Negative / Derogatory Postings on the Increase?

**guile** · 20-07-2015, 07:09 AM

it could just be me but it appears that negative / derogatory postings are on the increase...

i'm getting pretty fed up of reading posts that respond to peoples questions by critising their actions in the first place. it's not really what i'd expect form this forum. normally the person posting the thread in the first place is usually quite distressed from one issue or another with their vehicle. the last thing they probably want to read is someone calling them stupid for being in that situation in the first place...

i agree that some people need to be reminded from time to time that there is a search function and not to ask questions that have been answered countless times before but surely there is a polite friendly manner in which this can be done. i thought that's what the watercooled forum was all about...

further to the above are the responses to for sale threads where the responder has no intention whatsoever of purchasing the item . the responses either generally criticise the price of the item, the condition of the item or the fact that the item is no good for increased performance etc...

if the response is to genuinely try and help the seller i suggest a pm might be a better option...

everyone has the right to there own opinion but i remember my parents saying to me, "if you can't find anything nice to say then don't say anything at all"

anyway that's my monday morning whinge out of the way, i just wondered what you guys thought...

my thoughts are to treat people like i'd like to be treated myself...

**brad** · 20-07-2015, 08:52 AM

I'd be guilty of negativity at times but that's the flip side to being very helpful I guess. I think it's fair enough when it's not an emergency and is patently obvious that a person hasn't tried to read the owners manual or attempt to search.

As for spamming a for sale thread - that's just bad form. If you don't like the price then PM the OP.

**fred27** · 20-07-2015, 01:02 PM

Well written guile,
this is a good reminder for all to keep it civil and friendly.
I have always found helpful people on this forum and hope it stays this way.
Regards

**tigger73** · 20-07-2015, 01:49 PM

Yes I've noticed the same thing of late. It's not that the posts are 100% out of line, it's just that someone has asked for help and the response has been a little less than helpful and on occasions has ended up in an off-topic slanging match.

When you start writing something less than positive you're probably best off to just hit the cancel button and let someone else post something up that's a little more helpful instead.

Sometimes the problem of being on the forum for an extended time is that you've seen the same issue come up regularly (and yes people need to learn how to use Google search), however for them it's a new problem and they shouldn't be treated any differently than what you were when you joined up.

It takes just about as long to do the search and post the link to the thread with the solution than as it does to flame them for not looking for it themselves.

**brad** · 20-07-2015, 02:09 PM

I assume this thread is part of the issue?

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/foru...on-107127.html

The guy even says (paraphrased) "I've read the thread about wiper blades juddering - what are you people doing about it" Surely it's in the thread he already read?

**tigger73** · 20-07-2015, 02:42 PM

brad that was one but not the only one. There's been several that have got off-track in a similar fashion recently.

No time to sift through and find them right now but it's like the advice your grandma use to tell us "if you don't have anything nice to say don't say anything at all".

Anyway enough said, lets keep things pleasant and try to be helpful especially to new members of the community who may be still learning the ropes.

**guile** · 20-07-2015, 03:37 PM

i think this is another relatively good example that i read this morning and was the tipping point for me. the original poster was genuinely worried about the outcome of their issue with the fuel pump. a few responses advising him that he shouldn't have run low on fuel in the first place was probably not very helpful i'd imagine...

GTD HPFP failure at 65,000km

i think this is a classic quote, "I dont really care what he does" if you don't care why bother posting?

like i said it's just an example but i can probably count half a dozen similar posts recently and in my opinion it would be great if watercooled remains the friendly, helpful forum that it is. again just my opinion but by keeping that sentiment in mind we can hopefully grow this community even further...

just my two cents and was probably suffering from the monday blues this morning so i'll leave it at that...

**sports racer** · 21-07-2015, 01:50 PM

Is it worth a polite PM to the offender in each instance?

All you need is a standard reply you could cut and paste telling them to be nice.

Failing that I've got a few big mates I can send round.

Cheers

Paul

**Arnold** · 26-07-2015, 04:32 PM

I would reserve particular scorn for those who submit a post merely to point out that it is of interest to them or because they do not understand it.

If members cannot contribute to a post in a constructive manner they should stay right out, rather than send posts with comments like "Who cares?" or "Shut this thread down".

Then there are the inane comments such as "He is entitled to his own opinion" by those who are affronted when someone points out why the particular comment or opinion might not be valid or as valid as another opinion on matters that are patently not purely subjective. And others I recall such as:

The boast: "I have sold many cars for more than market value".

Or in reply to a comment pointing out that manual Golfs give rise to fewer negative reports on this forum than DSGs:

"It's a car, they break, get used to it" as if one should not attempt to acquire the more reliable of the available options because "all cars break down".

One other thing, when people criticise others for not searching the forum first, do they realise search results are by thread not by post and so the results of a search could include dozens of threads each with hundreds of posts, thus making it almost impossible to locate the "golden thread" let alone the relevant post within it?

[Brad has now set me straight on how to search by post rather than thread (thanks, Brad) but it is not easily found because the option to view results by Post is under a tab for search screen that is not the default option under Advanced Search.]