FODOR'S TRAVEL TALK
Aug 26th, 2001, 02:51 PM
#1
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FODOR'S TRAVEL TALK
I really enjoy Fodor's travel talk here. I think it's great that you have a place where you can get insight from other traveler's experiences. What I don't understand is why people so seldom don't answer the questions. They tend to either go in another direction or even worse make the person try to feel stupid or make a joke or issue out of their question. How do we teach our children to respect when we can show so little to others?
Aug 26th, 2001, 06:53 PM
#2
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Don,
"....why people so seldom don't answer the questions." What exactly do you mean by this sentence? It seems like you're annoyed that people either "seldom answer the questions" or "don't answer the questions" or maybe you meant "frequently don't answer the questions". But "people so seldom don't answer questions is just confusing. Seldom means infrequesntly.
"....why people so seldom don't answer the questions." What exactly do you mean by this sentence? It seems like you're annoyed that people either "seldom answer the questions" or "don't answer the questions" or maybe you meant "frequently don't answer the questions". But "people so seldom don't answer questions is just confusing. Seldom means infrequesntly.
Aug 26th, 2001, 07:12 PM
#4
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The anonymity factor is behind it all Don.
Easy to be mean or critical or annoying when there is no accountability.
Reminds me of those psychological studies of how people behave differently than they normally would when they are in full costumes/masks (why do you think the KKK adopted this custom?), or the tendency for people to try to 'be someone else' when on a plane talking to a stranger they'll never see again, or a barber, etc.
There's plenty of good info and discussion here. But there's flack and silliness and meanness, too.
Unless Fodor's adopts registration restrictions, this is the way it'll be.
Easy to be mean or critical or annoying when there is no accountability.
Reminds me of those psychological studies of how people behave differently than they normally would when they are in full costumes/masks (why do you think the KKK adopted this custom?), or the tendency for people to try to 'be someone else' when on a plane talking to a stranger they'll never see again, or a barber, etc.
There's plenty of good info and discussion here. But there's flack and silliness and meanness, too.
Unless Fodor's adopts registration restrictions, this is the way it'll be.
Aug 27th, 2001, 03:29 AM
#5
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Hi Don,
Just wanted to say that I found this board this summer while researching for an upcoming trip throughout Utah & Arizona.
I have gathered EXCELLENT information here!!
The people at Fodor's have answered my questions and given me tips that I believe I never would have found elsewhere! I've purchased plenty of travel books on the southwest, but to me, the opinions of the travelers here is priceless.
Thanks again everybody.
Just wanted to say that I found this board this summer while researching for an upcoming trip throughout Utah & Arizona.
I have gathered EXCELLENT information here!!
The people at Fodor's have answered my questions and given me tips that I believe I never would have found elsewhere! I've purchased plenty of travel books on the southwest, but to me, the opinions of the travelers here is priceless.
Thanks again everybody.
Aug 27th, 2001, 04:08 AM
#6
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Fodors is like having a large party but being unable to ignore those people that you have no desire whatsoever to speak to. Like letusknow would be that annoying sarcastic person at a party who would be standing by the bar hoping that someone comes by. The key is to pic and choose (pic intentionally spelled incorrectly to give people like letusknow something to say) what messages you wish to skim and those you wish to read.
Aug 27th, 2001, 07:43 AM
#7
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don- let's face the truth, 90% of the people who post here have never been to or seen the things they are posting about... or even if they have, it was so long ago that the information is somewhat outdated or faulty... even worse are those posts that rely on what the poster learned from a friend of a friend or from a magazine and they pretend it was them... if you really want the secret... the "expert" posters just want to feed the ego side of their psyche, read their own postings, and hope someone thanks them or says "Good Job!". They don't answer the questions because they don't KNOW the answers.
Finally, there are a large group of posters who are frustrated "Party Comedians". This is known as the "Shecky Fodor" syndrome. These people simply read the postings they know nothing about and try their hand at comedy by loading up on monkey jokes, other silly threads, and trying to make the reader appreciate them for their witty banter.
In summary don, Travel Talk is a microcosm of life on this silly little planet... enjoy it but don't take it seriously... and then you die...over and out.
Finally, there are a large group of posters who are frustrated "Party Comedians". This is known as the "Shecky Fodor" syndrome. These people simply read the postings they know nothing about and try their hand at comedy by loading up on monkey jokes, other silly threads, and trying to make the reader appreciate them for their witty banter.
In summary don, Travel Talk is a microcosm of life on this silly little planet... enjoy it but don't take it seriously... and then you die...over and out.
Aug 27th, 2001, 11:26 AM
#10
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What drivel! DrTravel's database indicates 90% of posters provide unreliable information. He's even come up with a hokey term based on Shecky Greene, the comedian. And deep insights about our planet and microcosms (he probably thinks that's a small orgasm). And Danny calls people pinheads for questioning the value of an unyielding, unending exploration of WDW ... my god, just go see The Rat and leave the rest of us in peace. If people travel, most will not be going to Orlando. Or to The Big Island ... Scotty, beam me up ... they're posting about TBI again. And WDW cannot suffice with a few postings ... oh no, my goodness, it just goes on and on. I mean, how many ways can one ask about parking and discounted ticket prices. May I take a chance and utter "boring." And Joe Anon resurrects the moth-eaten concept of "Registration" ... wow, once we know who you are, you will toe the line and address travel and travel only. Yikes, won't that turn this site into something interesting and human. Ciao
Aug 27th, 2001, 12:12 PM
#12
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Don, I understand your post perfectly. Several months ago I posted a question asking some information about VA. I was delighted to see 30 responses, only to find out that 25 of them were arguing about something totally unrelated to what I was asking.
There are some wonderful people here who ask great questions and some who give great answers (and I mean really great). Then there are the people with too much time on their hands.
You sort of have to pick through the responses and find out who is really interested in learning and who isn't getting enough attention in life.
You will eventually see that there is a decent sized group of people that should be writing travel books because they are always right on target with their ideas.
There are some wonderful people here who ask great questions and some who give great answers (and I mean really great). Then there are the people with too much time on their hands.
You sort of have to pick through the responses and find out who is really interested in learning and who isn't getting enough attention in life.
You will eventually see that there is a decent sized group of people that should be writing travel books because they are always right on target with their ideas.
Aug 27th, 2001, 01:06 PM
#13
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I enjoy reading this site, but there is something I don't understand. How could a total stranger tell me what I should see, where I should go or what I should do while I am there? And why would I ask a total stranger? I don't usually agree with even my close friends about these issues.
It is to get ideas and then to use them or not depending on my own ideas.
Right?
It is to get ideas and then to use them or not depending on my own ideas.
Right?
Aug 27th, 2001, 01:22 PM
#14
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Well, XXX, some might suggest contrarian or confused, and that you ARE among strangers, but despite it all, you enjoy it. But why should you ask a stranger? Afterall, you ask your friends, and diagree with them. And why should you agree with a stranger whom you do not know? And of course your goal in posting messages to strangers should be to obtain more ideas to accompany the others you didn't usually agree with. That is a sound approach for you, and one that obviously gives you some comfort in the treacherous world of bigtime travel posting. I just wish the other posters were as lucid. Ciao
Aug 27th, 2001, 06:08 PM
#16
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Well, guess what, "drtravel"?
I'll gladly step up to be the first to completely burst your bubble-headed theory about "90% of the info being posted by people who haven't been to the places they write about, posting outdated info, etc".
You see, I travel a lot, business and pleasure travel both. And I've been reading this forum for a long time. So I've had ample opportunity to sample a very wide variety of the sites discussed here (cities, parks, hotels, restaurants, etc). I will tell you that I am always on the lookout for false info here, and I can recall practically every instance when I've caught people spouting about things that are clearly wrong, indicating they have no first hand experience or that the info is outdated. (Classic example was the person who was comparing Aruba to Hawaii and going on about how beautiful Aruba was as an island).
You can read every legitimate post here for a week at a time and never find less than candid or false advice.
My theory? YOU are jealous of the fact that people who post here have collectively seen so much and been so many places that you have an inadequacy complex. Get over it, doc. Shut off your computer and go travel a little.
I'll gladly step up to be the first to completely burst your bubble-headed theory about "90% of the info being posted by people who haven't been to the places they write about, posting outdated info, etc".
You see, I travel a lot, business and pleasure travel both. And I've been reading this forum for a long time. So I've had ample opportunity to sample a very wide variety of the sites discussed here (cities, parks, hotels, restaurants, etc). I will tell you that I am always on the lookout for false info here, and I can recall practically every instance when I've caught people spouting about things that are clearly wrong, indicating they have no first hand experience or that the info is outdated. (Classic example was the person who was comparing Aruba to Hawaii and going on about how beautiful Aruba was as an island).
You can read every legitimate post here for a week at a time and never find less than candid or false advice.
My theory? YOU are jealous of the fact that people who post here have collectively seen so much and been so many places that you have an inadequacy complex. Get over it, doc. Shut off your computer and go travel a little.
Aug 27th, 2001, 07:26 PM
#17
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Ninety percent??????? where did you get those statistics, doc??? I have been hanging out on this site for a couple of years now, and have posted at least 25 or 30 times, but absolutely NEVER posted advice unless I had personally visited the area in question, nor would I consider it. (of course I've joined in the frippery of tipping the pilot etc. a few times too.)
Aug 27th, 2001, 10:12 PM
#18
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Seems like the posters at the other forums---like Canada and Europe---try to provide useful answers to the questions posted. There's less of the drivel that goes on in the U.S. forum (i.e., all the monkey business). I don't know why this is. But it is.
Aug 28th, 2001, 04:01 AM
#19
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And another thing:
I guarantee that registering the users here will NOT get rid of the nasties. As evidence, go to my local newspaper's (the St. Petersburg Times) message board, www.sptimes.com. There, you must register. And there you will find some of the meanest posters you ever saw...I eventually stopped posting there, but not here. This is sugar and spice compared to that REGISTERED message board!
I guarantee that registering the users here will NOT get rid of the nasties. As evidence, go to my local newspaper's (the St. Petersburg Times) message board, www.sptimes.com. There, you must register. And there you will find some of the meanest posters you ever saw...I eventually stopped posting there, but not here. This is sugar and spice compared to that REGISTERED message board!
