Hello,

I'm curious to see what reasons we all have to post on this forum. It's kind of an interesting relationship, since time and energy is precious and we don't get anything tangible in return.

Myself, for one, do it mainly to keep fresh the things I have learned over the years and to learn new things. Is this the main reasons for everyone else too? I do like helping people too, I am not completely selfish

Any thoughts?

Steve

 

For me, it's helping if possible, then learning. Not to mention communicating with others who share my interest.

--Rich

 

For me it one of several reasons:

1) I like helping people out, it's especially gratifying if it is with something I studied for many years and now enjoy as a job.

2) There is a lot of knowledge embodied in the people who frequent this forum. Whether asking a question or just reading their replies, there is always something to learn from them. In the 4 years I've been on AAC not a week goes by where I don't learn something from the people that post here that I subsequently go on to use in my own work.

3) Forums like this one are a great way to keep on top of, or in some cases re-learn, what you already know. Like one of our senior members said to me over PM the other day, "if you really want to learn a subject; try teaching it", the same applies when it comes to revising what you already know.

4) I like helping support the e-book here at AAC.

5) Finally, I've met (in the cyber sense!) some great people on here.

Dave

 

I just post here for the learning purpose (bcoz i have not gained enough knowledge to teach someone

 

Basically, we all share knowledge, intrests and ideas... This what the internet is good for...It's better than using it for distributing child porn or scamming people.....There is a lot of knowledge here and besides, it makes me feel good to be able to help others... What do you think ??...Daniel.

 

What's the point of learning something if you don't share it?

 

Mostly people post questions, but only a few post the final results when the project is finished. I'm not so good in that respect either, but most of my stuff never really reaches a 'finished' state, just functional, then I move on to other projects and ideas.
Replying to posts helps keep the forum alive and fresh. I get plenty of bits and pieces useful for future projects. Basically, you get back, what you put into it...

 

Mostly people post questions, but only a few post the final results when the project is finished. I'm not so good in that respect either, but most of my stuff never really reaches a 'finished' state, just functional, then I move on to other projects and ideas.
Replying to posts helps keep the forum alive and fresh. I get plenty of bits and pieces useful for future projects. Basically, you get back, what you put into it...

Fully agreed. Maybe the fact that projects never really reach a finish state is beauty of it - it is up to the user (whoever that may be) to take the information provided and adapt it to their needs.

Dave

 

True, but an "It works! Thanks" sure does a lot to brighten one's day.

Many teachers have observed that that past generation or two (beginning at genX, perhaps) have come to demand answers, not ask questions. Maybe a little encouragement to give feedback would help reverse that trend. I don't have any good ideas how to do that. The eBay method would probably be too intrusive and not be productive.

John

I fully agree John, check item 5 of the forum guides:

5. If you are not going to take advice and acknowledge the efforts of others, don’t ask the question.

Often times, people post questions with the wrong mindset from the very beginning. This is a shared knowledge base on these forums. A number of people are willing to assist you in solving your problem. They are not here to solve your problem for you, but to guide you down the path to a solution.

Acknowledge their efforts as they are acknowledging you and improving your baseline knowledge. Don’t let the discussion become one sided as we all can learn from the poster and the responders. Keep people in the loop concerning your progress and if they have been helpful.

Obviously, this is just cursory advice. The forums have a reputation feature which sort of gives feedback, however I have never been in favour creating a hierarchy of members - everyone has the potential to offer something to this site, and that offering is equal is all.

Dave

 

Brilliant Thanks for sharing your thoughts everyone !

Steve

 

It is the perfect opportunity for me to "pay-it-forward" while at the same time I am "polishing the diamond".

hgmjr

 

Why don't you change your question to "why do I" post on forums. I don't know why the hell you post on these forums but personally I don't waste a single second of my time posting on these forums because when I post I post questions and people usually reply to those questions therefore what I get out of posting on the forum is an answer to a question that had been puzzling me. It's basically like having a professor living in your house that you can ask for help every time you get stuck on something.

 

Like HGMJr, I was taught "pay it forward." This is also a dandy place to get un-stumped when I have questions Google can't answer.

 

Why don't you change your question to "why do I" post on forums. I don't know why the hell you post on these forums

That doesn't make any sense. Why would he change the question to one no-one has the answer for? The term we makes the question a collective that everyone can answer individually.

Dave

 

Typing Practice

 

Typing Practice

Several thousand posts later - I agree! It's also a good proofreading exercise

Dave

 

Why don't you change your question to "why do I" post on forums. I don't know why the hell you post on these forums but personally I don't waste a single second of my time posting on these forums because when I post I post questions and people usually reply to those questions therefore what I get out of posting on the forum is an answer to a question that had been puzzling me. It's basically like having a professor living in your house that you can ask for help every time you get stuck on something.

I can't help but be annoyed by this response. Basically, you're telling us that you wouldn't consider wasting a moment helping others, you only wish to reap the benefits. It's a bit condescending to say that you wouldn't waste a single second, which implies that we waste our time foolishly.

Maybe you worded it poorly and didn't communicate what you wanted to, if so, then maybe you should make an effort not to offend people.

Steve

 

No one mentioned ego. I personally have probably asked fewer than 10 questions in the thousands of forum posts I have made here and elsewhere. I do enjoy the camaraderie and the humor. I get gratification from knowing I've helped someone. I like having the opportunity to keep my skills sharp, both by solving problems and by seeing other people's solutions. But I suspect I also get a little ego satisfaction, and I doubt that I'm the only "expert" here who experiences this. C'mon on, guys, admit it!
In fact, there may be more ego involved in the "solutions" posted by relative noobs than by old farts like me.

 

I doubt that I'm the only "expert" here who experiences this. C'mon on, guys, admit it!

Maybe so. We're just too proud to admit it!

(There is very little between ego and pride )

Dave

 

Ego is defined in various dictionaries as: 1) an exaggerated sense of self-importance; conceit; or 2) as appropriate pride in oneself; self-esteem. In the latter sense, the contribution that ego makes to ones feelings of self worth is not a negative trait. After all, it’s better than a straight diet of antidepressants.

Of course, one can view all human thought and behavior as driven by the id or the ego. A more modern view (about 1980's) considers non-need driven behavior from the basis of emotion or ethics, depending on the situation. In that view, emotion/ethics has 4 components (See, Beauchamp and Childress, "Principles of Bioethics" ):

nonmaleficence
autonomy
beneficence
justice


With respect to the sense that ego is an exaggerated sense of self-importance, and specifically with respect to this forum, I think the absence of demonstrable positive reward, like reputation scores, argues against that as being a prime motivation. The fact that many contributors might be older, retired, need things to do, or simply don’t have anyone to listen to them all could play a role, but I feel the driving force behind many, if not most posts here that attempt to answer questions is beneficence, not the exaggerated sense of self-worth implied by one of the definitions of ego.

Here is a slide presentation on the principles of ethics/emotion as developed by Beauchamp and Childress: http://emotion-research.net/ws/plenary2005/ethics.pdf

John