What the hell?!? I have been reading thread after thread by users in some forums and its clear to me that there is a hatred of Questions and Assistance regulars. What hits the worst is that several of these users ranting were people who I remember helping out before on numerous occasions.
I typically do not care about what others think of me and my reasons for wanting to do something, but this just aggravates me to no end. What happens to shove peoples' heads so far up their asses that they become blind to the fact that several Q&A-ers are simply users who want to be helpful?
I'm agitated--especially when I hear that "there are no good Q&A regulars" and "they are all power-hungry." What in the world am I doing in there then--picking my toenails? I've spent over a year trying to help users who needed information simply because they needed it. It was not because I wanted any power or to sound superior--it was because I simply wanted to go somewhere on Gaia and actually try to make a difference. Going to the Q&A and helping out other users seemed like the best way to do it.
Granted, there are some bad Q&A-ers, but I would like to think that anyone with half a brain could look in and see which users those are. They are easy to identify--they come into the Q&A and reply to every thread--even answered ones because they just want to look like they are participating. They talk down to other users who are asking "simple" questions. (Duh, obviously the question isn't simple to them if they are asking for help--right?) They reply with the wrong answers or smart assed comments instead of answers. Then, just as quickly as they appear, they vanish because they find that they no longer have the patience for the Q&A.
On one hand, I am tempted to simply quit Q&A-ing and say "to hell with it," and start wandering the forums--spamming it up in the Chatterbox just because I have nothing to say to anyone. On the other hand, I want to ignore everything and simply keep helping--as that was what lured me to the Q&A--to help people who would only get flamed in other forums for asking. After all, isn't that why the forum is there?
However, do I want to keep doing this when all I am going to be regarded as is some power-hungry jackass on a high horse? Am I going to be seen as some b***h who is trying to act superior just because I try to "dumb-down" how BBC code or a cache works to some poor kid who is completely computer illiterate? Do people seriosuly think that I'm being mean when I quote some ToS rules or forum-specific rules because I don't want them to get in trouble for something that they probably don't even know? And why in the world do people get so offended when I tell them that they would get a better response in a different forum when they post the wrong topic in the Q&A?!? No one likes to be wrong, but dammit, everyone is wrong about something at some point in their lives--there is nothing wrong with admitting that you made a mistake. Hell, I do it all the time in the Q&A when I realize that I misunderstood a topic or posted bad info.
Well, as I near the end of my rant and start slowly gathering my thoughts again, I just have to think about the many comments and PMs I get from other users thanking me for helping them out. I even remember some times when the forums went offline and my inbox got filled up with people asking me "what was going on?" Why? Because people knew that if I was there, I would try helping as much as I could. Granted, I can be less than nice if I am replying to a spam PM (which I typically just delete now), but if a person has a half-intelligent question, I will do my darndest to try and help.
But you know what? I'm happy to help in the Q&A--and when it comes down to it, as long as the people I'm trying to help know that I am there to help--and will treat them with the same respect as I do any other courteous user who is actually making an effort to figure out what I'm telling them. If there are some people out there who think that I'm in there for reasons soley for my own benefit--you have seriously underestimated me as a person, both online and offline.
 Snaptastic · Sun Nov 27, 2005 @ 10:39pm · 56 Comments |
