gotsmart wrote:
For me, I think it became prominent when the Dear Marcus forums first appeared. New members (1 to 5 posts) who posted a problem there are routinely spanked by holier than thou types who would almost immediately admonish them as bashing CW - whether the OP's issue is valid or not. These 'spankers', as I call them, aren't contributing to the conversation one bit. It seems that this attitude is carrying over into the other forums where an OP starts a thread and leaves out helpful details or has not well thought out what they are trying to say - and instead of trying to help the OP with leading questions to get more details so that they can be helped, the OP get spanked/admonished into silence and/or the thread gets hijacked.
I would be OK with the admins physically deleting such posts (especially from the Dear Marcus forums) that do nothing but admonish the OP for starting the thread - and to do it without comment.
Maybe when folks see their OP-bashing replies disappearing it'll persuade them to refrain from posting them in the future.
For me, the appearance of the "Dear Marcus" forums took away from the other forums. The Dear Marcus forums are nothing but a complaint platform. They almost always follow the same pattern. Complaint with a bunch of unsubstantiated information. Some posters chiming in with the "Yeah Good Sam Sucks" posts. Others, including me, making the skeptics posts about filling in the blanks and how maybe the expectations are a bit high or maybe how we are being trolled. Then the Good Sam people chime in with the "That's terrible, we will look into it promptly, response" and then nothing. Never know if the problem got solved, it was uncovered that there really wasn't a problem, or the mods just block any other followup and the thread dies. It has really turned the forums into gripe sessions. Wouldn't bother me a bit if they disappeared.
I like the forums for the exchange of opinions much more than the exchange of repair facts. Frankly, posts about the spark plug gap on a motorhome engine isn't very appealing to me. If I have knowledge about a specific problem or request I try and post it, provided it hasn't already been answered. Opinions and the exchange of ideas can go on forever. There never is an answer, so it is much more mentally stimulating and a much more enjoyable read. That is why people tend to read novels and not text books. It is not about the facts, it is about the journey.
