Hey Newbies

[GA_Boater]

TOS - Terms Of Service.

The thing we all agree to for any software that is pure legalese and hundreds of pages long.

 

[Scott Danforth]

ok, read those too as I feel one should read to everything prior to clicking "agree". I looked up TOS on acronym finder.....after the 3rd page, thought I would ask.

 

[sphelps]

Ok most newbs are just feeling things out . If they didn’t need help they probably wouldn’t have joined or asked a repetitive / stupid question . So I would say if you want to answer their question do it . If not then move on or at the least post a link to the topic that is probably covered in the sticky’s . Who knows you might make a new friend or two in the process ..
I know I have asked a few dumb questions and probably will again . No one is perfect and if answering a few questions that may lead someone to purchase parts from iboats which helps us is a win in my book . :joyous:
Just saying !

 

[Scott Danforth]

thats the point.....we shouldnt have to point them to the stickies and post links to the stickies..... especially when there was a post literally 2 above theirs in the forum with the same question and the same answer.

todays youth is looking for the fast answer and not wanting to do the 30 seconds of research in order to understand and add to their knowledge base. if it isnt on a youtube video, they are lost. problem is, most videos on youtube are wrong.

 

[Bondo]

Scott Danforth tell them to start their sentences with a capital letter in the first word so we know it is the beginning of a sentence.

Ayuh,..... But I use capitals for Emphasis,...

No one reads stickies. No one reads FAQs. No one reads TOS's.

Might as well ask them to read the rules.

The whole Idea, behind Don'S Adults Only Section,......
Still don't work,......

 

[sphelps]

Scott , I agree with your point and understand the frustration. All I’m saying is not all but a boatload of new members are just exited to get started on their new to them project so they look around on the web and run across the forum and on a whim they join up . They don’t know the difference from a sticky to a hole in their boat . I guess it might help on the sign up to inform them of the sticky’s And what they are for . It may cut down on some of the dumb questions . Idk ...

 

[Old Ironmaker]

If I'm correct did we not have to provide an email address to join? Before they are allowed to post they must answer a skill testing question that is in the TOA, that's a new one for me too. TANOFMT. In the movie Draft Day the pro prospects are sent a playbook and in it is hidden a $100.00 bill, not many found the Benny because they didn't read the playbook. Oh I gotta get me some sleep.

 

[achris]

Agree with all of the above... Read it all, and would love to reply on an individual basis, but that would turn this into a TL;DR...

One post did catch my attention, I think it was Scott. Millennials are after the 'quick fix'... It's what I call the generation of 'instant gratification'.... They didn't grow up with 35mm film, handwritten letters, and only having a telephone at home. Now, they send you an email, and 5 minutes later an SMS to ask why you haven't answered their email. They take a photo (on the phone :facepalm and facepunch it everywhere. No, I DO NOT want to know what you had for breakfast!

Last century, I took photos, with a camera, took the roll of film to the local chemist, who sent it across the country for processing. I saw my photos 3 WEEKS later. If I needed to inform someone of something, I wrote, with pen and paper, a letter, which I put in an envelope, put a stamp on, and put into a large red box, with the word "MAIL" on it, at the local shopping centre. The person would receive it about 2 or 3 days later, and they would reply to me the same way. If I needed to speak to a person, I would call from my phone at home to their phone at home. If they didn't answer, I would call again a few hours later, or the next day....

So, how do we get generation 'instant' to sit down and read for more than 8.2 seconds? They currently have an attention span less than that of a jellyfish, or is that gold-fish.... Asking them to read the rules, or ToS, or stickies is the same as asking them to count backwards from 100.... Never going to happen. For me, I think I will just continue pointing them back to the rules, quoting the rules at them and HOPING it eventually sinks in.

And yes, someone else said something about posters not reading/listening to what they are being told. Seen that plenty myself. Ask them to do test A... Reply, they did everything but. Why? because that test will take more than 8.2 seconds.

Yes guys, it's a sad future I see. In 20, 30, 40 years time, these people will be running the planet. :facepalm:

Ok, who's next on the soapbox?

Chris........

 

[Scott Danforth]

And yes, someone else said something about posters not reading/listening to what they are being told. Seen that plenty myself. Ask them to do test A... Reply, they did everything but. Why? because that test will take more than 8.2 seconds.

Chris, that is because they are ask-holes

definition: Ask-Hole - noun, a person that constantly asks for advice yet does the opposite of what they are told.

 

[tpenfield]

I get a kick out of the "I was told . . . " threads. To Scott's point, it is best to find out for yourself, rather than going by what you were told.

Anyway, all good points mentioned in the responses, but keep in mind, most new boaters and new forum posters won't see this thread. They will do a quick search and hijack a 3-year old thread :facepalm:

 

[achris]

Chris, that is because they are ask-holes

definition: Ask-Hole - noun, a person who constantly asks for advice yet does the opposite of what they are told.

I actually find that some people will only hear what they want to hear. They'll ask for help on x subject, and what they want to hear is that, for example, a bit more fuel in the tank will solve the problem. And they will KEEP ASKING until someone tells them that putting more fuel in the tank will solve the problem....



Chris......

 

[Scott Danforth]

achris that is called upper management

 

[JASinIL2006]

I'm sure I've asked some repetitive/dumb/obvious questions in my time... it's the nature of any forum like this. It's the same here as on other forums I've belonged to... new people come in, unaware of the rules (or etiquette) of the forum and they make mistakes. It's been like that since I first joined pre-Internet BBS systems in the '80s and it has never changed.

Personally, I'd rather a new member ask a dumb question and get a respectful, helpful answer that encourages them to come back here and trust our opinions/advice. A dismissive or gruff response, no matter how justified, is only likely to discourage newbies from coming back, which means they won't have the benefit of knowledge that could increase their enjoyment of boating or maybe even help them avoid a life-threatening problem on the water.

People repeatedly ignoring advice known to be good are in a different category, in my book. But even then, it's not hard to just move along and help those who actually read and pay attention and try to understand.

Finally, although I think it's easy to stereotype a generation and attribute those stereotypical traits as the cause of bad newbie behavior, but stereotypes are rarely very accurate or useful when looking at individual people. I could probably find hundreds of posts by non-millennials who are just as eager to find a quick fix or who can't be troubled to understand their boat enough to diagnose problems.

I'm glad people find us here and try to get help. If 5% of the become active forum members who end up helping others they way they were helped, that's great. I'd wouldn't want to belong to a forum where newbies were afraid to participate because they might not 'do it right.'

 

[roscoe]

You guys need to turn off the computer and go boating.

A new boater that knows nothing about boats, maybe even was talked into buying a boat, won't know what maintenance items to perform, or how to perform them.

Lighten up Francis.

To all you new guys looking for help, ask away. Do give us as much info as possible, but don't be shy.
If these guys don't want to answer, so be it.

And as for the search function, it hasn't been worth a carp in 5 years.
It can't even find a post I made 2 days ago even if I use a direct quote form it.

 

[BWR1953]

:lol:

 

[Scott Danforth]

Roscoe, its not that we dont want to help, its just that some of the newbies dont provide any information and repeatedly keep asking the same question ignoring our requests for information to help them.

 

[GA_Boater]

I asked for more info in a new thread once. Then I got notified that I was mentioned in a thread. Went to the thread and it was a reply with incomplete info.

By then the thread was a year old! :facepalm:

 

[Scott Danforth]

GA_Boater , loved the thread the other morning with the help my tach works....my tach doesnt work and the guy got offended when you asked for clarification

 

[zool]

Im guessing a very small percentage of advice is actually followed here......and a good percentage of those ppl have or had build threads.....The majority of the others disappear after theyre told to check the transom and stringers, ect...They really want to hear " just throw another layer of plywood over it and spray it with Flex-Seal".....when they dont get that answer, they log off, do just that, load their family on board and off they go...

So be it, I just answer what I can, when I can....and let the chips fall....

 

[DECK SWABBER 58]

Agree with all of the above... Read it all, and would love to reply on an individual basis, but that would turn this into a TL;DR...

One post did catch my attention, I think it was Scott. Millennials are after the 'quick fix'... It's what I call the generation of 'instant gratification'.... They didn't grow up with 35mm film, handwritten letters, and only having a telephone at home. Now, they send you an email, and 5 minutes later an SMS to ask why you haven't answered their email. They take a photo (on the phone :facepalm and facepunch it everywhere. No, I DO NOT want to know what you had for breakfast!

Last century, I took photos, with a camera, took the roll of film to the local chemist, who sent it across the country for processing. I saw my photos 3 WEEKS later. If I needed to inform someone of something, I wrote, with pen and paper, a letter, which I put in an envelope, put a stamp on, and put into a large red box, with the word "MAIL" on it, at the local shopping centre. The person would receive it about 2 or 3 days later, and they would reply to me the same way. If I needed to speak to a person, I would call from my phone at home to their phone at home. If they didn't answer, I would call again a few hours later, or the next day....

So, how do we get generation 'instant' to sit down and read for more than 8.2 seconds? They currently have an attention span less than that of a jellyfish, or is that gold-fish.... Asking them to read the rules, or ToS, or stickies is the same as asking them to count backwards from 100.... Never going to happen. For me, I think I will just continue pointing them back to the rules, quoting the rules at them and HOPING it eventually sinks in.

And yes, someone else said something about posters not reading/listening to what they are being told. Seen that plenty myself. Ask them to do test A... Reply, they did everything but. Why? because that test will take more than 8.2 seconds.

Yes guys, it's a sad future I see. In 20, 30, 40 years time, these people will be running the planet. :facepalm:

Ok, who's next on the soapbox?

Chris........

Scott and Chris you hit the nail on the head. It's generational. I'm 60 and I don't think I've ever started a topic without first searching. I've learned so much here it's mind boggling. When I was more active I would try to steer the newbies in the right direction but......:facepalm:
I've had two employees in their 20's doing auto repair, went to school too, but if they need to solve a problem they head straight for Google. Sad.