Honestly, some of the people who post on travel websites..

[Lydia Leftcoast]

Let's leave aside the ones who post, "What should I see and do in Europe?" They often post in text messaging style, so I assume that they're the children of helicopter parents and have never actually had to plan or do anything on their own. Hello, if you don't know what there is to see in Europe, why are you going? If you can't get your spoiled little butt down to the library and check out a guidebook or to the bookstore to spend $30 to make a $5,000 trip go more smoothly, do you think you're mature enough to travel without Mommy hovering over you, or do you think that anonymous posters on a website are going to be as indulgent as your mommy?

No, I'm talking about the following:

1. Asking the same question that has been asked and answered three or four times on the same page and three or four times on each of the pages before that, as well as in the FAQ, the three prime examples in Japan forums being, 1) "I have a six-hour layover at Narita Airport. Is this enough time to go into Tokyo and see some of the sights?" (Short answer: No, but you can go to the city of Narita.), 2) "What's the best way to get from Narita Airport into central Tokyo?" (Short answer: You'd know this if you'd ever bothered to look at a guidebook or the FAQ, but basically, anything BUT a taxi), and 3) "Can I use the Japan Rail Pass on the Tokyo subways?" (Short answer: "No.")

2. Hijacking threads: Say we have a nice little discussion going about the relative merits of Nikko versus Kamakura as day trips for those who have only one spare day. Invariably someone will interrupt with a post like, "Does anyone know a good hotel in Tokyo?" Of course they don't get an answer.

3. Unclassifiable cluelessness: Sending a reservation request to the travel board, complete with their contact information, instead of to the hotel. "We would like to stay in your hotel for three nights, beginning August 20. Our names are Dumb and Dumber, our phone number is 1-234-5678, and our e-mail is [e-mail]." Uh...what hotel? Where? Even if you have web-based e-mail, how do mistake a public discussion board for it?

I shudder at the thought of such people being unleashed upon the world.

So the moral of this story is:

1. Do some research, using printed guidebooks for information on what to see and the Internet for up-to-date information on where to stay. TripAdvisor.com has users' reviews of hotels.

2. If you want to start a new topic, start a new thread.

3. Don't put your pubic information on a discussion board.

4. Check the rest of the page to see if anyone has posted on the same topic recently. The answer to your question may be there.

[yy4me]

1. Truer words were never spoken. I have re-read post after post

on Frommer's, Fodor's and Rick Steves web sites that ask questions too general to merit a reply. It would be quicker for the poster to use a little thing called "search" and read the questions and all the replies. Fodor's books are a little stuffy for me but the "Talk" forum is great. You have to read and compile your where-to go's, what-to-do's and remember, wherever you go, it is your trip, only you, the traveler, will know what you'd like to see. Guide books like Rick Steves and Frommer's are great but you have to combine knowledge from many sources to make a learned judgment.

I have seen many posts in this manner:" I have two weeks vacation and want to go to England, what should I see." Not only is that type of question foolish, it would be too time consuming for anyone to answer. What If I suggested you go to Parliament and all you wanted to see is the (awful) Wax Museum). We'd all be wasting out time. Real questions that show thought and need are fun to answer.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

2. Yes, like once a poster on a travel board asked me about

taking buses in rural Japan, how to find out the schedules, how to signal for stops, and how to pay fares. I happen to know that stuff, so I was happy to answer. But I've actually had young posters get snarky when I suggest that they start by reading a guidebook and have had other young posters pile on asking why I'm so mean.

[onager]

3. You might enjoy this--The Domestic Idiot Version

RESERVATIONS OF AN AIRLINE AGENT

I work in a central reservation office of an airline company. After more than 30,000 conversations -- all ending with "Have a nice day and thanks for calling" -- I think it's fair to say that I'm a survivor...

My battles have included everything from a man not knowing how to spell the name of the town he was from, to another not recognizing the name of "Iowa" as being a state, to another who thought he had to apply for a foreign passport to fly to West Virginia.

They are the enemy and they are everywhere...

It wasn't long before I suffered a direct hit from a woman who wanted to fly to Hippopotamus, NY. After assuring her that there was no such city, she became irate and said it was a big city with a big airport. I asked if Hippopotamus was near Albany or Syracuse. It wasn't. Then I asked if it was near Buffalo. "Buffalo!" she said. "I knew it was a big animal!"

http://www.netscrap.com/netscrap_detail.cfm?scrap_id=347