Welcome, Neophytes!

Welcome, Neophytes! is a monthly thread dedicated to any newcomers who may happen to stumble across the 'Blog. It is a place where they can first post, introducing themselves and asking any questions they might have about the format of the 'Blog. Any neophytes (which comes from the Greek word neophytus, which means newly converted - a very apt description indeed) are usually heartily pied by existing MBers, who are called paleos if they have been posting for over six months. MB veterans, as they are referred to, are sometimes overeager to welcome any neophytes, and it is often necessary for one of the GAPAs to remind the paleos to 'use this thread only to welcome newcomers as they arrive and answer questions they ask': The thread itself is here.

Pies
Once a neophyte arrives and presents enself to the world of MB, en is usually hailed with a flurry of symbolic pies thrown from over-excited paleos wanting to give en a first impression. MBers' love of pies can be directly traced back to the prankster Muse Kokopelli, whose favourite activity is pie-throwing. There are even separate threads dedicated solely to pie-throwing, such as 'Pie Wars' and 'World of Piecraft'. Many of MB's ideas of friendliness can be derived from Koko himself, as pies are used in almost every situation. There is always the fear, of course, that neophytes might be scared off by the excessive use of pies, but if they are true MBers at heart, they will understand and accept this.

Often MBers will introduce themselves as well as MuseBlog's resident ______, giving the newcomers an idea of what sort of interests there are on MB.

H*G*2*M*B
HG2MB stands for Hitchhiker's Guide to MuseBlog, a reference to the popular series 'Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' by Douglas Adams, which is much adored on MB, with ideas and names such as Mostly Harmless being used. Neophytes are recommended to visit this page and learn all about what being an MBer is about. The subtitle on the thread, which can be found here: http://www.musefanpage.com/blog/?page_id=89, is 'Useful Information for Optimizing Your Experience'. Sections include The Essentials, Not Exactly Essential, but Informative (at least until someone started singing the Llama Song), Words You Need to Know (a sort of MB glossary, also found here: http://www.musefanpage.com/blog/?page_id=1790), Frequently Asked Questions, and Smiley and Code Tricks, which are now to be found on a separate thread: http://www.musefanpage.com/blog/?page_id=1824.