Have the Mods Decided on a Policy on Newbies and Profiles yet?
It is getting somewhat discouraging, for me at least when I try to answer questions, then find out later that the newbies haven't filled out their profile. And on top of that, very seldom do I get any feedback on whether they even read my answers or not. The games are easy and fun for me, and get me a lot of votes, but the grammar questions are starting to grab me in a negative way.
Maybe I am misinformed, but I thought that the main purpose of this forum was to help learners with their questions, and correct their attempts at answering them. I realize that not every member is attracted to every grammar problem, that's OK, I don't expect to get a lot of votes on these. I just want to help. But when these people won't even give you the courtesy of a comment. Sheesh! Couldn't there appear on the main webpage something about filling in a profile, and responding with a comment as a courtesy to those who try to give good answers?
OK. Está bien. End of Rant. Anybody else feel like I do?
8 Answers
Dani - how can we make members do what we think is best?
The moderators do not decide on the rules the administrators do.
Often when moderators try to instil some discipline and good manners we often get sarcastic remarks and unhelpful comments from other members.
Just keep up your good work please. 
It does my old heart good to see that there are still great members here that care,
Members who care about SD and work hard as we mods do to keep it on track.
The solution from the point of view of the moderators that view every post every
day is quite simple , and that is to realise that there are two types of members
There are those members that join with the desire to learn Spanish/English and
are willing to fill out their profile and share in the forum asking and answering
questions they quickly learn the rules and show their gratitude with comments
of appreciation .Then there are the students most of whom are here merely to
have their homework corrected , they disappear and then reappear in another
guise for their next assignment to be done for them, they remain anonymous
If the members would just simply ask the newbies to fill out their profile before
they complete their homework then we may get a better response
I send a PM to almost every newbie asking for a reply ,I rarely ever get a reply
I did this morning from Debbie she had filled out her profile and will be a good
member, the profile is important for many reasons but mainly it shows a
commitment to learning a language and helping others to learn also.
¡Bien dicho, Daniela! 
All of these suggestions need to be sent in to the administrators through the feedback button to your right. It does absolutely no good to keep re-hashing this here in the forum because they are the only ones that can make changes like this. I have asked members to do this time and again.
Please don't misunderstand me. These are great suggestions, but they will only be considered if you send them in. I understand your frustration about new members not saying thank you or even acknowledging your help, but some folks may never do that.
As far as the purpose of this forum, it is here to help us learn Spanish or English. There are many great resources here to help accomplish this and all for Free. So, please, please send in those suggestions.
Another thing, the rules clearly state that homework questions will only receive help once the OP has made an attempt. I see many answering these questions anyway. That only adds to the problem.
There is no right or wrong answer. I try and remain optimistic, but it can be dispiriting. I think on a post Dani talked about points and clearly that is a way to acknowledge the effort someone has made.
My laptop is sick at the moment so I cannot post pictures and am limited as to when I can post links.
There are some games where it is a word and a picture + points - not even a comment or a sentence - I have tried to join in and they can be good for vocabulary and amusing.
However, when you make an effort to answer a new members query and take some time and there is no acknowledgement whatsoever - not even a negative one - you can become jaded.
But there have been times when I have given new members time and have had a thanks - this does not have to be points because when they are brand new they may not realise the custom.
I don't know how we should respond - in a selfish way if I believe the new member is a fluent Spanish speaker I try to cherish them!
As I have laptop trouble I may just look from the sidelines for a while but it would oil the wheels if there are clear guidelines as to how to thank.
Speaking of which I have quuestions where I haven't chosen the best answer and have searched answers on the subject but haven't found out how to do so!
After reading carefully all these great suggestions, which have probably been stated time and time again by various ones on similar posts, The only thing I can think of is calling them "Guidelines for New Users" and state them as follows.
First: Spanish dict is not a translation service; nor do we do homework for you. There is a "translator" available when you enter the site. We will also correct your homework for you
Second: Before asking your question, please fill out your profile, giving your gender and Your levels of English and Spanish. This is important for us to be able answer your question in the language you best understand.
Third: As a courtesy to the person(s) answering your question, please leave a comment as to whether you are satisfied with the answer or desire more information.
Those are the guidelines I would put up for the would be user. Now if we can get the management to place these guidelines on the "Ask a Question" box, I think the problem will be solved. A Spanish translation could also be provided.
Now, regarding using the feedback button. I, Daniela, am nothing to these administrators, and have made suggestions from time to time, without response, but (and I may be totally wrong on this) if all three mods happen to like my guidelines and would make the suggestion that these guidelines be placed in the Ask A Question area, who knows what good things could happen? It wouldn't hurt!
Thanks for the wonderful responses. ??
There is at least one way we could try to insist that newbies (new members) complete their profile but it would only be really effective if we all work together on this and stand in unity and solidarity and be consistent:
We all refuse to answer any of their homework questions until and unless they fill in their basic profile imformation: no profile completed, no help given!!!! !
These 'fly by night'/'one night stand' members probably don't care if they receive any votes as their main motive seems to be to get someone else to do their homework while they take the credit for any success they achieve ...how the heck do they think they will ever nae any progress that way in learning any language?!!!
Our only effective tool is to withhold help until they cooperate by providing us with their basic details of gender and levels of competency!
There is a risk that we could even lose some of them but how could we possibly help them in any effective way anyway without knowing their levels of competency in Spanish and English ...we are just shooting in the dark; which is a total waste of our time and effort!
Finally, the best way would be that each newbie would not be able to post /were blocked from being to post any question until these basic details had been completed and that this would be made clear to them when 1 they first entered the site and 2 repeatedly mentioned whenever they tried to post a question. After all, many language sites that require monthly/yearly subscriptions do this!
Please don't vote for me; just enjoy sharing 
I get scared when Danisaurus gets mad. I think we all need to pay serious attention to what she's saying and address her concerns. Remember, she's let us all know in word of the day that she's a meat eating Velociraptor. 
