May I ask what compells everybody to post replies and answers here?
I have figured it out for myself, but others must have different reasons, I have figured, I enjoy people reading my responses and thinking about how happy they are about me answering their query, I feel it myself when I post a question and somebody answers it, the "kick" you get out of watching the "Visits" number rise into the thousands, is it the same?
WHY do people spend almost an hour out of their day answering other peoples questions?

I'd really like to know :)

I like the information I can find here, also it's a quick break from work that I can hide when the boss walks by. :)

I like to make a post when I feel like expressing my opinion or suggestion, and it's interesting to see responses to it.

I spend time on these forums because:

A) I like being able to help others
B) I can get in touch with others in the industry
C) It is a good way to get in touch with your audience

Originally posted by xtstrike

WHY do people spend almost an hour out of their day answering other peoples questions?


Woa... WHT is so addicting that sometimes I spent more than an hour hanging around here! Why? Because I believe this is a unique community where somebody always help somebody else. I got a lot of help from many people on this forum and I will do the same to others! In the beginning the number of posts does motivate me being active, but after a while I don't care about it too much other than be an active part of the community :D

cheers,
:beer:

Self-service support communities will generally feed themselves once they have reached a critical mass. If you choose not to post a reply to a question that you can answer, if the board is large enough, someone else will.

The desire to be able to come here and ask a difficult question and get help on it will drive me to answer questions that I can - keeping the mass critical on the board.

If no one can get an answer here, eventually no one will post.

I don't care one whit if my answer "read counter" is high, or my posting count is high, etc. I participate in the forum because participation is what makes these things work.

The most knowledgable people don't get burned out answering questions I'm capable of answering, so when I post my "show stopper," they are still fresh and I have a chance of getting my question answered :).

-t

I like to feed others bad information knowing that they will follow my instructions verbatim and that some tech at some web hosting company out there will have to spend hours cleaning up the mess I caused...mwahahahahahahaha :D :D :D :D.

Seriously, I spend my days, nights, weekends, dreams helping people (yes I have had tech support dreams), so this boards is just a natural extension of that...when we grow so big that we have a staff of 20 handling support calls/e-mails (sometime next month I think :D) I will probably still hang out here so I can keep up with what's going on.

Hmm... I like to come here to keep up with current happenings, then flip through the questions to see how I can help someone.

If there is nothing I can do for someone,,, then I come back later. Usually 2 or 3 times a day now.

Hmm... Yep, I guess helping people is additictive


Tim L
:cool:

At the root of it all is the fact that man is a social animal. We enjoy the company of others, interacting with them, and working together to solve problems.

Beyond that, there are other reasons, to help each other, to learn, to have fun, and a few less admirable reasons as well.

Some people just like to talk a lot with nothing to say. Put all those reasons together and it still comes down to a desire to interact with others,

I post here mostly to get help :D , hopefully ill be helping others in a few months , heh :)

Also, that green smilie is mysteriously drawing .. :D

Having run out of paper, it's convenient.

Heh, I really wasnt expecting so many replies, I suppose I should have when asking a question about why people reply!, lol
Its quite an insight into online human interaction.
I see from the responses, people do it for help in return and for the "buzz" of the community.
Some very interesting replies, thanx peolpe :)

Let me say three words :

Addicted to WHT.

All those in agreement with me, please say Aye..... If you disagree, say Nay, and you can expect me to be around your place in a flash with those brand new painless helium-based injection needles to inject the virus into you :D

Finding this message board was a godsend. I found people to talk business and technology with again.

The old message board I was one of the regulars on went from being a terrific but rather insular community filled with great threads on business/technology/humor and the occasional flame war to nothing but stupidity, racism, elitism, and a shocking lack of flood control--the flame wars are not even fun anymore, and most of the regulars have either left or are in hiding behind fake usernames because of the hate wars raging against them.

This is a great place, lot of interesting conversation going on, and if I need an unlimited swearing thread, I'll go see my old friends at f**ckedcompany.com.

That's one of those unfortunate things about the nearly universal access that the Internet makes possible. The psychopaths, sociopaths. maladjusted, emotionally immature and ill mannered are on it too. They do their best to disrupt some forums. What a shame it is that they don't realize that instead of appearing clever, they just make themselves out to be a huge horse's patootie, or even what drops from it. Watch where you step!:D

Ignoring them is the best policy. When they don't get the attention they crave, they invariably shut up and go away. Otherwise, the whole forum suffers for the bad manners of a few demented souls and those who respond to them in kind.

For the most part, this forum is a fun place to learn, share information about hosting related matters, and even tell a joke or two.

This is, by far, the forum I come to the most. I check it several times a day, read most of the posts, and post here and there whenever I can be helpful. Most here are truly interested in helping customers and competitors alike. Overall, it's a breath of fresh air compared to the the rest of the 'net. :D

Aye....

I like to help whenever I can, or at the least share my opinion......

Aye.

I try to help out also where I can..

It started out as an addiction, now I'm not sure what it is...

Really, if I can save just *one* person from signing up with 1/2 the hosts I either considered signing up with, or *did* then it is all worth it.