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I would like everyone to keep in mind that we are doing this on our own free time. Contrary to some of your obvious beliefs we do not get paid to do this. Its something we do because we enjoy helping people. You can come in here and ask for help and put your 10 cents in which i think is very cool. Being rude to someone who answers your question is really not called for. We do the best we can and if someones answer is not enough for you its better just to ask if they have anyother information to add and not be rude about it or better yet try telling us the whole story from the beginning instead of leaving stuff out and then screaming at us about it. I wish you all good luck and hope your questions will be answered in considerate and kindly manner. Thankyou and have a nice day.
So then if somebody does post a dangerous answer, like Scott says, such as ... I don't know ... "delete your entire registry, that will solve your problem", what would be an example of a good response? Just something like, "The previous post will wreck your computer. Please don't do it... do this instead." ? Is it appropriate to report the post saying it's highly inaccurate? And should you comment on the post saying it's wrong?
Also, if a newbie comes on and is breaking the rules by spamming or advertising a site, etc, should you point it out to them (I have done this before), or simply report the post to admin? Thanks!
Hi, crankiebabie,
Since we answer questions from all types of people, it is expected to receive different replies from some of them. Everyone is different, and since this is "public", dealing with the public means helping many different types of personalities.
Just do the best you can, and go from there.
I agree with rickj's post; he really, really gave some good examples in the link marked "Here" !!!
I have mentioned it before, and will again, that reacting with the public means that one must watch what they say, in ways that will not be offending to them. But, at the same time, that doesn't always work either! Some "read between the lines", putting words in others' mouths, that they really didn't say in the first place.
Just hang in there, and keep up the great work.
So then if somebody does post a dangerous answer, like Scott says, such as ... I don't know ... "delete your entire registry, that will solve your problem", what would be an example of a good response? Just something like, "The previous post will wreck your computer. Please don't do it... do this instead." ? Is it appropriate to report the post saying it's highly inaccurate? And should you comment on the post saying it's wrong?
Also, if a newbie comes on and is breaking the rules by spamming or advertising a site, etc, should you point it out to them (I have done this before), or simply report the post to admin? Thanks!
First, Reporting an incorrect answer is probably not practical. There is no guarantee the MOD will know its incorrect just because the reporter says it is. Your example is a good one. Something like The answer about x is not good advice and may cause damage. But how is the person who gave that answer going to feel? Even though you haven't directly called the person a moron, its clearly implied.
And yes, one should definitely comment on such an answer. The purpose of this site is to give the best help to the asker that we can. The needs of the asker should be paramount. If I gave such an answer inadvertantly I would WANT it to be corrected and I would thank the person catching the error. If one is going to put themselves on the line by answering questions, one needs to develop a reasonaby thick skin about it.
As for spamming and advertising, that should be reported, let the MODs take care of such things. People who do that generally know they are doing something wrong but don't care.
But I do think we are going too far to sanitize this site. Personal insults, harassment and abuse should be curtailed. But truth should not! That becomes censorship. If someone acts hypocritical, and one can justify that they have, then we should be able to say they were being a hypocrite. If someone consistently posts incorrect answers we should be able to point that out. If someone posts bigotted statements we should be able to say those statements were bigotted. The thing is we confine our remarks to what the person posts. If those comments can be verified and justified based on what the person has posted, then they should be allowed! Its one thing to try and inhibit people from insulting others, its another to suppress the expression of valid opinions.
Id say if you think that someones answer is harmfull but you dont want to put them out in front of everyone then just pm them. The problem with that is everyone may benefit from being educated on the fact that this solution is harmfull. what if you didnt say anything about it and someone followed that persons advice and got seriously hurt? Do you really have time to pm everyone in the forum and say " hey dont follow this dudes advice"? Instead Id find something good about their answer to compliment them on and then explain why and how their answer may be harmfull or something like that. sometimes we just have to learn to take critisism. It may help us become better advisors. But good critisism not rude meaness from rude mean people.
Id say if you think that someones answer is harmfull but you dont want to put them out in front of everyone then just pm them. The problem with that is everyone may benefit from being educated on the fact that this solution is harmfull. what if you didnt say anything about it and someone followed that persons advice and got seriously hurt? Do you really have time to pm everyone in the forum and say " hey dont follow this dudes advice"? Instead Id find something good about their answer to compliment them on and then explain why and how their answer may be harmfull or something like that. sometimes we just have to learn to take critisism. It may help us become better advisors. But good critisism not rude meaness from rude mean people.
I agree. There is a big difference in saying; I think x is losing it and I must disagree with x's answer because... Unfortunately I have encountered people on these sites who can't take criticism no matter how nicely worded. Their reaction is to whine, to strike back and to retaliate. Those are the people that wind up causing the battles that result in crackdowns like is happening here.
Like I've said we should be able to disparage a person's post, just not them personally.
I really have a problem with the way this site has gone lately. The only reason I am still around is that I know people need me here. There are some forums here people come wanting to be listened and made feel better about themselves. I think there are some people here doing a great job of that.
There are other forums where there are right and wrong answers. I believe it when Tom says ''S'' traps don't meet code. Trouble is we have a few people that frequently post what are wrong answers burdening those with better backgrounds to correct them. And we are under pressure to do so very carefully. Poor answers make the site look bad.
Id say if you think that someones answer is harmfull but you dont want to put them out in front of everyone then just pm them
Personally, I think if you see a harmful answer - post immediately. True what you post might hurt the person's feelings but at the same time, the person who posted the original question might be running off to delete their registry. The person should be warned about what they are about to do ASAP. If I had said something dangerous, I would feel embarrased but I would hold no grude against the person who pointed out my mistake. Live & learn.
If I gave such an answer inadvertantly I would WANT it to be corrected and I would thank the person catching the error. If one is going to put themselves on the line by answering questions, one needs to develop a reasonaby thick skin about it.
I just wanted to give an example of this. In this thread:
I goofed. Somehow I missed that the asker had already tried what I had suggested. Now I could have just deleted the answer making the other answer look foolish. But that wouldn't have been right. The right thing to do was to own up to the error and try to make up for it by helping the asker even more. I hope I accomplished that.
Sadly what some come here looking for is not really advice but a pat on the back and someone to tell them that what they are doing or want to do is ok.
Like myself, I often ( actually normally) give pretty basic and to the heart answers. And most often it is not telling the asker what they want to hear, esp when they want certain romance or love to be the way they want. So when they decide they don't like my answer, I wish they would not complain about it, but it is not unexpected.
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