British Expats - Why regulars get frustrated at some newbies. (or

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- - Why regulars get frustrated at some newbies. (or - Google is your friend) (https://britishexpats.com/forum/maple-leaf-98/why-regulars-get-frustrated-some-newbies-google-your-friend-511244/)

Why regulars get frustrated at some newbies. (or - Google is your friend)

If you are a newbie and easily offended then my suggestion is that you should not read this thread.

If you are a newbie and am wondering why sometimes a regular will fly off the handle and blow off some steam, then please read on. It might help you forgive the person and give you some understanding as to why.

In the "chicken and egg" thread, Morwenna wrote the following:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Morwenna (Post 5874822)

Maybe I'm being over-sensitive on his behalf.

When I discovered this site I was well into the immigration process and had found out most of the info for myself.

However, if somebody is just beginning the process I should imagine this site, as it is now, is an absolute goldmine for the information that is on here ..... and most of the collation of that info has been done by Judy herself, for which she deserves all the karma in the world! :thumbup:

Here it is .... on a plate ..... but some people still do not seem to get which cupboard to look in, even if they are clearly signposted! :blink:

Seems to me, one can either ridicule those people, give them the answers they want, point them in the right direction or just ignore their requests for help.

It is absolutely up to the individual how you want to respond, and personally it depends on my mood at the time how helpful I want to be, together with how much time I have etc .....

I just feel that if I came here and had sarcastic responses to my first questions .... I would probably wander off and miss the chance of some really useful help.

I'm thinking of wandering off anyway. Maybe it's time!

First off - don't leave. Not unless you feel that you have nothing more to contribute (which I think you do), your work here is done or that you simply do not have enough time to spend on this site. If neither of those options fit, please stay.

I understand exactly what you are saying. At first glance, a newbie who is easily offended will bugger off to some other site in a heart beat. That would be a shame because as people feel they have done enough here and they have repaid for all the help they once received, new blood is needed.

At the same time you are perfectly correct that some people just can not read the signs on the cupboards. I would like to say that those cases are either completely blind or utterly lazy.

As I know blind people CAN surf the net and most of the blind are not lazy I more inclined to think that those who come here expecting to have the information served on a plate are lazy. Simple as that.

My own analysis of it all is that we have four kinds of adult internet users.

Those who were young adults when the internet started to be accessible.
Those who were too young to have been there but are starting to explore it now.
Those who belong to an older generation who have been talked in to using it and have been told that all the information in the world is out there.
The plain lazy.

There is a fourth and that is the generation who's parents belong to the first generation but I'm not including them here.

I'm in the first camp. I remember the days when the internet was safe enough to use your own name in forums and I did, frequently. I remember having this world of information at the tips of my fingers just waiting for me to go find out everything I wanted to know. I remember Altavista being the main search engine and the birth of Google. I remember being told Google was the best thing since sliced bread and me going "bah!" Now I can't remember when I last used Altavista.

Most of the people I know who are in the first camp know how to use a forum, how to search for information, that you have to look for what you want to find.

The second group will have one up on those of us who were there at the beginning because now they teach this stuff in schools and searching the internet for information for school papers is second nature to them.

The third group is where my mother is. She will type in a search string in Google and then sit and stare at the screen frustrated that it brings up a load of links and summaries and not handing her the answer on a plate. She is getting there. She is figuring out that she has to put some effort in to finding information. Partially as she is seeing how much I research this move to Canada and everything else needed for my clients and to further my skills. But she is at an advantage there as she has me at her doorstep.

I have a total understanding for the third group. They will eventually master the internet to the best of their ability and deserve respect.

The fourth group includes all generations, young and old, because they are plain lazy. We see a lot of them on this site.

Yes, the information here is a gold mine. THANK YOU JUDY!

The thing is that the lazy group takes one look at the wealth of information and decide it is just plain hard work and can't be bothered reading up on it. I can't give two hoots to if I hurt their feelings or not. I will happily apologize if they would say something like "sorry I missed that. I'll go back to reading up on the subject and then come back with educated questions" because at least then they are trying to do some of the hard work that the rest of us have done. I also think that I am not the only one who would welcome such a reaction. But if they don't want to do that, my suggestion to the lazy newbie is to instantly go and hire a CSIC approved consultant or an immigration lawyer and let people who are sincerely interested in taking an active part in their relocation to hang around here. Or just sit and wait it out. Maybe their (simplified) application will be processed this century.

The thing is, Judy has spent an enormous amount of her own time, for free, collating all this information. It's not like she is a CSIC registered consultant like Andrew Miller, who's free advice will generate some income as in clients. I seriously can not blame Judy for blowing up every now and then. Nor do I blame any of the other regulars who've been around for some time for doing the same.

It is highly frustrating to see one newbie after another join and in their first post show zero indication that they have conducted any kind of research of their own. Such research needn't be done on this site alone but at least it would show some respect to the founders of this site and the regulars who have contributed to the wikis (regardless of country).

It would be a lot easier for me to respect those who do as I find it very hard to respect those who don't. And that's coming from someone who has only been here a year and who constantly find something new to learn, from this site and it's users.

I am eternally thankful for finding this site.

I would never have found it if Google wasn't my friend.