AFF'rs come and go

[Fiches Mouser]

It's not the welcome. It's when everyone jumps down their throat for having the courage to post their experiences and thoughts.

Definitely. Nothing more off-putting than that. I feel like we're generally pretty good around here though... I've seen some shockers. For example, I have no desire to take up a Whirlpool membership.

 

[Steady]

It's not the welcome. It's when everyone jumps down their throat for having the courage to post their experiences and thoughts.

Shouldnt the the new and inexperienced members know exactly how to ask a question, and all of the information to include straight up so their question can be succinctly answered ? They deserve to be scolded :shock:

No, they must leave because too many members welcomed them..... Maybe we could skip straight to scolding them in their introductory post?

(to be clear, I agree with JohnK)

 

[Awesom Andy]

Shouldnt the the new and inexperienced members know exactly how to ask a question, and all of the information to include straight up so their question can be succinctly answered ? They deserve to be scolded :shock:

No, they must leave because too many members welcomed them..... Maybe we could skip straight to scolding them in their introductory post?

(to be clear, I agree with JohnK)

Although it's often quite clear whether a new member has made an attempt to read the sticky/FAQ and applied perhaps just a little bit of that information in the question so we can see that a reasonable effort has been made, or someone who just decides to post something that's extremely obvious and expects answers to be spoon fed.

 

[Princess Fiona]

I often go back and read a thread I created way back about being disappointed about an upgrade to F. At the time I had been a member here for about a year, mainly lurked and asked a few simple questions. There was one or two replies from people who actually responded to my little rant with some diplomacy (straitman and JohnK amongst others) but on the whole the first few replies were fairly negative and to a newbie could be quite off-putting from posting further.
On the whole there aren't too many flame suits needed here but sometimes we should take a step back and consider the replies from the point of view of the new members.

 

[Captain Halliday]

To the OP point about those who come and go, I find when threads turn nasty I often won't get to the end of them and just log off. Often I'll disappear for days after that. Not out of spite, outrage or unhappiness... Just because. Usually I'll then need some info, or spot something interesting in a thread to which I've subscribed and come back reenergised.

While I've struggled in this post to articulate my reason for drifting away, I agree with those whose posts have suggested that mean/negative threads may be a factor.

Having said all that I've learned so much from the forum, so thanks to you all.

And my post count remains pitifully low despite my futile efforts to round up more than 4 people for a DRW gathering!

 

[coles525]

Sorry to say, I've not read all 13 pages (just saw this topic), but the stats link on page 1 isn't working.

Tapatalk: nothing loading (android before upgrade)

Browser: access denied (chrome used thus far).

 

[Steady]

The link is working for me on Safari

 

[coles525]

In bed, will try again tomorrow on lappy.

 

[kermatu]

works for me on IE and Chrome.

 

[JohnM]

works for me on IE and Chrome.

And me too...

 

[incumbent]

The pet peeves that stopped me moving out of lurk mode in the past and will probably see me back there again soon:

- The Community Rules say "passive-aggressive behaviour is unacceptable", and yet many prolific posters are masters of the craft.

- I find the "Activity Stream" one of the easier ways to access content given that the app doesn't seem to work, and when I see nine posts in a row saying "Hello " or "Welcome aboard!" or something along the lines of "surely you have something to contribute", I doubt the sincerity.

- Some of the in-jokes get tiresome very quickly... yes, I get that you're a couple. I hear it a lot.

- Bullying. Even to an outsider it's really obvious. But some of the most prolific culprits seem to have official sanction.

- Stubbornness. If you get something wrong, just admit it, and back down gracefully, for the record.

In the end, I guess, it's not you, it's me. Best of luck to you all.

 

[JohnK]

Definitely. Nothing more off-putting than that. I feel like we're generally pretty good around here though... I've seen some shockers. For example, I have no desire to take up a Whirlpool membership.

Yes most times it's quite good around here. I haven't been on Whirlpool but have used Flyertalk here and there almost as long as AFF. Not very friendly. You get trampled as they force you out of town.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

I find AFF to be a very friendly community. The reference to passive-aggressive I think is a bit over the top (is that comment passive-aggressive?) Sometimes people ask questions that are answered on the same page if they choose to look/read before asking and when that happens repetitively, it can become annoying. The difference I see is that some forums can be quite rude about telling people off about it, whereas AFF posters seem to handle it more tactfully. Another thing that can annoy with a new poster is when they join and then lambast someone/something and then disappear. It's not always the longer term posters in the wrong.

 

[Pushka]

Its been surprisingly peaceful here for the last couple of weeks.

 

[Deleted member]

It's the "serenity" !

 

[blackcat20]

I often go back and read a thread I created way back about being disappointed about an upgrade to F. At the time I had been a member here for about a year, mainly lurked and asked a few simple questions. There was one or two replies from people who actually responded to my little rant with some diplomacy (straitman and JohnK amongst others) but on the whole the first few replies were fairly negative and to a newbie could be quite off-putting from posting further.
On the whole there aren't too many flame suits needed here but sometimes we should take a step back and consider the replies from the point of view of the new members.

I remember getting a few snappy replies when I first joined and asked about seat selection (before you could select QF seats online). Lucky I didn't let it put me off, but I'm sure it would for some.

- Some of the in-jokes get tiresome very quickly... yes, I get that you're a couple. I hear it a lot.

No in-jokes here You've got to remember that a lot of us know each other quite well offline; they aren't in jokes, just banter or chit chat between good friends.

 

[Warks]

I've been a very sporadic poster over the years having officially signed up in October 2003 and only having 1700 odd posts (which excludes Playground posts). I was surprised to find I was #76 for this year with over 500 posts! I must have become more enthusiastic in the past couple of years as it wasn't that long ago that I finally cracked 1000 posts.

I try and work on the basis of "if you haven't got anything to add to the conversation (smart-alec remarks excepted) then don't say anything".

Up until about five years ago I could say I'd hardly seen a flare-up on here but that changed somewhere along the line as the posting population hit critical mass.

Of the 30-odd thousand members how many have posted more than ten times? I would say it'd be lucky to be 10%.

This has been a great source of information for my travels and I appreciate all the help I've ever been given. I feel like I'm a member of an elite club sometimes especially when I tell friends and relatives of tips regarding travel which I've learnt here. That makes me look like the travel guru!

 

[andye]

I've generally found the uncommon instances of haranguing to be moderated. There doesn't seem (to me) to be any favouritism to established posters by the moderators.

Having said that a full-on rant by a new poster will tend to be dissected thoroughly

 

[Awesom Andy]

Its been surprisingly peaceful here for the last couple of weeks.

Don't jinx it!

Having said that a full-on rant by a new poster will tend to be dissected thoroughly

It depends on the contents of the rant as well. I guess the best way to put it is, come in here screaming unreasonably, and we will scream back at you unreasonably.

 

[codash1099]

It's not the welcome. It's when everyone jumps down their throat for having the courage to post their experiences and thoughts.

You may have missed the tongue in cheek (my error, not yours). I was referring to the unnecessary number of welcoming posts that only serve to boost post numbers. I expressly exempt you (johnK) from this - you've bid a welcome to the forum to almost everyone for as long as I can remember.