I came here looking for information on taxes. I used the search function and began reading the threads. It is too bad the regulars on this board use threads for recipes, fart jokes, and unrelated nonsense. They completely ruin the usefulness of coming here.

1. If you simply start a thread yourself and ask the question, instead of knocking those folks who can answer the question, you'll get a pretty good response.

2. You do know that the second or third topic in the "New Shoppers" section is about taxes? If that doesn't cover what you want to know, see point #1.

3. There are folks who come to this board regularly and have been shopping for decades who do not have any questions, but are happy to answer. Some of the "jokes" are what keep them interested in the forum. If a few off-topic threads are what draw those with knowledge to share to this forum (and therefore avail them to answer your questions), why complain? If you don't like a thread, don't read it.

I might understand a little bit of the frustration. Why do people who want specific information have to wade through nonsense on their way to useful information? Should the so-called nonsense be directed to and limited to the General Chat board? Would we put that in a report, or would we self-edit and submit relevant information? Can we do something like that here, with our posts? Or, do we associate this forum with a place to vent, commiserate, talk shop, and otherwise be less... precise... than we are when writing for work?

For the record, I have posted nonsense where it does not belong, and I apologize for myself. Who else is willing to say so?

I see no real solution to this long-term problem. Issuing demerits or providing other consequences for going off-topic are a possible method of addressing our inappropriate posting behaviors.

The real infraction might only be that we respond to certain types of posts instead of reporting them quietly and letting mods or admins deal with the instigating remarks.

If they don't, they are told "this topic has been discussed many times before."

@Shop-et-al wrote:

I might understand a little bit of the frustration. Why do people who want specific information have to wade through nonsense on their way to useful information?

In the years I have been on this forum I would say the useful information outweighs the chatty funny stuff. A serious and well meaning question posed unambiguously gets a serious answer. It is usually not until after a half page of good answers that the issue gets put aside for less serious comments. My advice is to stop reading each thread right when that type of chatter starts and you will be okay.

Oh look, another thread of similar unrelated nonsense because when I search 'taxes' in the search feature, it brings me to this thread.

This topic has nothing to do with mystery shopping and instead is about a general frustration with message boards. Why didn't you post this in the general chat section?

As far as your determination that content is nonsense, SandyF had a great suggestion - stop reading when it is no longer useful to you.

I apologize for both trying to give advice (not on taxes) and having fun, however we serious members cannot control the trolls who seek us out and start their own silly mean threads, they are reported. There are various threads, general chat is fun, does talk about food, songs and whatever is our our mind. I recommend NOT coming here for tax advice as we are shoppers, not tax consultants. Hopefully you will lighten up and take the good and throw away the rest. I personally have gotten names of good MSC's I wouldn't have bothered with, and learned a bit from my fellow shoppers. Life is full of the good, bad and the ugly....remember if things are this distasteful, no one is forcing you to attend.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/27/2018 07:13PM by Irene_L.A..

Perhaps the other boring highly moderated no nonsense board is a better fit for you.

@bgriffin wrote:

Perhaps the other boring highly moderated no nonsense board is a better fit for you.

There is another mystery shopper forum? Wow. I mean, wow, I didn't know. Not that that would be surprise.

Yes, and you might get a question answered there in a week or two IFF the forum owner will allow you to join.

I too am beginning to grow weary of the none sense perpetrated by this specific member.

fainting...

jenamars, you do realize nobody is paid to be here, right? We are here for a variety of reasons. As stated early, veteran members often have two goals, paying it forward with some advice and having a little fun like you would at the old office water cooler. (Thanks to AustinMom for that reference.) Please correct me if I'm wrong, but most of the time threads go off topic for several reasons. First would be the subject has been answered sufficiently. Second would the thread was created by a troll or someone trying to stir up nonsense. (I'm looking at you Dave.)

The suggestion you try the other forum may have been serious or facetious. Granted, it is ruled with an iron fist. No off topic comments on that forum. It is also difficult to get registered and many real shoppers have been denied access. There are also fewer shoppers and less activity. As walesmaven stated, your questions will probably be answered, eventually.

Unlike Irene, I'm not going to apologize for any thread going off topic, being involved in said threads or even instigating the tomfoolery. The wealth of information here rivals and surpasses any book or blog requiring a paid subscription. If registering with dozens of companies is our sweat equity to create our businesses, searching through some threads that go off topic is the price we pay for the vast knowledge provided free of cost on this forum.

Issuing demerits or other consequences is an excellent idea. I'm sure many of us could find other things to do with our time when this forum is no longer enjoyable.

@Shop-et-al wrote:

I see no real solution to this long-term problem. Issuing demerits or providing other consequences for going off-topic are a possible method of addressing our inappropriate posting behaviors

LisaSTL...I did apologize "tongue in cheek" which didn't come across, but I was too lazy to fix it thinking my forum members would catch it.....

Irene, maybe I would have caught it a glass of wine ago

@LisaSTL wrote:

The suggestion you try the other forum may have been serious or facetious.

Why can't it be both? You're so constricting!!!

Are demerits as meaningful (or meaningless) as hero citations?

Jenna, since the regulars on this board are generally the ones who are providing the useful information you seek, then certainly you could be patient and put up with a few jokes along the way. And recipes, which I find to be completely useful.

Unsure if OP has social media, but there is a large group on Facebook with vetted CPA's who can answer tax questions. They are under ' Accounting and US Tax Compliance' and do a pretty good job of deleting commentary by individuals who are wrong or not licensed. They can also prepare taxes for a fee, schedule consults, etc. but they have a general board where tax questions are asked from all states. You'd be surprised at what you think you know versus what you actually have correct as facts.

We could stay in this rut until someone else posts a zinger and jars us into another one. Or, we could be responsible for own posts and stay on topic, be honest, add a positive contribution to the community, and provide no personal insults. Most importantly, according to the sidebar, we should "Have fun!"

Having fun also means that negative thought posts may need a few recipes thrown in to lighten the atmosphere and remind us of the importance of very ordinary things that connect us all/

Or, the threads can be stopped. Just stopped, with no additional comments or posts. What would be wrong with this approach in this forum? We do not need admins or mods. We would only need our own ability to step away or stop posting. Could we try it for a few weeks and see if we: a) use less bandwidth; b) engage in less fighting; and c) have a tidier forum with clearer baths between shopping questions and answers?

It this point in my MS career I probably glean more useful information from the recipe posts that the on-topic ones.

And the folks who most need focused information-- who are just starting out or are encountering difficulties that are in the past for you-- might benefit most from on-topic threads regarding mystery shopping.

Are we in different places in the imaginary mystery shopping career spectrum? Do we need focused threads early or at a few points and then stop needing them when are well seasoned, well done, and beyond the assistance capabilities or purposes of this forum?

The unanswerable question is: have we driven away any newbies and potential contributors to the forum?

Might we add some new boards? Could we have something for old-timers/long-timers? This could be in addition to the General Chat board. Or, we can broaden the scope of the General Chat board.

@LisaSTL wrote:

Issuing demerits or other consequences is an excellent idea. I'm sure many of us could find other things to do with our time when this forum is no longer enjoyable.

@Shop-et-al wrote:

I see no real solution to this long-term problem. Issuing demerits or providing other consequences for going off-topic are a possible method of addressing our inappropriate posting behaviors

And for the "good" forum members who stay on topic we can issue Hero Citations. That should keep them happy.

Edited to say I see reading further on that Jasflamat beat me to the Hero citation thought.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/28/2018 06:21PM by sandyf.

All this talk about threads going off-topic and preventing folks from getting answer to questions and, in this case, it all boils down to one simple fact:

The OP has yet to ask a question that would let folks know what she's hoping to learn. This thread would be very different if such a question had been posed.

@Shop-et-al wrote:

The unanswerable question is: have we driven away any newbies and potential contributors to the forum?

Honestly, my opinion is similar to what's been said above; I'm not paid to be here and don't particularly benefit from attracting newbies to the board. I do it out of a sense of community and if a potential shopper can't get through my occasional ramblings to learn from my experiences, they probably are not going to be very successful in an industry where gleaning information from obfuscated details is key to survival...

For every 1 newbie with potential that comes here, we probably have 10 that did an assignment wrong and are complaining about not getting paid, and another 10 that just want to stir the pot, ask who-shops-who, or create a generic thread title like, "need help".... The tangents and recipes serve a purpose to teach readers that it's best not to start an argument, to understand this is not rocket science and to simply pose a question if you have one.

Serious questions about tax situations have been faithfully answered over and over again through the years. They are widely available through the search feature and in stickies, so I agree there's an irony in the OP's complaint that then created this off-topic thread.

I enjoy this forum for many reasons. There are some experienced shoppers who are helpful to new members and to some of the old. I only state what I know and try to be helpful. I also would not enjoy this forum if every post was serious and not fun. I look forward to General Chat, which makes the human side of us show up. We're in this together. And most important: Have fun! This is my only opportunity to chat with all shoppers because we have a lot in common.