not a troll

Is it just me that is bothered when others don't acknowledge my replies? I have asked many questions and always thanked respondents to those questions. I am very appreciative when others take the time for me. I have left detailed answers to questions posed by others and have found that generally my answers are not acknowledged, especially on other parts of the forum where I do have some degree of expertise. I would love to know if these people have found my advice valuable or worthless.Whatever.At the very least, a simple thank you will bring their query back to the top. <BR> <BR>Am I wrong? What do others think?

sometimes a troll

I agree totally. It would be common courtesy to have the grace to express appreciation, and to satisfy the helpful person's curiosity as to the the usefulness of the information offered. It is also in the inquirer's self-interest to post a "thank you" which serves to top his post. (So NOT thanking is both rude and stupid.)

Deborah

I agree so very much! I usually respond to any question that I feel I have the expertise to answer. Just a quick "Thank You" would surely be nice once in a while. I believe that I've only gotten one rsponse in the form of a thank you. They are few and far between! Come on people, let's show some CLASS !!!!!!!!!

wes fowler

I'm a frequent and long time respondent to queries posted to this forum. It's never particularly bothered me not to receive an acknowledgement of thanks. I wouldn't expect to be thanked for recommending a hotel, restaurant, itinerary or site to see until the person to whom I had made the recommendation had actually followed up and experienced it, that is, stayed there, ate there, saw that. I do find instances of thanks for resolving simple problems. A recent poster was in an apparent panic to find no evidence of Sunday train service from Bruges to Brussels via Thalys. I received thanks after pointing out that Thalys trains don't serve the two cities, IC trains do and run every half hour and providing a website where that info could be confirmed. <BR> <BR>I do have a problem in one area. I always post with my true Email address and invariably invite direct correspondence. I spend more time and effort in such correspondence than I do here in this forum. Invariably, I'll follow up with the correspondent to see if my recommendations or suggestions had merit. I want assurance that the charming bistro in Bruges hasn't been taken over by McDonalds. Rarely do I get meaningful responses either confirming the validity of my suggestions or blistering me for leading the traveler astray. It would be nice to know in either case. <BR>

Ed

Similar to Wes I respond to a lot of mail separate from Fodors. The advice is acknowledged there about as infrequently as on Fodors, perhaps 1 in 10, probably less. As Wes says, it's a little frustrating at times not knowing whether the advice or info was useful or still on the money. <BR> <BR>As to thanks here on Fodors, I'm not sure a thank at the end of the thread is necessary, or even appropriate. It's sort of a "topping", often after the thread has become somewhat threadbare. <BR> <BR>A separate thank you to those who post with a real mail address would be welcomed though. I do get those occasionally. <BR> <BR>Ed

liz

Wes, I am with you on your last point. I used to use my real e-mail address but got a serious virus and no longer have the nerve to post my real one, but when I did I also frequently got e-mails asking more questions and I always responded, sometimes in great detail. While their were a few that were quite appreciative, more oft then not I never even recieved a word of thanks! I can't even imagine myself not giving thanks to someone for taking the time to respond. It's really a rather sad statement of our society in general.

Anita

I have to agree with Ed, thank you's only end up topping a thread from which you may need no further information. Consider thanks implicit with the question. If they found the help useful, they'll return to the Fodor's site and contribute answers of they're own.

dan woodlief

I don't care whether anyone thanks me, but I would like to hear more often by e-mail or through posts here which information was found helpful and which was not. I think part of the problem, if there is one, is that many of us take the trips so long after we get the advice that it simply never occurs to us to respond afterwards.

Rex

Common theme - - feedback on whether the advice is/was useful is more important to me than thanks. And this can other readers, as the questioner often has something more to tell - - this can help other people with similar (or dissimilar) circumstances decide whether the question ought to be re-asked to fit their own needs. <BR> <BR>I find it puzzling at times - - even mildly annoying - when a thread goes like this: <BR> <BR>Post 1 - question <BR>Posts 2-5 - useful answers <BR>Post 6 - acknowledgement, and thanks... <BR> <BR>and then others keep right on posting more info... <BR> <BR>I think that a lot of people come here a limited number of times, get info, and then move on (i.e., don't become addicts, like some of us). Adding additional opinions, especially when they repeat info that has already been given seems - - I don't know - - just kinda makes me roll my eyes. <BR> <BR>I do believe that many people come here, ask a question and do not realize that their thread may be 200-400 messages deep when they come back in 48 hours or more. I continue to believe that threads should be searchable on "timestamp" of initial post, as well as by contributor's name or e-mail. <BR>

Ess

I agree with Anita, thanks should be considered implicit with the question. But more follow-up reporting would be great (and a welcome relief from sifting through questions about what to wear, etc.).

celia Lynn

I always try to say thank you when I've received pertinent info I've needed. I've found answers to all my questions. I've offered opinions on hotels, etc. but never heard anything further. Some people are just so excited, I think they just forget, or hate to re-post to a thread.

angel

I'm OK with it either way -- whether thanked or not. <BR> <BR>There have been times on the US thread where the original poster has jumped in to offer thanks after almost reply. At that point it almost seems self-congratulatory -- and a way to keep your topic topping. I totally agree with Rex -- let a few responses surface, then thank the group. <BR>

Capo

While I always appreciate, and would never turn down, a thank you, I've always felt that giving -- whether it's advice or a material gift -- shouldn't be done with the *expectation* of a quid pro quo thank you.

Cindy

I don't really care whether I get a personal thank you. I do think thank yous are very helpful to "kill" a thread. You know: Question, answer, answer, answer, answer, Thanks everyone. Then we know you're finished and we helped you. <BR> <BR>While we're on the subject, I don't like it much when someone just thanks one person when many tried to help. What are the rest of us? Chopped liver?

StCirq

I do find it rather discouraging that so few people - on this board and many others - never say thank you; after all, people are freely offering what is usually good advice. <BR> <BR>At the same time, it does tend to kill a thread when people pop in just to say thanks. <BR> <BR>Easy solution: I always say "thanks in advance for any help you can provide," or something to that effect, when I post a question. Then, if I get great information or if later a tip turns out to have been special, I send a private e-mail.

BOB THE NAVIGATOR

Like Wes and Ed I answer more questions from direct emails than I do on the forum. I guess I have invited that by using my real address and making an open offer to help. All I expect is some feedback after the fact, but my results on that are less than 10%. <BR>I think it all goes back to a mentality of entitlement in the world of cyberspace. Many people feel it is their right to receive the expertise and good will of others. The irony is that I have often seen a tip that I had given perhaps a year before come back in a response a year later, and the responder has forgotten where they got the idea--it becomes their own discovery. And life goes fill circle.

ldsant

Hmm. . .I think that it's interesting how most of us on this thread are people who have a)answered other ?s, b) agree that it would be nice to hear back from folks, and c) agree that a simple thank you is very welcomed. I think we're the ones who have the etiquette! Where are the people who just post, ask, and bolt? I know this is supposed to be a community, but in my home community, most people do say thank you when somebody does something for them.

amanda~

I guess posters don't always know when responders are 'finished'- do they have to thank each and every poster in turn? <BR>I usually thank in advance - many others do too. Kinda covers the etiquette bit while leaving open the possibility that more responses may be forthcoming than is obvious straight up.

nancy

I am the Thank You Queen. <BR>I always thank responders to my posts, because I feel if someone takes the time out to try and help me, that person should know that I have read their post and how I feel about their info. <BR>I don't use my "thank yous" to top my post, if I want to top my post I will. <BR>I have actually gotten a complaint or two from someone(s) who complained about my frequent thanking on my thread! <BR>My response to that person was ; <BR>"It's my thread and I'll thank if I want to" <BR>(Sing this line to the old song, "It's my party and I'll cry if I want to" ) <BR>I just think "thank you's" are appropriate, and I know I always appreciate knowing my info(limited as it is) has been read. <BR>

Judi

....and I am the "Nerja Queen". I receive emails regularly from people asking about Nerja and although I don't hear back from everyone there are those whom I have had a lot of correspondence with. One of my email friends, Monica, a sweet, charming and beautiful Fodorite, learned that I would be in LA last week. She contacted me, picked me up and took me to dinner even though she doesn't live very near to where I was staying. Now that was a special thank you!