ughhhh... waiting on my full membership approval or unapproval :(

It takes a while first of all.

Second, if you've posted a lot in helping people out it should go through. But like they said, don't just post in chit chat. Full members contribute to the community as well as socialize.

Also might want to check your status request in the help and feedback forum.

 

It may take a while. There's a guy I know of who joined before I did and he's still waiting for full membership. I got mine sometime in July, and it took about 3 weeks IIRC.

 

What's even the difference? Just curious...

 

Private messages (sending and receiving) and commenting on pictures are a start.

Chat room too.

 

Why are sooooo many people so obsessed with Full Membership?

It really isn't all that great. PM and chat, I hardly ever use either. Picture comments are rare too.

The chat room is often empty, or else filled with cliquey type people who don't welcome newcomers into their conversations.

PM is not very useful, most conversations can be done by wall postings. You can make your wall private if you don't want snoopers to read it.

You're really not missing out on the action by being a Regular Member.

 

That is one thing I don't understand. Why must people be cliquey in the chat room when we are a part of a community that is suppose to help one another, not keep anyone out.

 

Well, I want to PM and chat, so I will apply when I reach 50 posts. It's slow going though. I find I mostly have relevant things to say only in the older lgbt threads.

 

It took a month and a half for me and that was in October last year. Not sure about now.

Though there isn't much you're missing out on.

 

hope it goes well

 

It's not so much deliberate "cliquiness," as people in the chat room often are already friends, have history and extensive previous conversations between each other and will talk more naturally at a pace that others might not be able to keep up with.

In the chat room, it's not that you're likely to be deliberately excluded (unless you make a total fool of yourself by being mean/offensive/inappropriate/, which happens rather rarely), it's just that the others might be engrossed with each other, which can generally be remedied by just joining in and asking the others to fill in the gaps.

Anyway, to be more relevant to the original point, being a full member doesn't greatly enhance EC, so don't expect it to be miraculously better and more interesting.

 

Personally I do use pms, picture comments and I just like full member status because it feels like a badge of honor. Call me what you will I don't find it trivial although it won't make or break your experience here.

 

We've been taking a while on the full member apps. We are a bit shorthanded as it is and since many of us are in school, exams are coming up. We have been taking just over a month for apps right now. You'll hear from us if you get approved or denied. So, bear with us, and we will get you your response soon

 

Mine took 3-4 weeks to be approved, which is no real worry. Some people use the different full membership benefits more than others, I don't use the PM much, or the picture comments, but use the chat room. For most it is the other way around, but anyway you can still utilise most of the benefits on the website without full membership.

At evening times in UK time the chat often has numerous people in. The whole 'clique' thing is completely rubbish and fictitious, as I started using the chat 3 weeks or so ago and everyone was kind and welcoming to me. I use the chat room often and everyone is always welcoming.

 

I'm still waiting too...
I think I've been waiting for 4-5 weeks.

 

I had to wait for about 2 months but for me there weren't problems.

Yeah, for this I often don't go to the chat.

 

I think there is a genuine cliquiness to the chat room, even if not deliberate. If someone new enters the chat room whom the 'usuals' don't recognize, rarely will they even say hello. (Maybe a staff member will say hello.) There's really no attempt to give newcomers an opening to discuss anything or enter into conversations.

I've been a member of this forum for almost two years now, over 2,600 posts, but I feel like an alien when I enter the chat room.

There was one time where it was just me and a few other relative 'outsiders' to chat in the room, and we made sure to engage everyone in the conversation so nobody would feel left out. In fact I took charge myself to make sure everyone had a voice, and I'm the shyest person alive. That was one positive experience in the chat room.

Every other time I've entered the chat I've felt like was just eavesdropping and interrupting if I dared utter a word.

---------- Post added 15th Apr 2014 at 08:50 PM ----------

Ya, the 'clique' exists, and it's unfortunate. I would like to be able to use the chat room but I'm too shy to say anything lest I interrupt a conversation or bring up some other subject the 'clique' doesn't care about and just ignores me.

 

I think clique is the wrong word, and your impression of the chatroom isnt the same as mine.

When someone comes into the chatroom people say "hi" almost every time. Sometimes folks will ask how that person is but a large number of new people dont even say hi, and vanish within a minute. You also have to remember that chances are theres a conversation going on before you enter, and to me its not reasonable to expect the world to stop and focus entirely on whos just entered.

Conversation is a two way street, if one side doesnt put the effort in its just not gonna happen.