Can I ask why people do this?

[Album Cover X]

I've lurked on these boards a while and had a previous ID before that. This place is often a great resource.

But when a thread like this one appears some in the community stop being helpful and start making people feel like an outsider. In the thread I've referred to, a poster asked how you pronounce "Drow". Big deal. So the topic has come up a few times. Personally, I don't care how it's pronounced. But a member of this community felt it necessary to ask and I think he or she is entitled to answers of those who wish to respond.

If a new poster comes here and begins a thread like "Rangers are underpowered" or "The Magic system needs overhauling" they should be allowed to without being made to feel like they've broken some cardinal rule. It might be this person's first post or first time they ever began a thread. And even tho most of us might have participated or viewed a similar discussion 5, 10, or 100 times, don't we owe it to the person who may never have? They could be brand-new to RPGs and somehow located this site and their first real taste of ENWorld is a bunch of people saying "Oh no. not this again."

Before I typed this, there were 67 posts in the aforementioned thread. I count over 10 that basically say "Oh no. not this again." How is that helping anyone except to say, "Hey I've been here longer than you." So big deal - your gold star is in the mail.

Honestly, I'm not trying to start a problem. Just trying to show that we all can be more forgiving of new members. If a post has been done to death and you've said all you wanted to about the subject then don't post to it. Let those who haven't get their chance.

What's that phrase??? "Nothing new under the sun." It could be argued that every thread has been done before or something similiar.

Am I off base in feeling this way???

 

[Nightfall]

Yes but we keep getting the same people that answer it...and THEY get tired of seeing it too.

I mean how many times can you ask the same question before someone, anyone, just says "ENOUGH!"

 

[EricNoah]

You're right -- in my opinion, the people who have seen a topic before should either point folks to a thread where an enlightening answer can be found, or participate in a positive manner, or else they should just butt out. "We've seen this before" isn't helpful to anyone.

If "search" were available to all I think we might be able to reasonably expect folks to do a smidge of research before asking a possibly common question, but since only community supporters have that privelege, it's inevitable that many of the same questions will get repeated over time.

As you might expect, the subject of "repeated questions" has come up before; check this thread for more thoughts from me (and others): http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=77764&highlight=question

 

[Morrus]

I agree - it's not a nice way to greet someone new. Just because someone has seen a similar thread before doesn't mean that everyone has.

A good rule of thumb is this: if you see a thread which covers things you've been through before, and you have no interest in going through it again, then just ignore the thread. Going out of your way just to post "Oh no, not again" is pretty rude.

There will always be plenty of people who haven't had that particular discussion before, and who may well enjoy having it. Let them.

 

[EricNoah]

Heh. And as usual, Russ and I share one brain. Whee!!

 

[Morrus]

Simultaneous posting of the same stuff - an even more interesting conversation than the one about repeated posting of the same stuff!

Although, technically, I was a few seconds later.

 

[Hand of Evil]

If I was one I apologize.

 

[EricNoah]

I forgot to address the "why" part of the question -- my theory is that some people would rather look "clever" than be "nice"; it's the geek's curse! Telling the world how worn out a topic is shows the world that the poster has been around a long time, I guess, and that somehow earns him some bragging rights.

 

[Ashwyn]

As you might expect, the subject of "repeated questions" has come up before; check this thread for more thoughts from me (and others): http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=77764&highlight=question

Oh god, not this again.

 

[Crothian]

I agree. It seems pointless and people seem to foget that just becasue I may have seen the thread a hundred times before does not mean that other people have as well. I see a lot of threads come by again and again. Sometimes I help when I can but othertime I just ignoire it becasue I do tire of some topics.

But I always love the Ranger got the Shaft threads!!