New Australian CS Members Welcome Kit

The CouchSurfing Wiki, an informal workspace which anyone can edit.

Contents 1 Welcome to Couch Surfing Australia!!!! 1.1 Getting Started 2 Your Profile: Your CouchSurfing Personality 3 Receiving Inappropriate emails that Spam or Sleaze 3.1 Your Newly created CouchSurfing (CS) Profile 3.2 Receiving your first CS Greeting Email 3.3 A completed profile 3.4 Finding other people 3.5 How did they get their Friends and References? 3.6 What are all the icons in my Profile? 3.7 So then what is a Vouched person? 3.8 What is Verification 3.9 Who and what are CouchSurfing Ambassadors? 3.10 Groups - What are they and why should I join one? 3.11 Setting up a Meeting? 4 Now you want to go CouchSurfing... 4.1 What's the success rate of being accepted to sleep over? 4.2 Should I ask multiple people, or do I have to do it sequentially-wait for one refusal before I ask the next person? 4.3 What if my plans change and I need to cancel; but I may not have internet access (plane delayed, for example, coming in a 10pm, not 6pm). 4.4 When you make a Couch Request people get notified on their home e-mail. So how long do you wait for a reply? 4.5 What about leaving a Reference? 5 More info? How about the Australian CouchSurfing Wikis 6 How does CS Org work? 7 Other Resources

Welcome to Couch Surfing Australia!!!!

Hello, new or experienced CouchSurfer. We have designed this page as a handy reference to help make your CouchSurfing experience a fulfilling one. Keep a link to this page where you can find it, and return to it if you have trouble finding tips or information you need on the CouchSurfing.com web site.

Getting Started

CouchSurfing.com is a web site with policies and procedures you should become familiar with or at least be aware of. In addition to those policies, there are certain courtesies that are important to users of the site and are part of what we might think of as the culture of CouchSurfing. Please read the CouchSurfing Terms of Use and the Guidelines for important information on making the most of the CouchSurfing system.

Please be aware that CouchSurfing is NOT a Dating Site, and that SPAM (unsolicited or inappropriate email) is not acceptable on CouchSurfing.

More information about SPAM and how to deal with it

Your Profile: Your CouchSurfing Personality

Your CouchSurfing profile is the first impression many other CouchSurfers will have of you. It is the face you present to potential hosts and surfers, and as such it is important to fill it out completely, to represent yourself as fully and honestly as possible.

Receiving Inappropriate emails that Spam or Sleaze

Right here at the start we would like to remind everyone that Couch Surfing is NOT a Singles site.

As a new member, especially if you are female, you may find emails coming in from other members offering you to Surf their couch.

If you feel, for any reason, that they are being Sleazy then just press the SPAM button.

The SPAM button doesn't just delete the message - it sends it to the Members Safety Team who can then write directly to the sleazoid...

Sadly there are Sleazoids in every site and CS has its own as well however CS does have a kickarse Safety team to find the scumbags and remove them :)

Your Newly created CouchSurfing (CS) Profile

You have signed up and now have a profile. No doubt you have read the Terms of Use and the Guidelines

Most likely the profile is pretty empty so let's start by filling it with some descriptions and maybe a photo or two.

Why.... because you need to tell the other members who you are so that they can work out if they want you to stay with them or if they want to stay with you.

In Couch Surfing they refer to a "complete profile". Some members request to only be contacted by someone with a complete profile. Read more at this link:What is a Complete Profile?

So, there is your starting point - register and develop a "complete" Profile.

Receiving your first CS Greeting Email

Most likely by now you should have received a greeting from one of the many CouchSurfing Greeters around the planet. Hopefully you will have also received a Greeting from one of your own local Australian Ambassadors as well. If not then something like the following Greeting is probably what they would have sent..... (the links in the following greeting will provide you with an even greater knowledge of how CS works..) and yes, it is long but if you go through it bit by bit you will come out the other end knowing a whole lot more than you do now... :)

Hey G'day

Welcome to CouchSurfing !!!

Most people join CouchSurfing as they begin their preparations to travel, day-dreaming of exotic destinations and the opportunities of meetinglike minded CouchSurfing Friends. Others join whilst on the road having met other CouchSurfing members. And there are others, like myself who enjoy offering my home up to travellers, proud to show them my own small corner of this wonderful planet.

For what ever reason you joined you have now become a member of a very unique family.

As you start to explore the CouchSurfing site you will begin to notice that the more Active members have provided a photo of themselves and have completed their Profiles. They have done this so that you can learn a little more about them before requesting their Couch.

A completed profile

- tells you a lot about someone. An uploaded photo helps as well in providing the essential info you need if you are going to be met by your host at a train station, a cafe or even in their own doorway. Their completed Profile gives you an insight into their interests and the References and Friends comments they have also provides a greater revelation of your Host through the comments of those they have met.

Tell the world who you are by uploading some photos and by editing each of the Elements in your profile. By letting people learn a little more about yourself you will dramatically improve your invitations to be hosted and the requests for others to come surf your own Couch when it is available.

Note that you can upload any photo to represent yourself if you are shy - maybe something that doesn't infringe copyright that might describe you.... such as a photo of your favorite tattoo - but a photo of yourself is handy for when you are being met by your host at a railway station in the bustle of somewhere like Rome or Paris.

On the subject of photos you can upload as many as you want putting them into individual folders. Unlike other online Photo albums all photos are visable to the public so be aware of the content and read the Terms of Use Section 5

Most hosts set in their Privacy preferences to be contacted by "Complete profile only" which filters out anyone sending a surf request with an incomplete profile so do yourself a favour and endeavour to complete your profile.

Would you want to host someone with an incomplete profile with No photo???

Many people on CouchSurfing have a policy to host Members Only. This is due to a number of potential problematic issues with non-members.

Also consider the same if you want to host - no photo or an incomplete profile equals your Couch not being listed in the CouchSearch results if someone is looking for a couch to stay.

We consider the Safety of your Guest and your own safety as a host and future Surfer highly and as such we have developed an Australian Safety page to be read in conjunction with Kepping Safety at the top of the Agenda,Safety for surfersand Safety for Hosts

so now you begin looking at other profiles to get an idea as to how to improve your own...

Finding other people

Most new members like to find themselves once they have put a bit into their profiles. So the best way to explain finding others is to find yourself.

The Location you put in to your profile is linked to a database. If you said you live in Sydney then when CouchSurfers look for a Couch in "Sydney" your couch will appear in the CouchSearch results. However if you do live in Sydney but said your locality was "Bondi" you won't appear in the CouchSearch results unless they added a radius to search as well. Try finding yourself now using the Advanced CouchSearch tool and then try to find yourself within a radius from your nearest town. You will see that you can use the mapping tool as well to see who else is around you. Find your own Marker and click on it - it should open up your own Profile.

In the example above you would be far better off to say that you lived in Sydney to get more Couch Requests. One thing you can do is edit your Marker so that you can say you live in Sydney but your Marker is in Bondi. For more info on how to do this read this

All those others that you found are CouchSurfers like yourself, some with experience already and others with empty profiles. The experienced ones most likely have Friends and References. If you knew any of them you could request being a friend by pressing the "+ add to my Friends" button. A screen will come up asking how you know your friend.

This same screen is the one that you use to give someone a Reference. You can only give Friends a Reference.

How did they get their Friends and References?

They have met face to face with other CouchSurfers. Most likely by travelling, emailing ahead asking for a Couch. There is some great advice here on how to write a CouchRequest and if you are travelling how to be a good Guest. For those staying at home you can make Friends and gain references by being a Good Host

Everyone has to start somewhere. If you're a new member, perhaps try meeting up with other CSers in your city first for coffee and a chat. They'd also be able to give you some advice and I'm sure they'd have some interesting stories to tell. With some luck, you'll also make a new friend and maybe get a reference. People can be hesitant to host someone with absolutely no contacts or references.

What are all the icons in my Profile?

If you put your mouse over any of the icons and Click they should then go off to a screen that tells you what they are (except the Couch Status icon). If you want to see for yourself try it on this profile

So then what is a Vouched person?

A Vouched person is someone who has been met by a Trusted CS member.

It is a Pyramisd that started with the Leadership Team. They met CS members and spent enough time with them to know that they were genuine and could be trusted. They gave them a Trust Vouch.

Over a period of time more and more people were met and given Trust Vouches and those who may have met three of the leadership Team had three Trust Vouches.

Once you have three vouches (and only then) you can vouch for someone else.

And so it grew... so you may meet someone, become a Friend, have a reference given and, if they know you well enough and if they have three vouches or more they may well vouch for you.

and when you have three vouches...who will you vouch for? ..... if you have to think about whether or not you should vouch for someone...don't! You can always vouch later anyway, but you can't take away your vouch, ever unlessyou UnFriend that person.

What is Verification

A profile goes towards developing a statement of trust. In addition to the Profile details you will see their Verification level and see if they have been Vouched for.

Put simply, Verification is the process that FORMALLY and officially proves that the person is actually who they say they are. A non-verified person could actually claim to be anyone they wanted to be.

With a Verified and Vouched for CS member you can be assured a greater security when staying with them, which is great, and just what you need as you set out on a new journey, to new lands meeting new people. It is all about trust. Your trust of them and their trust of you.

At the same time that you email them looking for a Couch they will be looking at your profile for as much similar assurity of trustworthiness along with the Profile information of who you are.

So please consider becoming a Verified member (at least to Level 1 which proves that you live where you live. Level 1 verification is free.

Level 2 Verification proves further that you are who you say you are via a credit card identification check initiated by a transaction (whilst at the same time making a Donation of approx $US25 to CouchSurfing to cover its ongoing admin costs).

If you can't afford Level 2 then just consider a Level 1 Verification as well as building Friendships and References in your profile. You will find that that is more than adequate to begin surfing the couches of the world !!!

Keep in mind that if you do acheive Level 3 Verification and are happy to Donate but can't afford the $25 then Fully Complete your Profile (this will be required) and then write a request to the Contact Us team requesting consideration for a discount telling them of your circumstance.

VERIFICATION DOES NOT VERIFY IF THE PERSON YOU ARE GONNA TRUST AND STAY WITH IS NOT CRAZY, SANE OR MENTALLY STABLE. ITS JUST GONNA VERIFY THAT THE CRAZY, INSANE PERSON STAYS THERE.!

VOUCHING: THE PERSON WHO VOUCHES PERSONALLY INTERACTS WITH PERSON BEING VOUCHED AND TALKS TO THEM. EVERY ONE HAS A POWER TO JUDGE A PERSON BUT IT WONT BE 100% BUT AT LEAST IT WILL BE CLOSE..! You can see who vouched for someone and can then drill down to see if that person has good references and so on...

Who and what are CouchSurfing Ambassadors?

As you will begin to discover, CouchSurfing is a vibrant community. There are members from all over the world. Each Country has its own Ambassadors, being Country, Nomadic and City Ambassadors. These Ambassadors are there to help you if you have any questions.

See http://www.couchsurfing.com/ambassador.html for a full list and this list for your Aussie Ambassadors

For information on the Australian CS Org [1] go to this link

In addition to each country having its own Ambassadors you will find that each country also has set up their own Groups, most of which you are most of which you are able to join.

Groups - What are they and why should I join one?

The groups can be for the City or Region in which you live or for other interest groups. As a starting point have a look at the Australia Group. It is recommended that you join it as it has a lot of links to other good Aussie stuff for later reading as well as being a distribution point for the Monthly Australian CS Newsletter.

Once you join the Australia Group you will see it has State subgroups. Go to the State SubGroup and you will then see there are City, Regional and State interest groups. Join the one for your nearest City as you will then be notified if there are any meetups or get-togethers where you can meet other CSer's, develop Friendships and even gain References or Vouches.

Some of the main ones that you might be interested in joining are Canberra,Sydney,NorthCoast NSW,Northern Territory,Brisbane, Adelaide,Tasmanian Social gatherings,Melbourne and Perth

If you are planning on travelling remember to have a look at the Groups in the Countries where you plan to go. Most often you can learn a lot about a country just by reading the members postings. It also gives you an opportunity to introduce yourself to members in those countries.

Remember that when you send a request, make sure you have read the other person's profile fully, and write them a unique, personal request introducing yourself and explaining why you would like to stay with THEM - remember, you're asking to be a guest in someones home!!

If you are planning on staying home for a while and hosting then have a look at your local Groups and Wiki pages as, no doubt, there is a lot that you can contribute and it gives you a great opportunity to meet up with other local members (which helps in building up your friends lists and improving your trustworthiness in readiness to host or be hosted whilst learning of other members own Couchsurfing experiences).

So, welcome once again. Take your time to wander through the corridors of the CouchSurfing site, don't be afraid to knock on its many doors and feel free to email your Ambassador or the CouchSurfing Admin via the Contact Us Group if you have any questions.

Happy Surfing.

Your Australian CouchSurfing Ambassadors

Yes, it was a bloody long greeting but now you know a whole lot more than most folks who have to wander around all over the place finding all the pages that you just read via the links above.

There is a whole lot of other stuff we put together that you can look at some time and we have put a few more links to General CS nifty stuff down the bottom of the page for you to poke around with.

Setting up a Meeting?

The Meeting HOWTO provides some instructions on how to set up meetings in the CouchSurfing meetings page So you want to get some couchsurfers together, here the basics of how to set up your meeting and communicate with other couchsurfers.

Now you want to go CouchSurfing...

Ken Chen from Panama City:

Some rules of thumb I use:

- Communicate. Being new to Couchsurfing interact a lot using the couchsurfing message system prior to your arrival. Explain how's life in your country, city, at home, what he must expect, share past stories,etc.It builds trust and raport between your future guest and you.

- Be locatable! My cellphone ran out of batteries once and I was expecting the couchsurfer at 6:00pm that day, he arrived at 6:00am, he was alone in an unknown city, new to the project and only had another couchsurfer host cellphone. The other couchsurfer located me trough my roommate and I was able to go and pick him up at the bus station. It could be a bad experience for my guest but it turned out well. Be sure both are sync and fully aware of the time of arrivals, how to locate you, if you can pick them up or you wait for them at home.

-Follow up. Even if the couchsurfer host doesn't show try to contact them a couple of times, just let them know you are concerned about them not showing up and were wondering if everything turned out ok.

-Schedule. I had found people that wants to spent time with you and people that are good on their own, if you have a busy life and really, the only thing you can offer is a bed or a couch explain this on advance, this way, you won't made them feel unwelcomed since you are never home. if that's the case I offer to prepare dinner together the night before their departure to interact more, in this order, I have more material for giving a good reference. if we hadn't the chance while they are staying.

-Staying time. When I lived alone I enjoyed the company, I'd guests that had stayed weeks. But it's important that this would be discussed beforehand, instead of being a long series of excuses and put your guest in some sort of conundrum between them needing a place to stay on a budget and you wanting some time for yourself. Be open, discuss y arrange beforehand the time of hosting. Usually people arriving on a thursday or Friday would want to spent the weekend.

-References, if I've not interacted too much with my guests I leave a neutral reference noting that it was for the lack of time we spent together, if I'd something that could be possibly considered a "Bad experience" I weight a lot if it wasn't because of personal judgments, or flukes, if I consider it could "just be me" then I leave a neutral reference. So far I'm glad I hadn't bad experiences but that what I'll do in such a case.

-References II: Some people would expect a reference immediatly, some won't care about it. The important thing to consider as a host, if that your reference would be important to smooth future hostings to your guest. Also there's the time constraint! sometimes you just leave it for later and when you go to put the reference you wonder what to say!! A standard rating system plus a personal comment reference would be a good addon to the system.

from Derek Broughten in Seattle;

Before you begin to host or surf, you should know that there are resources to ensure that you consistently have,and deliver, a safe and positive experience as a host or surfer.

Links to these resources ("Tips & Resources from the CS Wiki") are at the bottom of this message, and I strongly encourage you to read them. The CouchSurfing experience is built on trust and communication.

If you have planned to stay with or host someone and circumstances arise that change your plans, it is important that you communicate this change to the other member as soon as possible. Another person is depending on you for lodging, or has rearranged his or her day to receive you as a guest, and it is a simple courtesy to let them know in a timely manner if you will not be able to host them or stay with them.

Tips & Resources from the CS Wiki

CouchSurfing Guide: wiki.couchsurfing.com/en/CouchSurfing_Guide Safety for Surfers: wiki.couchsurfing.com/en/Safety_for_surfers How to be a Good Guest: wiki.couchsurfing.com/en/How_to_be_a_good_guest Safety for Hosts: wiki.couchsurfing.com/en/Safety_for_hosts How to be a Good Host: wiki.couchsurfing.com/en/How_to_be_a_good_host

What's the success rate of being accepted to sleep over?

The way CouchSearching works is that there is a mathematical equation that gives you all the available Couches in a place in order of Least Experienced to Most Experienced. As you are a new member this ensures that you come out on top of the list if Your Couch is Definately available and you have a Complete profile. You will be further down the list if you have a Definate Couch and Complete Profile and haven't logged on for over a month and have a poor response rate to CouchRequest emails etc..

So, with this in mind you can customise your Couch Search a bit... It is obvious that Couches are in high demand in some places and not others. If you are going to Sydney in summer then the bulk of Surfers want a Couch at Bondi with someone 20- 25 years old. However, just around the corner at the next beach is a brilliant family (ages 50+) with a spectacular home with the most comfortable of beds (with your own ensuite) that are on the bus route to Bondi that costs $2.10 and takes 12 minutes - or you could walk it along the Coogee - Bondi cliff top walking trail which is spectacular... so, availablity depends on how you search. I know where i would prefer to stay.

The success rate of being accepted is all about your own profile - how have you presented yourself? and how are you asking for a Couch? Most members do themselves a great disservice by presenting as far too cool to have to say anything in their profile and far too cool to appeal to their peers.... what happens here is that they restrict their marketabilty. The "so cool Couches" they want are "way too cool" to accept such a try-hard "cool Surfer". Keep it honest. Write a personalised CouchRequest that indicates you have read the persons profile and actually want to meet them (the Couch is secondary). If you enjoy their company you would probably be just as happy sleeping on the fireside rug with the dog... For more on the Order of Couches that come up from Couch Search go to this link

Should I ask multiple people, or do I have to do it sequentially-wait for one refusal before I ask the next person?

Couch Surfing is part and parcel of travel and needs to be dealt with in the same way - it is all about preparation. Yes, send out multiple requests (being specific in your Couch Search). Think about the info being given to you... what is their % reply rate, when was the last time they had a guest(by checking their most recent reference dates), finsd someone who lives out of town by using the radius field as well (very handy for cities like Paris, London and Amsterdam). Even though you might send Multiples personalise each Couch Request !!

ad when you have secured a couch email each of those you sent a request to and say thanks but you have found a Couch however it would be nice to exchange phone numbers to meet up for a coffee.... people are not offended if you turn them down after they accepted you... they are however very much offended if you accept and don't show up which will most likely end up with you receiving a negative Reference from them!!! Good, clear, timely COMMUNICATION is Vital.

What if my plans change and I need to cancel; but I may not have internet access (plane delayed, for example, coming in a 10pm, not 6pm).

Do what ever you can to contact them. When you confirm a Couch make sure you exchange phone numbers. If youaretravelling without a phone there are ways and means the world over where you can ring them (even in a plane !!) so do it.... It is whatyou would expect for yourself and, if you think to yourself... "no, i wouldn't expect that, it's cool... a phonecall isn't necessary..i'll just show up when i get there"... then, Couchsurfing isn't for you.

When you make a Couch Request people get notified on their home e-mail. So how long do you wait for a reply?

The more Active CouchSurfers, the enthusiasts, log in each day and you can see from their profiles when they have last logged in. If you sent a Couch request two days ago and now see that they have since logged in but have not replied you can pretty much assume that they have read your Couch Request and have decided they don't want you.... They will need to reply though in order to maintain their 100% Reply rate but some #$%^&@'s simply write something like "HHHHHHH" and then send it. If you see this report this member to the Contact Us Team as this is pretty poor behavior.

In your Sent emails you can keep tabs on if someone has read your email or not if it changes from Bold to unbold. However... keep in mind that they might not have read the email in their CS Inbox but have read it in their private email if it was redirected....

What about leaving a Reference?

Before leaving a Reference it is highly recommended that you first read this Information

Writing a reference:

So you've stayed at someone's house; do you have to write them a reference? do they have to write you a reference?

Ideally you should write a reference of your time with them as this contributes towards building a better picture of who they are from the various references they receive. Sadly a lot of CSers forget to leave a Reference as they bustle around on their holidays from one city and couch to the next.

What constitutes an positive/neutral/negative experience?

• - positive-very friendly hosts, welcoming, wanted to meet your needs, went above and beyond merely offering a couch (e.g., gave you info on their city or may have also given you a tour of the city, shared a meal, spent an hour going through your travel arrangements in other parts of their country, possibly allowed you use of the phone, their washing machine or their computer), down to friendly, open, tried to get to know you, would stay there again

• - Neutral--Were accomodating however seem distracted and not at all generous of their home, their time or their conversation - though you weren't made to feel as if you were an intruder you felt that you didn't belong??

• -Negative-- you were made to feel unsafe, unwelcome-- (if this happens leave immediately!); uncomfortable; bed/bath/house was very dirty, had bugs; you felt that your things weren't secure; insulted you; use illegal drugs/other illegal activity; wanted you to share the bed (perhaps with another CSer)

You can read more regarding the reference system here

What if these are subjective experiences?

Some people click, some people don't-- Do you mention that in your review? Would your reference that you are about to give be different if it had been another Surfer other than yourself? Are your own expectaions fair and reasonable? The Hosts might be poor but generous, they might live in simple and possibly unkept surrounds such as a remote village, their "couch" may well be uncomfortable, there may be bugs, you may have to share a bed with children or someone of the same gender, there may be a cultural difference that sees the use of illegal drugs being used such as older members of the community using hashish (Shivaites in India use Bhang daily), their lack of cultural awarenes may have insulted you without knowing (women eating in one room with men eating in another) What if they served only vegetarian food, and you love meat; if they talked incessantly, insisted on watching TV shows you hated, asked personal questions, or barely conversed-- just showed you the couch --do you mention that in your Reference?

After all, the free roof over your head was provided and the bed was as best as it could be, and they were nice enough to host you. But you don't want to go back, because it wasn't a very fun experience. Does that make it a Negative, a neutral or maybe it would be seen as a Positive or Extremely Positive by the next Surfer.

Etiquette: do you have to follow up afterwards to say thanks?

That is entirely up to yourself. To best answer that you need to look at what you would like others to do for you. Possibly with a farewell Thank you nothing else is required however if you made a good friendship then the next email from yourself will be sent in the hope that that friendship continues.

More info? How about the Australian CouchSurfing Wikis

One last thing you might be interested in is the CouchSurfing Wikis. CouchSurfing has its own Wikipaedia and there is some great info stored in there. Australian CS has made good use of it to give Couchsurfers as much info as we can for when they travel to Australia so have a look at the Australia CS Wiki and begin to discover what your fellow CouchSurfers have created to promote their own Cities and Regions.

For an updated list of all Australian CS Wikis go to this link

How does CS Org work?

The Leadership Team is comprised of Casey Fenton, his brother and friends.

The leadership team have Mattthew Brauer as a general manager and other members. A small, tight band who have the final say on everything.

CS monies are primarily sourced from donations and Level Three "verifications". The actual verification process costs less than a $US1 so the "verification fee" of $US25 (yes there is a sliding scale) is actually also a "obligatory" membership fee/donation.

CouchSurfing Org. is, at best, a non-profit organisation however its legal status as such has not been finalised and is the subject of ongoing process. The paper work is supposedly available for scrutiny as are the Finances. More discussion on the Non Profit Status can be found here and by asking the longer term members of this group

CouchSurfing Org has trademarked itself which does lend to questioning its intent to be a marketable and saleable/tradeable enterprise which raises questions in regards to its seeking a "non-profit" status. Further member discussion is available here [2]

The Leadership Team has assembled a base of passionate key volunteers who fill the positions of Co-ordinators to various Teams of CouchSurfing such as Chat, members dispute, Security, Members welcome, Contact US questions, IT technical, verification, Location fixing, Ambassador Management, group management, events etc

These key positions then supervise a "staff" of volunteers who come and go to each of the teams.

Most of the "staff" are Ambassadors who initially apply to be City Ambassadors and then go on to be Nomadic Ambassadors if they are travelling or possibly Country Ambasadors or Global Ambassadors if they are staying put. City Ambassadors are required to do around 10 hours volunteering per month whilst a Country Ambassador is required to do around 20. A general member can volunteer to join the New Members Welcome group or the Contact Us Questions group - performance is not required with the NMW Group however being a member of the CUQ group requires proven continued participation, commitment and measured performance in order to remain in that role.

City Ambassadors are expected to moderate City Groups and, if they choose, greet New Members. It is suggested that when greeeting new members a Greeter explain the benefits of Verification which keeps the "donations" flowing in. In order to be accepted into the New members Welcome group a Greeting needs to be presented which is "acceptable", inclusive of the Verification mention.

Communication from the Leadership Team is, at best, poor. To date the only real communications in the form of "newsletters" have been in regard to the two Collectives. With this in mind the Australian CS Org has determined to provide a more informative monthly Communication channel to its Aussie CSers via the Aussie CS newsletter.

The flow of information within the halls of CS Org is cumbersome at best. The City Ambassadors communicate with the Country Ambassadors who communicate with the Global Ambassadors who communicate with the Leadership Team. The Nomadics chat amoungst themselves. Sadly any quality communication is lost in the "chinese whispers" of back and forth emails and in the archives of groups where previous discussions and postings "fall" off the bottom to not be seen again after a period of a few months which does tend to have repeats of the same questions (and answers) happening again and again from newly joined, enthused and inquisitve members.

If you have any questions at all feel free to email anyone in Couchsurfing from your City Ambasador to the Founder because, at the end of the day, we are all equal in CouchSurfing...

Other Resources

There are some excellent Help Pages designed to further orientate you to CouchSurfing and you can find them in About,Help, Tips and More Tips and Even More Tips

and if you want you can further Customise your Profile

A very big thankyou to Rebecca for initiating this wiki with her excellent questions !!