NEW TO GAIA- what can you do?

SO, you're new to Gaia. What is the first thing you can do?

If you have a specific interest,  Search for a Group [also called 'pod'] that caters to your interest. Once you find one you like, click on Join Us and there you are!
Look for Friends who share your interests, or live close to you. Once you find someone you like, click on their icon, and Invite as a Friend. Once you have friends, you can read their Blogs, and they yours, through the Blog-Friends tab on your page.
You can look for both Friends and Pods through the Explore tab.If you blog, someone may find you through the Explore-New tab.Make sure you check your Mail, next to your name on the top of each page, which notifies you when you have a message.Ask questions, read the Tips on each area of networking on Gaia, on this pod, write your own, and you're set!

[MOD NOTE- THIS INFORMATION HAS BEEN UPDATED : PLEASE CLICK ON New To Gaia-Tips to Settle In]

Re: NEW TO GAIA- what can you do?

Aaaand, here are some more suggestions for getting to know the Gaia Community (formerly known as Zaadz) deeply and quickly. These are posted in the Gaia Lounge pod/Group, on the New to Gaia? Board, and I am copying them to here.

First:

This link will take you to the original posting of this.

Are you new to Gaia?

How to Get Around Gaia Community site

1Vector3 said Jan 18, 11:08 PM:

Welcome! I hope you enjoy Gaia Community (formerly Zaadz) more and more as you get to know it. I sure love it here. These things should keep you busy for awhile!!!!! 

First, be sure to read the first two threads on this Board, titled “Are You New to Zaadz?” and the one below that “Got questions? Your first stop is the HOW TO pod!” Especially read the first one all the way through, as a lot of the info is way down in the thread.

The next thing to do is  Be sure to click on every tab on the top of the pages (GAIA Community, Friends, Groups, Wisdom, Explore, Exchange, Channels,) and click on all the subtopics that appear under each one. Also, at the bottom of pages, is a link to Sitemap.  You can find many of the same places, and some others, by clicking on all the links at the bottom of each page, too. These are the quickest ways to learn what the site is about and how to get around here.

Here are lots of other ideas and tips for learning your way around: 

This should open many doorways for you
  http://dave.zaadz.com/blog/2007/8/15_things_to_do_on_zaadz.

if you have questions here are the support pods. (Pods/Groups is our local term for Special Interest Group.) That link I just gave takes you to a fabulous introduction and doorway to all the support groups, but you need to realize there are three separate Groups and we recommend you join them all: Thinktank Group (for new ideas,) How Tos and FAQs Group (for questions of that nature) and Zaadz Support Group. In addition to the How Tos and FAQs Group, you might want to check out the Dictionary section of the Thinktank Group, for some How Tos.

Z-NETWORK Group is not a How to or Support place, but offers perspectives about our experiences on the site, and you can share your experiences there and get some general ideas about how we work.

Also just click around. And be aware that on Gaia Community, lots of things that don't LOOK like links really are, like practically every picture, and many words that look ordinary. So click even in places that don't appear to be links and you might get a nice surprise!!

If you want to read some of the most wise and profound threads from Groups on Gaia Community so far, check out the Collective Wisdom Group. From there you can explore the profiles of the interesting people you will read there, and some of the interesting Groups represented.

Don't forget to check links on the very top menu bar, especially “Settings” and “mail.” Be sure to subscribe to Notifications of Groups you join, and also Announcements from the site Team.  Do both of these things under Settings.

To stay on top of site news,  subscribe to the Team Blog. Find it under the Explore tab.  To me it is a warm fuzzy connection to the heartbeat of the site. Also, at the bottom of each page, you can subscribe to various site Newsletters.

I strongly urge you to click on the links to Community Guidelines and Terms-and-Privacy, because they will describe our values, our Netiquette, the way we treat each other here. These links are at the bottom of each page. 

I am a Gaia Ambassador, and so are over 1350 others, so when you see that listed on someone's profile, feel free to ask that person any question about the site, share your experience, ask your questions. If we don't know the answer, we know where you can get the answer.
 
Blessings, Rev. O.M. Bastet

Re: NEW TO GAIA- what can you do?

And last but not least, here is the other post from Gaia Lounge for new folks.

This link will take you back to the original.

Got questions? Your first stop is the HOW TO pod!

If you have any questions your first stop is the HOW TOs and FAQs pod. It's our evolving knowledgebase :) You can search it for answers or post any questions that you may have.

For example, if you want to find out how to add videos to your blog post, do the following:

- go to HOW TOs and FAQs

- on the search field type the keywords: add videos blog
then click on search button.

- on the search results page you'll see a list of threads that match the search keywords. click on the thread which best answers your question. Hint: threads that are prefixed with “HOW TO:” are your best bet :)

If after searching the HOW TO pod and you still can't find the answer to your question, feel free to start a new thread on the appropriate discussion board.

Thanks!

Re: NEW TO GAIA- what can you do?- PROFILE

I can't shout this loud enough: profile proFILE PROFILE

Write your profile if you want to make friends. When you write a post, or send a Friend's invite, or blog; people like to know how you see yourself, what you are here on Gaia for; and what you do in your off line life. You become more real to the members here; and this is what I value about Gaia. It is not an escape from reality, but an enlarging of it.

Of course, you can take time to feel your way if you don't feel comfortable at first. But, it helps. A lot.

And yes, don't write about people who'd like their privacy intact, and aren't members [e.g. family members], but  why not write about yourself?

How Tos:

How do I create my profile?

How do I add a picture to my profile?

Re: NEW TO GAIA- what can you do? reply-post vs reply-thread?

Hello Meenakshi & all,  I have another question and didn't quite know where to post it here, so this seemed liked as good of place as any.  Can you explain when you hit the “Reply to Post” or “Reply to Thread” buttons here on the groups?  What's the difference?  I fear I may have done it wrong already…. :)     Still learning,  Kathy

Re: NEW TO GAIA- what can you do? reply-post vs reply-thread?

Hi Kathy,
when you “Reply to Post”, you are replying only to a particular message in the thread. You will know that, because you see only the message that you are replying to, below your message. Like right now, I hit “Reply to Post”, and can see your message.

If I had clicked on “Reply to Thread”, I would have seen the first message on this entire thread, and not your message.

Hope this helps. I know the threaded view doesn't show this up clearly when we're reading the messages; but it is clear when you're responding.

Re: NEW TO GAIA- what can you do? reply-post vs reply-thread?

Thank you, it's getting clearer.  :)  When you hit “reply to post” does it still show up as one of the threads in the discussion topic?  Is “reply to thread” mostly for the convenience of having all the threads available for response when you're composing a discussion?   

Re: NEW TO GAIA- what can you do? reply-post vs reply-thread?

[Replying to Post here]
Mary, – when you reply to post,it shows up in the discussion thread..
In the “Threaded” view, it will show just after the post to which it is a response.


In the “Newest First” view, you can't know which post is a Reply to Post or which is a Reply to Thread as they show up in  chronological order

And the “unthreaded view” isn't anything really.

Re: NEW TO GAIA- what can you do? reply-post vs reply-thread?

To add to this discussion, when you click on 'Reply to Thread' you start right back at the top of the page with the original NEW TO GAIA - what can you do? with Meenakshi's original 6 questions. This can be frustrating if you are trying to add to the discussion somewhere in the middle or toward the end of the discussion.

Click 'Reply to Thread' i.e 'Discussion' if;

1. You want to start at the beginning of the topic of conversation

2. You want to see the ENTIRE discussion from beginning to end. You would expand the page by clicking on 'SHOW ALL POSTS IN THIS THREAD' to the right of Send Post

3. You realize that the post that you just sent will end up at the BOTTOM of the discussion

Click 'Reply to Post' i.e. 'Comment' if;

You would like to add to a particular comment made by a member and you want it to show up directly underneath what the member had said . Your comment will be more relevant to the discussion because people will be able to see your comment along with the previous one.

As members are reading the 'thread' i.e. 'entire discussion' and they get toward the bottom they realize that your comment was about something said clear up at the top, maybe by Meenakshi, and they have to scroll back up, find the relevant comment i.e. 'post' , then scroll back down to where they were.

This took me AGES to figure out on my own so I'm glad that you're bringing it up here! I've come late to many a discussion, enjoyed reading thru the entire thing, wanting to leave a comment here and there, where ever someone had said something that was an AH HA moment for me! I get many of those here at Gaia!

Imagine my initial frustration when I clicked the wrong type of Reply! I'd end up at the bottom of the thread! Worse, I couldn't go back and read some of the other discussions and would have to open two tabs to get it all together! ~grin~ This taught me another tip…

As it so happens I have two tabs open now. This way I can see exactly what a page looks like before I click a Reply button and I can also have this post open so I can type out my thoughts! Sometimes this can be another convenient way to see everything you need to reply thoughtfully to a post! If I hadn't opened a second tab, well, let's just say this wouldn't be very 'helpful'! {{giggle}}

When all else fails, open another tab! In Firefox press and hold Control and the letter T!

Smiles!
amber

 

Re: NEW TO GAIA- what can you do? reply-post vs reply-thread?

I think I'm having an ah-ha! moment!!  Not only on Gaia, but my whole life, seems to have a lot of these moments.  Thanks, Meenakshi for your explanations, and thank you Amber for that detailed response.  I'm glad you had trouble figuring it out, too.  :)  Makes me feel not so alone. 

I was going to just be silent and let the answer to the question reveal itself eventually (as you did, Amber) but decided perhaps there's others who have experienced the same question.  And they might be reading through this discussion and say “ah ha, oh that's what it means.”

Hitting “Reply to Post” and smiling,  Kathy

Re: NEW TO GAIA- what can you do? reply-post vs reply-thread?

Wow, Amber, you just wrote a For Dummies manual on that subject !!! Good going !!!!!!!

I have only one thing to add to what Amber and Meenakshi have explained, and that is that THEORETICALLY “reply to post ” is INDENTED in the display of the thread, but you'll have to look very closely to spot the indent. I have – shall we say – called this to the attention of the Team, but it ain't “fixed” yet !!!

What gets visible is when someone does a reply to post to a post that is already a reply to post. that gets indented even further, and so on if the process continues and generates a sub-thread. then the indenting is quite obvious !!!!

Really good question that everyone sooner or later has, and it HAS been addressed in the How Tos Group, but I think not so completely as here. (Sorry I don't have time to create a link to the discussion there.)

Blessings, OM Bastet

Re: NEW TO GAIA- what can you do? reply-post vs reply-thread?

Now THEORETICALLY, if each of us has been Replying to Post from Centria's original post, we should all have shown up as an indented sub-thread. Also, I should've been able to see everyone's posts from Centria's to mine, Amber's, OM's—but I don't. I only see OM's.

I would iike to indicate this [that this message is about reply-post or reply-thread] on the title of all our posts, so that future searches show up these important messages.

[Modified May 19th in response to OM's request for clarification- Meenakshi]

Re: NEW TO GAIA- what can you do? reply-post vs reply-thread?

OM, seriously, I need your powers of observation because I don't think I would EVER have noticed an indent unless you'd pointed it out! Pretty cool until we end up indented clear to the other side of the page and half our comment are cut off! ~grin~

I think I just found a good How to on Photos in the Nursery of all places! I'm off to see what I can see!

Glad that you asked this question, Centria! One of the tenets of Non Violent Communications is to learn to ask for what you need. My mom is part of a group practicing NVC. You know when the asking for what you need becomes a demand instead if the person you ask says, “No” to your request and you feel angry, hurt, or rejected by the refusal. I'm still wrapping my brain around that one so I'm just typing it out as my mother said it to me!

Smiles!
amber

Re: NEW TO GAIA- what can you do? reply-post vs reply-thread?

OK, Amber, here's a reply to post of a reply to post. The indent of this compared to replies to thread ought to be visible.

ROTFL !!!! I myself did NOT “notice” the indent. I complained about no difference between RTP and RTT and the indent got explained to me. And don't think I didn't register a complaint about the invisibility of the indentation !!!!!!!

Blessings, OM Bastet

Re: NEW TO GAIA- what can you do? reply-post vs reply-thread?

Well, your sharp eyes and attention to detail had you all over getting indentations that were already there we just couldn't see them! You get the BIGGEST HUGS OM for being the bestest you in the whole world!  You made my day!

amber

Re: NEW TO GAIA- what can you do? reply-post vs reply-thread?

Another RTP, see the indent is obvious now. The thing is, there could be a little icon or a much more obvious indent. Hmmm. The icon idea might be a really good one. Thinktank time !!

Well, the Smiler MAKER needs to receive a few, eh?

Blessings, OM Bastet

Re: NEW TO GAIA- what can you do? reply-post vs reply-thread?

I'm getting motion sickness from the INDENT thing… be careful everyone! If you scroll down really fast to get to something you wanted to reply to the screen gets all wiggly! OM I think the indent is obvious enough… please, if they make it any more indentier (made that up) I'm going to be ill!

OM, what's an RTP? Oh, never mind… Reply To Post…. I agree that an icon would be better on the eyes of those of us with vertigo!

Cross eyed but Smilin'
amber

Re: NEW TO GAIA- what can you do? Reply-to-post vs to-thread

Meenakshi, I didn't understand your first paragraph. I don't think all the “if” conditions were met. I for example was replying to thread, and I can if I squint just right see a few indented posts above that, but the nested indents, where each gets bigger requires that each post be a reply to the previous post, not a reply to the first post that got replied to with a reply to post. Argh.

So could you clarify what you meant?

And I am not sure what “this” refers to in your second paragraph.

And good luck getting people to retitle their subthreads. that will have to be done by a mod who remembers !!

Blessings,
OM Bastet

Re: NEW TO GAIA- what can you do? Reply-to-post vs to-thread

Ummm…..well!…..This is an incredible amount of information for the “Threads for Dummies Manual”.  I am happy to be the dummy that facilitated it.  :)   I like what you said Amber about what your mother said about asking questions, but unfortunately I pressed “reply to post” and can't quote it back to you.  I should just open another tab and see it, but I'm at work and really need to start working!!  You guys are great.    Kathy

Re: NEW TO GAIA- what can you do? Reply-post vs reply-thread

Centria, I noticed yesterday (after only a year on the site!) that the show all posts in this thread option is available down by the Send Post button even if you hit Reply to Post….

Blessings, OM Bastet

Re: NEW TO GAIA- what can you do? Reply-post vs reply-thread

EXCEPT that it doesn't work for me; does it work for you, OM? I'd brought it to the notice of the Support pod ages back; and they suggested the best way is to open a new tab for reading the whole thread.

Re: NEW TO GAIA- what can you do? reply-post vs reply-thread?

Well I could have sworn it worked yesterday, but it definitely doesn't work now, so maybe I just saw the reverse option link and assumed the whole thread was on display below it.

Bummer. Thanks for reporting it. Seems minor compared to other problems, apparently, to the Team.

OM Bastet

Re: NEW TO GAIA- what can you do? -- Local tab

I too have a little question that seems to be defying the easy discovery of it's answer. Up above among the tabs is the Local tab. How does one go about setting it to their hometown/area? I input my hometown and state correctly in my profile in the correct slot already. I live in Hawai'i, incidentally, so if this is something the site does automatically that may be why I'm having difficulty - so often Hawai'i and Alaska are excluded from automated searches and directories like that.

Re: NEW TO GAIA- what can you do? -- number in () after name

Oh yes, one more question 0o

When you go to Friends and you see the large wall of people, everyone has a number in brackets in light gray after their name. What does that mean? thanks!

Re: NEW TO GAIA- what can you do? -- number in () after name

Hi! It is how many Gaia friends that person has.

Love,

Nicole

Re: NEW TO GAIA- what can you do? Seed System

I don't want to interrupt Silverpony's question, but would like to add another one.  When you give “seeds” to another person, does that person get some kind of message or know who gave the seeds?  Or do the seeds just add up on the other's count anonymously?  For example, if you give someone “Big Love” (or whatever it says) do they get a message?  Thanks, team!

Re: NEW TO GAIA- what can you do? -- Seed System and Local tab

First, Centria: None of the above. No to all your questions. And they do not add to the recipients' seed count. The complete scoop on Seeds is in the Seeds Board in the How Tos and FAQs pod/Group. More than you ever wanted to know, haha !!!

And in the Gaia Networking Group we're team with a small t here, but not The Team !!! LOL !!!

Silverpony, I don't know the answer but I will find out. I never noticed the Local tab had a third option of a specific location before !!! I notice that mine is set to Boulder, but I live in Seattle !!!

So I went to my Settings page, and I noticed that there is, under Profile Settings, something called Location. This is independent, I think, of anything you input in the Location field in your profile, although one of them is the town I put in my profile, so maybe it got here from there. I noticed that I had two towns (nearby) with an option listed to “Make primary” and another location “Recently listed” with the option to “Save” it. So I saved it, and then clicked on the option for that town, to Make primary.

Then I rechecked the local tab, which still says Boulder, but I will recheck again because the change might take some time, even a week, to take effect. Whatever “effect” “Make primary” has !!! I have no idea yet what that is!!!

One could go to the How Tos pod and search for the term “Primary location.” Someone could do that and report back here.

Meanwhile, I believe Marketplace and Events both have search fields you can plug in your town or state, so you can use that to find local stuff.

Why don't you try what I did and see what happens and we can both report back here??

Thanks to both of you for asking your questions ! Hope this was helpful.

Blessings, OM Bastet

Re: NEW TO GAIA- what can you do? -- Seed System and Local tab

Thanks OM Bastet….of the team with the lower “t”…..I went to your recommended group and now know  tons about seeds.  Thanks for the info, and also the good info about the Location, too.  Will try some of those tips.  Michigan is really divided between the lower and upper peninsulas and it would be great to type in “Upper Peninsula” but that doesn't look like a current option.  But that's OK!  I'm not complaining.  I'm still in awe of this great world of Gaia.  Blessings back,  Kathy

Re: NEW TO GAIA- what can you do?

Adding to the things that you can do if you're new:

Check out information given by group cultivators/mods here:

Groups / Pods we Love on Gaia


Specially ones that are for orienting newcomers:

Orientation

Re: NEW TO GAIA- what can you do?

More information and How Tos here: New To Gaia-Tips to Settle In