That is terrible… you really know how to wind someone up! 
Thanks Robert knew I could rely on you… so no more counting the days? 
3 Likes
Just hide it with CSS if you don’t like it 
3 Likes
You are slowly putting yourself in an impossible situation 
So, now, you said you actually liked the feature, and the problem is only WHAT is written. Please come up with something better than what is currently used and that you rate as “terrible”.
My guess is that it won’t be very easy. Everybody is now watching what you can come up with Better than “terrible”, that shouldn’t be so hard, hey ?
3 Likes
Yes you are right, if you really do want me to explain, I shall explain…
I took objection to the 4 months not posted banner (nothing to brag about) and also seen behind an OP’s back.
But having now expressed my concern I do see the plus side and I do like the welcome feature and the positive comments .
So I believe the word is " Stalemate" 
6 Likes
As the poster (in the new user and first time posting scenario, anyway), you wouldn’t see it though – only existing users with trust level 2 can see that post notice.
You can also edit any text in Discourse to whatever copy you like, if you prefer different words. Simply visit Admin, Customize, Text.
8 Likes
Does that make it acceptable? (depending on the message)
I saw a blue banner for someone that had not posted for months and it made me feel uncomfortable. Thank goodness they (the OP) could not see it!
1 Like
I’m sorry you feel that way.
It makes me happy to see it, because it reminds me to encourage people who return by replying to them and/or liking their post, and I consider it good news when people return.
9 Likes
If I was the OP I would hate to be patronised like that.
1 Like
You’re the first person who has ever reacted that way to it that I know of. 
Generally people like to be acknowledged. What tends to make people quit communities is being ignored.
7 Likes
Brilliant a breath of fresh air…
Please don’t get me wrong I love being acknowledged.
I can’t get or understand the OMG he or she has posted after all this time rubbish or philosophy. Why do they need an accolade or to be shown up? In fact why mention it at all…does that make their contribution to the forum more special than anyone elses?
But you have already confirmed this is behind the OP’s back they do not see the banner or know that they are being “acknowledged” .
If it really bothers you, edit your site’s CSS so the banner is never visible. Done and done.
3 Likes
Already “done” 
THQ
Look at it this way:
A user goes inactive for six months, during their inactivity a number of new posting rules are instituted. Users who ignore the rules draw the ire of members and said infractions are flagged for moderator intervention.
With these notices users will respond contextually, suggesting returning members re-familiarize themselves with the community rules, which gives them a chance to edit their posts and save moderator time with unnecessary reports.
6 Likes
Unless your community is tiny, the honest truth is that one person disappearing for a few months is going to go unnoticed without a special reminder upon first post after return. People, as it turns out, like to be noticed.
12 Likes
I had a similar reaction to these notices when they were first shown here on Meta, and I initially turned them off for my community. After more thinking about it (and seeing them in action here), I decided to turn them on for a week to see how my community reacted.
It turns out I was completely wrong – my community loves them (and so do I, now that I see the positive effect they’ve had).
I’d encourage you to give them a try before deciding for your users what they want.
12 Likes
i read a few discourse forums and they both use the banners. what interests me the most is that a larger percentage of members that post to the thread ignore the banner completely than those who acknowledge the OP. i’m thinking roughly 2 out of 3 or even 3 out of 4 just blow off acknowledging the member in any case. so while people may like being acknowledged, many many people seemingly don’t like acknowledging others. incidentally, if you see a banner forget acknowledging, i hate programmed responses. and it would be a programmed response.
1 Like
Just because they don’t explicitly say “welcome back” or “welcome, new user” people responding may still be using that information to (1) decide whether to answer, (2) change how they answer.
I mostly never say “welcome back” and only sometimes say “welcome new user”, but I use that information when I decide how (and whether) to answer.
7 Likes
Hey, welcome back @djk, I see you haven’t posted here in over 5 years! I wonder what my banner says!
But more seriously, I don’t agree that using this information in your response makes the response a programmed one. Besides, it’s not like the information wasn’t already available for those who wanted to use it. It just takes two clicks to get to their Activity tab after all. When I see somebody returns with a question after a long time (and hence I will have forgotten what they have previously asked about, or that I saw them before at all), I will regularly go to their Activity tab to find out before posting my response.
So I think it’s a helpful feature. And I don’t think it’s bad to hide it from the poster, since the information is generally useless to them.
4 Likes
