Help for True Newbies

May I make a suggestion? While there are a few 'for newbies' topics pinned up 'above,' they date back as far as 2008, and all the links I tried to follow were broken. So, it looks like you've got a few topics posted that were once very very helpful but now are full of broken links and 'thank you' posts from grateful members.

Might you consider pulling these down and posting/pinning ONE new topic for brand new members, people (like me) who know nothing?

As soon as we get paid employees here on this forum we can take your suggestion under advisement.
The members here are all volunteers. No one gets paid anything for trying to help out here.

In the meantime it's kinda hard to answer questions that aren't asked. Just too many variables between too many different people and their wants and needs. We aren't very good at mind reading.

So just start asking questions and you will get answers. Please keep those questions all in one thread though. Don't go starting a new topic with every question that runs through your mind. The other topic you started would be a good one to use.

BB, feel free to start the process as you are going through the newbie phase. I think it is a great idea but the moderators are so busy with their own lives and helping us it is likely far down on their list of todo’s. As a writer myself I wish when I started 9 months ago I thought of documenting things, but I was so pissed off at having to use a CPAP I didn’t do what I was trained to do keeping a journal of the experience.

On the other hand without the journey we would not have the same knowledge at the end where we can try to help others. If you do come up with something I think the moderators would be willing to review and offer suggestions for improvement. They have years of experience helping fools like me so know what has worked for them.

Yes, I used to own/operate a forum very similar to this one (different topic, obviously). It's a lot of work.

I'll be happy to start a "Newbies" thread when I have something to offer. I'm just not there yet, obviously, as I know absolutely nothing. In the meantime, perhaps just consider deleting the threads with all the broken links; I'd do this for you, but I don't have access and I am such a noob....

I don't compose stuff out of the blue well at all. It's a real struggle and to be honest I hate doing it.
Now ask me questions and I can write novels explaining stuff.

I do realize that a lot of the old stuff in the announcements section needs some make over but those items aren't mine and weren't put here by me except what you see and most before my time here.

The other side of the coin......most people don't even bother to read that stuff anyway. I know that it is rare someone reads my "newbies please read before posting" because they don't do what I ask. Just got into 2 pissing contests over something I covered in the newbies please read thread just this past few days.
Why do I want to go to all the work to compose something that most people won't bother to read anyway???
Even if I had the time or energy...which I don't....my past experience tells me it will mostly just be wasted energy on my part.

Been there and done that with trying to make things an easier read but people (most of them anyway) won't take the time to actually read it anyway.

So creating a new topic specifically to help people that come here in your shoes with totally zero knowledge isn't high on my list of priorities. I just don't have the time or energy or desire due to several reasons.
Now I wouldn't be opposed to your creating something that you think would benefit someone else in your shoes and then we can make it a sticky and shove it in their faces.... You are actually in a better position for that sort of thing than I am because after being on cpap coming on 13 years...it's hard for me to get in your shoes.

So if you want to come up with something I would be more than happy to work with you on it but don't ask me to compose...just ask me questions and I can give good answers but I just totally suck at composing from a blank slate.

I think it is a great idea but the moderators are so busy with their own lives and helping us it is likely far down on their list of todo’s

MODERATOR

There is ONE moderator. As in singular, not plural. Uno. Une. Una. Eins. один. אחד. واحد. いち.

ONE official moderator--Pugsy. And I have always hoped that she has a life outside of CPAPTalk.com.

So please be mindful when you ask something of the moderatorS. We are lucky to have our singular Pugsy. We don't want to break her.

Pugsy, I see, you are a moderator but the owners aren't giving you the power to make changes. That's quite unfortunate, and making your job much much harder than it need be. Hmmm.

Well, I appreciate you and your efforts, if that helps.

For what it is worth, I DID read all of your (and others) 'read this first' threads. I followed your instructions as best as I could (listed machine/mask/location/show machine/text on my profile page - although it doesn't seem to show up anywhere, which puzzles me), followed all the links I could find (which were broken; one thread had six pages of broken links and thank you), etc. But in the end, I couldn't find what I needed, so I wrote my plaintive post.

Did you read this sticky?

https://www.cpaptalk.com/viewtopic/t181 ... ryone.html

I thought I changed the Newbies please read text to reflect the equipment listing problem but maybe I just thought I did.
I will review it later.

Side note for you and any others reading this. I will be out of commission tomorrow....going to have a little procedure done at the hospital that some of you are aware I was planning to get done.
If all goes well I will be back in commission late tomorrow afternoon....so any new account posts won't get okayed until later tomorrow.

I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. The owners are very kind to offer the forum to us at their own expense and at no cost to any users. I am grateful to them and to Pugsy for her tireless effort.

ChicagoGranny wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 29, 2021 7:42 pm

I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. The owners are very kind to offer the forum to us at their own expense and at no cost to any users. I am grateful to them and to Pugsy for her tireless effort.

As am I and very thankful that we don't have to navigate a gazillion ads as well....but there somethings that are obsolete and in the way and could stand some cleaning up.
And we do have a lot more freedom here than some of the other forums...
For the most part I think we all sort of tune that stuff out but I can see the point of someone coming here brand new and not knowing where to start and then be faced with broken links and stuff.

But remember what I always say...I don't expend much energy worrying about stuff I have zero control over. Waste of time and energy. Lord knows I have enough to do already.