Irrelevant and rude posts

Errata

Everything Welsehwoofs said, and to the OP - what are your suggestions for who decides what are rude or irrelvant posts ?

Quasar

The examples given in post #5 certainly qualify on the rudeness and irrelevance front. I think that in general we can all tell when a post is irrelevant (has nothing to do with the thread in question) and rude (it puts someone else down or insults them outright).

All the above may be tolerated in the Arms or Discussion Time, where threads taken off topic (the irrelevance side) are practically expected, but on the moneysaving board they are disruptive and unnecessary. Users go in there for help and advice, and while some are silly and/or clear windups, politeness is always the best option because we don't know the circumstances of the poster.

Also, many users come in at their wits' ends with major problems, and are therefore already oversensitive. Sarcastic put downs do not help them and in fact might turn them away from the forum before a useful answer is posted. They are not emotionally well placed to do the best thing and ignore the hecklers and unhelpful users, which is what the rest of us can do.

Sparhawke

Me!!

I'll do it and the first thing I will do is ban everyone here for not always agreeing with me Muwhahaha

Honestly, I am not always daffodils and honey and can be a bad tempered sod on occasion but does it really matter?

I have been around forums for a long time now and you will always find people arguing or sniping at each other, so long as it doesnt escalate into full on warfare i don't mind these little spats.

And I tend to agree, his question reads like something quite hard to understand...I had to go over it three times and still do not have a clue what he wants to know, people should take time to construct questions in such a way to illicit a good response, not simply throw them together and hope for the best.

But dont get me wrong, I do think if you cannot answer a question in a way that actually helps you should keep away...

Quasar

Sparhawke wrote: »

Me!!

I'll do it and the first thing I will do is ban everyone here for not always agreeing with me Muwhahaha

Honestly, I am not always daffodils and honey and can be a bad tempered sod on occasion but does it really matter?

I have been around forums for a long time now and you will always find people arguing or sniping at each other, so long as it doesnt escalate into full on warfare i don't mind these little spats.

And I tend to agree, his question reads like something quite hard to understand...I had to go over it three times and still do not have a clue what he wants to know, people should take time to construct questions in such a way to illicit a good response, not simply throw them together and hope for the best.

But dont get me wrong, I do think if you cannot answer a question in a way that actually helps you should keep away...

I'm sure your way of being bad tempered is not insulting to others, judging by the rest of your post which shows a decent nature, able to apologise when going a bit too far. :A

However, take the following scenario: You are someone 100k in debt with creditors all over the place threatening you, and you are risking losing your home. It's 1am, you are lonely and desperate and have found this forum. You post your question, a bit unclear because well, all you're thinking of is that life isn't worth living anymore. Get the idea?

The above scenario occurred quite a while back. I happened to see the thread as soon as it was posted and reassured the OP, saying that someone in the know would see his question and reply properly, and "please hang in there because something can be done, etc etc".

Now, had someone come along and replied sarcastically that the OP was unintelligible, or worse, like some do on those boards, that he brought the debt on himself and so tough... that would have been not only unhelpful, but it could have sent the OP over the edge - we just don't know the full circumstances of those who post. I know that many rude people can't help being rude because they don't see they are being rude, but that is no excuse for the rest of us to leave them unchallenged and just put up with them. This place would be grim.

BritRael

Rael wrote: »

[Exits into daylight, spraygun hid]

Certainly am mate! Your username is funnier though.

It leaves the option open for 'Network Rael' as well.

lol - yeah, this a shorter version. I used to use BritishRael :cool:

gilligansyle

Just a thought about the irrelevant, on some of the debt and bankruptcy threads a little help goes a long way. Yes, there are occasionally things that go a bit off topic, but generally help is offered.

On the other hand, I have realised that if I have a techie query, I need to go to a specialist forum because the minute you mention Mac or Linux you are slapped down. That is just life, its the way it is.

Tojo_Ralph

Always_Harassed wrote: »

Like the other thread suggesting a spam button beside each post I would like irrelevant and rude posts removed..

I would also add the following buttons.

Belly Rubbing: For sympathy posts that contribute nothing and simply serve to belly rub the OP.

War stories: For posts where the poster is simply taking the opportunity to tell war stories that add nothing to discussion.

Wrong answer: For posts that do not give the kind of response the OP is fishing for.

Thanks collecting: For posts that agree with and thank posts to collect thanks and thus do not contribute to the debate.

jdturk

Tojo_Ralph wrote: »

I would also add the following buttons.

Belly Rubbing: For sympathy posts that contribute nothing and simply serve to belly rub the OP.

War stories: For posts where the poster is simply taking the opportunity to tell war stories that add nothing to discussion.

Wrong answer: For posts that do not give the kind of response the OP is fishing for.

Thanks collecting: For posts that agree with and thank posts to collect thanks and thus do not contribute to the debate.

Like this one?;) Now thank me please :rotfl:

Coopdivi

From what I can see OP, of that thread in the Techie section, there was one person being a total eejit Everybody else was extremely helpful.

I have to say that I have always found the Techie Forum to be extremely informative and, unlike some other sections, has virtually no Trolls.

dunclane

Two sides to this argument: -

1. Yes there are some extremely rude/sharp answers to replies which IMO are irrelevant or unnecessary.

2. There are some posts which equally lend themselves to receiving these kind of replies and really aren't worth replying to.

But then it is a forum and as long as it isn't libellous, racist or sexist then it deserves it's place on the thread and it's everybody's right to reply back to it.

..... I have now dismounted from my high horse!