One Time Posters Who Complain

(thanks for taking my title suggestion, by the way ;-) I agree that it got way off track.
Anonymous rants happen on all travel forums. Someone's sense of entitlement got side tracked, so they complain regardless how irrational....and often use all vehicles at their disposal. Hitting 'send' from isolation and anonymity is very easy. Perhaps it is happening more now on RS, because despite being an American travel icon, many don't know he has a forum and on a global scale he is unknown. It's just taken longer to find.
Or, perhaps it is just culture. I read today a complaint about similar activities on FaceBook groups with minimal joining and posting rules, and on the feedback sections in blogs.

I try to stand by my conscience fairy who whispers "just because you type it, doesn't mean you have to 'send' it"
Edit: I should note, when I read them, I generally shake my head and move on...though, I will admit, I have been known to lurk and watch the process unfold. At a later date, I might chime in, but more likely to do that if it is a post from a repeat member. Such as 'one that shall not be named' from this weekend.

Maria, Thank you for the improved title suggestion. It better reflects the point of the post.

Like any other post that may or may not be a 'troll' post, if I don't feel I can be helpful at all I will almost always just skip it and not post any kind of response. Usually with a first time poster (or infrequent poster) that is just ranting about what happened to them, there is really nothing helpful that any of us can offer except sympathy and empathy. I'm always left wondering what they thought we could do to help them or do they really think we're all going to take their advice and never go somewhere because they had a bad experience?

I've also noticed that many, if not most, of those posts eventually devolve into snide or downright rude comments and name calling and usually end up getting deleted anyway.

Andrea, I don’t know if statistically there are more “one time posters who complain” but there have been a couple of corkers lately. The Swiss one was absurd and rude and memorable. Most upsetting, in fact. I think they come in waves. Summer travels have just ended, maybe it is seasonal?

Not sure about responding or not. I rarely do respond on the rants but I was moved to on the Swiss one. And there was the public bus in Rome rant. Again, I felt moved to respond as it was going down an unfortunate path of personal persecution. Did I help? Who knows? The Swiss post is gone (yea!). The Rome bus one remains as there is something to be learned by readers who happen across it.

It is nice when someone more tactful than me commiserates with the poster and certainly for the benefit of future readers it is good for those of us with experience to set the record straight.

I feel it is up to RS to police his own site. If a first time poster does come to the forum with a rant, even a "legitimate" rant, and is met with hostility or ridicule, it could reflect badly on RS. If folks could try to talk an upset person down and/or give helpful advice, it would help the OP and perhaps change the OP's feeling about a situation. Suggestions could be made for more accurate titles to posts.

I also think there are a few people who frequently comment, that I wonder if they are on the forum to create excitement and angst vs. provide helpful and supportive advice to travelers. I would like to see as much focus on responses that are less than welcoming as is on "first time" posts. People that think an OP's post is completely obnoxious/ludicrous (and I agree there are some) could just scroll on by. I also think that it should not be possible to remove a post because the moderator should be able to view what went on over the weekend.

At this point, I feel I'm a pretty experienced traveler, yet still, I am very careful about my posts requesting information because I don't care to feel belittled. Most recently, someone commented that I picked a location so I could talk beach fun at cocktail parties vs. have a culturally enriching stay in Naples, like he did. Actually, I preferred a smaller city after spending 7 days in Rome.

Here’s a first-time poster who is a class act. I hope rich comes back and becomes part of the Forum.
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/spain/found-ipad

I also think that it should not be possible to remove a post because the moderator should be able to view what went on over the weekend.

Actually, the records are kept and even if a poster has removed a whole thread the Webmaster can see what was posted, what was changed, what was removed and what was deleted. The Webbie also has access to PMs if needed, and again regardless of deletions.

+1 to Bets. I noticed the iPad story but it took her to see the difference between that thread and some of the recent ones we discuss here.

If so, what is the best way to deal with those rant/complaints? Ignore
them?

Absolutely ignore them, especially since a sizable chunk are simply trolling to get attention, validation, or getting others to engage in clickbait. With the Swiss post example, what are the chances that one respondent to the OP suddenly appeared (also with no prior posting history) and every single one of his/her posts was incendiary? Probably the same troll who wrote the original post (but reincarnated with a new screen handle). Too many people here feed or mollify trolls (and whiners too) just to try to get the better of them, but in the end the troll won by getting unwarranted attention. Starving these people/ bots of oxygen is the best approach. Do as with small children - if they throw a hissy fit or behave badly in front of complete strangers, ignore not coddle or encourage. Whining and venting is really off-putting.

I want to comment on both sides of the equation-posters and a responders. I'm very new to social media sites like this. I've responded for a few years on Facebook to friends posts but this and the RS Facebook travelers site are the first sites where I've ever actively taken part, and even then, for only a year now. When I see the complainers post I sometimes read a bit and sometimes scroll by, but it's fairly easy to figure out in a hurry if it's valid or just a rant. Either way, I don't take it seriously and I move on unless I have something of value to say. I probably have more of an issue with responders who fuel the fire. To me, sarcastic comments from posters; including some long time posters who mock the person for being just another first time poster complaining about something, are not helping the matter either. Isn't scrolling by the drama queens more effective in the long run? If they can't find an audience for their rant, I suspect they'll move on too.

I agreed with your first post about this, and I’ll agree with you again - it just seemed like a string all in the space of a week. It was so refreshing to read that one post where someone wasn’t blaming the entire country/city. I rarely respond to hyperbolic posts, but I did have to shut my computer down to resist responding last weekend. I get defensive about posters bashing other countries - most of the European countries do so much more to make us welcome (signs in English, menus in English, speaking way more English than I can speak their language, etc..) then we do for them. I feel like with some of these rants, if people had done just a little research, they could have had a better experience.

If folks could try to talk an upset person down and/or give helpful advice, it would help the OP and perhaps change the OP's feeling about a situation.

Unfortunately, many first posters aren't interested in advice. They are trolls who drop some outrageous fear mongering claim and never return.

My concern is they often spread bad advice or try to spread fear and mistrust. Then there are those who ignore laws/rules, get caught, then want to claim they've been scammed when in reality they are victims of their own stupidity.

I feel these threads should be removed. I've seen several folks new to European travel become unnecessarily concerned and upset because of these toxic threads. If you come here and pee on the rug, you should be shown the door.

+1 DougMac

Thank you all for your responses. And Bets, thank you so much for sharing the post from the person who found the iPad. With the many reports of scams it is refreshing to see that there are still good and honest people in the world.

I think this pretty much covers what to do:

1. Stay on topic. Make your contribution relevant to the original post

2. Be polite. Comments that contain inappropriate language, harshly criticize, or disrespect others' opinions are not allowed. New travelers should be shown extra patience. If you can't write politely, move on

3. Report guideline violations. Notify the webmaster by using the "Report" link that alongside each post when you are signed in. 

4. Do not react openly to guideline violations. Someone else's violation is not an excuse for you to respond negatively or react in a way that violates our guidelines. Keep arguments and snark off our boards at all times.

5. Stay on topic. Report violations.

6. Do not feed the trolls. Do not be a troll. "Trolls" post messages intended to infuriate you and elicit a response. Trolls "feed" on such responses. Ignoring trolls is the only solution. Report abuse to the webmaster.

Which boils down to, if you dont like a post, report it if you think it a violation, then keep you thoughts to yourself and move on. The Webmaster will deal with it if appropriate.

Which boils down to, if you dont like a post, report it if you think
it a violation, then keep you thoughts to yourself and move on. The
Webmaster will deal with it if appropriate.

+1000 Amen!

Another thanks from me for sharing that great post, Bets.

While I don't support engaging obvious troublemakers and can ignore some of the frustrated rants from newbies, it's the scam screamers that are hard to let go if it's clear that they have NOT been wrongly ripped off. We have a hard enough time reassuring nervous new travelers who've read too darn many "BEWARE!" reports on any number of forums and can think there's a nefarious sort lurking around every corner!

It's OK to be frustrated or upset over the ZTL or unvalidated bus ticket fine but it's not OK to issue wild accusations of intentional traps set for unsuspecting tourists if that isn't the reality, and continuing to do so when that reality has patiently but firmly been explained. It's not fair to disparage a country, city or individual over a personal mistake/misunderstanding and possibly leave inexperienced readers with a seriously inaccurate impression?

I don't know this to be true, but a friend says there are troll communities -- literally a forum of trolls -- who compete to see who can blow up a random message board, trigger people, and get banned. It's like a hobby to them, he says. Might explain our two recent visitors to the Swiss forum.

It's not fair to disparage a country, city or individual over a
personal mistake/misunderstanding and possibly leave inexperienced
readers with a seriously inaccurate impression?

No, it's not fair at all, and if the Webmaster agrees with the assessment he deals wit it. When you click on REPORT you have an opportunity to express the violation. Or you can not report it, and you can politely argue the point.

The professional victims bug me too. "I didnt pay the metro fee and I got fined 8.000 HUF, not fair, the rules aren't in English .... it's a tourist trap!" Well I guess he is entitled to his opinion. Sad life though. But I dont believe that such a post is either breaking the guidelines or the work of a troll.

On the issue of accuracy, is Istanbul safe? There is no accurate answer and people have at times gotten a bit nasty in their disagreements on such questions.

Believe me, I don't count on anything I read here being accurate. But it's a starting point in finding the truth sometimes. Every day I read one or two inaccurate statements, usually by someone who "wants" to be an authority on something they know too little about, or others throwing out reckless answers based on third hand information.

No, it's not fair at all, and if the Webmaster agrees with the assessment he deals wit it. When you click on REPORT you have an opportunity to express the violation. Or you can not report it, and you can politely argue the point.

If the Webmaster simply deletes the post and your recommendation is not to respond to clear innacuracies or minsintepretation then it doesn't allow those who don't know any better the opportunity to be informed of the reality. All that will happen is they'll read the inflammatory/innacurate post, take on board what was written and then find that the post/thread has been deleted with no explanation why.

It's only right that innacurate information is challenged and for the challenge to be viewed by all. Admittedly some challenges may be a bit more terse than others but we're all adults here and I'm sure we can all handle a bit of robust language now and again.

I read posts that I find unhelpful for others on this site, but no problem in ignoring them.

JC, if you are concerned, and that would be noble, then start a thread with you perception of the truth. It would be more effective I think, especially if your thread is positive on the subject and not a negative comment on the prior post.

Still, I see as much positive inaccuracies here as I do negative. But I recognize we all see life from different perspectives and different contexts. I guess my point is, that once one comes to the conclusion that a post is in violation, and one reports it; then by your definition it is against the forum rules for one to respond to it. Catch22 and a good one, as if followed it can moderate the disruption in the forum.