What is the accepted etiquette regarding the posting of a follow-up to simply say “thanks”?
For example, I posted a question to GQ roughly 24hrs ago. It got a couple of replies which did answer my question. But, I haven’t been able to check in since 24hrs ago, so the thread has dropped down to somewhere near the bottom of the third page. I’d like to acknowledge those who replied but realize that doing so will bump it up to the top of the first page. Others who were interested in my question and the answers that were offered may see it there and assume that they might find some additional info. They may therefore click on the thread and (if their experience is anything like mine) possibly wait an incredibly long time to see that nothing of substance has been added. I can imagine how some would find this annoying.
So which is going to piss-off more more people here…not acknowledging the help I might receive, or replying to only say “thanks”?
It depends on the forum, for one thing. GQ is very fast paced, and bumping your thread for a simple “thanks” pushes another -perhaps unanswered- GQ thread off the first page, limiting its chances for survival. While it would be nice of you to be polite, I’d advise against it in this case. You wouldn’t get raked over the coals, but it’d be better left alone - the people that helped you out will understand. Now, should you have additional questions, or some more information towards the answer, then it’s quite alright to bump it and thank the people who helped you out.
In other forums, the application of the rules might be less strict. MPSIMS, IMHO, perhaps Cafe Society… less pace, and a more laid back form of moderation. Which is not a slam at the GQ mods: they need to run a tight ship more than us MPSIMS mods do.
The accumulated wisdom I have remembered about this question boils down to: if someone made a back breaking effort for you, go ahead and send that person an email. Otherwise, it’s pretty well understood that we all try to help each other and in one way or another we are pretty thankful for what we get.
You could email them. I’ve done that when I wanted to thank someone or say something that applied only to them. I just thanked Chronos in another thread, here in ATMB.
When the thread is specifically a request for advice/assistance, I think a final post from the originator can be useful, especially to people discovering the thread in say, six months’ time; they will want to know whether the advice worked before they try it for themselves.
“Thanks for all the help. I’ll put this advice to good use. Here goes nothing.”
Something that makes it sound like you, as the OP, have gotten the info you want and don’t require more input, because it’s now time to implement whatever decision you’ve made.
I don’t suppose you can, but I don’t think it matters; what I meant was a closing remark from the OP saying “thanks, that worked fine” sets the stamp of approval on the advice given.