Too many Trip Reports
 

I have just taken a screen shot and out of the first 8 topics 6 are Trip Reports.

Do others feel that Trip Reports should appear in a separate section rather than clog up the more question and answer function of the Forum?

no I think they are great where they are, you always get a glut in the late Autumn after people get back from their hols.

Another vote for keeping them where they are. They are flagged as such, so if you don't want to look at them, just scroll past.

There do seem to be a lot of trip reports lately but they are as informational (or more so) than the question threads as they are often written by experienced travelers. I ask questions on trip reports and get good answers. So many of the threads are questions about topics that have been asked and answered thousands of times.

Ditto what adrienne said. A lot of questions get answered in trip reports, without having to start a new thread to ask. Besides, they add a little levity to the otherwise somewhat mundane.

But arn't some Trip Reports just Vanity Reports?

The ones I enjoy most are about journeys to which I can relate, and which I would like to do myself. My recent favourites are those by Annhig and Bilboburglar about trips to Germany and Alsace. I am less taken with those which say little that is new, describing routine visits to Windsor, Bath and Stonehedge.

Trip reports are the backbone of this forum---keep them visible.

There should two separate sections, one for trip reports that are written well and those which make glad your state has gun control.

>>But arn't some Trip Reports just Vanity Reports?<<

Since you've never written one you must be a very humble guy >)

yes, a number of reports are vanity projects .
One can just skip them if not interested.

But arn't some Trip Reports just Vanity Reports?

There's this great thing--the little icon that says "trip report". You should just ignore these posts--it is REALLY REALLY easy.

Despite the differences in writing styles, I think trip reports provide decent information about hotels and getting around in unfamiliar places. Sharing experiences helps everyone and I think that TRs should stay in the same place as queries.

The page already has a section for trip reports down at the bottom. Why do they have to appear in two places?

I agree that there may be some information worthwhile in a few of the trip reports but one has to wade through a lot of frankly uninteresting stuff to get to the nuggets.

Apart from vanity pieces there seems to be quite a bit of mutual glorification too.

thank you, chartley.

I agree that there may be some information worthwhile in a few of the trip reports but one has to wade through a lot of frankly uninteresting stuff to get to the nuggets.>>

fodors isn't that dissimilar to life then, Nochblad. and it really is up to you whether you bother to read them or not.

as for mutual glorification, if someone has gone to the trouble to write a TR that I'm interested in, then i want to thank them for it, not least to encourage them to continue. and there are plenty of threads where mutual glorification is entirely absent if that's more to your taste.

No - I like seeing them - and you can imply ignore them if you don;t want to read.

Too many trip reports? There is no such thing. The goods ones humanize travel in a way the typical Q & A forums can't.

Ian

Unless you have something different, TRs only appear in two places on one's own page; otherwise, they are mixed in with the little icon to identify them on the specific areas of the world. Am I misunderstanding something (believe me it happens are the time).

Yep, there are boring TRs. Over the years there are some I always read carefully, others not so much. But you might like the ones I don't. Who's to say you're right and I'm wrong? Actually, there are several TR authors who do put the hotel and resto info in one place--a good goal for all of us???

I don't know what impels a person to take the time to write a TR, nochblad. But, most of the ones I've read are written in the spirit of being grateful for the opportunity to travel (and sometimes to return again and again) and to share the experience.

What annoys me more is people writing, "Oh why do you want to do that?" or "Don't bother going there."

I enjoy a well-written and informative trip report, especially when it describes a journey to a place to which I'd like to travel.

But the key phrase here is "Well-written." I don't bother with boring TR's, even if I'm interested in the destination.

P.S. They must have reasonable paragraphs. When faced with a long block of typescript, I skip the TR.

When faced with a detailed description of what each member of the family had for breakfast ( lunch, dinner),
I skip the TR.