New and have some Q's

Hey im new to this thread and really have been wanting dreads for a long time. I finally convinced my parents to let me go through with it and i am stoked. Lets see my hair is 4 inches in the front and 2.5-3 in the back or so... I want to know how long my hair should be to start, ive heard i could do it at 3 inches. and weather to do backcombing or just go natural. I would like to see pic's of people who have just weant the natural way with no backcombing or anything. and any suggestions you have for my adventure.
-thanks

 

oh and ha by the way my name is William or Will

 

Nice to meet you Will. This is a fairly common question and I know it has been answered many times. When that happens we usually just ask you to read our stickies(on the top of the front page of our forum). A lot of useful information is in here for anyone who is just starting out.
http://www.hipforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=233383