Is doing your own research getting to be a lost art?

[GotSmart]

I think one of the problems is having so many choices anymore.  I go to look at something and years ago, there might be 2 choices if I were lucky, and now, there are 200 choices.  Overwhelmed!

I know.  

It used to be two kinds of soap.  Lava, and Ivory.  Now there are whole isles at WM devoted to the different types.  (And they do not have single bars!) Three different sections.  Laundry, dishwashing, and body.  (More in pets)   :huh:

Everyone needs help sometimes.

 

[TrainChaser]

I think there are a few reasons related to the 'Why' question.  

1. You have to use the right words.  Sometimes 'similar' words won't get you what you need.  And you often need the right combination of words to find what you're looking for. 

2. You have to pay attention to the source of the information.  Are you looking at info from the USDA National Center for Home Food Preservation, or the website of some 22-yo whose object is to make some money selling advertising, and mostly fills her site with questionable info taken from similar sites?

3. Many website owners can't tell the difference between fact, theory and personal opinion.  Many of them will alter legitimate info by adding, omitting or changing some of the information.

4. You could do a search here at CRVL for 'laminate flooring', and you would get 2,362 entries on the subject.  I think it was Cyndi who slapped me down soon after I joined here, telling me to do a search of the website.  Well, I'm not going search through a few thousand entries to maybe find what I want to know.  My time may not be worth much, but it's worth something, and I've got a limited amount of it to spend here.  Sorry, babe.

5.  But on a site like CRVL, though, much of it may be due to trust.  A discussion board that is mainly for owners of 20-40' motorhomes isn't going to provide much info on the particulars of adding a sink drain or heated flooring to a shorty cargo van, or how to/should you stuff insulation under the metal wall supports.  Who knows better how to do strange, unusual stuff than the people here who have actually done it, or have seen it done?  Or has a new idea?

If someone asks something that you're tired of answering, there's a solution:  JUST MOVE ALONG TO THE NEXT SUBJECT and ignore it.

 

[frater secessus]

I know the "search" function can be frustrating.  Some people don't actually know about the "search" function both here and the other forums.  Also, the dynamics of the wording in the "search" can be tricky.

Forum searches are typically terrible.  I find it more useful to define a search in Chrome/Firefox/whatever that does a site search on google instead:

https://encrypted.google.com/search?hl=en&q=site:https://vanlivingforum.com/ %s

I call this one crv so if I want to find out about absorption setpoints for trojan 6v I'd type this in the URL field:

crv trojan absorption setpoint

It returns a result like this. 
I know this isn't really what the thread is about but it might help some of the researcher types. 

 

[user 37446]

Amazing replies as to the "why" to answer, if you have the interest and time. I am thinking a lot has to do with age, (like a poster said, younger folk tend to want the answer and get moving on), how you were taught to find things out and if you are the type of person to gladly help others out.

Again, I appreciate the "gentle nudges", that have encouraged me to continue to give appropriate, sensitive replies. 

I believe that's what I will do, be more selective about the posts I answer and then give a succinct response.

Thank you forum members who have responded. 

TWIH

 

[XFILE36]

why not just give the benefit of the doubt?  Some of us DO SEARCHES and find nothing here in the search bar on top.  I hate to post threads and have never done a forum before.  I just do it because I think there are "experts" here who can teach and help, without me having to reinvent the wheel.  Bob kindly welcomed me to his forum for help and I accepted.  Some of us have a difficult time grasping certain subjects.  I am sure that there are some subjects YOU cannot grasp too.  I like what someone else said somewhere:  "Some of us don't even know the question(s) we should be asking", so if I were to try to search engine it, I wouldn't know the first thing to search.  Bottom line, just be patient, kind, and helpful in a beginners' language and all will be well, OR maybe don't read the forum questions that frustrate you.

 

[Ballenxj]

As pointed out several times above, Key words are, at the risk of sounding cliche, "KEY" for a successful search.

 

[XFILE36]

P.S. Some people ARE "handicapped" as you say, but that really doesn't have anything to do with being disabled. Not knowing something DOES NOT make someone handicapped. How do you know if the person who is asking a question isn't in a very bad place, about to lose their home, their marriage, their health, etc. or is having other high stress issues and doesn't know the first thing about living in a tiny car, for instance? As far as what I have seen here, some people who are stressed out and are feeling hopeless come here for help and answers because they don't have the time and energy to reinvent the wheel.

 

[frater secessus]

parable of the Fish Forum

Some help by giving the man a fish.  Some help by teaching the man to fish.

Sometimes the fish givers get frustrated with the fish teachers, believing they are needlessly unkind or rude.
Sometimes the fish teachers get frustrated with the fish givers, believing they are enabling the man to live in learned helplessness.

Then every so often the givers and the teachers meet in the desert
and help each other build beds
and storage shelving
and give seminars
then sit together around a fire at night
full of gratitude to the universe and to each other.

 

[Ballenxj]

parable of the Fish Forum
<-------->
then sit together around a fire at night
full of gratitude to the universe and to each other.

That's a Beautiful analogy.

 

[XFILE36]

parable of the Fish Forum

Some help by giving the man a fish.  Some help by teaching the man to fish.

Sometimes the fish givers get frustrated with the fish teachers, believing they are needlessly unkind or rude.
Sometimes the fish teachers get frustrated with the fish givers, believing they are enabling the man to live in learned helplessness.

I didn't read one thing about the fish receivers...oh well...Everyone has  the choice not to help. :heart:

 

[Ballenxj]

There are people that try to help.
There are people that try to be humorous.
There are people that need help.
There are haters that look for things that can be taken the wrong way and try to jump on the person for saying whatever.
With every post I make, I try to fall into the first two categories. Sometimes I am misunderstood.

 

[hepcat]

and THEN, there are the fish thieves who sleep all day in the shade and whine about working when they have to, and then to avoid having to work for themselves, sneak around and steal the fish that the others caught during the day at the expense of those who worked hard for them.

Now, lest anyone call me cynical for saying that, recognize that I spent the better part of thirty-five years chasing and catching the fish thieves, so I'm familiar with their ilk.

 

[XFILE36]

...but are we talking about thieves here who are mostly just people asking for help?  If Bob didn't have this forum, I would still feel hopeless (not helpless).  Now I have hope and a plan is emerging thanks to the good people here who decided to waste their precious time on people like me.

 

[hepcat]

I think that most of the folks here are really good folks who have done what they can to figure out their issues and either still need direction or are looking for alternatives.  Everyone enjoys sharing their thoughts and experience with those folks.   But every once in a while we see a post with a complex and/or overly vague question where the poster just wants someone else to do the research for them so they can reap the benefit without any work on their own.  I think those are the folks the OP was talking about when he started the thread.

 

[Ballenxj]

I think he was referring to those that skulk around looking for something to outright steal, certainly not people such as yourself that are looking for honest help.

 

[user 37446]

As the OP, please allow me to say that the original question simply was stating that it seems there are fewer folk who are researching their "questions". The post that got me thinking was a rambling, quasi-political one where the poster never quite seemed to really want someone to recommend an answer, just wanted to voice their thoughts about how to "beat the system".
As such, I asked the question about research, after being frustrated about that type of query. (I should have simply ignored the possible troll and let it die off).

While it is true that everyone's situation and stress levels vary greatly, I was simply expressing a (self concern) thought that a member can look at the numerous sub forums listed on the home forum page and click on one, read through it and not only find the (probable) answer to their question, but also find many other things that they had not realized. So I wrote the question/started the thread.

The replies have pretty much confirmed to me that forum members who respond are those who are genuinely interested in helping educate, clarify or support the poster.  While is true that search engine use can answer much of what is asked, they also can cause a lot of confusion due to the vast numbers of "hits" and the job of sorting out the good, bad and the ugly (scams). Thus, some/many resort to asking their (searchable) questions on the forum.

I have repeatedly found the answers I needed online or through YouTube, but then I am happy and willing to watch dozens of videos, or read dozens of threads about whatever my question is. Many dont have the bandwidth, time or inclination to do so, and for those reasons I have been counseled to accept people's questions or, as a couple of members reminded me, I can "let it go on by" so to speak. :sleepy:

It seemed like your reply to John61CT was a bit unfair, as he was really saying to just answer the query because we don't know what their deeper issue is and it doesn't matter.  If you want to throw rocks, lob them at me as I am the OP on this matter. :s

Maybe Cyndi was right, time to close this one down.   :huh:

 

[Gary68]

i'm not seeing a problem,why do hours on google when i can just ask someone and get the answer in three words
thats why we humans keep getting better,we can easily pass on knowledge so the next person doesn't have to start from scratch

 

[XFILE36]

I assume your comment was partially toward me. UNFAIR?? No one was throwing rocks. Research history and maybe you would understand my comments. I guess at this point only Bob and the mods know what that is...Yeah close this. It serves no positive purpose.

 

[XFILE36]

i'm not seeing a problem,why do hours on google when i can just ask someone and get the answer in three words
thats why we humans keep getting better,we can easily pass on knowledge so the next person doesn't have to start from scratch

Thanks Gary, that's what I keep trying to say. :heart:

 

[rvwandering]

I'm closing this thread. There's way too much bickering. It's very simple. If you want to help somebody do it. If you don't want to help them please do not post on their thread.

The main objective of the forums is to supply help and inspiration.