Newbies, as everyone knows, are everywhere. Everyone was a newbie once, and probably remember how it feels-a little confused, maybe a bit nervous and excited? Maybe you lurked around the site for a while, then introduced yourself when you were more comfortable, or just hopped right in. But newbies are important to many websites- which is just why there needs to be an article devoted especially to them- those new thinkers that are a total asset to an online community.
Meet Laiquendi~Rodwen and Shafan, two wondernessaful newbies from (where else?) the Realm of Nessa! They’ve been site members less than four months, and realm members even less time. Why did they join Nessa? How were the welcomed? Are they happy now? Let’s see what Laiquendi and Shafan have to say.

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“Once there was a newbie named Laiquendi~Rodwen on this very website. She did as all newbies should, and decided to post an introduction on the Newbies forum, the way her welcome letter had recommended. After carefully typing out some good information about herself, Laiquendi sat back and waited for people to reply. And reply they did! In fact, so many people replied, with all sorts of suggestions to join the book forum, or to get involved in roleplaying, or to do every other thing, that Laiquendi was fairly disconcerted. One suggestion, repeated several times, was to find a realm. And Laiquendi did.
In case you didn’t guess, Laiquendi~Rodwen is me. I have been a member of COE since early June, and a member of Nessa since early July. Why did I join Nessa? After I took the realms quiz a few times and always got different answers, I decided to just read the info on the realms and ignore the quiz entirely. Nessa was the very first realm I looked at, and I was drawn to their random sense of humor and the promise of a smallish group. But truly, what really finished it for me was the pop tarts. I eat poptarts nearly every single day, and a whole realm of people like that? Nessa sounded great!

Partway through July, I found some time, and finally hopped onto the Nessa message boards, not sure what exactly to expect. What if they didn’t like me, or if I had picked the wrong realm? I posted a brief introduction on the aptly named Getting to Know You thread, and checked back in a few days to see what everyone had to say. There turned out to be another Rodwen in the realm, and a few others remarked that based on what I had said, I would be just perfect. This quickly eliminated any nervousness I could possibly have about joining, and right away joined the Tale of the Maidens of Nessa, became a Sponge Fighter, and started posting on many of the forum games.
I’m still one of the newest Nessians, and one of the youngest as well. I discovered Nessa to be a fantastic place where I could relax and let loose my inner sillyness. My wish, for all the incoming Newbies, is that they find the realm that’s perfect for them, whether they be nature lovers, pranksters, artists, or any and everything else. Nessa the perfect realm for me. “
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“Shafan stared at her screen considering which one of the Realms she should choose to become a member of. She did not know who all of the Valar were and did not really understand what these Realms were. This made her decision all the more difficult to make. As she ran through the Realm descriptions one caught her eye “Dance into the Realm of Nessa where our close knit caring community is quick to befriend and even quicker to share in a nice laugh”. She clicked on the Realm of Nessa and upon looking at its page she began to look over all of the information there. Llamas? Why this is all so absurd but it is me! So Shafan decided to join this Realm and soon found herself posting in the “Getting To Know You” thread. As soon as she posted her introduction post she found she was nervous and afraid that she would not fit in well. She waited with bated breath for responses to her post to come in.

I am this Shafan. I was very nervous upon becoming a member of the Realm of Nessa but I found that the Nessians were described to a tee by the Realm description. They really are a “close knit, caring community” and they have considered me a part of this community since the day I joined. After the warm welcome members gave me and looking around the board I became confident that I had chosen the right Realm to join. I soon joined the roleplay parody called the Tales of the Maidens of Nessa and adopted one of the smilies in another fun ungoing activity. I am also looking forward to learning the ways of being a sponge fighter after obtaining a sponge of my own as well as sharing stories I have written and reading those others have written in “The Golden Quill”.

Whether you are looking for a group that shares your interests in so much more than the Lord of the Rings or helpful members who are more than happy to answer any questions you may have and immediately make you feel at home, you should should look into joining one of the fourteen Realms. Though the Realm of Nessa has been the perfect place for me you should consider all of the Realms before becoming a member of any one. In choosing a Realm you should always consider which one would be the perfect place for you to be a member of. If you do this you should have as positive of an experience as I did!”

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