Show Some Motherfucking Respect and Gratitude in GQ, Please

The BBQ Pit
1

I am so fucking (motherfucking, even) tired of the following oft-repeated scenario:

<Poster 1, OP>I am seeking knowledge on…(insert almost anything)

<Poster 2>Good, well-thought out legitimate answer with sources.
<Poster 3>Good, well-thought out legitimate answer with sources.
…
<Poster 1e+28>Good, well-thought out legitimate answer with sources.

<Poster 1, OP>(vanishes from the thread, either to go play flirt games in MPSIMS or to go masturbate with their giant stuffed Tinky-Winky)

That’s right - I am fucking tired of people who ask a question, get it answered perfectly and completely, and then don’t even post a goddamn “Thank You”!

What the is the problem, really? There are some goddamn intelligent and highly-compensated people here, who are taking valuable time to try and answer your questions, even the fucking innane ones repeated ad infinitum like energy crisis ones, or “Who is Opal and why is she Number 3?” I charge $1000 a day to fucking answer coal questions, at least say “Hey thanks, that’s the info I needed” if I can help you at all - that’s all I fucking ask for! Not money, not “You are a Goddess and should be worshipped as such” ego-pumping crap. Just a “thank you”.

Here is an example of how little effort it takes - from http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=73546

See how easy it is? This newbie above figured it out early! I like him! Hell, I like him so much he can come over to my house and leave the toilet seat up!

If you ask a GQ question, and other people at least try to help you out, try to show some respect and gratitude and thank them for trying! And no, I don’t do it 100% of the time myself, because I am not perfect, and I forget or get suddenly called away - like many people do. But come on! At least I fucking try! You know there are many frequent offenders, people who just stop by keep asking questions and never show any thanks or appreciation for the other posters that type mutli-page responses to their questions!

Even if someone points you to another thread, or a Column by Cecil - if they do it politely, at least thank them for showing you that yes, Search Engines are Good Things.

Fuck!

2

Well said.

3

Excellent rant. 9.0.

And an “amen”, too.

When you look up an answer for somebody in GQ, it’s nice to know they received it. It’s not so much the lack of a “thank you” that irks me, it’s the lack of a simple “message received”. Did he ever come back and look at his thread? Or is he still out there somewhere, wondering who recorded the first cover of “Paper Roses”?

While I personally don’t particularly care whether Joe Clueless ever gets his requested info on the history of Kitty Litter, still, when I’ve spent 30 minutes driving around on Google looking for information on some rare birth defect for somebody whose sister’s mother-in-law’s cousin’s new baby has it, I’d like to hear a little bit of feedback.

4

I have thanked people, or did when I first started. It isn’t that I am not grateful, its just that it seemed I was the only one doing it, and felt like it wasn’t necessary. I will try to remember that it is acceptable to do so.

5

Yeah, right, we should tie up the god damn SDMB server with a bunch of “Thank you, kind sir, for considering my inquiry” posts. Things aren’t slow enough around this joint? After you, my dear motherfucking Alphonse. No, no, I insist, after you, my dear motherfucking Gaston.

–Uke the Divvel’s Own Advocate, who is always sure to say “thank you”

6

I have to agree with Ukelele Ike here (although not, perhaps, using thos words).

It is to be presumed that an OP feels a deep gratitude for the information given, and merely wishes not to tie up the server with “thank-you” notes.

Far more distressing, I think, is the following scenario:

<Poster 1, OP>I am seeking knowledge on…(insert almost anything)

<Poster 2>Good, well-thought out legitimate answer with sources.
<Poster 3>Good, well-thought out legitimate answer with sources.
…
<Poster 1e+28>Good, well-thought out legitimate answer with sources.
<Poster (1e+28)+1>Hey, d00d, I’m almost sure that my girlfriend talked to someone who quoted Art Bell as saying it was due to a conspiracy of government agents mentally enslaved by the methane hydrates generated by space aliens.
<Poster 1>Thanks, Poster (1e28)+1. Now that I have a vaguely supportive statement from someone completely anonymous, I can go spread ignorance among my fellow fast-food-chain employees with a clear conscience.

Yes, it’s happenned.

7

For me, any kind of response, even the “No brachy, you’ve totally missed the point of the OP” is nice. Otherwise it feels sort of like when you respond to someone and then turn around to find they’ve already left the room.

8

Well is a “thank you in advance” adequate or should we thank every response to the thread that gives good info? Just curious…
I need to go thank some folks now :slight_smile:

9

And could we have a PERMANENT LINK TO GOOGLE and INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO STRUCTURE YOUR QUERY and, perhaps most important, TIPS ON HOW TO MODIFY YOUR QUERY IF YOU DIDN’T GET YOUR ANSWER FIRST TRY? If followed, this simple process could save us a lot of traffic in GQ.

Of course, so could the occasional search of Cecil’s, Snopes, and the SDMB’s archives, so I guess THAT’S never going to happen. :rolleyes: If people would only wait to ask the question until all other avenues have been exhausted our traffic would be cut by ten percent.

10

Well, I always say thanks if I ask a personal question. Like when I asked about my daughters stitches or when I had questions about diabetes (thanks againAnth).

When its just a general interest or fun and funny type question I never thought I had to thank responders. I try to ask interesting questions that people would enjoy answering --which is the reason I don’t start many GQ threads. Answering interesting questions is the whole point of GQ and posters should be thankful that good questions are asked.

That being said, I try to be a good member of the SDMB family. I always revisit the threads that I start and thank, answer, flame or not respond to posters as I see necessary.

11

Thank you Anthracite! Amen squared!

Definitely a legitimate use of bandwidth.

12

I knew the bandwidth issue would come up, Ike, I was remiss in not including it.

Making one little thank you post at the end of a GQ thread does not tie up bandwidth. Page views tie up bandwidth, and Searches make the server cry like Baby Jesus (as was posted recently by UncleBeer). One little post at the end of the thread is not going to affect anything that much.

But, thank you very much for your point, and thank you everyone else for listening to my lame little rant.

13

Well, IMO a “thank you in advance” is better than nothing, although I think (IMO only) that one thank you post at the end, specifically calling out a couple people whose effort helped make you more educated and/or your life better, is the way to go. Just one post, not one per response - I mean, that’s overkill.

Or, to yield a point to Ike - how about a simple e-mail if people really help you out? True, not everyone lists their mail, but I think if someone types a 3-page post after doing research to help you out, maybe that’s not too much to ask if you do have the option of mailing them, right?

14

It’s my conceit that I’m due some response, too, but I can accept it philosophically when I note that often nobody responds to people like bibliophage or tomndebb, either.

What’s equally distressing is the following scenario:

…

<poster a>: provides answer

… substantial lag time with intervening posts.

<poster b>: provides a’s answer again, or asks supplemental question directly addressed in a’s post.

If they are posting less than an hour apart, I’m perfectly willing to write it off as a simulpost, but I WISH people would at least scan the thread before posting to it. I’ve sometimes missed that a point has already been made myself, particularly in long threads, but some offenses in this area are truly egregious.

(In fact, one reason I often stay out of long threads is that I don’t wish to go through the entire development before posting)

15

Crap!

A late thank you for your answer to my number 9 coal question.

16

I don’t spend much time in GQ (mostly because I lack all practical knowledge), but thanking people who help you out is simply common courtesy, even on a message board.

Okay, it isn’t common, but it should be. Pony up the props, people. And, in deference to Uke, for every thank you post be sure to resist one urge to post a non sequiteor sexual inuendo (MPSIMS excepted, of course).

Amen.

17

What’s even worse is whent the thread caps off with:

<OP> Thanks Poster B!

::Snarl::

18

Anthracite?? Thank you for this thread. Manners count, as much here in the virtual community we all know and love as in real life.

You’re a class act. I’m not just saying that cause you owe me $ 1,500 either!!! :smiley:

Cartooniverse

( she doesn’t…)

19

Yeah, and just in case you were all wondering, this is not a good way to phrase a GQ.

Well, not if you expect help. :wink:

20

You are welcome. :wink: