Grumpy Internet Marketers Finish First?

Well this is a community after-all... and sometimes things just aren't peachy. I've seen some smart ass comments before, have probably left a few myself, but for the most part this community seems to keep each other in check.

I don't think grumpy marketers necessarily finish first, but grumpy marketers probably get more done. lol

Who knows?

There's also the fact that text-based communication leaves a LOT of the communication information missing, so what you might see as harsh could be coming from a happy person who has asked the question 1000 times before and just adopted a "cut to the chase" style of helping people that doesn't waste time trying to pump up their egos and just hits at the heart of the help they need.

If you're sensitive and looking to be criticised then you'll spot it even where it doesn't exist so there's probably a wide scope of what the reality is for different people at different times.

Also - if someone posts a question that's in the wrong forum area and has already been asked (and answered) 10 times that day, they're like to get much less positive responses than the person who posted the same question first that day - just because people know they haven't looked for the answer and just posted their own question selfishly wanting the answer for free without doing anything for themselves.

All sorts of stuff goes on here and you also may not be aware of previous tension or interactions between people when you see their responses and can easily misjudge the relationship.

In short - who knows - probably lots of reasons.

Just ignore it and look for the good stuff - there's plenty of that here too.

Hi The Niche Man,

I'm sometimes harsh, mean and grumpy - or accused of it.

But sometimes others can't be bothered to correctly format their words and use the correct, widely-accepted communication standards taught in school, are argumentative and snarky when they don't get their own way, try to justify their sloppiness and laziness through illogical fallacies, then resort to outright lying, as if they consider that the people they are communicating with are complete idiots -

EG -

http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post4583541

I have similar experience.

I stumbled upon many threads (yes, including mine!) where the OP
asking good questions and helpful warriors were contributing, then
suddenly one "warrior" came up with:

"Hey, this is not a support forum about X."

...and the thread dies just like that.

What kind of attitude is that??

Do we have to go directly to Microsoft to ask about MS-Word?
Do we have to go directly to WordPress to ask about SEO plugins?
Do we have to go directly to Allen Says to ask about the forum's feature?

Gimme a break!

If a community isn't about sharing, what is it about?

// end of rant //

Ray

I think a lot of this 'grumpyness' stems from the endlessly repeated questions. it's unavoidable on a forum like this but some people just can't help but do more than roll their eyes when they're seeing the same rubbish being spouted and the same questions that have been asked and answered 100,000 times or more before.

Also as has been pointed out, it's really quite difficult to convey tone and humor in text format at times and all to easy to misinterpret somebodies intentions.

One thing I can say proudly though is there's more good than bad here (or that has been the experience for me anyway).. and even the grumps are more often than not, super useful!

Happy successful, well rested people do not usually act that way on the forums.

Having started businesses in various industries all with forums my observations are that the most honest, trustworthy and successful company owners do NOT act that way.

YES to all of the above - although Allen, probably, will not reply to you when you have suggestions about how his forum should be...

Believe it or not, this is not a technical support forum! On the main page of WF under the title of this main discussion part it says "where we talk about making money"...

Most of those MS Word and WordPress questions are answered in the software's Help files or their manual. People are just lazy to learn the tool they are using. And lazy people deserve the kind of replies they get

Some of it is arrogance. Some of it is misinterpreted because people don't know they come off that way in text. Some of it is due to impatience. You get all types of personalities on a forum, just like in real life. Your best bet is to ignore it, that's what I do.

Some people are just grumpy "a-holes" all the time and they can't help it. Maybe they have something against nice people......who knows.....NOT ME!!!.......I'M PISSED NOW!!!!

Just kidding. I think mainly on here, they just get upset over stupid questions or are just having a bad night.

Like Roger and Istvan, I am often accused of such heinous behavior.

And often, I will be the first to tell you that I was "being mean".

But before you brand me an utter asshole, let me share my favorite analogy with you...

I have a 3yo at home, and when we are outside, sometimes he decides he wants to go to the park across the street.

By itself, that is not a problem. But when he takes off running toward the street, I yell at the top of my lungs, "Stop!!"

He is a sensitive boy... When I yell at him, he cries.

So when he takes off running toward the street, I yell, "STOP!!"

He stops, then turns to me crying...

If I did not care, he might run into the street and get killed by traffic.

Because I do care, I am "harsh, mean, and grumpy,"towards him.

Am I showing greater love and concern when:

• I try to shake someone out of taking the dangerous actions they planned to take; or
• I let them step off in front off the curb into traffic?

If I cared more about the feelings of my 3yo than I did about his well-being, then he could be dead, and I could be in jail for letting him run into traffic.

If you don't like it I'll open a forum for you called the coomplainersontheWF.com

haha naa just kidding.

I am one of those people. I'll tell you first hand sometimes the posts these people post are so DANN rediculous!

I like everyone equally but ask a stupid question your goingto get a stupid response!

Although I have read a few replies that have been downright nasty these are far from the norm.

More often than not people have been offended by replies in forums that were concise and to the point, but that were interpreted as 'grumpy', 'bossy' and 'mean'. This is not a purely WF phenomenon.

Could the writer be more 'flowery' and loving with their language? Probably.

But the reader can also do their part.

Before jumping on the indignation wagon, how about the reader taking a deep breath, actually acknowledging what the person replying is supposed to be saying and taking any perceived 'attitude' with a tonne of salt - especially some of the replies from our 'younger' members.

After all, is it really logical that someone takes the time out of their day just to be the Grinch of WF?

It's all a part of the learning curve of living online - suck it up. (nicely of course)

People are people.

We all have a trigger or two and certain things set it off, no matter if we have a sig file or not. We are, after all, human first and marketers or whatever second. Or somewhere further down the list.

Some people like to be language police and will correct your every mistake. Like the old schoolmarm who can't see your content forest for the imperfect grammar trees (not to disparage goodly old schoolmarms everywhere, of course). Maybe it's a power thing. I write PLR, so I try to be careful lest I appear to be ignorant. my writin has to be perfesionel or somethin.

Some people feel chafed because their comment or advice didn't get the positive response they thought it should, so they get offended. Well, excuse me.

Some people defend another person, place, thing or idea they feel was unjustly criticized. Don't pee on my tree.

Some people are just grumpy and don't need an excuse or a reason. Scorpions sting, water is wet and grumpy people gripe.

Some people really aren't grumpy... we just think they are. One man's trash is another man's treasure. One man's grumpiness is another man's straight talk/honesty/candidness/deserved rebuke/constructive criticism/etc., so forth and so on.

Ron

A lot is lost in translation when our only form of communication to one another is the written word.

Think about the people you meet everyday of the week in your ordinary life. Some talk fast, some talk slow, some are loud, some are soft, some are direct, some beat around the bush... we are all different people who communicate in very different ways. In 'real' life it is easier to form a more realistic opinion of people we meet because you are able to judge them on more than one level - their looks, their personality, their mannerisms, their voice, eye contact, etc.

Online you are only judging someone by a few words typed on a page. It's easy to form an opinion of that person but harder to form a REALISTIC one. Look at this quick example.

I could say the exact same thing twice.

1. You are an idiot
2. You are an idiot

They are both the exact same words however because I threw a smiley face on the end of the second one it totally changes the way those words are taken - and it would totally change your opinion of me. Now even if I didn't add the smiley face I may have meant it to be taken the second way however you may have taken it the first way.

You shouldn't read too much into what you read. Concentrate on the message not how you think it is being conveyed.