I discourage private emails

Warning: This is going to be a bit of a rant....

Lately I%26#39;ve gotten several private messages asking for travel advice. I don%26#39;t like that Tripadvisor has enabled private messaging as I think all travel information should be shared publicly where others can benefit from the advice given, where others can chime in with their 2¢ and where the entire discussion can become part of the archives so that future forum participants can seach for the information.

I also think that private messages are intrusive. If you have a question, post it in the forum where whoever wants to take a stab at it can post. Seeking out one particular party thru a private message and putting that party on the spot to answer your question is a bit demanding. If you post publicly, that party will respond if he/she has the time and the inclination to get involved. Otherwise, he/she is not interested in your topic, has no expertise in it, or is simply too busy. Not trying to sound snobby, but in this forum participation is totally voluntary. This isn%26#39;t the Maine Tourism Bureau where folks are compensated to answer questions.

For that reason, I don%26#39;t give private advice.

While there might be some rare situations when a private message might be useful (participants trying to arrange social contact with each other), in most cases all discussions should be held in the open on the actual forum.

I discourage private emails

Michele--

There is a ';block'; function that will prevent any private messages getting through to you.

I have received a few and sent a few. Most of these have involved information or opinions that really don%26#39;t need to be shared with the forum at large.

Overall, I think that it is a good feature; like all such things, though, it can be misused (and abused).

I discourage private emails

I totally agree with you, Michelle. I turned off the ability to send me a private message as soon as trip advisor offered that option.

I don%26#39;t want to block everyone as I have gotten a couple of legitimate PMs from other forum regulars discussing discussing things that are appropriate for asking in a private manner. You know who you are. :)

But, what I don%26#39;t like are questions that should be asked out in the open (where should we stay, eat, etc. when we visit town X) Anyone who sends me that question is going to get blocked for any future PMs.

I actually didn%26#39;t get up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. This is a long-standing peeve of mine from online forums.

I am sorry. I wasn%26#39;t trying to get you upset. You just seemed to be knowledgable about certain areas so I thought so it seemed to be the right thing to do. Didn%26#39;t mean to upset you. I have posted a number of topics, but it seems that you don%26#39;t get a response. But thank you for making me aware of how you feel about this.

Hi Michele,

I agree 100% with your post. I%26#39;ve also received quite a few PM%26#39;s and can%26#39;t for the life of me figure out why they didn%26#39;t post their questions publically and on this forum.

90% of the PM%26#39;s I receive are for hotel/restaurant recommendations and that%26#39;s what this site is all about i.e. sharing local knowledge with lots of people in which everyone who reads can benefit, not just one person in a PM. Consequently, I rarely responded to a PM, maybe once or twice.

I also agree with your last statement re: participants/regulars/experts trying to arrange social contact. But even that I%26#39;d be very careful about.

Meanwhile, to the general traveling public: keep the questions/inquiries coming! I love sharing my local knowledge and I%26#39;m sure the other %26#39;experts%26#39; do also or else we wouldn%26#39;t be here :).

cozyharbor

If someone doesn%26#39;t respond to your post, it might be that no one actually has any knowledge on that particular issue. There really are only a handful of regulars who post responses here, and are knowledge does not cover the entire state.

One of the points that TripAdvisor made when I signed on as a ';local expert'; was that I shouldn%26#39;t feel obligated to answer every post. So I don%26#39;t. Sometimes, it is because one or more other people already have covered the issue at least as well (or in many cases, better) as I could have done. Sometimes, I simply don%26#39;t have any pertinent information to contribute.

So you know how to disable Private Mails but you choose not to because you want to get private mails that you deem worthy but not those you don%26#39;t. Hmm, why not hit the little delete button?

These private mails are FAR FEWER than email spam most everyone gets every day.

Why not just delete the email instead of making a federal case out of it?

Most people I have met on these boards are very helpful and enjoy sharing information about their area and other places they have visited. Those who don%26#39;t want to, simply don%26#39;t respond.

You must be getting way more privates than anyone I have known to react in this way.

The majority of PMs should indeed be just posted on the forum, and I understand the request Michele has put out there. Obviously, it must be happening often enough that it%26#39;s begun to feel ';intrusive';, so I also understand the initial tone (';rant';, in your own words!) The few that I%26#39;ve gotten, I%26#39;ve briefly responded and gently redirected back to searching/asking in the forum.

I%26#39;d also like to concur with CW, that sometimes I just don%26#39;t have anything to contribute or add, and that%26#39;s why there might not be a response. That, and living on an island in the summer means I%26#39;m not spending a lot of time sitting at a computer!

Re: ScottE--';So you know how to disable Private Mails but you choose not to because you want to get private mails that you deem worthy but not those you don%26#39;t. Hmm, why not hit the little delete button? ';

I rather think that the issue is not whether MicheleS knows about delete buttons or anything else, but rather that those seeking general information (or even specific information about a given venue) ought to stay with the public forums. In this regard, I stand with her.

Moreover, I would observe that there seems to be a very large number of people who do no research whatsoever before asking the forum for help---do they presume that they are are first to consider an area?