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A Welcome Note To New Members (and anyone else who wants a warm welcome)
I’d like to extend a big WELCOME to those of you who are new here at RetouchPro. My name is Jeanie and I’m your Moderator and friendly assistant in the Critiques/Opinions/Help Requested section of the RetouchPro Forums.
I think you’ll discover, just like I did, that RetouchPro is a great place to hang out! There is a ton of information to be found by wandering through the forums (and the rest of the site!) You won’t be the first person to get lost looking through old threads – only to look up and discover that 3-4 hours have passed!
But even better than the information in the archives are the people you’ll meet here! We have some of the nicest people on the web here, so don’t be shy about introducing yourself. You’re sure to get a warm welcome!
To make it a little easier for you to find your way around the forums, I’ve put together some tips and general information. These are all things that you could learn by browsing through the site, but I thought I’d try to make it a little easier for you by putting them all in one place.
1. The Great and Powerful OZ (aka the Janitor) of this site is Doug. He has posted a good overview of tips for participation in these forums, so be sure to check them out. You’ll find him helpful and attentive to any problems you might run into, so don’t be afraid of him! You can reach him either through the “Contact” link on the main menu or by sending him a Private Message (PM).
2. I’m only one of several Moderators here at RetouchPro. I am by no means an expert, but I love to help out in any way I can – just like all of the moderators here. When you click on Forums in the menu bar, you’ll be brought to the Forums main page with a list of the moderators in the right hand column next to the forum section they are responsible for. The easiest way for you to contact any of us is the click on the “Forum Leaders” link at the very bottom of the Forums main page. This will give you a full list of the moderators along with a button to send a PM to each. There is also a PM button at the bottom of every post that anyone makes. If you ever have a question or feel lost and/or confused, please don’t hesitate to send me a PM asking for help. I try to check messages multiple times per day, but some days I’m not able to check as often as I’d like. In any case, I promise to get back to you just as soon as possibly I can.
3. At the bottom of the Forums main page you’ll see a list of forum members currently online. The moderators are shown in bold type; our Wizard (Doug) is shown in bold and italicized type. Clicking on a name will bring you to the profile page for that forum member, where you will find links for PM, e-mail, websites and other info that the member has chosen to share.
4. User CP (User Control Panel), at the bottom of the forum menu panel, lets you change any of your preferences. It also lets you edit your buddy lists and turn off forum notifications. You’ll also find the ability to add and/or modify your avatar, too, under the “Edit Options” tab. An avatar is the little picture you see below many members' names. For more information on avatars, click here. If you choose to create your own avatar (many members have), remember that the rule of “50 by 50 pixels or 20K bytes (whichever is smaller)” is very strict. Your avatar will not load if your image file is larger than that. As always, if you need help, feel free to PM me or post your question in the forum. (If you search on “avatar” in the forums, you’ll see that you’re not the first person to ask questions about it! )
5. The Critiques/Opinions/Help Requested section of the RetouchPro Forums is where you get to ask for personalized help or critiques of your work. Please be as specific as you can when requesting help or feedback. That way, members can focus their comments on what will help you most. If you get feedback that you don’t understand, don’t hesitate to ask for clarification! We really do want to help and if our explanation just confuses you more, then we’d like to know so that we can try explaining in a different way!
Also, in this section in particular, it is very helpful to post an example image that visually shows what you are requesting help with. You can upload one image along with your post; it must be under 100KB in size, so you will find that JPG is probably your best option for format – and you may need to either reduce the quality you save the image at and/or reduce the size of the image. (Don’t worry if you’re not able to get your image to load the first time you try! It happens to just about everyone and you’ll get lots of helpful comments if you’re having difficulty.) If you want to include more than one image, you’ll have to post a reply to your thread to add more. The limit is one image per post, but there is no limit on the number of posts. You may also post a URL to point to an image elsewhere on the web, though if you are able to include an image with your post, that makes it easier for others later on when they are trying to learn from the thread. (This is because in our experience, URL’s are often deleted after members have the information they need.)
6. The RetouchPro Forums are a seemingly endless archive of posts on a very wide variety of subjects. I know from personal experience that the sheer amount of information available can be intimidating. If you’re looking for a particular subject and can’t find it, the first thing to do is perform a search (found in the Forum menu). If you can’t find what you’re looking for, feel free to PM me and I’ll help you look. Or, start a thread on the subject you’re wondering about. If there are other threads with similar info, often times other members will point you to them.
7. Ask questions! Here at RetouchPro, we believe that the only “stupid question” is the one you never ask. If you’ve got a question, you can bet that at least one other person does too. And sometimes, what you think is a “simple question” actually spawns an in-depth discussion that is helpful to everyone.
8. A lot of times, the discussions in threads will wander just like real life conversations. Try to keep in mind that if the thread is on one subject, and the conversation wanders off onto an entirely different subject, any question you ask about that subject may not have the best chance of being answered, simply because someone who knows about flatbed scanners, for example, may not happen to wander through a thread on making your photos look like art. If you find yourself saying, “oh, btw, what about….,” you should start a new thread, in an appropriate place, with a clear title, in order to give yourself the best chance of getting a good answer. (You may also find the moderators will split threads which have wandered off-topic. So, don’t be surprised if you find a discussion you’ve been following has been moved to a new thread with a new topic.)
9. The most unique (and appealing) thing about RetouchPro is that unlike so many places on the Internet, the people here are all nice! We have some of the kindest, helpful, most thoughtful members I’ve ever come across (and I’ve done a lot of “traveling” on the web.) Egos are checked at the door, and respect and courtesy are highly valued here. We hope you’ll feel welcomed and that you’ll want to become a regular part of the RetouchPro family.
As I mentioned above, I’m not an expert waiting to impart all-knowing wisdom to everyone who stumbles across my path. But I do have a desire to help others achieve their goals and hope that I can help someone along the way, either with knowledge or moral support. I have received a lot of support of all kinds from the RetouchPro family and I only hope I can do the same for others.
So, come along and join the fun! You won’t regret it, I promise!
Jeanie
I think you’ll discover, just like I did, that RetouchPro is a great place to hang out! There is a ton of information to be found by wandering through the forums (and the rest of the site!) You won’t be the first person to get lost looking through old threads – only to look up and discover that 3-4 hours have passed!
But even better than the information in the archives are the people you’ll meet here! We have some of the nicest people on the web here, so don’t be shy about introducing yourself. You’re sure to get a warm welcome!
To make it a little easier for you to find your way around the forums, I’ve put together some tips and general information. These are all things that you could learn by browsing through the site, but I thought I’d try to make it a little easier for you by putting them all in one place.
1. The Great and Powerful OZ (aka the Janitor) of this site is Doug. He has posted a good overview of tips for participation in these forums, so be sure to check them out. You’ll find him helpful and attentive to any problems you might run into, so don’t be afraid of him!
You can reach him either through the “Contact” link on the main menu or by sending him a Private Message (PM). 2. I’m only one of several Moderators here at RetouchPro. I am by no means an expert, but I love to help out in any way I can – just like all of the moderators here. When you click on Forums in the menu bar, you’ll be brought to the Forums main page with a list of the moderators in the right hand column next to the forum section they are responsible for. The easiest way for you to contact any of us is the click on the “Forum Leaders” link at the very bottom of the Forums main page. This will give you a full list of the moderators along with a button to send a PM to each. There is also a PM button at the bottom of every post that anyone makes. If you ever have a question or feel lost and/or confused, please don’t hesitate to send me a PM asking for help. I try to check messages multiple times per day, but some days I’m not able to check as often as I’d like. In any case, I promise to get back to you just as soon as possibly I can.
3. At the bottom of the Forums main page you’ll see a list of forum members currently online. The moderators are shown in bold type; our Wizard (Doug) is shown in bold and italicized type. Clicking on a name will bring you to the profile page for that forum member, where you will find links for PM, e-mail, websites and other info that the member has chosen to share.
4. User CP (User Control Panel), at the bottom of the forum menu panel, lets you change any of your preferences. It also lets you edit your buddy lists and turn off forum notifications. You’ll also find the ability to add and/or modify your avatar, too, under the “Edit Options” tab. An avatar is the little picture you see below many members' names. For more information on avatars, click here. If you choose to create your own avatar (many members have), remember that the rule of “50 by 50 pixels or 20K bytes (whichever is smaller)” is very strict. Your avatar will not load if your image file is larger than that. As always, if you need help, feel free to PM me or post your question in the forum. (If you search on “avatar” in the forums, you’ll see that you’re not the first person to ask questions about it!
)5. The Critiques/Opinions/Help Requested section of the RetouchPro Forums is where you get to ask for personalized help or critiques of your work. Please be as specific as you can when requesting help or feedback. That way, members can focus their comments on what will help you most. If you get feedback that you don’t understand, don’t hesitate to ask for clarification! We really do want to help and if our explanation just confuses you more, then we’d like to know so that we can try explaining in a different way!
Also, in this section in particular, it is very helpful to post an example image that visually shows what you are requesting help with. You can upload one image along with your post; it must be under 100KB in size, so you will find that JPG is probably your best option for format – and you may need to either reduce the quality you save the image at and/or reduce the size of the image. (Don’t worry if you’re not able to get your image to load the first time you try! It happens to just about everyone and you’ll get lots of helpful comments if you’re having difficulty.) If you want to include more than one image, you’ll have to post a reply to your thread to add more. The limit is one image per post, but there is no limit on the number of posts.
You may also post a URL to point to an image elsewhere on the web, though if you are able to include an image with your post, that makes it easier for others later on when they are trying to learn from the thread. (This is because in our experience, URL’s are often deleted after members have the information they need.) 6. The RetouchPro Forums are a seemingly endless archive of posts on a very wide variety of subjects. I know from personal experience that the sheer amount of information available can be intimidating. If you’re looking for a particular subject and can’t find it, the first thing to do is perform a search (found in the Forum menu). If you can’t find what you’re looking for, feel free to PM me and I’ll help you look. Or, start a thread on the subject you’re wondering about. If there are other threads with similar info, often times other members will point you to them.
7. Ask questions! Here at RetouchPro, we believe that the only “stupid question” is the one you never ask. If you’ve got a question, you can bet that at least one other person does too. And sometimes, what you think is a “simple question” actually spawns an in-depth discussion that is helpful to everyone.
8. A lot of times, the discussions in threads will wander just like real life conversations. Try to keep in mind that if the thread is on one subject, and the conversation wanders off onto an entirely different subject, any question you ask about that subject may not have the best chance of being answered, simply because someone who knows about flatbed scanners, for example, may not happen to wander through a thread on making your photos look like art. If you find yourself saying, “oh, btw, what about….,” you should start a new thread, in an appropriate place, with a clear title, in order to give yourself the best chance of getting a good answer. (You may also find the moderators will split threads which have wandered off-topic. So, don’t be surprised if you find a discussion you’ve been following has been moved to a new thread with a new topic.)
9. The most unique (and appealing) thing about RetouchPro is that unlike so many places on the Internet, the people here are all nice! We have some of the kindest, helpful, most thoughtful members I’ve ever come across (and I’ve done a lot of “traveling” on the web.) Egos are checked at the door, and respect and courtesy are highly valued here. We hope you’ll feel welcomed and that you’ll want to become a regular part of the RetouchPro family.
As I mentioned above, I’m not an expert waiting to impart all-knowing wisdom to everyone who stumbles across my path. But I do have a desire to help others achieve their goals and hope that I can help someone along the way, either with knowledge or moral support. I have received a lot of support of all kinds from the RetouchPro family and I only hope I can do the same for others.
So, come along and join the fun! You won’t regret it, I promise!
Jeanie
Trine
(And I see you already fit right in helping one another. 
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