Originally Posted by
mikeef
Randy (and all),
I'm not sure if this is the right place to put this, so if it isn't, I hope a moderator will move it.
Over the past couple of months, I have become concerned about what seems to be a tremendous rise in the level of hostility on several of the boards, including the airline and hotel boards. Sarcastic responses seem to have become the norm when an OP asks a question that the general membership does not find to be worthy, and responses are often something along the lines of "Do a search, that's been answered a thousand times." If I were a newbie, I would be scared to ask a question for fear of being ridiculed. I understand that different personalities address questions different ways, but I have definitely noticed an increase of "tough" responses over the past year. If you want, I will follow up and point out some individual threads.
In any case, I'm not trying to sound all high and mighty, but maybe it would be time to send out a friendly reminder about the mission of FT. Thanks for letting me get that off my chest!
Mike
What I have noticed in the past several months is a marked rise in the following scenario:
1. Newbie starts thread asking a question that is answered in the forum's FAQs, in the Wiki, and in half a dozen threads started in the last 3 months.
2. Veteran answers Newbie's question, and then politely tells him how he found that answer.
3. 8 more newbies jump the veteran with sarcastic posts demanding that he stop even
mentioning the existence of a search function, and demanding that he immediately cease any implication that a newbie could find information any other way than by starting a new thread to ask a question.
We have trained them well.