1

Oh, this is going to be an interesting thread.

I do agree with you to some extent, although perhaps you may find some of my responses vicious, tedious, sanctimonious and humorless as well.

But (and it's a big but)... why don't you lead by example? Criticizing from the sidelines is easy- but so far i can't see too many helpful responses from your good self...

The sad reality is that, say, asking for hotel recommendations without stating a budget is indeed, pretty useless. Sorry. I can't change reality for you.

2

MTL-- I agree that specificity is useful. I just think that people could say nicely "can you clarify your budget?" rather than try to mock people for a lack of laser accuracy. It's the aggressive tone that, so often, turns me off. This is meant to be a friendly "forum" not an inquisition.

3

the last bit "Not all of us are full-time travelers, some of us have jobs" was tacky and out of order. I retract that :)

4

To echo what MTL said: why don't you lead by example before you criticise others?

5

I agree that specificity is useful
Not just "useful", it's essential - we're not mind-readers and, indeed, most of us do have jobs and other things to keep us occupied.

6

Don't see much viciousness on this branch....maybe you are a little over-sensitive?

As for 'tedious'...well,if you read all the posts and all the replies it probably is tedious.

Presumably the people who post extremely vague questions and expect accurate answers don't read other similar posts first........

7

I see little in the way of "visciousness" either. However, exasperation that people don't read the sticky threads at the top first, is pretty common. I mean, people don't even have to actually click on the threads to see the following:

Research before asking a question. It will help you get better, more detailed and useful answers from the community if you've already done some homework. It's also polite. The community is here to help, but we're not your personal search engine. Invest some preliminary time and we'll help you fill in the gaps.

2. Explore Lonely Planet's Destinations online, which has a wealth of key info and tips.

3. Have a good look around the Thorn Tree before asking your question - quite often your question (or one very similar to it) will have been asked and answered many times...

8

Some questions require specificity- such as visas, even accommodation, and not to mention the "please recommend me a restaurant in France" variety. You don't need to be an experienced traveller to understand why you need to mention nationality, budget, location, type of cuisine etc for such questions..

However if someone asks "What's the weather in Rome in July" it is pretty much understood that avg weather for that time period is what the OP is asking- I'm sure everyone knows weather can't be predicted so no one will really ask that. It can be argued that "What are the historic records/what weather can I expect" is a better way to phrase the question but IMHO this can't be expected in a forum where people from all over the world, with different amounts of proficiency in English, come together.

For example if someone asked here "What is the weather in Bangalore (my current city) in May?" I would answer without too many problems. Like most other places the weather can't be predicted but since I'm living here for such a long time, I have some idea. However if someone asks "Can anyone recommend a hotel in Bangalore?" there's no ideal way to answer that besides asking for more details. Besides in many cities, location of accommodation is also important, foe example Los Angeles- it's such a frickin sprawling city.

Lastly I personally don't find most of the responses you've referred to as the " inevitable barrage of vicious, tedious responses" vicious at all.

9

You don't need to be an experienced traveller to understand why you need to mention nationality, budget, location, type of cuisine etc for such questions
Exactly - it would be enough if the OP made a tiny effort to proofread his post and ask himself for a minute how a perfect stranger without any further background info, would interpret the question.

But hey, apparently what I consider common sense is an inevitable barrage of vicious, tedious responses by sanctimonious, humorless, posters to others...

10

Ansh....if someone wants to know what the weather is usually like in a city in a particular month,they can find that (by googling) in less time than it takes for me to write this reply ;-)

11

I do agree, perhaps people just need to word things more politely.

12

TO8, I was about to post a link to your thread as an example of the vague questions posted and the OP coming back in a snit because s/he didn't get a detailed response. How many threads can be answered politely when the initial OP makes not the slightest effort to provide any information other than a list of countries they want to visit?

What I find interesting is that so many people continue to spend time and effort giving advice, even when so many OPs don't bother returning to say thankyou, or, even better, giving some feedback once the trip is over. There is one today, but that is rare.

13

Yes...its true that politeness can be in short supply on the Internet.

As BJD says,it cuts both ways.

Perhaps 1 in 20 new posters thank people for advice,and maybe 1 in 100 come back on after their trip to detail how it went and how the suggestions given were (or weren't) useful..

14

That's true Lucapal. However websites give just that- what the temperature was on 7 pm on July 22 2009, what the humidity was, what atm pressure was, how many mm/cm of precipitation occurred etc. I think, however, that asking such questions can give more qualitative info- how difficult was it travelling then, what weather-related occurrences etc can occur etc. Websites will only give this is something on the scale of Sandy occurred.

This is the forecast for Venice. Doesn't tell me about any floods here. If I was visiting Venice soon I would ask on TT and maybe get a reply from someone in Venice at the moment who can tell me more about the current scenario etc.

Another eg: I'm considering to travel somewhere in Jul next year, Turkey is on the top of the list. I've checked weather forecasts and previous weather during that time in Kayseri, for eg, and got some info. But I'm sure if I ask here I can get more info on whether it is even worth travelling in Jul. Incidentally I would appreciate any replies from someone who has been to Cappadocia in Jul- is it too hot (by which is it possible to roam around without yearning of AC all the time)?