Thank You –

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

This sort of thing has annoyed me for some time, that I can stop what I am doing, and go to a lot of trouble to give advice, or answer questions via e-mail and not even receive a simple e-mailed "thank you!"

Some of the comments to the Daily Mail article are interesting as well:

"Why should I?"

"I haven't the time!"

"Stamps are expensive!"

I know it is a flaw in my character, but I am beginning to regard answering questions with the same attitude as the first two comments above. The last comment is not applicable, because all the requests for help that I get are via free e-mail (

**LINK**

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

I agree that standards have lapsed Bob but I din't think answering questions on here is quite the same as responding to a personal gift as described in the article although I still agree that not getting an acknowledgement for help rendered is still rude.

There is a general attitude that information on the internet is free to all and costs nothing to produce. This is wrong of course but the reasons information is readily available can vary considerably. For example many people enjoy sharing information as a lot of us do on here, that is then avaiable 'for free' to any non participant who chances on it – the 'takers' – who are in a majority. Other people may post information for the benefit of others such as hotel reviews on TripAdvisor. I've just put one up myself as I thought the hotelier had done a great job in providing us with accommodation and service which deserved to be recognised. Nothing in it for me. So in many respects the internet is a rich resource which is indeed free and which you can plunder to your heart's content. For example, when building the two SLEC Fairey kits I visited the Fairey Owners Club wesbsite to get ideas for enhancing detail, colour schemes etc. It was very useful.

However, when it comes to asking specific questions on a Forum like this, or reqyesting help, then our members often spend some time in assisting and are entitled to receive thanks for their help. To be fair, I think most people do that but it is the ones that don't that you tend to remember!

Personally, the more specific a query is, the more likely I am to respond if it falls into my area of expertise. I tend to ignore posts which basically say 'Here I am, I know nothing, teach me the basics'. These people are basically too lazy to do a bit of homework (on the rich resources of the internet!) first. If they can't be bothered then neither can I!

Colin

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

Colin

All I require is an acknowledgement that the item or information has got there. It doesn't matter to me if it is face to face, letter, telephone or e-mail. I quite often supply lots of research information requested by total strangers and send it by e-mail. Often it can take an hour or to compile, and it is annoying when I don't hear a peep from them (until the next time they want something). As you say, to add insult to injury, they are often just requesting information that they could find themselves on the internet, if they could spare the time to look!

Most of the time these days, I just tell them where they can find the information themselves. With my downloads, it is different. They pay for them and I am automatically informed that they have downloaded them , so no acknowledgment or feedback is required by me.

Bob

Edited By Bob Wilson on 14/10/2022 11:13:31

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Yes, pointing them in the right direction is a good option sometimes.

Colin

[Chris EParticipant @chrise]

I totally agree about a "thank you" being nice and good manners.

Having said that I have learnt a lot from answers to other peoples questions (including your answers Bob) which I don't normally give a thank you for.

Some forums have a "thank you" button which might be a good idea but has always seemed stange to me particularly when posters start asking for a "thank you" as if it is a competition.

What gets my goat more is posts that read like a stream of conciousness with absolutely no grammer and which are very often impossible to understand.

Posts like this one below are, in my opinion, simply ignorant.

Poster where a thank you would have been nice

 

PS Colin – did Cecil Webb exist or was he a bot?

 

Edited By Chris E on 14/10/2022 16:00:47

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

If Cecil was a bot his batteries appear to have expired.

Coloin

[Chris FellowsParticipant @chrisfellows72943]

Yes, what is particularly annoying is when members post a number of replies and the OP is never heard from again.

Chris

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi all,

I quite enjoy trying to spot the one poster's and no further reply, they just seem to not know how to work google & Youtube ??

Hi Bob,

Change your email address ? that will certainly stop your requests for advice

The off button works on the TV in a similar way, quite satisfying.

Regards Ray

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

Hi Ray,

I don't want to cut them off altogether, I just want a smooth two-way communication. It is left-over from my many years as ship's radio officer where the golden rule was that if a message is not acknowledged, it must be considered as "not sent!" I am keeping track of those who do not respond, so that I can just ignore future requests. These are mainly requests for numerous photographs or ship plans, that in the past I would send without any intention of getting payment, but I was always unreasonable enough to expect confirmation that they had got there, and maybe a simple "thank you" by e-mail.

Same with forums, I have now given up putting images of my models on if they don't stimulate some sort of conversation or a slight flicker of interest.

Take the model of the Memphis, for instance, that I put here in Scratchbuilt on the 21st July. It has had 146 views, but not a single comment, and has disappeared off the bottom of the page now. Just as an experiment, I put it on the Ship Models group (Not my group) in Facebook this afternoon, and it has already been viewed 105 times and has had several replies asking for details etc. If there are no comments, good or bad, I just get the feeling that there is no interest in this sort of thing, and cannot motivate myself to put any more on.

Bob

Edited By Bob Wilson on 14/10/2022 20:49:16

Edited By Bob Wilson on 14/10/2022 20:50:01

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