When is it rude, lazy or selfish to ask for help on RMweb?

[Arthur]

This is not about being sensitive or upset by terse answers, simply this, if you cannot reply to a request for information or help without being pleasant and gracious, then why bother. I'd rather live on in ignorance than feel somebody had helped me reluctantly.

[MJI]

Well I asked a very specific question recently and had a most excellent reply.

 

http://www.rmweb.co....116-formations/

 

I continued some research from this to decide on a couple of sets to choose from.

 

Note lots of politeness and excellent answers, and a frame by frame analysis of my recording did show 2 116 DMUs with 115 or 127 trailers.

 

The set information ChrisF posted was unbelieably usefull to me as I have no midland region formation information beyond spotting notes and they would have taken me MONTHS to go through IF I still had the paper, and I do know I have lost quite a few, including the set behind my best ever 50 run, I really wanted to model the set but the information has gone forever.

 

My form of payback is to post the 116 conversion in detail to its own thread, starting with my Cardiff set the Tyseley set will follow on, until both are primered.

[grahame]

 

. I'd rather live on in ignorance than feel somebody had helped me reluctantly.

 

 

I doubt people type information on a forum reluctantly - there's no-one forcing them to, and it'd be far easier not to bother with a reply. I'd assume that if they've provided help its because they wanted to. Basically there is no way that you could be sure it was with reluctance.

 

Sure, it might have been a quick and swift answer, direct and to the point without any special niceties, but that might be because the reponder had little time (or even little grasp of diplomatic language).

 

G.

[Arthur]

Graeme, there have been responses to requests for help on this forum which have been terse, ill-tempered and rude. Enough people have posted on this thread testifying to the fact that it subsequently deters them from asking questions. I repeat, if you cannot reply with good grace, why bother?

[beast66606]

Sure, it might have been a quick and swift answer, direct and to the point without any special niceties, but that might be because the reponder had little time

 

Which was exactly my point, (personally) I always help people if I can, I even help people I've fallen out with on the forum what I DON'T need is the politeness police telling me I should say "Thank you for allowing me to answer your questions" - there is a world of difference (as my invisibly ink has already said) between an answer such as "Find it yourself with the search" and "Here's the links, I found them by simply typing "how many times do we need to go through this" in the search box

 

Arthur, I feel as though you are deliberately missing this point and are determined to make your "some people are rude" point - this was one of the things that was commented on earlier, the need for some people to state their opinion despite what has already been said.

[Guest dilbert]

In my opinion the condescending nature of your reply to fender here is most unneccessary and uncalled-for. However it perfectly illustrates the type of reply that has no doubt given rise to us being cautious in asking questions.

 

If you wish to selectively 'misquote', then you've missed the the analogy between the first & second phrases of my previous post. The more information that you can impart in your request, the better the quality of the replies you will receive, because that people who do respond will be able to address the question and where possible in more than one way - yes it's called a two-way street, aka give and take. You might want to try this approach and see how the results turn out.

 

Maybe you should post the names of others whom you consider as condescending? Thereagain maybe not... dilbert

[Arthur]

Okay, I'll just leave it, Clearly those people who have stated that they are sometimes deterred from asking questions have no grounds and we've nothing to learn.

[Rivercider]

I think inevitably some of the same or similar questions will come up time and again,

new members to the forum will include people new to the hobby or returning after an absence.

Some will find the answers they need by generally browsing the site/web, others will search and find what they need.

There will then be a number who will be posting questions, either because they have not searched for the answer

or possibly they have not used the right term or spelling in their search.

 

I am guessing that long term members of the forum will have seen these repeat questions

and perhaps have previously provided detailed answers or links as appropriate.

As time passes the replies could become more brief and to the point thus, to some, appearing curt or rude.

No-one should feel obliged to reply to any particular thread, though I do sometimes find myself wanting to make

some kind of response to an unanswered question that I have a little knowledge about.

 

Sometimes these repeat questions may be best answered by a (newish) forum member who has fairly recently made the same request,

"I had that same problem back in the summer and found this (link) to be useful." for example,

This would spread the load as it were, and enable newer members to make a contribution.

(as I know some of my early posts were made with some trepidation)

 

cheers

[Mod5]

Before we all fall out with each other on this nice but cold Sunday afternoon. It is what is known as the Internet. There are all types on here and some you would quite happily pass a pleasant couple of hours over a beer or two and some you would cross the road if you saw them coming. Problem on here and elsewhere on the net is that it is far too easy to place your own moral standards on others and be misled into thinking that everyone is as nice as you.

 

Some ask questions that have been answered many many times before and when they do some still respond with the information regardless, whereas some point out that it has been asked before and the answer is here or can be found by doing something. Either way it is what it is because people are what they are. We will not change it and despite the fact that some of us would prefer it if we could all be model citizens I am afraid the net has made it worse.

 

So if you find 'some' to be rude you have a choice, ignore them or try and persuade them that they could do it better. I have a feeling I know which would be more productive.