why reply if you are going to be mean?
Seen this many times, but first time it happened to me. I asked a question here because i was looking for personal experience about a location. Instead of helpful info, i get "call the place", really,...
Forum Discussion
Crowe wrote:
If a member thinks the OP should go look somewhere else for the answer, it would be a kindness to not say so.
Why? The people who won't take the time to call for a definitive answer are the same people who criticize others when they don't get the answer they want or turn around after a bad experience and say "but you said". If they can take the time to post a question, they can take the time to make a simple phone call.
Ok, I'll tell you why. (I've had this happen to me, so I know how the OP feels here.) When a poster asks a question, he's hoping for someone who may know the answer to respond with the answer. When a person responds, "go look it up" or "go make a phone call," it's obvious that the person does not know, or is not willing to share, the answer. "Go google it" or "search the forum" is a cop-out and a non-answer. "Go call X" is only helpful if the OP was looking to find out who to call. If the 'answering party' can't be more helpful and productive than that, I've long felt it would be better for that person to stay quiet and out of the thread, and let someone else answer... someone who is willing and knowledgeable. I'm not saying that such 'answers' (non-answers IMO) are necessarily meant in a spirit of rudeness, but they very often tend to come across that way nonetheless. Think about it for a minute. I've heard teachers encourage their students to ask questions by saying, "There's no such thing as a stupid question." Telling someone to go look up their answer or to go call someone else will make the person feel belittled, like they've asked a stupid question.
BTW, for those who feel that calling the park is the way to get the info, I understand your position that "straight from the horse's mouth" is the most accurate source of info. However, the OP is probably well aware of this adage but is thinking that someone else may also have the info. Just one example, someone who's stayed at that park and read the park's "rules" handout. If you don't know the answer, you don't know... but don't assume that no one else on this forum knows, because someone else just might have a very good answer for the OP!
