I received the email below several days ago from a person
I have known through TA posts and emails for about
a year. I am very pleased that they had such a wonderful
time in Paris.
I%26#39;m posting it because of the last paragraph. Know that this
person is sensitive, caring and perceptive.
Instead of telling them to stop writing or that they are being
oversensitive or that they don%26#39;t understand, I hope people
reading this post will take the time to read their last
paragraph and try to reflect on the degree to which
what is described is going on.
Possibly consider the message and take it into account
before your next post.
Who knows how many other people have been turned
off to TA Paris Forum as a result.
The helpful information I have received and that
which I have given in almost 1800 posts since 12/04
may well reach less and less people.
If the tense environment of TA Paris Forum does not
subside. we may find that those we enjoy helping
may go elsewhere.
Please give it some thought.
Take good care,
Randy
%26quot;Good Morning Randy-
I hope that San Francisco weather is treating you right!!!
I had the most fabulous time in Paris. I felt as if I had lived there my
entire life. None of the misguided misconceptions people have are at all true. I visited with an open mind and heart and was met with the most engaging people that I could ever have imagined. It was a splendid trip, and would gladly live there half a year if I had the resources to do it!!!
Also, it was miraculous to see all of the beauty first hand that I%26#39;ve had the pleasure of seeing in your photos, and I%26#39;m looking so forward to the release of your book, because I want to be one of the first in line to order.
Thank you for all of your recommendations and insight.
I%26#39;ve wanted to post a trip report on trip advisor, but I%26#39;ve found that there are a lot of hostile comments that have tensed that environment, so now I%26#39;m just saying %26quot;Thanks%26quot; to those who offered me so much help.
Take care.,
A LP%26quot;
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I have never seen a hostile response to a trip report posted by an open minded travellor.
I have seen one or two trip reports that slid in some very hostile misguided sterotypical slams against the French.
It is fine not to love everything,( not everyone will get a good hotel, or not everyone loves museums or line ups for instance) but when one makes slurs against a nationality just because one waiter was rude to them for example , then that gets my back up, but , then, I don%26#39;t like bigots.
The poster you refer to had no reason to fear posting their report, unless they planned on saying something like,
%26quot; you know how rude the French can be%26quot; etc. which they obviously did not plan on doing as they are not like that.
I do agree we all need to be patient with new posters who as we all know tend to post the same questions all the time without doing searches, but then , I personally just try to remember all my %26quot; newbie%26quot; questions and realize that many people have never been on a travel forum, or , are in a rush, or may be even do not realize how common their question is and give a full answer,or at steer them to someone else, I have even %26quot; bumped%26quot; up other posters posts just because no answers them and they fall to second page( ah the desert) .
It is does tend to be more difficult on the Paris forums then the Canadain ones, I think there are more underlying issues sometimes, polictics, and sterotypes. etc,.
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Hi
Thanks for posting this. I think that everybody needs a reminder that when we reply to a topic on screen there is a person in front of the screen somewhere else in the world that will read the reply. But in general I think the TA forum is quite good and I can%26#39;t remember seeing any topics where I think %26quot;This is out of control%26quot;. I have seen many other forums where there are some online hooligans that keep on calling people stupid, telling people to read a guidebook before the ask basic questions etc. I hope that everyone feels welcome here on TA and that new travellers can get their questions answered.
Regards
Gard
gardkarlsen@hotmail.com
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I was completely turned off Las Vegas for exactly the same thing! Rude and sarcastic posters. Never been on the T%26amp;gt;A%26amp;gt;forum for Vegas after that. Some people have no tact or manners. I hope the TA administrators do something about it.
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Most people in T-A forum are very nice and a great deal of help. On the other hand I have seen very hostile, unfriendly , even lack of respect for some people in the forum. A person growt in wisdom when he/she learn to respect other people opinions. Some other people wants to look smart trying to put down other people comments. I just ignore the cultural ignorance of those few. They don%26#39;t even deserve one minute of my time.
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Joan1: Good post!!
Sometimes we see otherwise intelligent people turn their %26quot;street sense%26quot; off when writing to the TA forum. By this is meant they inject political opinions into a setting for Paris travellers. It does not take a bright person to realize many reading the script will have strongly felt opposite opinions. Then, the flap starts.
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Randy, thanks for posting this. I think you%26#39;re trying to raise a larger issue here than one person nervous about a posting a trip report. Even some of the regular posters have said they are dropping off the forum because they don%26#39;t like the bickering. There are many helpful, wonderful people on this forum -- who may use humor and sarcasm to get their point across. That%26#39;s human nature.
On the other hand, the attacks and judgements on people are completely unwarranted. The nasty responses to innocent questions, such as %26quot;get a guide book%26quot; or %26quot;do a search%26quot; are just not conducive to discussion. In fact, they shut down discussion -- which is the PURPOSE of a forum.
The first time I posted something, I had never been on a travel forum, and if I%26#39;d gotten a curt response like, %26quot;Why don%26#39;t you do a search on this topic (WITH THE IMPLIED: instead of wasting my time)%26quot; I never would have come back.
I%26#39;m glad that I didn%26#39;t get that response because instead I really enjoy reading and engaging in the posts. Like I said, there are many knowledgeable and helpful people on this forum. And the discussion can be intense and sometimes absolutely laugh-out-loud hilarious. I certainly wouldn%26#39;t want a dry, serious forum. But I, and I%26#39;m sure many other posters, new and old, could do without the insults and personal attacks.
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Interesting Randy, good for you for raising the issue.
The person involved obviously took comments by someone very personally, it%26#39;s a shame, I hope they come back and don%26#39;t let rude replies upset them.
There are people who will not accept others opinions, they want controversy, they sit waiting to pounce on any comment they consider wrong. Usually it%26#39;s because they are arrogant and in most cases ignorant so it%26#39;s best to laugh it off.
I actually stopped contributing to the Rome forum because of a few who have these %26#39;qualities%26#39; , also many seem to feel they have to defend Rome as the best city in the world. Lots of repetition, lots of bickering and name calling - it%26#39;s quite pathetic. It seems to be mainly from people who don%26#39;t travel much which is strange. I%26#39;m not attacking the whole Rome Forum, there are loads of lovely people there but it doesn%26#39;t take many to %26#39;rock the boat%26#39; and turn people away, it just highlights your point Randy.
I watch and contribute to about 10 forums on and off and have not found the problem on any other forum.
As for those who think any one city or country is the centre of the universe, well, they really need to get out more often. All views are valid, even if you dissagree.
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As I do not read all of the %26quot;trip reports%26quot; that one sees here on the forum, perhaps I am not fully informed on what they may contain but of those I have read, I can recall no outwardly hostile comments. Many people look forward to reading these travel logs and I believe they add a great deal of informational depth to the site.
I have read suggestions to posters to perform a forum search concerning their inquiry but this is usually done tactfully pointing out that a search can resolve questions quickly. If it is not done tactfully, ill feelings can result. Offending posts should be brought to the writer’s attention, something all of us can do (and sometimes is done).
Certainly it is in everyone’s interest that all be felt welcome and it is disheartening to read of one%26#39;s fear of hostile comments.
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Regarding the use of the %26quot;search%26quot; option at the top of the page, I%26#39;m sure many people aren%26#39;t aware of this, and there might be others who have noticed it, but aren%26#39;t familiar with exactly how to utilize it. I remember when I first came across a post where someone was told to use the %26quot;search%26quot; option, I had no idea what they meant. It took a while %26#39;till I figured it out.
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Even a %26#39;search%26#39; using the search box at the top of the page may not ultimately give you the up-to-date information you need. So telling someone to search that way can be frustrating to the requester. There are many questions that appear again and again, frustratingly, and that seems to be inevitable.It occurred to me that tripadvisor could easily be like wikipedia - with topics updated regularly by contributors and readers - and it seems to me that tripadvisor is going that way. I read about it first in the newspaper and haven%26#39;t had the time or energy to explore it on this site (insider might be the name of this) But even the answer being up-to-date won%26#39;t replace the simple give-and-take of this conversational forum. And like any conversation, there will be rude people - magnified by the fact that there are many cultures participating. Develop a thicker skin and moderate your opinions and live and let live!
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