Bitcoin Forum

As they say, first impression is last impression :P

So one of my friend was asking me about bitcoins and I referred him to some Bitcoin articles and also referred him to bitcointalk forum. After a while he said bitcointalk forum looks really complicated and he had a bit long time trying to explore stuffs.

I guess for a complete noob, the beginner and help section should be linked in a way that makes it easier for them to find :P

This forum is not that complicated to explore and the B&H is not that hard to find. Your friend is probably not used to searching on forums. He/She will get used to it.

Glad you started with this statement, that's exactly why the bitcoin section/bitcoin discussion boards is placed at the top for a first impression (get it :)) the forum main focus is discussion about bitcoin the rest are just secondary so it's left for the user to navigate to the appropriate board if he/she needs help.

No, it wouldn't make sense. The complication is not the bitcointalk forum it's the SMF's interface. It usually takes time for a new user who hasn't used similar forums before to get used to the entire thread/posts/topics views. For instance, check out Black-Hat-Forum it could be quite daunting for a new user to understand it for the first time. Tell your friend to continue using the forum and he'll get used to it.

No. The forum is bitcointalk; it makes sense that the bitcoin section is listed at the top.

I think the best place for a newbie to start isn't particularly the B&H board, but actually by reading some of the many stickied threads in various boards. The ones I would read before posting anything at all are:
Newbies - Read before posting (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1689727.0)
Unofficial list of (official) Bitcointalk.org rules, guidelines, FAQ (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=703657.0)
Forum ranks/positions/badges (What do those shiny coins under my name mean?) (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=178608.0)
FAQ: Everything you need to know about forum 'activity, account ranks and merit (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2766177.0)

Now, I accept that it is difficult for a newbie to navigate and find the above threads (and the many other useful stickies dotted about). I think the best solution to this would be to show every new account a Welcome Message (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5036308.0).

Well, you got to be sure what url your friend navigated because there is a bitcointalk.com (phishing site) while this (the real site) is bitcointalk.org. And there is nothing complicating here as navigation on the site is easy.

It's not forum's fault that your friend is having a hard time exploring the sections.

Back in my newbie day, I didn't experience the same, not even have guidance at all, but take my time to be used on the forum's interface. Your friend is new to the interface so therefore he is not used to it. That's normal.

Why not help and assist him instead? Guide him. Since your friend want an overall spoonfeed to learn the interface, why not help him along the way rather than the forum will adjust for it?  Even 100% noobs will eventually be used to this. Just continue lurking in the forum.

Indeed, I wasn't a forum guy in the beginning, my friend referred me to WO-thread and I just thought the WO was the entire forum LoL, today I know a little better to find my way....

Also whatever thread your in the community is super helpful, just ask and you will receive in this place!

Maybe you're right that Bitcointalk forum may look a bit complicated for Newbie. But I think it's not a reason to move Beginners and help board to the top. As said above, it would be best to display welcome message to new registered users where they can learn basic things about forum, like rules, directions where he can find certain boards and other important stuff.
Now we don't have such welcome message, so you need to help your friend to learn how to use this forum. First of all I recommend to read pinned topics on every board that your friend visit.

Maybe not to the top, but I wouldn't mind if it was located somewhere closer to the top.

Currently Bitcoin Discussion is already filled with newbies asking simple or off-topic questions, or low-value posts anyway. Maybe the top board would have higher discussion quality if more newbies posted in the newbie section before moving on to other sections.

One option could be for users under 15 activity to default to viewing the Beginners & Help section when logging in. They would be free to read and post in other sections freely, but this would encourage those who are new to bitcoin to ask questions in the appropriate section.

Another option could be to place the Beginners section at the top, but only for users with under 15 activity.

Oh yes, Bitcoin Discussion section can have so great impression that everyone who visits this forum maybe will visit it last time because more than 90% of threads in this section are just full of silliest questions and a lot of spam posts are made here. In Bitcoin Discussion and in Trading Discussion sections, in this last one everyone acts like an expert because as I see only one (OP) asks something and then upcoming answers are just simple shit posts without even reading OP's post or other person's posts.
I agree with you OP.

Its a newcomer process, the interface of bitcoin was really simple because it's created with "SMF". If i compare bitcointalk with other sites, bitcointalk is easy to access than other websites. I still can access this forum with a bad connection, I think the problem with your friend, its the first time using this forum.

If your friend tries to find basic information, just use a search feature. With that feature, he can find the spesific answer, but if the problem/question you ask was kinda hard to find the answers he can create a new thread to ask the question/problem.

How about linking the Welcome message (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5036308.0) (written by theymos) in the automatic popped-up Welcome message after a person register new account, and log in the first time? Moreover, like other sites or softwares, there are options to enable or disable welcome message for each time opening/ logging in later? If such links added to real Welcome message, that is amazing, and Newbies will have very warmful and comprehensive Welcome message.
Around one year passed, I don't know the message has been officially applied or not (seems not because theymos has not edidted this part).