Authority

leachyd

Just a quick one really.

These boards are obviously very useful tools for a large number of us, but i often find that people offer conficting advice/information. I think it would be useful if people were able to give the reason that they know what they are posting is factually correct. For example personal experience, work in the industry,work for a particular firm etc, have studied the particular area, and so on.

I say this because i find that people are posting when perhaps they dont really understand what they are saying, or dont know the full complement of information. I think i'll start doing this regardless, but just a suggestion. What do people think??

Dave

MSE_Martin

Hi Dave

Its an interesting suggestion - but as there is no way of validating it - it could actually cause more harm than good. It could also lead to people simply trying to plug their work place.

Martin

MothballsWallet

Or, Martin could just do a Cartman and say "respect my authori-tay"

Sorry, couldn't resist that one

ThinkingOfLinking

Sometimes people do...I do....eg on the M&S thread about them offering a discount on bras at the moment, people have said, "I work there and....." I do it where appropriate/relevant for the purpose of backing up what I am saying....basically "I know this because I work there" or "I worked there up til X date and we did do this/didn't do that"

Savvy_Sue

Sadly that sometimes degenerates into a 'debate' between people who each claim to know what they are talking about because they work(ed) in / knew someone working in a particular field. It's not always friendly debate, either. And people can say what they like, there is no way of knowing.

Not to mention the dangers of relying on advice given over the internet: there is no substitute for doing your own research, and while I often say "My moneysaving friends recommend ..." I wouldn't make a large decision based JUST on what someone says on here, even if it's someone who usually seems to talk sense.

Also just because people don't give their credentials doesn't mean they don't have any. I work for a small charity, and sometimes post on threads which touch on our work, but for a number of reasons I don't say where I get my knowledge from on those topics.

ThinkingOfLinking

You make some really good and valid points there.

I dont ram my opinions down others' throats nor do I rely on others' opinions or take them as gospel.

A lot of things are subjective anyway. For example I ordered a book on Amazon as it got loads of positive reviews, was 4.5* rated and had been recommended/suggested to me by Amazon anyway. I didn't like it. :rotfl:

But I do still add why/how I know things to try and take the edge off any flaming I get for things I say. Mind you, nobody's immune to a bit of a go on here at times.;)

shelly

Savvy Sue has hit the nail on the head.
I tried several times yesterday to say the same thing but kept deleting my posts because they didn't read anywhere near as well as Sues