Do you regularly check your home territory boards, i.e. US, Europe, and/or if US, specific states,etc. to help travelers? If so, do you ever find yourself withholding info so as not to detract from the tourist experience? Resident vs. tourist biases? I will post this to Europe also.....just curious.

What sort of info do you imagine we would withhold?

I visit the US boards regularly and never search by state, since I have advice to offer not only on my home state but also on a couple other places I visit regularly.

I visit the Euro board once or twice a week and just search for threads on the one country I've been to -- and would like to revisit.

I check the Canada board regularly but I get the impression that people think there is nothing between Toronto and Jasper/Banff. Nobody wants to know anything about where I come from. But I still check.

No.
-Bill

Anonymous:
For instance, I lived in NYC-Manhattan for 25 yrs but when I see people committed to staying near Times Sq, I rarely suggest they try say, B&Bs in Chelsea or The Village or hotels in SoHo or the Upper West Side which I would have preferred, as it is now difficult for me to view NYC as perhaps a 1st time visitor from another country.

Well, since you put it that way, I probably withhold 90 percent of what I'd like to say about some people's vacation choices!

Funny you should ask this question. After years of getting and giving help with trips I just decided to see what people are asking about the city I live. I realized I can be more helpful than just places I have vacationed. The truth is I don't think I was as effective as I hoped because I don't take cabs and haven't stayed at too many hotels, but I'll keep trying. And no, I wouldn't withhold info. I just hope I can give back what so many other have given to me. I have had so many great experiences thanks to other fodorites. Tourism are a great compliment to your city.

I used to live on Oahu and I visited Kauai, Maui and the Big Island while there, so I try to help when I can if I see Hawaii questions. I hold my tongue about Kauai and Maui sometimes since I didn't enjoy those islands, but I think that's exactly because I was living in Hawaii and wasn't a true tourist.

I will comment on places I have vacationed. When it comes to advice about SF or the Bay Area, I do not comment on those posts that want to know about Alcatraz,Fishermens Wharf and other frequently visited places.
I don't have much to offer in that realm. If folks want to know where the "locals" places are or things locals would do for a day or two, then I will pipe in.

I'm not sure if withholding info is the right idea -- more like withholding judgment (or trying to!). If someone asks if they *should* stay in Times Square and seem open to other options/experiences, I might suggest a different locale. If they seem set on staying in Times Square or it seems most logical given their itinerary, I would offer them whatever help I can about the area, but do not tell them that I would rather be boiled in oil than stay in Times Square myself.

I'm with diddl_maus. I love giving advise about Minnesota but hardly anybody asks. Its almost like we don't exist. It must be nice living in a city or state which so many people ask about. Any questions about Minnesota anyone? I will be happy to help and I will give it to you straight.

I check this site often and mostly like to read the posts. I only post for places I have visited or where I live in Maryland or North Florida where I lived the first 22 yrs of my life. I don't withhold in for any reason. What could I possibly withhold?

ok Jorr, I'll try to make your day. We will be staying over in Hudson on our way to Glacier NP and the Canadian Rockies in July. Do you know the area and if so, tell me a good place to eat that night. Sorry, but we're bypassing MN on the return trip.

Don't feel bad, Jor....no one asks about Buffalo either!!!

jorr - I feel the same way - any time anyone asks anything about Cincinnati it makes my day because it is so infrequent. There were a couple of threads this week from someone coming to town for our "flying pig marathon" and I was thrilled to be able to offer adivce!

I remember that snowrooster, When Pigs Fly is when I will run in that Marathon
I am moving to Portland so I can be annoying and answer lots of questions about my new hometown

I check the boards regularly but definitely not as much as some people do. I don't withhold information. I try and give answers to places I have first hand experience with. I have a lot of knowledge from my husband's travels, but I keep to what I know. My DH would be a great resource, but he spends too much time traveling to participate

Scarlett-As opposed to annoying people who don't live there and pretend they know everything??!!

OOps. couldn't resist! ;-)

lucy

Besides the city where I have lived most of my life, Chicago- I will also answer questions or give my experience of places I've been a tourist myself.
And I usually put a time frame on the pkg as sometimes numerous trips may not be very recent.

Withholding info! About Chicago especially I don't give much info beyond hotel rooms and museums. That's because they think the entire thing is the skinny strip on the lake which is designated Loop or Mag.Mile. I get flamed if I relate much about the vastest area that is really Chicago.

And I won't even start to discuss the amount of restraint I exercise when every second tourist asks anyother Wrigley Field question. Kind of like what NYC people may feel about the Times Square inquiries, or it may be worse. Could you imagine if a pedestrian was shot by a driver with road rage outside of the Cell! Or if women had 2 rapists at large- daily over a period of several months by OUR ball park. But that is the "friendly confines" where everyone desires to go. Watch out for the falling concrete, and I decline to answer.

As a New Yorker i enjoy giving advice about NYC and its restaurants along with advice about the eastend.Also I like to comment on places i have been to.Thanks to all the other addicts who have given me some great advice