Frustrating...

[Fortytwo]

It’s frustrating to me that most people use the threads that someone else started to just tell their story and not help answer the question that the OP asked.

[Don C L]

Yes, and now that you mention it, that reminds me of something that happened to me.... It was a dark and stormy night....

[Fortytwo]

I asked for that... Thanks Don.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by Fortytwo

It’s frustrating to me that most people use the threads that someone else started to just tell their story and not help answer the question that the OP asked.

Well, if you had asked a question I would certainly attempt to find an anecdote vaguely related to relate to you.

But you only made a statement, so I guess the appropriate response is to ask you a question... but I can't think of one inappropriate enough!

Seriously, it is a discussion forum, and sometimes anecdotes do bear on questions that have been asked. And sometimes not... but that's life on the internet.

Hang in there, for amongst the dreck there are often pearls of wisdom, and a good pearl diver knows not to bring up empty shells.

Jim

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by Fortytwo

It’s frustrating to me that most people use the threads that someone else started to just tell their story and not help answer the question that the OP asked.

Don't get me started...

Seriously though, most questions get answered with the first page or two of responses - after that, all bets are off. Just like any other conversation, it drifts to wherever the participants want to it go. The OP often moves on because their "problem" has been resolved while the usual suspects continue to chat among themselves.

Now that is sorted, let me tell you what get's up my goat .

OP asks about a problem, several posters give advice, the OP takes the advice, the OP reports back that the problem has been resolved yet respondent after respondent continues to give advice (often sketchy advice) even though the problem has been resolved. Don't people read what has been already posted upthread.

[Oeanda]

This is usually about the point that people start arguing about something and it all goes out the window...

[Reefmagnet]

Originally Posted by Oeanda

This is usually about the point that people start arguing about something and it all goes out the window...

I'm not sure I agree about that remark.

[Oeanda]

It’s ‘agree with’, not ‘agree about’.

[Wotname]

Don't agree....

[Oeanda]

What if I bang my head against the wall?

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by Reefmagnet

I'm not sure I agree about that remark.

Really ? well I beg to differ...

Its a bit like asking a question at a big family dinner...

A bit of polite conversation and the question gets answered ... but not before your second cousin twice removed... the kindergarten teacher... picks someone up on a point of grammar..... your grandfather's brother starts rambling on about life before the mast.... the family bore starts waffling on about the finer points of something or other most probably not remotely related to the original question and just won't shut up.

That will be when someone's wife trots out photos of the latest sprog which everyone thinks is ugly as sin but tries to be polite about it except for your aunt who is rather outspoken.... and has photos of a better looking grandchild...

Nobody notices that you have left the table long since are in in the pantry wondering where on earth they have hidden the gin......

I'm sure I am in there somewhere

Spelling corrected, Pete7

[Reefmagnet]

Originally Posted by Oeanda

It’s ‘agree with’, not ‘agree about’.

We'll have to agree to disagree about that.

[gamayun]

Sometimes people need a place, a community, if you will, to be heard and to tell their stories. It is kinda like El Pinguino's dysfunctional family - some you like, some drive you crazy but you politely tolerate, and some you just need to walk away from.

[LittleWing77]

Originally Posted by Don C L

Yes, and now that you mention it, that reminds me of something that happened to me.... It was a dark and stormy night....

I resemble this remark...!

(Although my *intention* is to always relate an anecdote that bears on the OP's question.)

Originally Posted by Wotname

Seriously though, most questions get answered with the first page or two of responses - after that, all bets are off.

OP asks about a problem, several posters give advice, the OP takes the advice, the OP reports back that the problem has been resolved. Yet respondent after respondent continues to give often sketchy advice, even though the problem has been resolved.

Don't people read what has been already posted upthread?!?

I was an avid bystander to this happening a couple of weeks ago with JoeFiss' thread where he couldn't figure out whether to scrap his BEAUTIFUL Bristol 27' or give it away.

I felt proud of us all, as Forum Member responses were sympathetic, helpful and generous.

Finally, triumph! Joe found a couple in PA to give the boat to - and his next thread was about taking the boat through the Oswego Canal before it closed this week...

People were still offering suggestions and opinions weeks later. I finally posted that new owners had been found and the next step could be read [here=insert link].

Did NOT make any difference...

Fair winds all,
LittleWing77

[Singularity]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Well, if you had asked a question I would certainly attempt to find an anecdote vaguely related to relate to you.

^^^^^This. This communication approach (akin to immersion) is generally the most effective means of communicating an idea, but it's not the shortest approach, and in a world of every-shortening attention-spans*, telling stories can be annoying to people. But it's the essence of a truly Socratic approach to teaching (i.e. answering a question) where the teacher does not provide the answer, but instead paints a verbal picture in which the person asking the question must immerse himself/herself to see the answer from their own perspective, while at the same time probably gaining other wisdom/insight in the process.

But as Gamayun states, we all need to be heard...as though we feel some story inside us is beneficial to the community such that we might regurgitate completely non-contextual information for some reason. Consider googling "why we tell stories" (not just this book), "why we write"). And then there's Plato's lament: 'Wise [people] speak because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something.'

Frankly most questions asked that can be answered with few words could be answered with a google search in the first place (including this one ).

*You Now Have a Shorter Attention Span Than a Goldfish
The average attention span for the notoriously ill-focused goldfish is nine seconds, but according to a new study from Microsoft Corp., people now generally lose concentration after eight seconds, highlighting the affects of an increasingly digitalized lifestyle on the brain.
https://time.com/3858309/attention-spans-goldfish/