The south end of the beach at Hua Hin, Thailand.
Where are Kevin and Ruth now? Hua Hin, Thailand.

Where are Kevin and Ruth going next? Maldives on March 23rd.

Thursday, July 30, 2015

Just about done with forums.

I used to sign up on various discussion forums, but I simply don't have the patience for wading through the useless posts and the lack of moderation. Drives me crazy, so for the most part I just avoid them now. I have tried two facebook groups recently, but I'm pretty much done with them now too.

Some of the discussion just makes you shake your head. Check this out...

The one group is called "Boondocking and free camping USA".

I had figured this would be about finding great free campsites. But a lot of the posts are from younger hippy type people who think boondocking is finding a residential street to park on in Philadelphia.

I open up the page this morning, and here is the first post...

How long can you go / do you think is safe to go (maybe indefinitely?) / can you go without others noticing, without taking a shower and only using wet wipes?

Seriously.

And I tried the "Internet for RV'ers" forum. But these people are all techies who use 40 or 50 GB per month and have unlimited plans. Not sure what I was expecting to learn there, but they did have one interesting discussion about Windows 10 and the fact that the automatic download will use up 4 GBs of data. And that when you do get Windows 10, you are not able to turn off automatic updating. No, there will be no windows 10 for us.

Then, there is the "On the Road in Mexico" facebook forum where half the people are concerned about "safety" and the other half are people who live in Mexico because they can afford to have hired help there.

I just checked in there, and the first post I read has people saying how you should be paying fruit and veggie vendors double (!) what they are asking. No wonder gringos get taken advantage of. These are just not my type of travelers.

There is a lot of good information on the internet, but there sure is a lot of crap as well!

Timex Ironman Watches...today only on Amazon.com!

And here in Canada...

Brother QL-570 Professional Label Printer on Amazon.ca



10 comments:

  1. I know what you mean. And when you give advise to someone you have serious doubts if they are going to use it. I normally stay away from them now as well except for when I am seeking some specific advice. There is one American political forum populated by right wing Tea Party types that I find amusing. They are so easy to stir up by throwing in a little bait. Keeps an old man amused.

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    Replies
    1. That is something that Kevin would do, he loves to stir the pot, not that I always agree with him! ;-)

      Delete
  2. I left the FB page, too many gringos who have little experience but think they know everything or they have a very twisted view of what is going on in Mexico politically as well as with autodefense groups and cartels. Their bible is Borderland Beat which is actually hand-picked news stories in Spanish that are translated and then the Americans attack Mexico in the comments section. Rv.Net I might ask a question about rvs or tech stuff but that's pretty much my limit anymore. The Mexico forum is run by people who no longer go to Mexico.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. People always seems to like spreading around all the bad news even when it has been sensationalized! We have no time for that! Yes, sometimes the forums can be helpful, the problem is having to weed through all the crap to find it.

      Delete
  3. I look at forums like I look at TV... I don't agree with most of what I see but sometimes I need some assistance and the forums are often a good place to look for advice...

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    Replies
    1. Well seeing that we don't have a TV would make all the more reason why Kevin has had it with forums. ;-)

      Having said that, there can be some good info and advice but a lot of it is few and far between. Kevin can generally find what he is looking for on the internet without the use of a forum.

      Delete
  4. I get tired of the one upmanship on forums. Too many "experts" spoil the adventure for every one.

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  5. Think of forums like attending a cocktail party. Lots of useless small talk and a few "know-it-alls". When you do learn someone interesting, it's best to set up direct contact (email, web site, etc) with that person rather than keep going back to parties (forums) to wade through the crowd hoping to learn something.

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    Replies
    1. That is a very good analogy! I like your way of thinking. :-)

      Delete

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