Why are you even here?

[bigdeals.etc]

In a previous post a member (who was misunderstanding other people’s replies and got defensive) felt that and accused the people who spend a lot of time on here replying to posts to either comment or help were actually part of a larger organized conspiracy to try and defraud him and other members. I guess a sort of “ebay Illuminati”.

That member said there is no other reason why anyone would want to reply to so many posts and “help” and not get anything out of it. Totally paranoid if you ask me.

So I thought, why not just ask everyone. So let’s hear it. Why are you here, and why do you come here to reply to other people’s posts? What do you get out of it?

[glasser]

Come to be helpful and alert eBay to things I see that could be better.

Yes, I know eBay only half listening 🙂

[autopartspuller]

First and foremost, I am here to learn from other people's experiences.  I try to keep an open mind and consider options I have not before considered.  The forums allow me to do that.  If in the process of learning I am also able to help someone else I am glad to do so. 

I will not, however, just say what someone wants to hear.  Facts are important.  Ignoring facts because you want a specific outcome/answer is ignorant, in my opinion.  

[tev4all]

Because I choose to. 

[nuclearomen]

ugh... fact is that while things do tend carry on without an actual "solution" (let's face it, many many times many posters post a reply that can be certainly a valid "solution" yet the OP never elects one). This is the internet, and last I knew no board within it is "perfect." See/Hear people saying how some here all the time, lash out at OP's, ridicule etc.. and yeah, of course that happens, yet there is always two sides to a coin. There are posters I don't care for myself but at the same time I recognize how some of them spend a lot of their time within the community helping (or at least trying to help) others and getting nothing for it, those same people are lashed out on quite a bit. Now to be here and help is a choice everyone makes, no reward or reimbursement required. While things can get heated between members (I myself am guilty of this a few times, can admit it, doesn't mean I'm proud of it, just that got a little carried away and it happened) - but that's life. Don't hold grudges for some discussion where options mixed or someone disagreed vice verse. Point I'm trying to make is that some of those people do a lot of good for others despite them "constant presence" on the community...there isn't enough of them really or who are willing to devote so much time. Again, as I said before, we all know how helpful CS is - the community is only place many people can get any kind of help in real time. 

[jonathankirkland]

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@luckythewinner wrote:

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@bigdeals.etc wrote:

So I thought, why not just ask everyone. So let’s hear it. Why are you here, and why do you come here to reply to other people’s posts? What do you get out of it?

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I am here because I enjoy selling on eBay.

This board is an invaluable tool for learning about how eBay works and how to use it effectively, but it only works if knowledgeable people contribute useful information - and also call out misinformation when it appears.

I have gotten tons of information, insight, and help from these boards.

I am also dismayed by the volume of misinformation, sweeping generalizations, and mistaken assumptions that are posted here. So I try my best to present more detailed and nuanced explanations ... despite the surprising amount of hostility displayed by those whose misinformation is being challenged.

BTW I love the phrase "eBay Illuminati".

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This is why I try to be careful and thoughtful when I give advice so as not to mislead anyone, which would of course be unintentionally. So whenever I am corrected I am appreciative of that so it helps me be better in the future and to stay current. 🙂

[soh.maryl]

Yes, a bunch of us got together over the (virtual) campfire and decided to encourage fraud and scamming on eBay.  (Although it's not like any help was needed in that area).

Mainly, I enjoy it so much when someone asks a question, gets an honest and reliable answer, and then accuses the person who answered of either being an "eBay shill" or not knowing what he's talking about.

It's even more entertaining when he tells the person who answered not to answer any more.  OK then. 

[soh.maryl]

I hope you don't really believe that you're alerting eBay to things you see that could be better.

[maxine*j]

I'm here mostly for the mental exercise. I  really do believe I have to use my mind to keep it fit, and the forums provide opportunities to reseach and to solve puzzles and problems.  (My favorite board is Collectibels & Art, because of the variety of questions.)   I never know from day to day what will crop up on one of the boards, and that adds to the mental stimulation.

-

[soh.maryl]

I don't understand your point about there being some people here who do a lot of good for others despite their constant presence on the community and then you say there isn't enough of them who are willing to devote so much time.  So "their constant presence on the community" is a negative feature, rather than a positive one?  

[louies1948]

I am on here now and then to keep informed. When the classic page was changed I was lost.  I ask for help on here and got help. When I was in school they taught me how to use a typewriter. When I started my business in 1966 the typewriter was a tool I could use.  but I was never taught to use a computer and ebays constant changes are very hard for me to understand. every now and then I try to help someone else , when I know the answer , just as I would in my everyday life. I have been selling on ebay since 2005, trying to sell all the stuff I hoarded through the years.  not on this discussion board to sell my stuff but to learn and help

[my_boston_baked_beans]

I visit here to get some of my concerns addressed possibly, but I must say these boards are not the most comfortable place to START a discussion. I have been here since 1999 (other IDS), and way back then if you started a discussion you were insulted, attacked, belittled by ( what I called the TROLLS). eBay finally realized the problem and refined and eliminated  a lot of this bigotry.

However, when starting a discussion to this day the OP has to still expect a certain amount of censorship toward them and their account.

This is why MOST use a POSTING ID to avoid dissention.

[my_boston_baked_beans]

There is in my opinion, a right and wrong way to critic a conversation. Most of us respond more favorably to a kind voice rather than and attacking one same with the printed word. How you express yourself goes a long way to how you will be interpreted and received by another.

[monster-deals]

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@bigdeals.etc wrote:

What do you get out of it?

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My Illuminati check cleared so I can't say anything.

[Anonymous]

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@bigdeals.etc wrote:

In a previous post a member (who was misunderstanding other people’s replies and got defensive) felt that and accused the people who spend a lot of time on here replying to posts to either comment or help were actually part of a larger organized conspiracy to try and defraud him and other members. I guess a sort of “ebay Illuminati”.

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I'm guessing that person was sitting at their computer typing with a tinfoil hat on

"Why are you even here?" I ask myself that everyday

[chapeau-noir]

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@monster-deals wrote:

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@bigdeals.etc wrote:

What do you get out of it?

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My Illuminati check cleared so I can't say anything.

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I'm still climbing the mountain, oh Enlightened One - a lowly shill and cheerleader striving to attain robot status.

But there are so many clouds, and they must be shouted at.