WHAT is wrong ???
Jun 6th, 1999, 05:10 PM
#1
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WHAT is wrong ???
It seems to me that there are a few hotheads in this forum. I am speaking for my self only so please, if you cannot respond to a question without putting your two cents worth then please refrain. This is my first time here and by know means the last as i get great advice on my up and coming trip to Paris. So with that said, lets keep this a travel forum, not the WWF forum.
Jun 6th, 1999, 06:15 PM
#2
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Like ramzi, I was attracted to this forum because it has been the source of huge amounts of excellent advice while I was in the planning phase of my European trips. Right now, I log in frequently to see if there have been any recent postings that might influence my upcoming trip. <BR> <BR>Along with the good travel tips, there have been some sprited, even volatile exchanges. Just recently we seem to have gone through some exchanges that were not 100% travel related, although somehow there was an underlying travel related theme. Unfortunately, some of the postings have gotten too personal and tended toward rudeness and anger. <BR> <BR>Compared with the US and Canadian forums, the European forum is a hot bed of dissent and even barbed remarks. My take on the situation is that the contributors here are, by in-large, well-informed, articulate, well-educated, and widely travelled people. They also seem more assertive and opinionated than contributors to the other forums. <BR> <BR>True, there is an upside and a downside to everything. Along with the good advice there are occasional potshots that undoubtedly offend and/or intimidate some readers. <BR> <BR>To the new folks, bear in mind that all of us were new at some point. When I was new, I frankly did not let the hot exchanges bother me, and I enjoyed immensely the ones that were thought provoking. Being intrigued, I have waded in and played the game. As a result, I have caught my share of flak for a few comments, but most of it strikes me as funny -- even the jibes that seem to originate in a mean-spirited mind. <BR> <BR>But don't think that the more "spiked retort" oriented threads are all this forum has to offer. We have had some great running commentaries on such topics as "Why do you travel?", "What is your favorite place?", and various topics on travel behavior and etiquette. And, among the regular readers, who can forget the "Tacky Tourist" serial with all of its satellite discussions? These are priceless in my opinion. Not only do I get information, but I get a chance to analyze myself and think a little bit about why I do what I do. <BR> <BR>To show the difference in the collective personalities of the various forum groups, I would like to cite a comment I made on the US forum about Mt. Rushmore. I opined that I thought someone had ruined a good mountain with a jack hammer. I got NO ! retorts to my somewhat opinioned comment. Had I made a similar comment on this forum, my guess is that someone would have had a very strong counter opinion. <BR> <BR>My feeling is that I ask when I have a need, take the replies that I can use, reply to what I think is an interesting topic, and laugh at the folks who get bent out of shape. Hey ! Fodors may be cheaper than a psychiatrist's couch -- except most of the MD shrinks feed people psychotropic drugs these days rather than analyzing them. <BR>
Jun 7th, 1999, 03:19 AM
#6
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Ramzi, <BR> <BR>You are right. Unfortunately some people can only make themselves feel important by making other people look stupid and wrong--(or at least that's what they think they are doing--actually they make themselves look that way) I think it's time for those who have made this forum their lives to move on to something else. Set up your own little exclusive discussion group. Then you can make the rules.
Jun 7th, 1999, 03:27 AM
#7
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In a word: nothing. <BR>In the "ecology" of this list we eventually "flush" out the irritant... that is the post or series of posts sink. Unless someone has a "need" to resurrect them. <BR> <BR>There are going to be "hotheads" in any forum. The strength of *this* forum is that, on the whole, we KNOW when to let go, when all we are doing is feeding someone's ego, or their misplaced notions of their own power. <BR> <BR>Bob Brown: I appreciate your post, but I don't think this forum needs any "apologia." The quality of the content rises above any of the "irritants."
Jun 7th, 1999, 03:35 AM
#8
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I would agree with Bob above. I have been only checking in since about February. I have been to Europe twice and am planning a 3rd this fall. The forum has been very helpful, providing suggestions and insight. It is up to the reader to accept or reject. And I feel great when I can help someone else or for some of the "think" pieces, expound on travel, sharing thoughts with those who have a common interest. Yes I have seen some less than positive remarks, which I may read and write off as appropriate or ignore. After all, we still have free speech and freedom of choice. The value here outweighs the sometimes negative vibes. Hopefully, the majority of users and contributors receive help and satisfaction from the site, otherwise they would not continue to come back.
Jun 7th, 1999, 03:40 AM
#9
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Mary Ann, don't start with this 'I don't wish to see negative postings' nonsense. If you dont wish to see someone being negative about Europe then don't log onto this forum. What a complete crock! <BR> <BR>I hate this 'positive only' vibe people try to perpetrate. If Amsterdam is a toilet I will tell you that, whether you like it or not.
Jun 8th, 1999, 09:20 AM
#11
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I don't really mind the negative comments, as long as room is allowed for dissenting opinions. Honestly, don't Tony and others that some might call hotheads make the forum more interesting and more of a community? Where I always draw the line is personal insults. Certainly, I do like to join in a few spirited discussions now and then, but I always respect the other posters and their rights to their own opinions. In fact, their own arguments do sometimes teach me something and alter my own opinions. And yes Inky, I do want to hear the negatives about Europe, if they are honest opinions and not stated for the purpose of confrontation. <BR>
Jun 8th, 1999, 12:20 PM
#15
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I was not intending to write an apology for some of the postings on the European Forum. Perhaps my phrasing left my remarks open to that interpretation. I was attempting to say that I find rude, insulting, deprecating, and denegrating remarks to be in poor taste and prima facie evidence of bad manners. <BR>There is no good that can come of that level of behavior. All it does is arouse defensive behavior, hurt feelings, and make enemies. <BR>I liken those types of comments to the current practice of taking out a gun and blowing somebody away because you don't like what he or she says. It is almost like road rage on the forum. <BR>Some of the people who ask questions on these pages may not be as articulate as one might like, but that is no reason to direct at them some of the personal attacks that I have read. <BR>As a case in point, take a look at some of the exchanges on the current topic about ATM or credit cards. <BR>I guess I was taught to be polite to strangers until their behavior indicates otherwise. The mentality that seems to express itself freely these days follows the principle of putting the transgressors in their place, whatever that might be. A lively discussion is one thing, personal attacks are another. <BR>
