Gripe about people who register and give no information about themselves

F

FullerH

Joined
Nov 25, 1998
Messages
12,632
I am becoming more and more tired of people who register and post, frequently asking questions, and do not give any information about themselves. here is a very good example of the type: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=365110 and it makes trying to fit the answer to the person very difficult. I do not try to make smartass cracks to newbies, but it is really very difficult to be polite to somebody who barges into a forum and asks a question without having the courtesy to introduce him/herself.
 
FullerH said:
I am becoming more and more tired of people who register and post, frequently asking questions, and do not give any information about themselves. here is a very good example of the type: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=365110 and it makes trying to fit the answer to the person very difficult. I do not try to make smartass cracks to newbies, but it is really very difficult to be polite to somebody who barges into a forum and asks a question without having the courtesy to introduce him/herself.
Click to expand...
That is unfortunately what these forums are. Don't come around the bali forum if you dont like this then, we unfortunately have tons of kids that do it there :rolleyes:
 
Hugh, that was a funny one anyway. Real stream of consciousness, low literary skills ... I don't think we're dealing with a mature researcher there. :)

It hardly matters how you answer a question like that.

But that's the internet. As Icon says, the Bali forum routinely attracts its own type of superficial poster. It's an opportunity to explain netiquette to them, to explain what they should provide to be a real member of the group, but some people get very defensive when we ask.

Sometimes it gets tired -- so step back, let someone else explain it to them, come back later. We can't each of us be "up" all the time. Don't let it get to you. Focus on the good ones, instead.
 
Neither Esav or Cougar have anything in their profile...but you know them. Given time you will probably "know" this guy. Until then you can post asking for more background to better answer his question ...or simply ignore him.
 
I guess that what I don't understand is why people don't put any information about themselves up on the board. I can understand a certain degree of paranoia, that is a normal reaction to our modern world and a healthy one, but this is ridiculous.
 
Some people have "enjoyed" having the information they've placed into their profile used against them. As one of those people, I've determined that the less ammunition that I willingly/naively hand those that would be my enemies, the better.

Thankfully, you apparently haven't had your profile information used against you.

GeoThorn
 
lol, I am guilty as charged ;)
I joined here to ask a specific question, but then found myself coming back everyday...checking for member reviews before buying my last 6 knives...I am really glad I found these forums because what I was looking to buy was crap compared to what I got on reccomendation :) I couldn't buy a new knife without checking here first now, so since I guess I am going to stick around for a while I went ahead and filled out my profile...:o

Thank you to everyone for such an abundance of outstanding information, hopefully I can pass along some knowledge sometime too...as long as you can stand my spelling, that is :)

Count Bower
 
FullerH said:
I guess that what I don't understand is why people don't put any information about themselves up on the board. I can understand a certain degree of paranoia, that is a normal reaction to our modern world and a healthy one, but this is ridiculous.
Click to expand...

It's pretty routine for employers to now search the internet for a prospective employee or employee's name. For this reason I prefer not to give out my full name or web site or anything else that I consider too revealing.

Merely having an interest in something like knives or guns could result in you being labeled a dangerous person in today's politically-correct world.
 
Once upon a time I used to get annoyed by posts like that. Not because the person didn't supply any personal information or they were new or were asking questions or the like. I became intensely irritated by their apparent inability to grasp basic English language skills or worse, deliberate disregard of even the most basic rules of grammar, spelling and sentence contruction.

I don't claim to be any sort of expert in English literature but I try to make my posts conform to the basic rules at least.

These days, as I've grown older, I've calmed down a little and I tend to ignore such posts. I've come to the conclusion that if these people can't be bothered to make even a minimal effort to use punctuation then I can't be botherd to answer their questions.

Just scroll on right past Hugh, it's easy.
 
I love the poster who asks, "Is this knife legal in my city?" and, of course, hasn't given his city anywhere.
 
Gollnick said:
I love the poster who asks, "Is this knife legal in my city?" and, of course, hasn't given his city anywhere.
Click to expand...

That type of person is probably not entirely certain what city they're in either!
 
A 'lack of common courtesy' has become all to common in our world today, online and in real life. Too bad.
 
I find this bothersome and disconcerting as well. I am particularly fond of being able to find out about someone before dealing with them in a sale or trade. It makes me feel better to know they are open and not hiding like so many do on the net. I realize that many like the anonymity that comes with the internet but it makes little sense to me to prefer to be anonymous when you are trying to deal in trades and sales on a forum.

One forum member recently got put out with me when I asked for more info about himself when he replied to one of my want adds. When I pointed out that it was simply standard procedure before proceeding with a sale his comment was that trust was part of the experience. Well, to each their own but trust is a two way street. When you have few posts to your name, and no info in your profile and not even your real name made available forgive me for being slow to warm up to you. In my opinion you have little business even trying to do business on these forums if you can't share a little about yourself and be more open and trusting yourself by telling a little about your life, interests, hobbies, and name. To date this person still has no info in his profile other than an email, even after I pointed this out to him.

It is my opinion that a little window should come up for those that don't tell more about themselves preventing them from accessing the for sale forums until they fill in the proper lines in their profile for the sellers and other members to see before dealing with them.

STR
 
I think the litle window that pops up should be ... the reaction of people like us who just don't do business with mysterious strangers. :D

When I respond to a sale offer, I sign with my forum name, real name, address, mobile phone, and email. That way, whoever is really dealing with me knows who I am and where to find me. People just browsing don't need to know.
 
STR said:
.................

One forum member recently got put out with me when I asked for more info about himself when he replied to one of my want adds. When I pointed out that it was simply standard procedure before proceeding with a sale his comment was that trust was part of the experience.......................
STR
Click to expand...


Remember the old saying, "In God we trust, all others pay cash".;)
 
I feel that there are a number of good reasons to keep our personal information to ourselves.

Of course, that does present a problem when wanting to buy a knife from someone.

I personally solve this problem by PMing or phoning the seller, offering to buy the knife, and offering to send a personal check. If I am unknown to the individual, I let the seller wait till the check clears before sending the knife. I have not been burned by this method, neither in losing money, nor by having my personal info revealed by the seller.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top