Jump to content
Free downloads from TNA ×
The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Remembered Today:

Please and thank you are such lovely words


museumtom

Recommended Posts

I post this so that pals can refer to it and post a link to a new member of the forum who ask for help but do not afford the courtesy to say please or thank you. Remember newbies you never get a second chance to make a first impression!!

Thank you for your time and attention.

Kind regards.

Tom.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A recurring topic. Generally I agree with Tom's sentiments but I wonder if in some cases it's a matter of wondering when is the best time to say "thanks" (ie judging when the flow of replies has ended) and then not getting around to it. And saying thanks to every reply in turn may be very good manners, but a succession of such posts in one thread can get just a little wearisome.

Moonraker

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I too agree with your sentiments Tom. Manners cost nothing. However, I am not sure that it is something that it is confined to new members...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Agreed. There is something very annoying about doing considerable research to answer a question about something obscure, and then not getting a thanks. You can't help but wonder if the questioner simply lost interest and never bothered to see if anyone responded.

Sigh

Gareth

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thankyou 4 your reply, yes, I'm a newbie and sorry, I don't know what I'm doing, if there is a maximum amount of text permitted...

Please accept my apologies...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Don't worry Karen, everyone has to start somewhere and after two years I am still finding my feet! That's not intended to put you off and I hope it doesn't. I like that there is lots to explore and as Gareth above said, it can be a bit frustrating when you have done a lot of digging around to help and they don't get back to you again. Perhaps there is a Bermuda Triangle for info seekers that just disappear :o

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Whilst I agree that it can be frustrating when we go out of our way to help, I move on and try not to let it affect the way I deal with the next request for assistance. Life's too short to become bitter about such things.

It is very difficult, and perhaps even unfair, to judge people on their written response (or lack thereof).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If we are into courtesy, then actually I would suggest that just posting the link on a newcomer's thread without any comment is also a bit light on that, and arguably is likely to drive some away. If you feel that its a point to make, post in text, not just with a bare link, possibly with a friendly opener.

EDIT This is a personal comment - not an "Official" one.

Keith

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The lack of manners seems to be a common theme in modern life.

So if there is anyone who has ever helped me on the GWF and to whom I have lacked the common courtesy of a thanks....please consider yourself thanked.

Bruce

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's not always the lack of thanks but the phrasing of the initial query. Some carefully graded examples are below; I think I have ordered them so that those most deserving of a reply come highest.

  • Excuse me but I am a stranger round here. Can you tell me the way to Amarillo, please?
  • Hello. Could anyone tell me the way to Amarillo?
  • Which is the way to Amarillo?
  • Amarillo? Which way?
  • I need to get to Amarillo
  • I need to get to Amarillo quickly
  • I need to do my geography essay on Amarillo for Friday and going the library to find an atlas is a bit of an effort. Can somebody please post everything they know about Amarillo?

Ian (Lost in Texas)

PS I am sometimes guilty of not 'following' a thread when I have contributed and thus missing a reply

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Why do you want an Armadillo? :w00t:

Recently I have had a number of people who after sending me loads of emails about their man/men, get what they want (and more), then the emails stop with no thanks or acknowledgement that the mail (with attachments) has arrived.

I am thinking of just sending basic reply and nowt else.

SM

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One thing is for sure: however done, and however intended, if someone gets one Grumpy, that's a fact.

In my case it was so long ago all I can remember is I am, yours sincerely,

GRUMPY.

What is an armadildo then?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If we are into courtesy, then actually I would suggest that just posting the link on a newcomer's thread without any comment is also a bit light on that, and arguably is likely to drive some away.

I'm with you on that. It is also tempting to tell a new poster to use the search engine as this topic has been raised several million times before, and that isn't very welcoming. Newcomers have probably only just found the Forum and if we want to welcome and encourage them (as we should) a bit of courtesy in the other direction is in order.

Remember, all of us started knowing nothing, and the best way to learn is to ask!

Ron

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's worth bearing in mind that if the recipient of your helpful post is "following the topic" ( see top right of the thread ) and they receive an email informing them of your reply they have no need to visit the thread, as your reply will be included in the email.

Having then read the reply and taken on board the information they may well move on, forgetting to post a thank you or leaving it until later - never to return.

This would explain some of the occasions when a poster ( probably someone experienced in the use of forums ) seems to have ignored your reply.

edited - possibly no clearer!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I usually try and acknowledge information I have asked for - if I have failed in the hurly burly of everyday life to do so on occasion - a general apology. However I do not get into a splenetic apoplectic fit of rage (as some forum members have exhibited in previous threads on this subject) if having answered a query I don't hear back.. What does get on my thungas is the nature of some requests which imply by their tone that the enquirer believes that the forum exists purely to provide that service to them. What increases my ire is when someone posts asking a question and then reposts to complain when they haven't had a reply within the same day. Also a cause of irritation is when the question could have been answered by using the forum's own search tool but the enquirer is clearly too indolent to bother to use it.

Right that's said, now I must draw up my list of people I'm deliberately not sending a Christmas card to (as opposed to simply forgetting them) :whistle:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

OK OK I give in.

Please what is a thunga?

Clearly it is mountable, and therefore dismountable.

How many wheels?

Motorised?

Ecologically sound?

Licence needed?

Insurance ditto?

Licensed for passengers?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"really gets on my thungas" is a phrase employed by Lu-Tze ot the Monastery of Oi-Dong (The Order of Wen the Eternally Surprised). Given that his training permits him to maintain a calm and reflective attitude under almost all conditions it implies something really really annoying. - see Discworld

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Of course, I now remember that I used to know such gems of learning and knowledge, vouchsafed to me by the eternal verities

Too much thunga-bashing has destroyed the relevant synapses.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What is an armadildo then?

A type of sherry. But back to the thread. I do get slightly irritated about lack of thanks. But it happens rarely and I agree that life is too short to get really uptight about it.

Roger

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"What is an armadildo then?

A type of sherry. But back to the thread. I do get slightly irritated about lack of thanks. But it happens rarely and I agree that life is too short to get really uptight about it."

There I was thinking it was a hardened device on an extended mounting....

We live and learn.

Keith

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's worth bearing in mind that if the recipient of your helpful post is "following the topic" ( see top right of the thread ) and they receive an email informing them of your reply they have no need to visit the thread, as your reply will be included in the email.

Having then read the reply and taken on board the information they may well move on, forgetting to post a thank you or leaving it until later - never to return.

This would explain some of the occasions when a poster ( probably someone experienced in the use of forums ) seems to have ignored your reply.

edited - possibly no clearer!

Is that really so? I used to get e-mail notifications of posts on threads i was following but they didn't include the post. Only pms appear with the full text in my e-mails. On the thread notifications, you've just reminded me that I don't think I ever said thank you to one of the mods for advice on how to reinstate this, and worse still, I went away on holiday and never did get round to it..Sorry, mod (s)...

Liz.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oddly I find some of the older members most irritating, because they should jolly well know better. There is one member (of long standing) whom I have decided never to assist again, simply because on two separate occasions I went to not inconsiderable trouble on his behalf, not to be acknowledged, let alone thanked. A new member might not appreciate the ground rule; an older one should.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is that really so? I used to get e-mail notifications of posts on threads i was following but they didn't include the post. Only pms appear with the full text in my e-mails. On the thread notifications, you've just reminded me that I don't think I ever said thank you to one of the mods for advice on how to reinstate this, and worse still, I went away on holiday and never did get round to it..Sorry, mod (s)...

Liz.

Yes, it is so. Give it a go and see.

:thumbsup:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...