[lorend]

MacInsiders is going to be involved with the Mission to Mac talks this upcoming summer, and we need your help! We would like to get testimonials from our users, to talk about what makes MacInsiders unique and useful to you, as well as how you found us and what keeps you coming back!

We would also like to include your year, MI username, and program as of the 2009/2010 year. If you are worried about privacy purposes, you can do a combination of J. Smith or Joe S. if you feel more comfortable.

Here is a sample testimonial from IA jhan523:

In the summer of 2008 I was searching the internet for information on McMaster, specifically admission and residence information. That was when I happened to stumble across MacInsiders. I was really impressed with the amount of helpfulness students were giving each other and I thought it was awesome how I could get answers from students already attending McMaster. It's really nice to get information from students that have already been through what you yourself are going through. It's also nice to get answers on days that McMaster isn't operating or ridiculously busy. As time went I found the answer to a lot of my questions and I was so grateful for all the help that I wanted to help others in the same way. So I started answering questions. Not only do I help people but I also learn a lot myself when looking for information. Then when Insider Agents were created I thought to myself why not, I help people anyways.

jhan523 (Jeremy Han) Honours Molecular Biology and Genetics, II


This is what I wrote:

I first stumbled on MacInsiders in the summer of 2007, and was very impressed with the capacity it had to help students on a peer-to-peer basis. There were forums where students could ask questions, and articles that had first-person experiences of Mac students. After helping write some articles for the site, I was approached by the founder, Chad Fullerton, to become an executive member, and since then have helped the site grow exponentially.

Aside from forums and articles, we now have course reviews, over 7000 users that encompass undergrads, grad students, faculty and McMaster staff. MacInsiders is a truly unique website, and I wished the university I am attending for my Masters had something similar I could utilize.

lorend (Danielle Lorenz) English/Cultural Studies and Anthropology with a minor in Indigenous Studies, V

Please post your replies in this announcement, or if you feel more comfortable you can PM myself, Chad, or Temara.

Thanks in advance!
MacInsiders Exec

[rrtt]

I had just finished my first set of midterms, I was frustrated with my hour long commute, and I felt like I was carrying the world on top of my shoulders when I first stumbled across MacInsiders in November 2008. Filled with helpful members, valuable advice and useful information, MacInsiders felt like a Godsend. MI made the transition from high school to university much easier, and its warm and welcoming atmosphere kept me coming back. I felt confident that I could always turn to MI when I needed a quick answer to a question, advice on university life, a cure to my boredom or an update on campus events. When I noticed that MI was looking for volunteers, I immediately knew that I wanted to help out and give back to this exceptional website. With over 200 course reviews, interesting articles, daily announcements and riveting discussion threads, I am proud to say that I am a part of MacInsiders.

rrtt (Rishima Talwar) Honours Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, II

[goodnews.inc]

Back in May 2009, I was stuck deciding both on a university, and a path to pick. While I fell in love with McMaster's campus, I had more questions than answers. While attempting to Google the keywords of my many queries, I found MacInsiders. At first I was stunned by the fact that there actually was a forum where people from one specific university would connect and help each other. But even more impressive was how dedicated people were to helping each other. Most of these people didn't know me and had never met me, but seemed incredibly ready to help me and many others like me with questions that we trouble getting answered elsewhere. When MI began accepting applications for an IA, it wasn't something to think twice about. I felt home before my first day of classes had begun, my first university friendships were formed and my first textbooks were bought. I couldn't imagine not being a part of it.

- goodnews.inc (Bushra Habib); Business I.

[lorend]

The more testimonials we can get from our users, the better! We really want to see MI grow to even larger proportions this year, so please help us out!

[Marlowe]

Even though I started attending Mac in September 2008, I wasn't aware of MacInsiders until my second year. I had stumbled upon it a few times, but had never really been interested enough to make an account. Then one day a friend on Facebook posted a link to a thread discussing the potential layoff of several sessional professors, and I decided to check it out. What followed was unlike almost every other internet argument I had ever seen: people were respectful, eloquent, and actually took the time to write well thought out responses. From that moment I was hooked.

MacInsiders is a place where you'll have discussions with people who you might actually know, where everyone is somewhat respectful, and where everyone was at least intelligent enough to get into university. And on top of that you can actually come here to get help with course selection from others in your program, help navigating the administration from people who have had the same problems, and its way more current than the Sil! Its these things that make MI an awesome resource that everyone should take advantage of.