Why not give some personal interest to your question?
 

As some of you know, I have just started reading this forum and it is very informative, but alot of it is a little cut and dried, if you don't mind my saying so. Don't get me wrong I enjoy learning from all the posts and questions and alot of you are really experts.

But how many times can you read almost the same questions over and over? Why not add more interest with personal incidents and let people know where you are coming from?

"honeymoon: where shall we stay?"
(tell us a little about yourself)

I notice alot of you jump on threads which ask you to tell a little about your life, such as "guilty over leaving pets" so you must have interesting lives that you could relate to us in travel.

But maybe this doesn't work, you have all been here alot longer than me.

Hi faith,

Welcome to the board.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

IRA, Once Again, You Beat Me To It!!!Mike

Sorry, Mike.

I guess it's because I have a turbocharged search engine with the full race cam.

Faith,

A similar question was posed a few months ago and it turned into a major debate. It ended up getting pretty nasty, so the Fodors editors deleted the whole thread. I actually agree with you Faith, and I usually add a little personal info, if it's relevant to the question (and sometimes if it's not!).

One argument against doing that is you never know what loonies are out there and what they might do with your personal info. Odds are pretty low (hopefully) that you'd run into a predator on a travel forum, though.

The reality is that the people here do share more than just dry travel information, and there are Fodors get-togethers happening all around the world. I can't wait for our SoCal GTG next weekend!

Welcome to the forum; you've arrived with a bang!

faithinwhomIamlosingfaith, there is <i>plenty</i> of personal info on here. If you want cut and dried, try the Asia or Latin America forums. Someone who has primarily posted on the Europe board recently posted on Latin America and was advised not to be so &quot;gushy.&quot; It really gave me a chuckle.

Faith - that's what Chat Rooms are for!!

Personally I like Fodors for its TRAVEL information exchange. I do agree that it is helpful to post your likes and dislikes when asking generalized questions (where to go? what to do?). There's a good tread from Tex, another new poster, who doesn't want to spend his entire trip in Museums &amp; Cathedrals, for instance.

I don't normally get into the to-troll or not-to-troll debates, but 'faithonholiday' sure has a lot to say for a newcomer to this BB and novice traveler to boot. How did we ever make it this far without her?

I don't mean detailed personal information, really. I just think when you say &quot;I've always wanted to see ___&quot; you can make your post interesting by saying why. How many times has Ira had to repeat the same limo service day after day? I know this is a travel site but, you all seem to come here often, some every day, so you must want some personal interaction, so why not open up a little?

If someone answers with more than a few words about themselves you accuse them of lying or trolling.

But I guess if you had had experience here with people getting nasty when you tell about yourselves then that is the reason.

Don't give up on me Marilyn.

The Bodyguard is a wizoned old man with suspenders, otherwise I would insist that he join us too, and he is an assistant, not a real bodyguard.

OK, since it seems to upsetting so many of you when I post, I will quit, but it was fun for a few days. I take it good naturedly because it doesn't really matter in the scheme of things.

NO,on second thought, I have to check here again tomorrow to get some restaurants.

PS: Nothing against Ira, I was just using him as an example of having to write the same things over and over every day.

I think too you all want personal tidbits but then you seem to attack the same writer who gives them, in a nice way of course, at least so far.

faith, look at it this way: if you give up and stop posting, everyone will believe you were a troll. If you keep posting and become a regular, someday someone will retrieve your original posts and we'll all have a good laugh.

Time will tell.

Also, don't stop posting because you think you are upsetting some of us. We LIKE to be upset, can't you tell? :-D

Faith, One thing you seem to be overlooking with your suggestions, is people actually *need* that limo information Ira patiently posts over and over. Same as I answer each person who asks about Pensione La Calcina in Venice or the Geneva airport or getting around Amsterdam. We all share what we know (know, as in useful facts for planning a trip).

But maybe we should take your unasked for advice and try to be more entertaining on your behalf... after all you've got quite the threads going for a newcomer (w/ lifejacket in gondolas + fearful 1st cousin)!!

I agree with my long-lost sister, Suze. Faith, you certainly are on the short list for most dramatic and entertaining entry onto the forum.

Does anyone remember Blondie (not to be confused with OhBlondie) whose first post sounded like she thought she was joining a singles chat room? Faith, you would have approved of the personal tone. As I read it, though, I winced at the carnage that was about to follow...She actually took it pretty well, but has not stayed the course, unless she changed her reg name out of sheer embarrassment.

There are obviously a few opinions on the &quot;personal interest&quot; issue here at Fodors.
Some people enjoy knowing a little about the posters, I do.
Some people accuse some of us of being needy of attention and making things too &quot;non-travel&quot;...must be talking about me ~And then there are the people who expect only those who have traveled within a certain amount of days to post or else they are considered non-travelers, therefore their advice is worthless...to them, I say ~Feh~
SO... I think that I like things the way they are..I have been here long enough and read enough postings that I know something about some of these posters whether they actually tell it or not-and some are friends after all this time, which is a Big Bonus to me!
I would suggest to any newbie-read and post and just let the rest happen.

Excellent advice from Scarlett. I remember my surprise when I first realized that some of the posters actually communicated off the board. Gradually I have come to know some people here a little or a lot. And I have found it to be a most entertaining, friendly, and helpful community. But you just have to &quot;let it happen,&quot; as Scarlett says.

I have to say I am a &quot;newbie&quot; to this forum. I like that your questions are answered and I found if you read their trip reports you find out they have a husband or wife or partner that they travel with-so their is some sort of personal info. It's all good for me!

Welcome, paula!

...and let's not forget we know what kind of wines they prefer...what hotels they like...should we go on...

Hi Scarlett,
I too am reasonably new to his forum but have already been in touch with other contributors by email [with their permission of course] and as you say it's a real pleasure to talk to people who share your interests. When I told my husband that I had been given the chance to &quot;meet&quot; others he said &quot;why don't you invite them over?&quot; Now there's a thought.

I have oft advocated a more detailed profile of posters that you can click on and see an age range, favorite country, wine, food, what have you, so that one may better decern whose advise more closely matches my tastes, likes and dislikes and so on.

I think this is a valid request so even though I'm still a newbie, I'll go first.
1) Favorite holiday: My Birthday
2) Favorite person to sit next to on a plane: An Anorexic who doesn't drink too much and is too timid to even get up to go to the restroom. Speaks only when spoken to.

I am sorry but........YAWN!!!!!

My dears, surely reading between the lines gives much more mystery to the writer than revealing all on their first appearance.

I will admit that I like to know a bit about those who post on this forum, mainly because I am in awe of how many places they've visited and how much they know. At other times, I'm simply curious about people like m_kingdom, who is so blunt and yet so entertaining to me. However, I do believe it's best to, as Scarlett said above, just &quot;let it happen&quot; in the context of a particular posting.

oooooMarilyn!

I thought NOBODY would see what happenend to me on the Latin America board..GIGGLE...
I was soooo embarassed and felt like a world class fool too!

GIRL, when I got that reply, I thought I would die laughing. You see now, I keep my post to the &quot;letter&quot; on that board they do not play around...

Faith...you missed the &quot;good ole days&quot; on Fodors. There was soooo much personal information until you would forget that this was indeed a travel board.

Registration stopped all that &quot;studio 54&quot; style of posting and re-posting and flaming and trolling and all that stuff!
Whew! These boards were something wild!

annesherrod: Your comment reminds me of the Door Mouse in ALice in Wonderland while at that Mad Hatter Tea Party. I can see you nodding right now...

Any way: I just got back from a weekend away with the hubby so I gotta un-pack, check the e-mails, snail mail, voice mails, read the newspapers, find our teenager and figure out dinner etc...

How's that for the personal? SMILE

My Best,
Oaktown Traveler

Oaktown, I try to be the soul of discretion, so please note that I did not &quot;out&quot; you by name. :-)

I do read and post on Latin America because I've done a lot of travel to Mexico and much of it has been off the beaten track. But I've stopped making wisecracks on the other boards (except US) because they are usually met with a stony silence. The Europe forum is where the party is!

Hi! I enjoy long walks on the beach, posing on my Harley wearing only little slips of leather but I really love my water bra that also functions as a flotation device. Now I am covered in every international situation. Oh teehee, I forgot my question... :)

Please forgive my silliness. I think a lot of people who post questions without personal detail are probably new and just trying to get quick, easy answers. They don't realize what a rich resource they have stumbled upon. If they spend just a little time here, they quickly catch on and realize that they need to offer a little more information to really reap the greatest rewards.

Dear Faith, as you know from the posts and things you have shared, the more personal information that gets shared the more personal some peoples attacks can be. But many times more info helps doesn't it?

There are several references in this debate to &quot;trolls&quot; and &quot;trolling&quot;. Can anyone enlighten me as to what these mean? I've asked this before on Fodors talk forum, but no-one has yet replied. Maybe I'll get lucky this time.

I think that the origin of the phrase might be nautical from the fishing indrustry where to &quot;trawl&quot; is to toss out a line and see what bites. Here a troll is used to describe a fake quesion designed to incite wild conversation.

Well, edhodge, at least we know you are not terrified of water. :)

Hi faith,

Imust say that you do have a talent for getting people to contribute to a thread.

So, tell us a little bit about yourself.
:)

Yes, faith. You are making me curious. There aren't too many around here able to generate 246 responses with the first 4 threads. An excellent average!

Oaktown, I saw the 'gushy' thread as well and just attributed it too your not having your coffee yet, or east coast brain freeze. Got a good laugh though!

Faith, I like your style. Please keep posting. And if you really want to learn from a master, look up the old posts by Elvira. Have no idea what happened to her after registration, but she made many of my Monday mornings tolerable.

And on a personal note:

I own a cranky old parrot, have a theater freak husband, and hate Bar Mitzvah's. I am passing up a trip to Paris and Amsterdam this fall in order to save for a Vespa. Need to make NY feel more like Rome. Can't you just picture me swerving down 2nd Avenue, dodging potholes, in my little sundress and Italian sandels, humming the theme from Il Postino? Ah, to dream!

Hey bugswife1,

guess that's better than having a cranky old husband and a theater-freak parrot who's coming up on his Bar Mitzvah.

or......
seeing a parrot zipping down 2nd Ave humming the tune from his Bar Mitzvah on the way to the theater to meet your husband~

OOPS! zipping down 2nd Ave on his Vespa....

I was HA brilliant mcgeezer !

2) Favorite person to sit next to on a plane:
An Anorexic who doesn't drink too much and is
too timid to even get up to go to the restroom.
Speaks only when spoken to.

and this was hillarious:
from m-kingdom - &quot;my dears&quot; who is it's dears here ?

And back to subject, I am sorry I didn't tell earlier
that Britney Spears is my biological daughter, I was too
young and poor ... you know ... is that personal enough ?

Speaking for myself only: I really don't care if ira is bald or not.

Nothing personal, ira! Enjoy your posts very much!

I don't want to know too much about every single person who posts on Fodors. Just the recommendations and opinions please!

I'm with kingdom, let's leave the mystery in. Remember the Greek tragedies where the killing took place off stage, leaving everything to the audience's imaginations? Soooo much more effective.

ira bold ????
Is she wearing wig ?

Hi all,

I am a mature gentleman who has found that not having a hairy pate is liberating.