I guess different people will have different opinions on this, but it seems too mundane to be a GD, yet too much of a poll to be in MPSIMS, so here it is.
A while back (probably late '99 or early '00), someone got their knickers in a bunch because a lot of people weren’t thanking those that answered their questions in GQ. Many others agreed that it was only common courtesy. I shared this view as well.
Back then, however, the boards weren’t in nearly the sorry shape that they are now. There was a little bit of slowdown in the afternoon, but nothing like the grinding-to-a-halt-every-ten-minutes situation we’re facing now.
If every GQ thread had one post that just said “thank you” and nothing else, that would mean a whole hell of a lot of extra database entries. Is it worth it? Should we be conserving posts for the sake of the board’s speed or expressing our gratitude, database be damned?
Well, I’ve popped into a couple of GQs from time to time and apparently dropped the information bomb with such accuracy that the thread was dropped off the screen with no further comment. I dunno, it would be kinda nice to have an acknowledgement that the answer was read and found adequate, or whatever, but I’m not too busted up about it.
I have a vague recollection that the mods/admins asked that we don’t thank people. It is nice to be acknowledged though, so I usually thanks posters when they’ve provided thorough, useful answers that may have involved a lot of time and effort. It’s not that I don’t appreciate other posters’ efforts, but it’s a kind of a judgement call.
Just thank in advance, and then clog up later at night when the board is rockin’ or in busier times if someone posts super accurate number one mega informative post that just deserves an automatic thanks.
i think we’ve discussed this in ATMB a while back…
IIRC, the consensus was that if the answers were detailed, well-researched, etc. then a thanks would be appreciated by the person who wrote that reply… since it took quite some effort for person who replied to type that reply and he/she would atleast like for the answer to be acknowledged as having met the requirements of the OP.
I assumed this had already been discussed before, but what word would I search for to find it? “Thanks?” “General?” “Questions?” I think I’d have killed the SDMB’s hard drive if I’d tried to search for any of those words.
