Misinformation, Pride, & Jealousy. The bane of
forums.
Forums are good for sharing & learning, but
unfortunately it is my experience that on nearly every forum there are people
that for one reason or another make participating on the forum an unpleasant
experience. In my experience there are three types of person which should not
be allowed on a forum, 1) those that spread misinformation. These people have
very little real experience in the field that the forum represents, yet they
want people to think that they are very knowledgeable, so they make lots of
posts which are mostly bullshit & misinformation. This not only poses a
danger for newbies who are trying to learn the ropes, but it can also cause
beginners to spend money on items that are not of any real use.
2) Prideful people who think they know more than they
really do & are not prepared to admit they are wrong. These people will
never learn anything new, because they hate being wrong to the extent that they
will defend themselves by totally discounting any new information that
contradicts their own beliefs. What is worse is that they will try to prove you
wrong & make out that you don’t know what you are talking about. Whilst
these types of people are pretty harmless, they can be annoying & stressful
& are best avoided.
3) Jealous people;
these people think they know it all & will never listen to reason. If they
come across a post that indicates that their own beliefs are wrong, then they
will discount the information & post comments that are rude & often
spiteful. They hate to think that anyone should know more than they do. Like
the prideful person these people will never admit to learning anything new,
especially if it contradicts their own beliefs.
What To Do.
There is no point trying to help these people, to try
& educate them is a futile & stressful experience. The best thing you
can do is go to your control panel on the forum & list these people on your
“Ignore” list. In this way you will no longer see their posts or their replies
to your posts.
Others that will not learn.
These are people who are totally harmless to others but
do pose a threat to themselves. They are not really into the finer points of
what the forum is all about, but they do find participation fun. They purchase
gear that is not suitable & not sustainable & having purchased this
equipment they are not about to admit that they have made a mistake. Again,
they will defend their choices & beliefs by discounting any other advice or
recommendations. You can simply ignore these people or you can add them to your
“Ignore” list. These people rarely cause any problem on a forum, & are not
usually the sort of people to pursue an argument or try & put anyone down,
but occasionally some of them will!
Best of luck on your forums.
Incidentally, the ONLY forum I have come across to date that does not suffer
this problem is one that I started & run myself. I have to date NEVER had
to reprimand someone or cancel their membership. They are the best people I
have ever come across & I am proud to have them all on my forum. This forum
is an 18th century Living History forum & you can find it here:
