Stop Responding To Questions You Don't Intend To Answer!

Yes I did state that people could respond or not respond to whatever they want but a grown up world, especially a business world wouldn't sit around and taunt others for not knowing what we do, we either help or ignore, simple!

Thank you Jeremy, I always liked your view o things. Ok, I can't be seen talking to you, I might get my ezinearticles account canceled, oh I forgot I don't use ezine articles, ever! lol

Keep up the good work J Dog

I agree completely. Failure to do a quick search before posting results in a fragmented knowledge base of diluted value. The good news is that you can also find the fragments using the search function.

Exactly. The words themselves represent a small fraction of a communication, and words are so easy to misconstrue. In a forum though, it's all we really have to go on. Sometimes smileys can help to infer tone.


Overall, don't take peoples words too seriously. I still get caught up sometimes trying to argue a point that is ultimately a time wasting exercise, but am learning to relax and go with the flow.

Remember that while there are plenty of good folks on here, there is also a ton of misinformation and manipulation going on, so keep your wits about you, chill out, and enjoy the ride.

It's not only rude to others, it's disrespectful to the owner, he built this place for a reason and beating others down is not it. You run people away like that. I know this is not the owners #1 business but I'm sure he wants to keep members coming back.

I wish more people thought like this.

Daniel

I also understand the case you make but if someone asks a question and someone decides to respond they should at least attempt to answer the question and throw in their extra advice as a bonus. Just because someone has a resent join date or a small number of post does not mean that they don't have a clue.

My point is they could be testing something new, on the verge of a breakthrough at least they might think so. They could be researching something that could help us all out in the long run. Yes, I would want a warning if you have one but I would also like an answer to my original question, because that's why I asked.

I'm sure that there are people that have been in the game for 5 years that could learn something for someone that has only been around for 1. No one has all the answers, and there are so many ways to skin a cat, we all can stand to learn a few new things or two?

That stupid newbie might be the one with the answers to save your business a few years down the line. You get what you put out, that's the saying right?

Matt, that response is just dripping with wisdom.

I think since humans of varying experiences and knowledge are asking the questions...and other humans of varying experiences and knowledge are answering/responding to the questions...there will always be differences of opinion and interpretation about the ideas and content shared (hence why it's a discussion forum, not a question and answer forum).

I hold to the belief that even if someone's response could be interpreted as "rude", it's all being delivered in trying to help the original person asking the question.

Matt, I don't know if I ever told you this...but you're one hell of a smart
dude.

That may be true, but over in the seo forum, basically every day you'll get a thread where someone asks something like "what profile backlink packets do you use and recommend?", and then you get 10 replies from people who joined in the last month and say something along the lines of "profile backlinks are the devil".

its people hijacking threads to spin their own agenda.

50 posts does win you a prize - the ability to send PM's. Don't worry, you won it a long time ago!

That's right were you a union man?

I agree with using the search function to try and find answers. I was guilty of this myself when I first came here a little over a year ago. But I was never made to feel bad about it.

As much as some people may be annoyed by seeing the same question being asked multiple times, I still don't think it gives anyone the right to be rude or blast someone for it. I'm sure there would be plenty of people who may be on a lower level than some that could actually answer the question or would even want to. Could give them a little confidence boost knowing they are helping someone out.

Either way, karma is a bitch and as a few people have said, you never know when that person is going to be the one you may need help from at somepoint.

WealthyClark, there are questions and then there are questions...

If someone is obviously asking because they don't know where to even start, most times they get a civil answer. That answer may be mixed in with wisecracks and inside jokes (which I'll grant may look rude to someone not in on the joke).

On the other hand, there are questions that are asked purely because the poster read in an ebook somewhere that they should go to popular forums and post questions so they can flash their sig.

One of the indicators of that kind of question is that the poster will ask the same type of question repeatedly, on a variety of topics, over a relatively short time span. It's really obvious when, as another post mentioned, there is an active thread on exactly the same question.

The same logic can be applied to resurrecting old threads.

We tell people to use the search function. Some of them do, and post additional comments or questions on older threads. That's perfectly legitimate, and deserves a modicum of respect.

There are also people who resurrect old threads with nonsense comments or questions that have already been answered in the same thread. Strangely enough, those posters tend to repeat the behavior on a large number of threads in a short time - and have a product to flog in their sig.

There are exceptions, but I've found in my time here that mostly people get what they deserve.

WC, I don't even know where to begin in response to your OP.

So let me just say this.

There is never, and I mean never a reason so be rude to somebody just
for asking a question. That is simply unprofessional and you wouldn't do it
face to face in real life with somebody. That's the problem with the IM
world. We're so used to sitting here, safe behind our PC screens that we
feel we can say and do anything. I see it all the time.

However...some questions simply can't be answered in the space of a forum
post.

For example:

"What are the best ways for me to make some money online? I'm brand new."

There is no answer to that because of all the variables involved. Each
person has different skills, interests, experience and so on. That's why
when I see questions like these I just throw my arms up in the air and
move on to the next thread. I can't help these people and the truth is,
nobody can...not really. Ultimately, what will end up happening is that
the person ends up more confused than when they came here.

And this is just one example.

Each question, just like each person in this world, is an individual in itself.
There are no blanket scenarios on how to answer all questions.

Some are pretty straight forward.

"How do I upgrade from WordPress 2.8.4 to 2.8.6?"

Some are...OMG, please let's not even go there like...

"How can I find one of those places that will send out 1 million unsolicited
emails for you?"

Hey, maybe the person doesn't know spam is illegal. Point is, you certainly
don't want to give him the answer...if you even know it and would admit
to knowing it...and you don't want to start ripping him a new one because,
as I said, he may really not know spam is illegal.

Then there are the opinion questions.

"What do you think of my squeeze page?"

You can certainly give your opinion without being nasty. If you think it's
God awful, say why it's God awful. Give something constructive back. You
don't have to praise the guy if it's crap but you don't have to make him
feel like 2 cents either.

On the other side of the coin, in defense of some of our members, sometimes
when asked for our opinion, and we give it, the person asking then attacks
us because they didn't want to hear what we had to say.

This happens all the time and drives me nuts.

Truth is, and you know this is true of so many people, many will ask an
opinion only to hear what they want to hear.

And then when they don't hear it...they explode.

And then all hell breaks loose and the other members get nasty.

In those cases, I don't blame them.

If you don't really want to know...don't ask.

I could keep going but I think you got my point.

You can't blanket case all questions asked at forums. Some are simple
to answer, some impossible, some only lend themselves to opinions, none
of which are right or wrong, and some are just outright dangerous and
should be avoided or at the very least, pointed out that such a thing, like
spam, is illegal.

But in none of these scenarios should you be rude to another person.

If you don't want to answer the question, or point out why it can't be
answered or why it's dangerous and only want to call the OP an idiot or
whatever...do everybody a favor.

Stay out of the thread because you're adding nothing of value to it.

Well there are a ton of answers to this one.. some of which are:

Why should they do the quick search for them?

It is teaching them how to research, you need to be able to do that to survive in this game.

If someone comes on and asks a questions and says they have tried the search facility but come up with nothing, I would be more inclined at that point to offer suggestions on other search terms, possibly give an answer to the question and possibly even go and do a little search for them at that point because they just showed me they are at least willing to do a little work.

I am sure there are lots of other answers.

Sue

There have been some really some excellent responses to the OP...

One thing that hasn't really been mentioned is the frustration for truly knowledgeable people on message boards who exhaustively answer a question multiple times on different threads, only to have someone ask the exact same question without lifting a finger to try to answer their own question first.

That's where the snippy responses come from about "use the search function" or "Google it". If you haven't spent 10 minutes 4 different times answering the exact same question in 4 threads, you wouldn't understand.

You'd think, "Geez, what's the problem with THAT guy?" ...and maybe that responder IS having a bad day, but ultimately, what's the point of trying to help someone who isn't even helping themself?

In those situations, "use the search function, this has been answered many times before" truly is the answer.

I don't think Warriors are obligated in any way to do a search for them, but I always try to give the person a little more information to go on than just "use the search feature". I'll either try to suggest specific terms to search for, or if i remember some information about a specific thread, member who knows a lot about the topic, etc.

If nothing else, I make sure to word it in a more encouraging way than just "use the search feature", so it doesn't come across so blunt. Like "Hey, there's actually a ton of threads on this topic. If you do a search on the forum for (name of topic), you should find some really good info."

Here's a tip ... you can get faster results by entering your search phrase in Google with the word 'warrior' tagged at the end of it ... no waiting 20 seconds for the next search ...

Andy

Isn't this off topic?

Hi sande,

I understand what you mean, but I think a fear-factor element has to be maintained otherwise people run riot. But over time, people should get used to things and feels more confident - which means that (ideally) the grizzled veterans can step in when someone who is newer requires assistance.

While your questions are good, the problem is the rules change every time someone blinks as far as some of those questions go. Not to mention, different people have different experiences with these things.

You might like said hosting company for reasons x,y,z, and I may have just found out some really dirty stuff about them.

That FAQ section should be this:

"Please enter your keywords and use the search function for your answers. If you still don't find your answer, feel free to post it in the forum. Alternatively, you may wish to join the War Room and search there if you are not yet a member"