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Is it so hard?

B

Blue Velvet

Moderator emeritus
Original poster
Jul 4, 2004
21,929
265
To say a simple 'thanks' to people who take the time out to respond to your queries and pleas for help?

Is it so damned difficult to acknowledge the time and effort that many forum members put into answering your questions that have been answered so many times before?

So you post your problem here and elsewhere, culling the best advice, subscribing to threads here and in other forums, and you never reply just to say 'thanks'. Or you start arguing with those who are trying to help you out...

Ungrateful little wretches.
 
Thank you for pointing out our flaws.

I think most people offer their thanks pretty regularly.
And if they don't just submit a post that says "YOUR WELCOME! It's been a pleasure helping you."
See if they take the hint. ;)
 
Many do say thanks and let you know if an answer worked - which is always appreciated. There are a few others where I'm still mildly curious about whether a suggestion actually worked or not...

Personally, if I help someone who starts arguing and criticising, I make a mental note not to bother in the future. There are a few whose second/third/fourth questions I could have helped with but couldn't be bothered with. You reap what you sow after all ;)
 
Applespider said:
Many do say thanks and let you know if an answer worked - which is always appreciated.
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Absolutely... however, this rant is not directed at them. :D

Once in a while, you have to let off a little steam.
 
I don't care too much about people who doesn't reply to say thanks, apart from the fact that I always wonder if their problem was actually solved. If they don't answer back out of thoughtlessness or rudeness, then frell them, right? :rolleyes:

Those arguing are worse, what's up with that? What is the point of asking for help and then yell at the person(s) helping you? In those cases I just walk away in most cases, making a mental note not to help those individuals again until they've developed some manners. :(

But the worst kind, still, are the ones that don't read (or at least don't try) the suggestions made, and then ask again and again about things that are already answered and/or refuses to answer if they've actually tried this and that. Hello!? Those (often, but not exclusively) newbies actually manage to get my blood boiling every now and then... :mad:
 
I always try to say thanks when I ask for help, but it sorta annoys me when I do work for someone and they just argue with me or they bitch at me or don't say thanks.

Sorta annoying, my time is my time, I don't have to waste it on them. :rolleyes:

But, when they do appreciate it and say thanks, I'm happy I did it. :)
Lacreo - stop spamming the forums.. please?
 
I have asked my share of question here but by the time i check my thread/post its on the 2nd or 3rd page and i dont want to bump it all the way up to say thank you but i am always thankfull for the answer.
 
crazycat said:
I have asked my share of question here but by the time i check my thread/post its on the 2nd or 3rd page and i dont want to bump it all the way up to say thank you but i am always thankfull for the answer.
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Mmmm, I think in that sort of an instance, your bumping would be quite permissible, if not welcomed. As Mitthrawnuruodo mentioned, not only is it nice to get a "thank you," but in the future, if someone else reads that thread, they will know that the advice you were given actually worked. You'd be surprised at how often MR comes up in Google searches for how to fix Mac problems or other kinds of Mac information. That's how I found this site. But when you find those pages, half the time, it isn't clear if the solution works or not, because no one confirms that it did. So your "thank you," far from being a nuisance bump, helps the forum out. :)
 
Benjamindaines said:
But calling people "Ungrateful little wretches" is a little much...
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If the shoe fits. I'm not usually one for half-measures...

And besides, if you have spent some time around here you do see some staggering levels of discourtesy to those who take the time to help others.

This thread isn't particularly motivated by my own experiences but instead was spurred by something I read today in another thread.
 
Thank you for your topic, BV ;)

My pet peeve is posters who post a hoplessly generic question - without any background or context, or machine, or software, or version --- and then don't bother to return or reply to those who ask for more details in attempts to help them... Blech. Makes me want to teleport a wet mackerel through the IP lines and slap them with.
 
Blue Velvet said:
If the shoe fits. I'm not usually one for half-measures...

And besides, if you have spent some time around here you do see some staggering levels of discourtesy to those who take the time to help others.

This thread isn't particularly motivated by my own experiences but instead was spurred by something I read today in another thread.
Click to expand...

I agree- half measures would water down the point you are making.

Gratitude is a very small price to pay for the help and knowledge shared here.
 
CanadaRAM said:
My pet peeve is posters who post a hoplessly generic question - without any background or context, or machine, or software, or version --- and then don't bother to return or reply to those who ask for more details in attempts to help them...
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It's annoying, but but since they don't respond I soon forget about them.
Plus, it's their problem; not mine. If they want help that bad they'll post back.
The more involved the "asker" is the more I feel compelled to go the extra mile/google page.

CanadaRAM said:
Blech. Makes me want to teleport a wet mackerel through the IP lines and slap them with.
Click to expand...
In certain cites that option is actually available. Call you ISP today!
I think it's $20 a month or $1.50 pay-as-you-slap.
 
To be honest, I've found that most people do reply back and let let you know how they got on, but I do know where Blue's coming from. There have been quite a few times where I've replied to someone looking for advice – sometimes even going as far as to Google up a link or two they might find useful in solving their problem*– and you don't hear anything back from them. Not a sausage. I know there are much worse things happening in the world that could benefit from my annoyance, but it's just the lack of a bit of courtesy that I find a little irritating.
 
Jaffa Cake said:
...but it's just the lack of a bit of courtesy that I find a little irritating.
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So in other words:

[Tony Soprano voice]Don't disrespect the Jaffa Cake. Capice?[/Tony Soprano voice]
 
Jaffa Cake said:
If you do, you'll be sleeping with the fishes. CanadaRAM's wet mackerels, to be precise. :p
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You should see how fast he pushes them through that DSL modem...I know fish sleep and swim at the same time, but you can hardly call that a waterbed!
 
Well, I usually just answer questions so I can bump my post count, so I've got mixed feelings about all this. If they thank me, I can post again to say I'm glad to help. If they argue, half the time I get several more posts, and the other half of the time it gets Wastelanded, so it's a wash. But if they don't thank me, I only get the one post, so, yeah, I guess it irritates me. Sure, if I was like the enraged sea bug, just pasting in "repair permissions, reset the PRAM, and Archive & Install" to every question, maybe it wouldn't bother me so much. But I put a lot of effort into each reply, always typing in "Have you tried searching the forums for an answer?" by hand and often prepending the poster's name. I can't help it. I'm a giver.
 
i try to say thankyou as much as possible.....but, since everyone is spread accross the planet and on different timeframes, sometimes even away from their computer, its impossible to instantly acknowledge every one. unfortunate though it is.

S
 
Well, here is my theory for the lack of "thanks" posts:

Since post counts on MR are taken very seriously and BS posts and posts that have little to do with the topic are generally shunned by the MR powers-that-be, many people (me included) think that writing a post saying only "thanks" is a waste of a post. When people start doing that, how long is it until we get people bitching that newbies and members are posting "thanks" replies just to artificially inflate their post count?
 
iTwitch said:
It used to be frowned upon as a waste of bandwidth and thanks were offered or implied in advance. So in my case and I'm sure many others it's a case of old habits.
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I think "thanks in advance" is pretty good, although I stick with my point about it being beneficial to post feedback back, and thank then (so that people know if something worked or didn't work). I don't think this should / is supposed to become a, "You didn't thank me profusely enough!" sort of contest.

There have been times when I help people on an issue that I'm only peripherally interested in, because I find the issue challenging or interesting, and because we're a community. And those people treat me worse than I think it would be okay to treat a paid IT consultant. And I'm not, incidentally. :( That kind of thing is more what makes me mad.... And the sorts of things Mitthrawnuruodo mentioned, also.
 
Blue Velvet said:
To say a simple 'thanks' to people who take the time out to respond to your queries and pleas for help?

Is it so damned difficult to acknowledge the time and effort that many forum members put into answering your questions that have been answered so many times before?

So you post your problem here and elsewhere, culling the best advice, subscribing to threads here and in other forums, and you never reply just to say 'thanks'. Or you start arguing with those who are trying to help you out...

Ungrateful little wretches.
Click to expand...
Ungrateful little scrotes suits me better :D
It drives me barmy at times. There have been a number of times I've tried to help someone, and been either the only one, or one of a few posts to answer. How does one know if the fix worked?
If people are worried about not bumping how about a PM? People take the time to help you so a little acknowledgement wouldn't go amiss.
 
If the wife and I have ever forgotten to thank anyone please know that we are grateful (because I know I have been guilty in the past). Now I'm paranoid that we've forgotten to give thanks where thanks is due.... :)

Regarding leftbanke7's comments on the subject, I'd say it's one thing to just post thanks, but another to post thanks and feedback. It's not so hard to let the advice-giver and future readers know if the advice was helpful.

Plus, now that we have been given blanket permission (that we can cite to if the powers that be ever rain fire and brimstone upon me) to bump a thread with thanks, we will do so...:D
 
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