Most of the threads ask the same questions with slightly different words? Do you find the forum helpful or do you use it to put off the inevitable? I've gotten a lot of good information from people on here. But people are kind of abusing it in my opinion. It's like questions a 5 year old would ask or questions that are easily answered with the tiniest amount of common sense. It's like when you're in class and you keep raising your hand to ask the teacher a question every 5 minutes when you could just look in the book. I know at least a couple will probably be angered by this thread. Before you hit reply, take a deep breathe and ask yourself if its true. Then feel free to flame after that.
Sort of how forums go I guess. New members join and without looking at old posts they start asking questions that have been answered a million times before. There is always plenty of good questions that come up though and it's easy enough to block out the others.
True enough. But it would be a much better forum if there wasn't so much filler. I don't know if this thread would actually stop that but who knows? Maybe it will inspire someone to use their own brain instead of everyone else's. Not that I dislike noobs or anything, I just wish they'd..well you know only ask important things that they can't work out by themselves.
Sometimes...but it's kinda of like..'meh' I just look past it. Since it's a forum, it doesn't annoy me that much.
It doesn't annoy me, but it isn't productive. Ok it does annoy me, but only because it isn't productive. I think I'm going to try to change the internet. No more useless information! A girl can dream.
Some threads yes, but not a majority. I've found it to be extremely useful for gettting specific questions answered about when I"m stuck on something. I hate seeing posts like "This is my idea, should I write it" or "I have an awesome character, can someone help me think of a plot." Those people get slammed on though.
There are plenty of great discussions. The only ones that really make me scratch my head are the ones where people want the forum members to write/develop part of their story for them (i.e. "Can you think of a plot for me?" and stuff like that). Weird.
Yes the posts you guys mention are the ones I'm irked about. I mean if you want to write, write, but don't expect other people to do it for you!
I have a great idea for a witty retort to this post - can I entice one of you to write it on my behalf?
I know, and it also degrades yourself as a writer. Nothing wrong with asking for help working out a specific plot kink, but come on, don't ask for approval to carry on with a plot. It's like asking people's permission to be a writer. Not cool.
Also one more horribly obvious grammar or spelling mistake in the thread title and it may kill my soul.
I know - I can understand the basic spelling mistake if it's obviously a typo, but it bugs me when "your" is constantly used in place of "you're" and plurals have apostrophes before the "s" when no apostrophe should be there. lol
How do we know it's not a five year old? I'm 44 and if you're 16, I'm not going to put you down for your inexperience. Also, I enjoy helping people with creative ideas, so the questions may be of the same type, but aren't exactly the same.
I might be the odd man out for it, but it's my number one pet peeve with the vast majority of forum cultures. This strange idea that newbies are supposed to go through the trouble of searching the often vast outer recesses of already discussed topics, all in hopes of having their simplest questions answered. It's a forum, not an information database. If you don't want to answer the question or deal with a topic, ignore it. If it bothers anyone that much, perhaps their frustration would be better spent on the creation of an FAQ or Wiki database for those recurring questions. That said, I do tend to get my panties all bunched up in a knot over glaring grammar errors in the simplest of sentences, thread titles and posts. Not to mention spelling errors, of all things. Even in this age of insta-meta-spellcheck that seems to pop up anywhere there's a blinking cursor, all without being asked. Then again, my own grammar is hardly perfect, so I generally opt to say nothing if not critiquing. Who's to say it's not a non-native speaker, someone with dyslexia, or any other of a myriad of possibilities?
I am with Clumsywordsmith - I like the fact we are not currently being shoved onto old posts that then get ignored at present. I love talking about my writing and don't mind repeating myself. Actually find it useful. Also do not mind answering people politely that just need encouragement to put pen to paper or give advice based on my experience. I do believe writing with help is great, bouncing ideas off other people is very useful. Often I go on to have my own ideas but it sparks mine. Monty Python did alright writing by commitee and I like the chance to work ideas out with other people. I am not precious about my stories I write them to share. Also love it when I see something I have said spark an idea in another person. Unlike some writers who shun company, I am a social person, I like to talk, I like having contact. And is better to bore another writer than my husband or bestfriend.
If my high school Algebra class was any indicator, asking a direct question of a teacher (or other knowledgeable person) generally got more results than attempting to look it up yourself. Indeed, if you're not well-versed in the subject of your query, you're not exactly well-equipped to be searching for your answer in the first place. How are you going to know if you found the right one for your exact situation? In my short time here, I've come to view this forum as a place of learning in its own right. So says the guy who had to ask questions every 5 minutes in class, anyways. It may have been annoying to others, but I sure as hell found my answers.
a clueless student in class, who's trying to get a passing grade is not on the same level as a person who is supposedly wanting to be a professional writer... when you're out there in the cold, cruel world working on what is supposed to be your own creative works, you need to come up with your own 'original' ideas for your stories, not be relying on others to supply them, thus 'writing by committee'...
