Why do so many people not acknowledge help 27

[johnnymac43]

When a question is asked in a technical forum, the first reply is usually a useful piece of advice or a request for more details. In some tek-tips forums, the number of occasions when there is no response from the originator is substantial. In my view, a word of thanks or a simple answer to a question should be the 'normal' outcome.

I recently raised this topic in a technical forum. When it disappeared after a short time I was unsure whether it was because it was in the wrong place, or because the thread attracted some unexpected abuse:- (What is your problem?) (What are you complaining about?) (Why haven't you given more stars to us for our good advice to others?)

After some deliberation I have decided to try this forum in the hope of getting some serious discussion going.

Cheers

John

 

[GlenJohnson]

The one that get's me is when I ask for more info for us to determine the solution, and several people jump in with awnsers that have already been suggested. It's almost like they didn't read the posts that were listed before, just read the problem and threw in there 2 cents worth. Doesn't matter to me that I get acknowledged, but at least read the previous posts.

Glen A. Johnson
Johnson Computer Consulting

http://www.johnsoncomputers.us

"The best fire does not flare up the soonest."
George Eliot (1819-1880); Englist novelist.

Want to get great answers to your Tek-Tips questions? Have a look at FAQ219-2884

 

[jrbarnett]

Going off on a tangent slightly, I tend to say "Well done" to those people who figure it out themselves and say so.
I would not award them a star though, because the criteria is that the post should "help you in your work", unless it did just that.

John

 

[cian]

sleipnir214
I get it frequently from people mailing me through my website seeking help with various things. It often happens that I mail them back with a very comprehensive answer with code examples, links etc and sometimes I never get a response! That should be even more irritating after going to so much trouble but I don't see the point of letting these things annoy you.
Too many other annoying things in life, i reckon

Glen, yeah common problem, sometimes though I start writing a response, decide to double check something and 10 minutes later finish the post but by then 2-3 other people have answered the question!

jrbarnett, dead right, but I MAY reward them with a star if they go to the bother of posting the solution.





- É -

http://www.ssi-developer.net/elgoog/

 

[benlinkknilneb]

I may be on a tangent with this, but I think this is more like a symptom of a much greater problem. Even here in the Southern US, where we are known for that "Southern hospitality", I have noticed in the past few years that people are generally becoming more rude. I think the fact that people don't make the polite acknowledgements of "I tried your advice and it worked, thanks!" and things like that is just one 'instance' of 'class Rudeness'.

Ben

"If thine enemy offend thee, give his child a drum." - Anonymous

 

[EdwardMartinIII]

GlenJohnson: It's almost like they didn't read the posts that were listed before, just read the problem and threw in there 2 cents worth. Doesn't matter to me that I get acknowledged, but at least read the previous posts.

I find this post in this thread particularly ironic.

Cheers,



Edward

"Cut a hole in the door. Hang a flap. Criminy, why didn't I think of this earlier?!" -- inventor of the cat door

 

[GlenJohnson]

EdwardMartinIII ???????????????? Must be missing something here.



Glen A. Johnson
Johnson Computer Consulting

http://www.johnsoncomputers.us

"The best fire does not flare up the soonest."
George Eliot (1819-1880); Englist novelist.

Want to get great answers to your Tek-Tips questions? Have a look at FAQ219-2884

 

[arlems]

I think some people should do a communication course to improve their ability to successfully communicate to others. Edward would agree to that.

 

[EdwardMartinIII]

"to" or "with"?

I think my personal life is more of a course in communications than anything anyone could throw into any sort of formal course!

My reference to irony involves a form of the assertion "by the time we reach 100+ messages in a string, it is likely we have achieved redundancy in answers."

Laughing,


Edward

"Cut a hole in the door. Hang a flap. Criminy, why didn't I think of this earlier?!" -- inventor of the cat door

 

[AndyWatt]

"If you have a difficult task, give it to a lazy man he will find an easier way to do it." -- Hlade's Law

I found this at

http://www.inftech.ru/comedy/murphy/mur00600.htm

I've had a darn good chuckle at some of them.

Andy
"Logic is invincible because in order to combat logic it is necessary to use logic." -- Pierre Boutroux
"A computer program does what you tell it to do, not what you want it to do." -- Greer's Third Law

 

[SQLSister]

I don't answer posts in order to get stars or thanks; although either is nice. I answer because many people were gracious enough to pass their knowledge on to me (big thanks especially to Terry Broadbent!) and I feel an ethical obligation to do the same for others.

I do find that more and more often I point people to a resource to find their own answer first and then if they come back with some fractured version of the syntax or with genuine puzzlement from reading the source I will try to further help them. But if they come back and only want me to write their program for them I will not. I also find there are some posters who I will never respond to because I think they don't belng in the profession as they clearly do not have the analytical ability to perform the job.

I've seen some posts here indicating they have no problem with helping the homework posters. I do and I understand why TT does. First, it is cheating. Second, if these people are training to perform a profession, they need to actually do their assignements or they will be unable to perform their jobs after they graduate. Third, it keeps the subject matter of the threads at a generally higher technical level than if we were overun with students. Of course we don't get so many students inteh SQL Server boards as you appear to get in some of the other boards.

I do find that rudeness is a good filter; people who are rude don't get responses that are as good as the polite people and often don't get any responses at all after awhile.

I also think the level of gratitude has something to do with the way the behvior is modeled by the board members themselves. The SQL Server Boards tend to be very polite and some of the regulars will ask people if the solution helped and are careful to thank people themselves, thus modeling the behavior they want to see. We also get snippy to those we think are users because we don't want to continue to deal with them.

 

[Grenage]

We also get snippy to those we think are users because we don't want to continue to deal with them

As we should . Not that users shouldn't be helped but there are other non-professional forums for that.

 

[SQLSister]

Sorry, poor word choice on my part. I didn't mean it in the sense of software users, but it the sense of people who use others wihtout gratitude or even politeness. You know, the guys who want you to do their jobs for them becasue they are too lazy or to incompetent to do them themselves; the ones who get mad at you if your solution isn't perfect or if you point thenm to resources rather than writing their code.

 

[infinitelo]

If you ever wander around in tt you will find differnt cultures. what i mean is if you compare the aix posts with the foxpro posts you will find a certain personality difference as far as the tone of the threads. I think it just depends on the culture of the differnt theads.
I dont always say thanks, or give stars. I still owe a lot to the folks that have answerd my questions. (Im not the sharpest tool in the shed but sometimes you need a hammer)
When i see a thread i can help with i post, never really expect any thanks, gratitude ect... just a warm feeling that i actually had a solution to a problem.


if it is to be it's up to me

 

[medic]

I can understand lack of expression of gratitude by those who received help from us. But one thing that p*sses me off are posters who ask questions in stupid ways, and when you don’t have the exact answer immediately (because you’re guessing [or trying to figure out] what that poster really wants) makes ungrateful comments on you (and all those who tried to help) as if everybody is giving stupid answers. I don't throw back negative reactions, because I don't want to ruin the friendly culture of TT forums. But one thing is for sure...I won’t offer any help to these m*rons in the future.

 

[SemperFiDownUnda]

If someone asks a question and I think it is ambiguous or just coming from left field I'll ask them to elaborate siting what information they should provide or what area of their post is just confusing.

If they get defensive/abusive I'll try, quiet well normally, to not take it personally and point out that fault too.

I do not answer post that are obiviously homework type questions. I often add to posts that if they find the answer they should post it just incase someone else has the same question.

There are people I just will not reply to. And if you could find the answer in help easy enough I sometimes point them to it and say they could have found it if they opened their eyes.

If at anypoint they just get to far off the rocker then I report the post.

Basically I don't let the posts get to me. Actually makes me laugh when someone can't articulate the question they have or they obviously have NO clue what they are talking about and start to tell those that are helping them that they are stupid etc. Kind of like going to the doctor to find out why you are unwell, not liking their answer because you had thought it would be something else and calling them stupid.

Try to laugh and walk away from the post.

 

[edfair]

Medic, Semper,
You've got a flag button. Use the thing. Tell the staff to boot the idiots.
You punch the inappropriate post button, fill in the window. The sooner you get rid of them the sooner your blood pressure goes down.

Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.

 

[Rhea737]

For me, this forum is a real IT department filled with my virtual colleagues and mentors.

Sleipnir214: I have learned so much from your posts. Please don't get discouraged by the mannerless.

Thanks to all of you for everything that you do.

Merry Christmas!

 

[rosieb]

The simple answer to the question is - bad manners.

However, what bugs me (as someone who haunts the technical fora, quietly 'cos I don't have anything to offer) is the lack of thanks for really good stuff. I try to remember to star anything useful. But it really pisses me off to see something really good, not starred. I'm starting a totally unofficial , give stars campaign, for stuff I find useful, no matter how old.



Opioniated, always; correct, occasionally; so, enlighten me.
Rosie

 

[SemperFiDownUnda]

edfair - "You've got a flag button. Use the thing"
I do....I said in my post
"If at anypoint they just get to far off the rocker then I report the post."

I star a bit. I know CC has gotten quite a few from men so has SQLSister and a fair number of others and some names you wouldn't even recognise.

 

[edfair]

Yeah, Semper, but you indicated that you just didn't answer some that looked like homework. And I was asking you to go the extra step and get them too.
What MOS for your 6 years? I did reserve time only, 6603, aircraft electronics, F4U Corsair, then AD Skyraider 4,5,&6 mostly.

Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.