Pet Peeves - non responders
 

I realise this is immature of me, but it does irk when somebody comes onto the forum asks for advice, and is never heard from again. Some replies to questions are obviously placed by very knowledgable people, or those who have taken the time to look up details of trains, buses, website information etc. An aknowledgement is always nice.

Better still, when a questioner returns, some feedback. "I took Willit's advice and they are obviously a moron as the bus wasn't that number, it didn't leave from there, and they only took polish Zlotys and not Euros as stated" is far more useful than nothing at all.

I agree - when people take the time to help it would be nice the OP could at least post a "thank you". Sometime I wonder if people have even read the responses to their quiry.

I suspect with some posters the cause of their lack of responsiveness, even a simple thank you, is that they don't understand the forum well enough to find their posts and reply appropriately. Posts sink quickly out of sight, and they may never be aware they should dig them out of the stack, read the contributions, and offer thanks as appropriate.

The first thing I do when I log onto the forum is to find one of my posts and check for replies. For example, I may do a search on "Poland," which will bring up a list that includes my post requesting suggestions for a Krakow, and I'll go to the most recent posts and reply to them with thanks or additional questions.

That Krakow thread ended up being quide-book quality in the posts by Fodorites and contributed so much to my excitement and ability to plan a great trip.

Every time I thanked someone for a contribution, the thread came back up to the top and provoked more great input by Fodorites.

Once I've checked a thread of mine I've found, I click on my name, which brings up all my other posts, which I then can check for replies and respond as appropriate. Often, I'll find a replies to a post I'd even forgotten I'd made.

I learn a lot when I post responses to other people's requests for advice, so it's never wasted time. Besides, we do this because we love to talk about travel. So, while I'm curious when a poster doesn't come back after folks have posted helpful replies to an inquiry, it doesn't offend me.

It may be because on many other forums such messages are actively discouraged as are "what s/he said" and "attaboy" messages and other messages that do not add new content. I too like to hear how advice worked out for people, but my saying that is a "what s/he said"!

I suspect that Mary Fran is right. It took me a while to figure out how to retrieve a past post.

You know, I think there are some people who actually spend their working hours doing the work for which they are being paid and not checking this board. (Not me...I'm a total addict.)So, if you log on before you leave for work - say 7 am - and log back on at 7 pm - that could give lots of people the impression that the poster is not responding to the help that has been offered.

A few weeks ago I posted a question that drew lots of replies in just a few hours. That must have been a day when I was actually WORKING at my job, because by the time I checked again (maybe 5 hours later) I was already being scolded for vanishing.

If I have the time when I'm on line for a long period, I always top (ttt) for those who post and have not an answer. I think also the new posters don't realize that if they post in the morning that it may sink and the evening posters won't see it.
Some posters also only thank one person on a thread and not the rest who were helpful, but that's cyberspace for you.

I also think some posters aren't serious in their requests for information in the first place, so they're not invested enough in the quest for answers to follow up I've finally developed a sense of smell for frivolous posters who are really just daydreaming, and I try to avoid them unless for some reason I find some satisfaction in posting.

Actually I find Fodor's to have a good return rate for that kind of thing. Just look at Trip Advisor. People post all the time and never check back, or at least never reply to say they have read the responses.

Fodor's forums generally speaking keeps a pretty good "conversation" going in my opinion.

Oh, I wouldn't expect the OP to respond the same day, everyone is busy and to thank each person who posted could get a bit redundant. But, are there really all these new people who can't ever find what they posted or don't know how to hit the 'reply' button? I can see some other aspects of this forum being confusing to a newbie and I would certainly try to help someone out, but; I would hope that if someone was planning a trip they are capable of clicking on a button!

I just think it’s too bad when someone asks for help say, finding a hotel or restaurant and they get many great suggestions and the OP is never heard from again.

Another thing is there are some posters who may not like you and will not post on anything you write unless it's to dispute you. I've seen alot of that.
They're the ones who are always right and must have the last word. If no replies just keep topping.

And then there are posters who do receive a reply with helpful information but only respond by a "ttt" without so much as a thank you to the responder.