to journals>` instead of `<add hyperlink to intros>`.
• With that said, I'd also add a link to the journal section to the paragraph about journals.

I don't think there is yet a jargon page on the wiki, but I will create one that you can link to using the outline that Miss Lonelyhearts posted in the darknetting thread here:

Miss Lonelyhearts wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 26, 2022 3:57 pm

... others feel free to chip in improve or wikify ...

@mathiverse updated links. I used the https://wiki.earlyretirementextreme.com ... reviations for jargon, which seems appropriate.

Oh yeah, I didn't notice that page and added this jargon cheatsheet. I'll update that page instead and delete the new page I created: https://wiki.earlyretirementextreme.com ... Cheatsheet

mathiverse wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 28, 2022 12:49 pm

Oh yeah, I didn't notice that page and added this jargon cheatsheet. I'll update that page instead and delete the new page I created: https://wiki.earlyretirementextreme.com ... Cheatsheet

Thanks! We parallel edited, but I like your changes better so I'll nuke mine.

Oh, thanks! Sorry, I didn't notice that.

I didn't know how to delete the Jargon Cheatsheet page I created, so I just put a link to the Frequently Used Terms and Abbreviations page you found on it. If someone else knows how to delete, then feel free to!

You two are doing a wonderful job. Thank you

Slevin wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 28, 2022 11:29 am

First thing is first, come introduce yourself! We have a whole section dedicated to intros, so please make a post about yourself and your goals here.

We recommend all newcomers start a journal. Check out thousands of others’ journeys on the page and consider starting one for yourselves.

An unintended consequence of this is that shy people may be discouraged because they feel obligated to put themselves in the limelight. They like to pick a specific place to insert themselves and grow from there.

Welcome to the Early Retirement Extreme forums! We’re excited to have you here.

Just a couple of things to get you started:

SPAM has a 0% tolerance here. If you are looking to sell or promote something, find somewhere else please.

Catch up on the forum rules here here. We have a small community feel and like to keep it that way, so anything breaking the rules will be promptly removed.

First thing is first, consider introducing yourself! We have a whole section dedicated to intros, so you might want to make a post about yourself and your goals here.

Many of our users also upkeep a personal journal about their ERE journeys. Check out the thousands of existing journals on the page and consider starting one for yourself. Going back and reading the earlier sections of many of the journals may give you some ideas of different methods our forumites have used to start ratcheting up savings rates / resiliency / and some of the best practices of journal keeping. We’ve found keeping a consistent journal one of the best ways to stay accountable and get help from others in whatever you are struggling with. Start a journal here. Some best practices are documented in post form here.

The link to the ERE wiki is here. If you are getting lost in some of the jargon while reading around the site, there is a page explaining some of the shorthand we are using here.

Find some of the highlights of the ERE forum over the years here. It is by no means inclusive of all the good posts made throughout the 10+ years this forum has been around, but it is a quick way to find some incredible posts.

Welcome to the community and we hope to hear from you soon!

———————————————————
Second iteration addressing feedback from @Dream of Freedom

The 21 Day Makeover blog series is a very good intro to ERE.

Third iteration. Possibly jacob-biased. Still room for improvement.

---

Welcome to the Early Retirement Extreme forums! We’re excited to have you here.

Just a couple of things to get you started:

SPAM has a 0% tolerance here. If you are looking to sell or promote something, find somewhere else please. Don't waste our time. Don't be evil.

Catch up on the forum rules first. They're not perfect. We have a small community with a focus on informed opinions. Know what you're talking about. Don't carry a chip on your shoulder. Respect other forumites. Make yourself look good. Don't post anything you wouldn't want your family/boss/government/etc. to find out.

First things first, consider introducing yourself! We have a whole section dedicated to intros, so you might want to write a post about yourself and your goals. This is most effective insofar you plan to follow up with more posting elsewhere. If you prefer to lurk for a while, that's fine too. Some lurk for years and years in order to get to know the place. Also check out the nearly one thousand existing journals. They might contain the answers you're looking for.

Once you're ready for active feedback and/or community, starting and maintaining your own journal and commenting on other journals is the best way proceed. Many of us have already been where you are and some of us have already solved your problems. Here are some suggestions on how to succeed with that.

The link to the ERE wiki is here. If you are getting lost in some of the jargon while reading around the site, there is a page explaining some of the shorthand we are using here. Reading the book ties everything together beyond the blog. Keep in mind that some of the forum discussions ("ERE2") has moved beyond the blog and the book at this point.

Over the years, there's been some good discussions. Here are some of the ERE forum highlights. It is by no means inclusive of all the good posts made throughout the 10+ years this forum has been around, but it is a quick way to find some incredible posts.

Welcome to the community and we hope to hear from you soon!

Potential addition:

If you're looking for practical next steps a good start is the 21 Day Makeover or committing to a Buy Nothing period.

@Jacob

"Catch up on the forum rules first. They're not perfect. We have a small community with a focus on informed opinions. Know what you're talking about. Don't carry a chip on your shoulder. Respect other forumites. Make yourself look good. Don't post anything you wouldn't want your family/boss/government/etc. to find out. "

No, no, no. That isn't remotely inviting. It sounds as if you have a chip on YOUR shoulder. You may have earned it, but that kind of language isn't going to entice anybody. The second iteration is perfect.

Actually, other than not linking the book as a helpful prerequisite, the second iteration is pretty damn good. And there is room for adding sky's suggestion.

Just my opinion.

ffj wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 28, 2022 7:12 pm

@Jacob

"Catch up on the forum rules first. They're not perfect. We have a small community with a focus on informed opinions. Know what you're talking about. Don't carry a chip on your shoulder. Respect other forumites. Make yourself look good. Don't post anything you wouldn't want your family/boss/government/etc. to find out. "

No, no, no. That isn't remotely inviting. It sounds as if you have a chip on YOUR shoulder. You may have earned it, but that kind of language isn't going to entice anybody. The second iteration is perfect.

Actually, other than not linking the book as a helpful prerequisite, the second iteration is pretty damn good. And there is room for adding sky's suggestion.

Just my opinion.

Huh, I actually liked Jacob's edits the most...

While this is not an advertisement for all persons:

The goal is NOT to make this forum more welcoming for people who would be better suited to go to the FI discussions on reddit or the MMM forums or other lower WL forums

Shouldn't it be treated like a little marketing for those that are in the right spot here?
Therefore starting with the positive part (welcome, introduction etc.), Than the neutral but important part (forum rules) and ending with the negative/disclaimer, the spam part?

Starting with the spam part gives me a negative, uninviting impression, even if you come here with good intentions. Besides, I don't believe that persons who come here to spam, will be stopped by a line about not spamming, regardless how prominent is it placed.

Now, I am not a sales or marketing person, but these are just my 2 cents.

Yeah, the spam bit and forum rules at the beginning is a necessary evil IMO.

@rube unfortunately the spammers won’t read the whole thing, but are more likely to read the beginning.

Only the genuinely interested people will read the whole thing through. That’s why the spam thing is up at the top. The rules bit is similar, if you don’t want to follow them then don’t post here. Yes it’s a filter, and will probably slightly over filter, which is good. It might filter out some small % of potential great forumites, but it will hopefully work as a better filter to remove the the bad actors so that Jacob doesn’t have to waste his time deleting bad posts and cleaning up the mess done by them showing up in the first place.

Our welcoming vibe and marketing follows that filter. If you made it through that bit, but are slightly sketched out, then reading through the next section should calm you down a bit and maybe tell you that we are here and care, and it’s because we care that we are so strict with the ruling in the first bit.