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.

A perfect day here is:

1/3 requests for information
1/3 trip reports
1/3 trolls
1/3 babbles for supremacy between dominant posters

I really like the trip reports. Many have inspired my own trips and when I return, I pay it forward. Some that bore me or are not to areas that are interesting to me, I skip. It's really very simple. No one is forcing you to read anything here.

If you want a strictly Q&A forum, read tripadvisor. It's extremely rare to see a TR on there.

I like Cold's math.

I like the trip reports and have gotten plenty of helpful info for my trip planning. My husband and I travel to a different destinations for our vacation but there are plenty of posters here and on Trip Adviser who have made several visits to the same place. That's where their expertise comes into play for me and is so helpful.

When I return I do a trip report or blog with pictures. I do this as my way of returning the favor so to speak. Hoping it may help a future traveler. I attach pictures of places we stay at and dinners we have. I'm thinking this may help some in deciding where to stay or where to go for dinner. If I'm wrong then I'm sorry. I also post pictures of our sightseeing too. By reading trip reports and viewing the pictures I can decide what attractions I want to see, what activities I may want to do, etc.

Dayle-TA does have lots of trip reports. Sometimes there is a separate link to them that you will find on the right side of the page. Or you can just type in trip report-insert name-in the search engine box. A list appears and you can further narrow it down by checking if you want to see the most relevant or ones by date with most current appearing first.

Hi NOCHBLAD,

"... one has to wade through a lot of frankly uninteresting stuff to get to the nuggets."

Can you define "nuggets" please? Specific hotel recommendations, restaurants, shopping experiences, transportation options, scenic vistas???

Personally, I enjoy trip reports, especially about places that I have already been. I have written three on London (overdrawn perhaps by your standards), yet I always enjoy reading about how others spent their time in that fair city.

It's an acquired taste, I guess. :)

OP: To answer your question - no.

People write trip reports for various reasons - just as those who start threads & post responses. Some may well be for vanity. Eye of the beholder, I suppose.

I like Trip Reports, have learned a lot of interesting things about places, and the writers from them. It takes me less than a minute to skim & flick past if I'm not interested.

My time is not so precious or important that my life's work is seriously impeded by the time it takes to scroll down to topics that do interest me.

I love reading trip reports.They belong where they are.

If they write the flight number, who they sat next to on the plane, or the time they awoke, I stop.

If they use empty words such as amazing, awesome, or yum, yummy, yummo, I stop.

And if the create straw men, just to contradict them, I stop.

If they have a sense of humor, a sense of place, a sense of proportion, or sense of adventure, I continue on.

Leave the trip reports where they are. If they're of interest to me, I'll read them, if not, won't bother. Have gotten lots of great info from trip reports and enjoy reading about differences in modes of travel and how someone 'sees' a place they're visiting.

I think you may be on to something here. For me, I don't rent a car when I travel nor to do I care about fine dining, so all those threads should be moved to another forum as well. Scrolling past such threads hurts my scrolling finger!

Vanity? I don't understand the objection. It's all about me, isn't it?

Cold,
1/3 babbles for supremacy between dominant posters. Could not have said it better. The squabbles they have in other people's threads are annoying also.

Julia-T inspired a trip to Croatia. KJA & Iowa_Redhead gave us the courage to tackle China. And I've joked that we need to shadow Jamikins & BikerScott on their travels. They know how to have fun. (Of course Maitaitom can write the book on that!)

NONE of the places they travelled were even on our radar before reading their reports.. So, leave them in the general lineup and keep them coming! If you have to wade through a bit of vanity then just tough it out, but don't judge the rest of us who find trip reports invaluable and like seeing them in the daily line-up.

--Annie

>>>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.<<<

Your nuggets and my nuggets might be totally different. Wading through trip reports is no different than wading through a thread that asks a question. They often end up about a lot of other things, not the question.

Thanks Annie!

I have been hesitant to respond to this because we love writing trip reports and sharing our photos...it allows us to document our trips and share with other travellers. Vanity reports...maybe! I love to hear people have enjoyed our photos or get some entertainment from our reports.

I have thought about forgetting reports as some people can be quite demoralising but I am so glad some enjoy our reports enough to comment on them!

I love reading others reports as well so keep them coming!!!

Maybe it's just me but I think there's something a bit odd about objecting to trip reports on a travel forum. As others have said, they can be amusing, inspiring and answer a lot of questions without the need for a q and a.

They take a long time to write, not to mention the upload and sorting of photos. It makes me quite sad to hear people are having second thoughts about writing them due to the mean spiritedness of others who see them as boring or self indulgent.

Yes there are occasional reports that don't appeal to me in style or content but all I do is stop reading them and click on another thread. Would never dream of telling anyone their report was poor. And let's face it - even a poor report probably adds more to the board than someone lording it over someone else.

jamikins, your trip reports are one of the few I read and find interesting. You always have humor and pictures of actual things, not links. I write terrible trip reports so don't even bother. Kwren and Denisea are also very good. Dukey1 has good reports though I am not an opera fan nor can I get the husband to a play. I like to read his reports. Back to packing. going on my first cruise in years. Just a three nighter but a quick getaway. Maybe I will do a report on the cruise forum!

I love writing my trip reports. I love reading my trip reports. I post them to help people. It is a lot of work and doesn't have a thing to do with "vanity". Check mine out... you may have a change of heart....

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...m#last-comment

otherwise, I agree, scroll past 'em. Pick your battles I say. This should not be one.

My observation was not contrary to Trip Reports per se but principally their inclusion in the - let's say - Question & Answer section.

IMHO there should be a distinction. There should also be a distinction between "original" questions and thos posed by poster too lazy to do some research on the Forum before posting a question but I suppose this would open another can of worms.

I suppose I am an atypical traveller. I contribute to the Q&A but do not write Trip Reports. Having lived in Italy over 30 years I have adopted the Italian form of travelling. I do not plan and I do not follow the standard itinerary. Of course I have a general route but my inclination is, once arriving at destination, to go the opposite direction of the horde. I will see the main sites etc but I gain greater pleasure in the off beaten tracks, seeing how the locals live, watching them interreact whilst having a coffee or a glass of wine at a local bar or café.

Over the years Fodors in Italy has moved from the big three - Venice, Florence and Rome - to the secondary locations which are the Lakes (especially Lake Como), the Cinque Terre and the Amalfi Coast. What pleases me is that travellers are looking at other areas of Italy that are beyond Rick Steves (who is this individual? - ed). Such areas include - the Italian Lakes other than the big three, the Adriatic coast, Puglia, Abruzzo (especially inland), Basilicata etc. Sardinia, unfortunately, is little mentioned in the postings.

As far as Trip Reports are concerned I flick through them occasionally. It helps if the title is clear as to the repot itself. What puts me off are those which start - Mr & Mrs have travelled to .... or along those lines. As a bit of a foodie (that happens if you live in Italy so long) I am always interested in new foodie experiences. Just to pick out one contributor I do read ekskrunchy's reports. Her writing on Senise peppers was of particular interest to me. As a foodie I am interested not only in the freshest of ingredients (as well as kilometer zero) but also in the various methods of conservation of foods for later consumption.

As have the contributions evolved I think Fodor needs to evolve and my suggestion that Trip Reports need to been separated from the Q&A is a personal observation.

I don't see any forum entitled 'Q and A'. The forums are divided by region, thus any sort of input - questions, pictures, reports, links - are all acceptable. The tag makes TRs easy to spot so you never need click on one if you find them dull. As for letting the titles of TRs, put you off - well more fool you because some of the very best ever submitted on here (imho) had Mr and Mrs whatever in the title.

What a depressing thread - really had no idea how closed-minded some people were. And they say travel broadens the mine...