Advice seekers

[Wongo]

I know we have talked about this in the past, but I will bring it again anyway. Quite often we receive emails from forum members or other woodworkers asking for opinions or advices. In my case it is mostly related to building rocking horses.

So we get the question, we do our research, get all the facts right and spend time to write a lengthy email. We are trying to offer as much help as possible to a stranger. And what do we get? NOTHING. Sometimes you get a 'thank you' but most of time nothing. You don't hear from them again.

I am just finding it a little bit annoyed.

[Chesand]

A little courtesy would be nice.

I have experienced the same thing after photocopying and sending information that was requested.

[BobL]

Good reminder Wongo.

Overall I would say I am pleased enough with the feedback I get. Some of you may know I offer perhaps more than my fair share of advice in some forums and subjects (like dust) that are perhaps trickier to deal than others. With tricky subjects I often usually understand why some of the responses are like they are or noticeable by their absence so I am not fussed about this.

[LGS]

Like BobL, I'm pretty happy with the feedback I get, (mostly on finishing and box making), but I do get distressed when I go to great lengths to explain why I do and use what I do, only to have people do something different and say the method doesn't work
Hell, that's why I'm a Curmudgeon!:)

Regards,

Rob

[wheelinround]

Scott there are those who ask for help and are greatfull and good friendships have been formed through many such instances. Then there is something I myself fear, which is taking advantage of others generous help of any kind I take care not to over step although I feel I may often do so.

[Scott]

Yeah, I've been stepped on a couple of times. It's just made me a bit more wary. I've often thought that there should be a section on this forum where member's bad habits are 'discussed'. Much like an eBay reputation system. It makes me think, how does the reputation thing work here? If I gave someone the thumbs down, is it visible for others to see?

[chambezio]

I understand what you fellas are saying. The greatest thing about THIS FORUM is the spirit that is intertwined with in it. Advice and experience are freely given and usually gratefully received. It would be a sad sad day if through a few unpleasant folks make that spirit dwindle and die. That old saying "You can't please everyone" should be aired.
I for one do get a bit miffed when, as you have been saying, you go to some trouble only to "be slapped in the face". We all need to put it behind us and move on (As difficult it may be at the time)

It just blows me away just how generous the members are on here. We should never take it for granted

Well that's my 2 bob's worth

[Master Splinter]

I think the worst are the ones who get advice offered by several people, and they mush it all together to come up with some frankenstein's monster of a solution using the bits they like the sound of - ie they take the advice to use mdf as a substrate, then the advice to wipe down to removing sanding dust...but they'll use water as they don't like solvents, then paint with water based paint as they have a can of ceiling white handy, and then they'll ask if putting shellac over it will give it a nice smooth gloss finish...

[Scribbly Gum]

This forum is simply a microcosm of society generally.
It will consist of a cross section of the kinds of people that we encounter in our everyday lives.
Some will have good manners, some will take us for granted and some will be the kinds of people that we would not choose as friends.
So requests and responses will reflect this.
On the whole though, you will find mostly people of good will.
Remember the good - let the rest go.

SG

[Wongo]

I agree. It is no big deal really. After all it did not and will not stop us from helping our fellow woodworkers.

[Ironwood]

I was recently asked by a forum member (by PM) how I did something. I gave back an explanation how I did it.
Then I see the next day, he has done a WIP of sorts , in it he uses the method I had told him the day before, making it sound like he has always been doing it that way.

While I am not after any credit for the idea, as I learnt it from someone else, I just thought it a bit odd. :rolleyes:

[snowyskiesau]

The pleasure I've had from help and good advice from forum members and from being able to help someone else in even a small way, far out ways the very few bad experiences I've had with one or two members, their names are long forgotten.

Thanks to everyone who has helped me in the past in case I may have forgotten to thank you already

[Christos]

Now am I going to preach. Lets see how this turns out. :U

Personally I like to help people. I know that it is nice to hear the words thank you but that does not prevent me from helping them again or helping others.

I do get something out of it and that is a feeling of accomplished, the thank you is a bonus.

[murray44]

Well said Scribbly.

[BobL]

Acknowledgement of sources of ideas is a mark of a good scholar and gentle person.

I forget where that came from but let me acknowledge that it is not my idea :D

[Wongo]

Got another one last Saturday, replied on Sunday and haven't heard from him since.

Some people just don't know how to show their Appreciations. :roll: Maybe he just doesn't have a computer. :U:U

[NCArcher]

Got another one last Saturday, replied on Sunday and haven't heard from him since.

Some people just don't know how to show their Appreciations. :roll: Maybe he just doesn't have a computer. :U:U

Maybe he thought your advice was rubbish :D:q

[Wongo]

That's what I think. :U

[Avery]

Acouple of years ago now, I posted some pics of something i had made. One of the replies from a very experienced and well known forumite commented that he had always wanted to try out that particular type of timber. I PMd him for his address, cut up a dozen or so pen blanks and posted them off a tmy own expense. I was quite happy to do so. Not a word came back, not even an acknowlegdement that the parcel arrived. Nothing at all.

So it is not just the newbies looking for advice.

Good manners go a long way to keeping these forums as good, informative and entertaining as they are.

[Sawdust Maker]

Hey Wongo - the leg fell off my horse, can you come over and fix it? :spyme:

I must admit I try and say thanks, sometime I forget (please is another good word)

And yes I do get a bit peaved when I do something or help someone and hear the sound of deathly silence.

and when a thankyou does turn up one feels pretty good. :D

[Wongo]

I'm on my way.:U


Seriously all it takes is "Thanks". Its not that hard.

[Sturdee]

Hey Wongo - the leg fell off my horse, can you come over and fix it?

Just shoot the horse and send it to the knackery, or if in France butcher it up and have a big bbq. :U:U:U

Peter.

BTW you don't have to thank me for these suggestions. :U

[FenceFurniture]

I had a related, but different experience recently. I had been having "some difficulties" with a member, and it was eventually all resolved (I thought it was, anyway). A couple of weeks later, in a gesture of goodwill, I sent the member a PM asking if they'd like to try some samples of a particular product which I knew would be right up their street, but I didn't even get a "no thanks" in reply. I guess that tells me how the land really lies.

[Mobyturns]

Yes etiquette & politeness are going the way of the dodo. Sad sign of the times, they probably did try to reply to you by texting, or were too busy on the smart phone to reply.

Other bug bear is others who copy & reproduce your material, images, text etc elsewhere without so much as asking, they don’t care about permission or consent, or even a credit attribution. People think they are anonymous and hide behind it but it’s amazing how easy it is to track them down if you really need to. :D

[murray44]

People think they are anonymous and hide behind it but it’s amazing how easy it is to track them down if you really need to. :D

What, you go and knock on their door?

[fubar]

Sorry this is slightly off topic need to vent.
this is not forum members
Whats worse is when you do a quote including design, costings, etc spend many hours/days on it only to find that they were only stealing your design to do a bad job of it themselves

[Mobyturns]

What, you go and knock on their door?

Electronically - yes.

[murray44]

Electronically - yes.

hahaha

[Wongo]

A cyber hitman? :D

[murray44]

A cyber hitman? :D Yeah :U

Although they may need to be careful what they wish for. :rolleyes:

[osr]

We should know all roads lead to Rome so to speak.
Advice given by people is a wonderful thing weather it is good or bad.As far as working with wood goes you can always learn new things.Techniques and uses of different species of wood vary .The use of local or recycled or imported timber is the kind of things we need to know.From time honoured methods to the latest technology and all the skills aquired by all the craftsmen and woman from all over the world.We all need to share experiences and knowledge.
Keep splinters away
Cheers OSR

[Mobyturns]

A cyber hitman? :D

Isn't that techno funk?

[Sawdust Maker]

matrix

[SAISAY]

Another one a few days ago.
New Aussie member asked about buying a cheap Chinese CNC machine on the Vectric forum.
I advised him to go here.
He was peeved because the machine obviously wasn't "professional" enough for the Vectric people!!!!
Asked his question here, I and one more replied.
Never came back again :((

[Sawdust Maker]

Hey Wongo ... Thanks for the coffee :D:D

[Wongo]

Lucky you siad that. I was about to pull the trigger. :D

Thanks for dropping the Wenge yesterday. Can tell me why its 20cm shorter?

[Sawdust Maker]

Lucky you siad that. I was about to pull the trigger. :D

Thanks for dropping the Wenge yesterday. Can tell me why its 20cm shorter?

Commission :p

[John Samuel]

As Sir Isaac wrote in a letter to Hobbes, "If I have seen further it is by standing on ye sholders of Giants."

The original idea for this thought seems to have come from Bernard of Chartres, who in the twelfth century said that even though we are dwarves, we can see farther than the giants (ancient scholars) by standing on their shoulders.

Dr W. Edwards Deming was one of the great minds of the last century. He used to say that one can easily identify great men ... they always acknowledge other great men (the shoulders on which they stood). He was correct.

Those that don't bother with so much as a "thanks" or who otherwise abuse those whose assistance they seek are very small people ... smaller than we dwarves. We cannot change their pettiness or small-mindedness. We can refuse to lower ourselves to their level, as the really helpful people here so amply demonstrate.

As a novice I greatly appreciate the advice and assistance received from so many at this forum, but in particular BobL, Wongo, PJT and Ian. The interesting thing is that often, such people are born teachers. It comes as naturally to them as breathing. Like artists they don't really have much of a choice ... teaching is part of who they are; they can't not do it, and many of us of us are grateful for that.

[Sawdust Maker]

You calling Wongo a giant?

[Christos]

You calling Wongo a giant?

Taller then some. Now taller then most.

[Wongo]

The man is absolutely right. Google says most people in the world are not taller 6ft1. :D

[DSEL74]

I think from my experience anyway there are a lot of knowledgable & generous people on the forum. My thanks to all those who have pointed me in the right direction. I hope I have always shown appreciation and I admit I often feel awkward accepting some of the assistance offered as I don't want to take up people valuable time. Also aren't the appreciative in the majority on here???

So far I don't feel I have the knowledge to give much back, but with the learning I am gaining hopefully I will get to pass it on, or pay it forward so to speak. Not everyone will have the courtesy or manners to say thanks, that is a given and a shame. But look at it this way no one put a gun to your head to give the advice, you did it because you wanted to. You wanted to help and your repaying the community for those that went before and helped you when you were learning. Takes the unthankful person out of the equation, and is your way of saying thanks to those who mentored or provided learning to you. Better way to look at it because you get to feel good about it regardless.

Also those being spoken off will miss out on the future learning opportunities as you won't be wasting energy with them in future.

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

:think:

The way I see it, any advice/method/opinion offered in one of the public forums automagically becomes part of the forum's "accumulated knowledge." As such, I'm more interested in any reasoned criticisms or alternate methods offered afterwards than any thanks. (It's for similar reasons that I don't mind people posting in 'dead' threads. It keeps related - to the original topic - info in the same thread and occasionally adds other options to the knowledge base.)

But it's the behind the scenes stuff... PM's, etc... where it's one-on-one and favours are more personal that thanks become a consideration. Whether face-to-face, on the phone or by eTexting, manners are still manners and I don't particularly like rude people. :p

(However, I'll readily admit that although I'm pretty sure that Avery doesn't mean me I've been guilty of similar at least once. Which had a large part to do with an overfull PM inbox, a few icy cold vitamin B's and mentally blurring the difference between a 'purge' & an 'erasure.' :- )

[Chesand]

Taller then some. Now taller then most.

The short people of the world are there to make the others look tall.
At least that is what I tell my older daughter who is 5 ft and 1/2 an inch. That last 1/2 inch is very important to her.
I also tell her that she was our experimental model and we improved from there on.

[Sawdust Maker]

The short people of the world are there to make the others look tall.
At least that is what I tell my older daughter who is 5 ft and 1/2 an inch. That last 1/2 inch is very important to her.
I also tell her that she was our experimental model and we improved from there on.

Years ago I worked with a lass whom was 4' 11 3/4"
the chap she married was 6' 1"

[Chesand]

Years ago I worked with a lass whom was 4' 11 3/4"
the chap she married was 6' 1"

My son and daughter-in-law are pretty much like that - she might just make 5 ft but he is 6' 1"