Community archive

Ask something
Discussion Locked

Questions not rated

0 helpful
7 replies

by goldjag

Closed to new repliesThis discussion is closed. It stays readable, but it takes no new replies.

First of all, I am fairly new here. I may not know all of the nuances that make this site what it is but I am certainly enjoying my time here...mostly. I do have a problem though with the fact that some people ask questions but fail to acknowledge the effort of the respondents by rating the answer. Check my stats...I have answered 8 questions...6 are unrated. They were good answers. I took the time to respond...why didn't they get rated by the questioner? Infact, it looks like some of the questioners simply ask the question, got their answer and then left the site completely.

Is it considered good practice to ask a question and then ignore the respondents? No, I don't think it is. It is too bad techrepublic won't limit the number of questions you can ask if you have a history of failing to rate the answers that other give. It would surely cut down on time-wasters and takers and help increase the percentage of people that want to interact with and assist others.

I think I might just keep to myself a bit more in the near future until I learn more about this site. It is a shame because I have a lot to offer with respect to technical know-how and experience. I am sure I am not alone in feeling this way. I have read a few posts by fellow members who are frustrated by the ignorance of others. Oh well, a few bad apples will ruin it for the rest.

This is more of a bitch session than a legitimate question so I have assigned a very low point value to it. I don't expect a hugeresponse. However, I promise to rate your answers and award the points regardless of the number of answers I get. It is the right thing to do, right?

Pete.

7 replies

by goldjag

My apologies for the typos. There were a lot of them. I guess I was more angry than I thought I was...lol

by thechas

This is an ongoing issue.

Check my stats, or the stats for any of the top 5, and you will see similar ratios of unanswered questions.

I hope that for the most part it is that people forget about their problem once they have it fixed.
I also think that many times, a user finds the answer on their own, and just doesn't get back to close the question.

While there seam to be a few bad apples, I have made several friends from the forum, and consider these friendships worth more than all the bores combined.

A common thread among the "power" answeres, is that we do it for the fun and challenge. The ratings and points just add to the fun.

Chas

by goldjag

I too would like to think that most people just forget to come back. I don't think that is the case always though. It just seems to happen a lot. I didn't think of checking the top 5 or so to see their stats. After seeing their stats, I guess this has been an ongoing thing. I don't feel as bad now...lol. Thanks Chas!

by timwalsh

Pete, you aren't experiencing anything new for this forum. As you've quickly discovered, many of the posters here haven't been schooled in the finer points of common courtesy.

If you are here for the points game, you will be ranting a lot. If the fact that people don't respond get you riled up, wait until you put a lot of time into an answer and then have the poster reject all answers without awarding any points, even if 1 or more answers were totally correct.

In addition to what The Chas said, I think there are also a certain group of posters that want to get something for nothing. They get a answer that fixes their problem and then reject all answers without awarding ANY points. Even though "spending" points doesn't cost the poster ANYTHING, in their mind I guess they think they are still getting over somehow.

I also second TheChas's remark that most of the people who answer questions here on a regular basis really don't care about the points. I personnaly like this forum because: 1. I learn a lot; 2. It helps me sharpen my troubleshooting skills; and 3. It offers some unique challenges.

Although the lack of courtesy from the "bad apples" can't help but get to you (that's only human nature), all it takes is one or two personal emails from a fellow tech, expressing gratitude for really helping them out of a bind, to wipe out a week's worth of bad apples.

If you are here for an ego stroke (who can get the most points), you are going to end up very unhappy in the long run. If you are here because you want to offer your expertise and help others in the IT community, staisfaction will come with time.

Keep at it and don't sweat the points.

by goldjag

I don't care too much about points (can you trade them in for techie stuff?). I do care though that I spend my time to help someone and they don't even let you know that they looked. It won't stop me though. I am sure there are lots of others who will be appreciative. It reminds me a bit of when I was a paramedic. I saw a lot of death and the job, as a result, really made me feel bad. Then, one day, a very nice, older lady recognized me and thanked me for helping her when she had her heart attack. It made up for all of the "bad stuff". Sorta like what you are saying about the few bad apples fading from memory once somebody says "Thanks!" That makes it worthwhile. Thanks Tim.

This discussion is closed to new replies.