Maxine sounds a little bit uppity. She should go to the European board. She would fit right in with the other pretentious posters. <BR> <BR>Geez, lets have some fun. Like Junk said, isn't travel supposed to be fun. Not so uptight. You can have class and a sense of humor at the same time ya know. <BR> <BR>

Yes, you can have class and a sense of humor at the same time. However, I've seen neither here.

Yeah, humor and sarcasm get a bad rap on the web -- and particularly in this forum as of late -- since you can't always read the "wink" in a person's comments. <BR> <BR>Ever have that family member that just doesn't "get" The Far Side, let alone Peanuts? Comics shouldn't need footnotes. ("You see, it just doesn't matter. Lucy will ALWAYS pull the football away from Charlie Brown. It's a no-win scenerio... get it, Uncle Wally?") <BR> <BR>Lately it seems you can give a good travel trip, include a sly joke, and get criticized by idiots who just want to call names and put you on the block to explain yourself. <BR> <BR>Hey, it's not a soapbox, so I'll shut up. <BR> <BR>Dr. Bitterpants <BR>(not a real doctor, but play one on the Web)

Hi all, <BR> <BR>I would say I'm an "old poster" who tried to help a lot of people on their way to Hawaii - but I got so tired of the silly "you're a travel agent" and "let's attack Noach" threads that I just didn't want to bother anymore. It's a shame that Fodor's doesn't register us. I don't know why this Forum deteriorated so - it wasn't this way a year or two ago! And Kalena, I do remember your helping a lot of people. There are quite a few first-timers to Hawaii (it's such a popular place), and I think most of the posters asking for info are serious, and since people usually aren't there very long, it made me feel good to help them hit the high spots, since I've been there several times and have practically every guidebook written on the place. <BR> <BR>This simply doesn't feel like a travel forum anymore, and I'd prefer Fodor's to register us!

Sorry Junk-The roughage comment was indeed insulting as were your other posts.

Hey Lani, good to hear from you. <BR>Aloha, <BR>k

It is a good thing there are fresh faces in any group or organization. Fresh blood and fresh ideas are the food for improvement Major companies make it a practice to hire or move around young people to improve themselves. Not always popular, but I am encouraged new people are contributing. The bad comments on this board are easy to ignore. <BR> <BR> <BR>

Where are the old posters? I can only speak for myself... <BR> <BR>This old poster has been worn down by a group of thugs that mistake sarcasm for humor, cynicism and bathroom humor for wit, and rudeness for democracy. This old poster got tired of seeing juvenile flamers hiding behind "[email protected]"; flames being done with no apparent reason other than to deride others. <BR> <BR>An aside to "mine" above: Fresh blood and fresh ideas are indeed the food for improvement, and corporations and organizations do in fact bring in new talent all the time. But organizations also separate the prospective long-term contributors from those whose sole attribute is their youth, and the latter quickly get shown the door.

Neal, things haven't changed. You're still a pompous ass!

P.S.: Of course, that's just one traveler's opinion!

Sorry about the rudeness directed toward you yet again for no good reason, Neal. <BR> <BR>I certainly agree with you. I used to post entirely under my name. No aliases. But I went through a few weeks where people started entire threads to hammer me for nothing. So now I'm another faceless X. <BR> <BR>To answer the question, some of us "old posters" are here. We're just incognito because we're tired of the zingers.

I'm one of the old posters, and I thought "Junk" and "Lori" were hilarious. I have a bigger problem with snobs on Fodor's than I do with people trying to be funny -- succesful or not. <BR>

Neal-I agree with you 100%. <BR> <BR>"Still"- Why do you feel the need to call someone else a name? You don't even know Neal. If you disagree with Neal fine, but don't go calling him names. It shows a complete lack of respect and courtesy.

Chuck, aren't you being a bit presumptuous to assume that I don't know Neal? How do you know that, hm? <BR>And, speaking of snobs, I'm with you all the way, Angel, in what you said! (No, no, Angel's not a snob. I'm agreeing with what he said about them!)

It's because of the name callers and those who can not add anything but their vile anger and jealous smallness. <BR>Neal, you have thicker skin than I do and I do & did appreciate a lot of your travel tales. Thanks! <BR> <BR>And if you think they are easy to overlook, poster, than you haven't been around this forum too long. Some of the worst character assults I have ever heard reigned here within the last year.

If you don't like someone's post, don't read it! Why get nasty and call people names. <BR> <BR>Neal, the majority of us enjoy your posts, ignore the critics and the "trolls." They probably have such pathetic lives they are jealous of everyone else and have to make trouble.

I, too, am an old poster that got fed up with the nastiness. I used to use my real address and developed a few delightful e-mail friendships in the process. I was a first-timer to Hawaii and received some very informative and useful information before my trip. I also shared my trip information when I got back. Then the rudeness started. I tried to complain to Fodors and got no response. You will find rudeness on most web sites that are not monitored. I put most of the blame on Fodors for not monitoring the message boards. I now resort to just reading the posts once in a while and rarely respond. What ever happened to the good ol' days?

It strikes me the "good old days" are gone every where. There's way too much traffic, my neighborhood is changing with familiar long time shops being replaced with crappy chain stuff , my favorite restaurants are being driven out of buisness , my wife even has the nerve to say I'm not what I use to be. You have a choice ,either deal with it or move on elsewhere. I laughed at the posts by Junk and Lori. People must have it really easy in their life if what happens on this board is the major source of irritation in their life. Or perhaps they are in need of a real life so this won't bother them so much. I'm really amazed that what happens here can bother people so much.

Right on, John!

ThereNoMore, I have a feeling that you were not inquiring about the habitual Hawaii posters or aspiring authors, but rather about the old helpfuls like Brian in Atlanta, Christina, April and so on. True? <BR> <BR>Too many people, both old and new, are here to sell something, whether it's their travel agent services, a stay at their hotel or B&B, a meal at their restaurant, a spot on their guided tour, or copies of the travel book they plan to write. IMO, these people overwhelm the place with their constant postings and drive the truly helpful people away. Just visit the Europe site and check out the eight-hours-a-day postings of wannabe tour guide Rex Bickers for a current example of this.