it reminds me of that song from the musical Chicago -...."what ever happened to class?" ...

just a 'thanks for the info or help'' is always nice since people took the time to try and help....but then again I remember one post where everyone was like 'hey, where are you, what's up...' and it was only a few days and the woman returned to tell us her little ones were sick and she just couldn't get back on line ....but at least she came back !!

But agree with whoever said, it's still good info for the rest of us. So I think I'll change the words in that Chicago song to....

what ever happened to Thank You !!!

Well, let it be said, I appreciate ALL of you, all the help I've rec'd, hope I've been able to give some help, and hope I always remembered to say thanks...I better have or my mom will come back to haunt me :)

No I don't care if they come back to say thank you.

I do agree with Bill that it's much more interesting when the OP comes back and joins the discussion.

But truely I don't care if they come back or not... because, as mentioned, this forum is a continually evolving body of knowledge. It would be a RARE question that only one person ever wanted the answer to. So whatever is contributed helps the board grow, OP returning or not.

Debit, I heartily agree. Sometimes I wonder if it is worth the effort to give the requested info.

I think this happens on any infomation seeking forum. I go to a gardening forum, the OP asks a question and a lot of people go to the trouble of answering in detail, asking for further information and generally giving a lot of good advice.

No reply. None. Zilch. Did they read it? Nobody will ever know.

On Travel Forums, sometimes I suspect that they aren't really planing a trip. They just don't have anything else to do but post questions. It's a hobby of sorts.

Well it is most definitely a hobby for ME... answering questions. The entertainment is all mine! That's why I don't care one way or the other what the OP chooses to do after the initial posting.

Thanking your respondents bumps your post to the top - thereby garnering more responses!

It's polite to thank and to report back on how the situation worked out.

Debi, acknowledgment posts in online forums have never been required as a matter of netiquette. In fact they're usually discouraged.

This might seem rude, but for group and public forums the policy makes sense. The primary beneficiary of responses in an online discussion is anyone and everyone who might learn something from them. Whether the OP responds to or even reads them is beside the point.

well said, fdecarlo!!!!

I think it's helpful when the OP responds and lets us know what he/she finds out about the various options. In that way, the OP can contribute to the knowledge base, as well. Also, a trip report is always appreciated.
:)>-

If I do not read a response of any kind from the OP, I always wonder if they ever came back to read any of the replies.

I agree with you DebitNM. When you ask someone on the street for directions, do you not say thank you after getting the answer? Why should it be different just because we're online?

LOL, GoT, that word sounds so much better with a 'i' doesn't it???? You can hear the accent better, lol.

I know you point was serious Debi, but this thread, inclucing yout title, has some good humor in it.

I do agree, it's not so much you need to be thanked, but after all the replies, it is nice to know IF the OP received the information.

I also agree with Bill's point, it's alot more fun!
:)

Oh wait..the ones that really annoy me (and I won't answer them) are the following (an example):
"I need a hotel in xxx, know any????"
No "hi", no "thanks for any suggestions"...Nada.
And then when no one replies, the OP will top the post with a "no one knows??????????!!!!!"
How rude! Like we're there to serve YOU! Maybe if you asked politely, someone would have answered you.
LOL.

or maybe no one knows of a hotel that fits the request

We can only take guesses for the reasons people didn't answer...my point, Suze, is that being polite goes a long way.

Tiff - while my post was/is serious, you are right about it being open to humor, that was my intent with the title!

While I hold to my original contention, that folks answer because they want to be helpful and that simply posting answers will help anyone who looks at the OP, that doesn't change the fact that it would be nice for the "asker" to come back and acknowledge what has been written.

If you look at these threads, after the OP, most of the replies are folks answering that OP. There are replies that say &quot;this is just what <b>I</b> was looking for, glad I found this old post,&quot; but not all that ofen. We know that posts drop out of the top 50 pretty fast and more often than not, someone will just post a Q that has been asked and answered many times before. If the search feature on here was a bit more user friendly, that would cease to be an issue I guess.

All I am saying is, after you ask a question, come back and see what folks have said. And then just post a one word reply &quot;Thanks.&quot;

Suze and others who aren't concerned, well that's fine too! We all come here for our own reasons, but in the end we all try to provide info to others.

Despite the fact that folks post and run, I still take the time to answer <i> because I like to reply </i>.

Debi

It would be nice if they did but it doesn't bother me if they don't. What does bother me is when they single out one to thank when others invested their time and knowledge also.

What's great however, is that I have been able to significantly benefit from the questions and answers others have posted (for my own personal travels). So...even if the original post person does not return, others will be able to benefit from your wonderful feedback, thoughts, suggestions...

I agree cigalechanta. There are a few responses with thoughtful information and one person is thanked. I always find this odd.