Ridicule

Not really. I tend to ignore the snarky replies (if any) and rely on the "destination experts" here for advice.

No, but I have occasionally been surprised by a poster's response after a question is answered. Sometimes people post in order to have people confirm what they wanted to do, and they take exception when responses don't support their original plan.

No, most people responding here are not insecure and don't worry about the comments coming from persons who are unnecessarily overconfident. I've gotten lit up several times, by persons who's life experiences need some catching up to me. Do not let inexperience or lack of journeys deter you from asking questions. If someone gets smart with you just reply in a personal message and tell them what you suggest they do with their head.

No. As Camille said, I would ask my question anyway and just skip on past such a comment. I honestly don't think anyone posts here intending to ridicule others. Every person intends to help, whether they feel they have a little information to share or a lot to share. And of course some people are just being smart alecks and mean no real harm. As Nancy said, some OP's are offended when they come here for confirmation of, say for example, a really bad itinerary, and then people gently make suggestions that they are covering too much, or should make some changes. Likewise when the OP posts that he or she is going to Europe for a week or 10 days and is taking a suitcase almost as large as a refrigerator. Then they get really angry when some people here suggest that may pose problems going up three flights of stairs at a B&B or running to catch a train. But no one is flaming anyone or being rude; just trying to save OP some trouble. What was meant to be an opinion can be wrongly perceived as judgmental, or having a "holier than thou" attitude. No one is being ridiculed. I believe everyone here really wants the OP to have the best trip possible. Monte, sorry to hear you feel you've gotten lit up several times.

I'm on the advice giving side, not the advice seeking side, so I guess the answer is no. ...although when I'm wrong that's always a bit embarrassing. :)

I have had to ask questions that I know may seem obvious to others, train travel , and reading schedules are my super weak points even when I get answers I still don't always understand them,, I could care less if someone thinks thats dumb,, I had an experience on another forum ,about Spain, that I knew should have been easy for me to understand but I just couldn't.. I was reading links to spanish bus schedules that posters had put on the thread etc..,, and still was confused. I gave up asking,,I still am not sure about my best option for that portion of my trip,, I am going to wing it, lol I did not give up because I felt "ridicule" I gave up because I was dense and I don't need to waste other peoples time.. I don't give strangers the power over my emotional well being that by merely reading a few of their keystrokes its going to affect me for more then a few minutes"( like most people I can on occaison think "what a bag" or " what a jerk") but once I click on another page it vanishes. Life is too short to get embarrassed on a forum, its not your real name, you will never meet most of the other posters,, your mom and dad and kids and friends love you,, get over it.. lol I am surprised how some people react to getting advice they don't like,, especially when its obvious that they only want a certain answer,, so whatever...

No, I haven't let it stop me. I have had another responder disagree rather tactlessly with one of my answers which sort of made me not want to contribute further on that thread; and since I had said what I had to say I saw no point in going back just to argue. Others would relish the chance to debate! The replies that are rude or sarcastic are usually to questions that have been asked many times before, or questions that are very broad or lacking basic details. I think that if one first searches to see if their question has already been answered and formulates the question well before posting, the replies will be helpful and friendly.

It is possible that you may not get a balanced sampling of answers to your question. Those people who do not ask questions for fear of ridicule may not answer this one for the same reason.

I don't worry about ridicule. I both give and ask for advice here. Some help I have received has been spot on and was much appreciated. Sometime when I read some of the replies I: a) wonder if the poster read the original question, b) realize that "practice doesn't make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect" (people who've done it the same way for years are very good at doing it that way--even if it isn't smart or helpful) and c) am amazed at the high (often unwarranted) opinion some people have of themselves. But most posts aren't like that and I find this a pretty friendly and easy going forum.

Good question Laurel!!!

Travel ain't for sissies so if you get ridiculed on a travel site just look at it as a little prep work for
the travails ahead...

Overall, this is a pretty mild, well-behaved forum. There are sometimes snipes that may be a little less than polite (I admit I may have been guilty of this at some point), but I don't see the vicious flame wars here to which many other websites descend. If some posters are a little blunt at times, it's often used as a tool to inject some reality an unrealistic expectation ("I want to visit Dublin, Paris, London, Madrid, Rome, Munich, Prague, Berlin, Amsterdam and Brussels. I have 10 days, and I plan to use Eurail. What pass should I get? I leave in two weeks...").

I'm kind of a travel virgin, and have asked many questions here, as I was planning (and have now booked) a 2.5 week European tour. I've found everyone to be VERY kind, encouraging, and I usually get several private message responses as well. Nobody has ridiculed me. I do search first for older posts relating to my question, and only ask my question if I don't find the answer there. I also Google my questions first. I love how the same friendly folks usually respond to my questions. They are well traveled people who seem to enjoy helping others on this board.

For myself, I wouldn't hesitate to ask a question - particularly here. On the whole, this forum is very open and helpful. In some cases, you will actually get responses from people who live in the country where you are planning to go - which can make a world of difference. Thats what this place is for. People that come here like travel - whether its their first time or they fly 100000 miles a year. if you like to travel - hang out, say hello, and ask away. The vast majority of folks here will be happy to answer if they can. :) If you feel you've been ridiculed in question or answer and it really bothers you, either send the offender a message privately or send the webmaster a note. In either case, your issue should be taken care of quickly.

Not that I was ridiculed but I was given a somewhat snarky answer to an Innocent question I had about transportation from Prague to Nuremberg. It was went the bus between the 2 cities was rather new. You catch the bus at the train station. I had asked if it would kosher to use my rail pass for the bus. I could not find the answer on the internet myself. one answer I got back was a "duh, you dummy" type of answer; its a rail pass not a bus pass. Then after an hour or so, the same poster sent me a link that stated I could use my rail pass to reserve a seat on the bus.....and the "duh, you dummy" post was deleted. I did not take too much offense to the question. I guess I would have been more settled with the poster leaving his/her original post up, so he could have had the "duh, you dummy" moment. But really, in the end, it is the wild wild west when you deal with internet. You gotta make sure you have some thick skin before you throw yourself to the vultures.

This forum is really mild compared to how much of the social internet works. I find that most of the "drama" is between forum regulars who have existing disagreements (train v car and "what is a castle" being two classics) than with regular people who just want travel advice. As others have said, the regulars only tend to get snippy with newbies when they react badly to good advice.

Sarah, another topic that is sure to get a heated debate going is the Traveling Light people vs the people who love big bags and lots of luggage on a trip. As a matter of fact, there was a thread that got started this past week ("Luggage duffel backpack + regular backpack or ONE piece only?") that may have caused Laurel to post this thread we're on. A number of people suggested the OP was taking too large and heavy a bag, purely in the spirit of helping him, and he became offended and said he was being flamed. He was not being ridiculed at any time. Ironically, sometimes the ridicule or abusive comments here can come from an OP who turns on us after we answer his questions. That's just great. You come to a website, get FREE really great answers to your travel questions, then insult the people who have taken their time to help you. Whether you liked all of the answers or not, whether it confirms your initial plan to do 20 countries in 10 days or not, please be polite to us. Note to myself: Never, ever post on any thread dealing with luggage.

Thank you everyone for your kind and well thought out replies. I have seen some people get a bit shirty, not with the OP but with another persons reply.

nope. Ask away and you'll get some worthy responses and a few less than worthy ones. Ignore those and relish your newly found wisdom!