Does it seem QUIET around here? Have posters quit posting? Or ?

[poconut]

Bolding is mine and I agree. I think that becomes wearing.

 

As well, sometimes people can be short/blunt/abrupt or whatever the right word may be. If their opinion is disagreed with, then the offending posters are rude/disagreeable/ talked down to Differences of opinion are going to be common on these boards understandably. What is important to some is not important to others. Sometimes, I think we need a bit more tolerance on the boards.

 

A new poster that has been chastised may choose not to come back. Just a thought.

 

When I saw this, I decided to post. I am one of those "newbies" who left so maybe I can give some insight. I was very enthusiastic when I first joined here, but...

 

I was pretty much told to go away when I asked someone who seemed angry not to be nasty to someone else. So I did go away. I have just been reading instead to learn what I can for my Holland America cruise. I have been reluctant to post since then.

 

I joined a roll call, and apart from one or two people, it is a pretty unfriendly place. I tried to join in, and my input was not welcomed.

 

I feel intimidated by some of the people on this website. There seems to be a bragging section, a picking section, a snobby section, and then a few who are very nice.

 

I read about members here talking about one another when they meet up on a cruise. Some are on the cruise I have booked, so I don't like that. Everyone seems to know everyone else, and there are cliques. I dislike cliques. Pompous people really turn me off, too. I know the written word does not translate well, so I try to make allowances for that. Probably my points are not coming across very well, either.

 

Now the positives - although I have not posted since being told to go away, by reading I have learned a lot about cruising, cabins, life on board a ship, what to wear on Holland America, and that kind of thing. I think I have learned who I can get the best information from, and who has a good sense of humor. There are lots of nice people on this website. But I will keep my distance and not join a Meet and Greet.

 

Hope that helps. Now I am going back to just reading. And I am willing to bet there are others like me who put their toe in the water and left quickly again.

[Fouremco]

Hope that helps. Now I am going back to just reading. And I am willing to bet there are others like me who put their toe in the water and left quickly again.

I'm glad that you've spoken up and hope that you will again. I know that it's easier said than done, but try not to be intimidated by the small number of inconsiderate members.

Edited October 25, 2015 by Fouremco

[GoneJohnson]

I have only cruised twice and just recently 2013, 2014 and planned a 2016 but I can say this site has been just great for me and should help many. I can't afford to continue cruising so will not have a reason to come back here. just to dream... and I am not informed enough to answer many questions.

 

I am/was a newbie starting 2012 or 2013 and seriously the 2016 cruise will be my last. Maybe I'll find a nice deal on an interior room someday and still find away as I've loved it.

 

I, Thank you all

Edited October 25, 2015 by GoneJohnson

[BeagleOne]

 

I feel intimidated by some of the people on this website. There seems to be a bragging section, a picking section, a snobby section, and then a few who are very nice.

 

 

Well, welcome back! Hope you are treated better this time around.

 

I don't get the bragging and snobbery that some posters just exude. The vast majority of people here post under fake names. I don't get bragging in general but I ESPECIALLY don't get bragging anonymously! There is one poster in particular who hasn't posted in several weeks now, after about twelve years of posting 3-4 posts, on average, every single DAY. The bragging and snobbery level was off the charts...but now I wonder if something has happened to her.

[pv girl]

When I saw this, I decided to post. I am one of those "newbies" who left so maybe I can give some insight. I was very enthusiastic when I first joined here, but...

 

I was pretty much told to go away when I asked someone who seemed angry not to be nasty to someone else. So I did go away. I have just been reading instead to learn what I can for my Holland America cruise. I have been reluctant to post since then.

 

I joined a roll call, and apart from one or two people, it is a pretty unfriendly place. I tried to join in, and my input was not welcomed.

 

I feel intimidated by some of the people on this website. There seems to be a bragging section, a picking section, a snobby section, and then a few who are very nice.

 

I read about members here talking about one another when they meet up on a cruise. Some are on the cruise I have booked, so I don't like that. Everyone seems to know everyone else, and there are cliques. I dislike cliques. Pompous people really turn me off, too. I know the written word does not translate well, so I try to make allowances for that. Probably my points are not coming across very well, either.

 

Now the positives - although I have not posted since being told to go away, by reading I have learned a lot about cruising, cabins, life on board a ship, what to wear on Holland America, and that kind of thing. I think I have learned who I can get the best information from, and who has a good sense of humor. There are lots of nice people on this website. But I will keep my distance and not join a Meet and Greet.

 

Hope that helps. Now I am going back to just reading. And I am willing to bet there are others like me who put their toe in the water and left quickly again.

 

You voiced a lot of my thoughts and what I tried to say in post #33. I have learned whose posts to rely on and appreciate the wonderful humor of some posters. I try to stay out of the fray most of the time, but do post a little.

[richstowe]

I wonder if it's the negativity. It's been better lately, but for a few months, this board seemed to be haunted by trolls who just loved to jump into threads and stir up trouble. Some people seemed to be spoiling for a fight. A few fairly new posters said they weren't going to post again. Sad, when there's so much knowledge and kindness here and a few trolls detract from that.

I'm not sure if many are commenting on CC or just the HAL forum on CC . As for the HAL forum , I have generally found it contains less "agressive" posts then those of Carnival or RC . While civility is generally a good thing , the Carnival threads are often over the top entertaining . I had never spent much time here prior to this summer's Veendam cruise. The posts are often useful but generally informative over entertaining . Nothing wrong with that .

 

I attribute the steady decline to the rise of competitors such as Facebook and other social media that did not yet exist when Cruise Critic was founded.

What's Facebook ? :D

[perditax]

I've been online a long, long time, and this place is one of the most toxic special-interest boards I've run across. It badly needs policy revisions that are consistently upheld, including some guidelines about personal attacks and thread derailment, and then enough mods to enforce it. And if someone gets a thread or post deleted, they should be told why. It IS possible to maintain a positive/helpful community, even among this particular cross-section of people.

[pv girl]

And if someone gets a thread or post deleted, they should be told why. .

 

I do not think this happens now, as some of the posters who start sniping and get their threads or posts deleted, come right back to another thread and do the same thing. They do not get it.

[Roz]

There are a couple of other message boards I post on, and over the years there has been lower overall participation. Other social media have eaten into the number of members who actively participate. I don't use Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, etc., so CC will continue to be my main source of cruise information, and try to share up to the level of my own experience.

 

My posting goes up relative to whether I have a HAL cruise booked in the near future. Right now I'm getting ready for my first river cruise, and don't have anything booked after that, so I'm not as active in the HAL forum, which I consider my home forum. It also depends on what else is going on in my life. Last year when I was caught up in caring for my mother, my posting was way down.

 

I've learned not to take things personally if some pompous horse's backside tries to belittle me. Over on the River Cruising board, some of us were berated for booking our flights thru Uniworld and made to feel that because we don't want to pay $2,000 for tickets booked on our own, we're some form of stupid lower life form. :D Getting from Nashville to Budapest isn't the easiest thing to do, so when the cruise line offered me a decent routing at an affordable price, I took it.

 

I hope those who are reading these posts and have in the past felt less than welcomed, consider returning and becoming active participants.

 

Roz

[Stratheden]

I have found that some of my posts have been deleted and I have no idea why.

 

I think we have a few precious posters who go for the "report button" pretty quickly.

 

If you post on this forum you must be prepared for others who do not agree with you. They are not being nasty they just don't agree with you.

 

If we were all the same it would be pretty boring. :)

[Seago2]

I have checked Cruisecritic multiple times a day since 2005 and for the past eight years or so only check HAL and Carnival - three or four times a day (and maybe Cunard once a week and NCL once in a while if I have a cruise coming up). I never check any other forum unless there is a blizzard out and I'm desperate for something to do, and then I'll go to Ask a Cruise Question or something. But I will go months without posting here, even though I'm checking the threads throughout the day. I just feel that I don't have anything to offer, especially when the ships are in Europe, or I feel it's not worth the energy because it's the same thread I've seen a million times. But believe me, I'm looking all the time. And I have definitely noticed that nothing is happening over here. 3/4ths of the page down the "yesterday" posts begin.

 

I have of course noticed that the active posters of old are no longer with us for whatever reason. (But usually if you call one out: BRIAN, for example, the person will say "I'm here!!- so they're lurking, too). I changed my name right when I was in the middle of my most active posting, I even had a review with tons of responses active on the first page- and it was extremely weird and lonely to not be recognized by any one. (I work in a pretty scary and contentious field and a client came up to me and said "so, cruises, huh? A cruise review?" That's the stuff nightmares are made of. My old name did have my first and middle name as part of it. How else they ever found me I have no idea. So CC kindly let me change it). I do miss the old posters. I could sit here and name ten off the top of my head. It's sad.

 

I think social media is extremely helpful in answering a quick question and if there is a rare snarky response a ton of people will ask "why did you say that? That's unfair" and the other person will explain. That's the kind of thing that cannot happen here. The post will instead get pulled or veiled responses will come out that are even more nasty. And the back and forth begins, interspersed with pulled posts. I actually think that the mods are too heavy handed and that is the problem. If things were allowed to sort themselves out the frustration wouldn't build and you wouldn't have the nastiness that CC is known for. And known it is.

 

The search function is a joke and I still cannot properly post a picture. Not being a Luddite by any means I have to say the fault lies with CC. That is an issue when competing for my attention are the fifteen ocean liner groups I belong to on Facebook. Lovers of the Ocean Liners, Le Paquebots Francaise, the QM group, on and on. Pics after pics after pics all day to evoke the grand old era. Do I need to see the same people on the Cunard board arguing with themselves (yet all agreeing) over whether a man should take his jacket off while eating in the Caribbean when I have 25 new pics of Normandie etc etc I can look at in peace? No.

 

I do think that if a thread gets pulled there should be reason given. There is a lot of "shhh, it will get poofed" or threads with huge hunks of conversation missing. That's just not going to fly in world where FB exists. And the huge signatures and creaky appearance of CC- it needs to be modernized. Give us the ability to add pics without linking to FB (privacy issues, I won't do it) or to shutterly, etc, which no young person uses.

 

As re: the HAL board specifically, I do find it can get harsh here so I don't wade in. But most of the time I'm just collecting info and don't have much to offer. So I stay quiet. Back in the proverbial day I would still comment to keep threads moving and to ask questions from this bank of missing posters but now I just lurk.

[qsuzi]

I've been online a long, long time, and this place is one of the most toxic special-interest boards I've run across. It badly needs policy revisions that are consistently upheld, including some guidelines about personal attacks and thread derailment, and then enough mods to enforce it. And if someone gets a thread or post deleted, they should be told why. It IS possible to maintain a positive/helpful community, even among this particular cross-section of people.

I was surprised to see so much acrimony on this board when I first started posting here. This board seems more personal than other CC boards. This has gotten better recently. We all need to do our part (and also to use the red triangle and when appropriate CC take action) to help maintain a positive/helpful community. In contrast this board also has some of the best experienced and knowledgeable posters - funny, kind, very helpful, patient, and just those you would love to be on a cruise with. I especially appreciate the resources some posters maintain and update - kudo's to them!

Edited October 25, 2015 by qsuzi

[IRL_Joanie]

I do not think this happens now, as some of the posters who start sniping and get their threads or posts deleted, come right back to another thread and do the same thing. They do not get it.

 

Nail hit directly on the head..........

 

Joanie

Edited October 25, 2015 by IRL_Joanie

[kazu]

When I saw this, I decided to post. I am one of those "newbies" who left so maybe I can give some insight. I was very enthusiastic when I first joined here, but...

 

I was pretty much told to go away when I asked someone who seemed angry not to be nasty to someone else. So I did go away. I have just been reading instead to learn what I can for my Holland America cruise. I have been reluctant to post since then.

 

I joined a roll call, and apart from one or two people, it is a pretty unfriendly place. I tried to join in, and my input was not welcomed.

 

I feel intimidated by some of the people on this website. There seems to be a bragging section, a picking section, a snobby section, and then a few who are very nice.

 

I read about members here talking about one another when they meet up on a cruise. Some are on the cruise I have booked, so I don't like that. Everyone seems to know everyone else, and there are cliques. I dislike cliques. Pompous people really turn me off, too. I know the written word does not translate well, so I try to make allowances for that. Probably my points are not coming across very well, either.

 

Now the positives - although I have not posted since being told to go away, by reading I have learned a lot about cruising, cabins, life on board a ship, what to wear on Holland America, and that kind of thing. I think I have learned who I can get the best information from, and who has a good sense of humor. There are lots of nice people on this website. But I will keep my distance and not join a Meet and Greet.

 

Hope that helps. Now I am going back to just reading. And I am willing to bet there are others like me who put their toe in the water and left quickly again.

 

Good post and I am sorry to hear that my fears were real.:(

 

I hope you DON'T go back to just reading and post more ;)

 

I am sorry to hear about your roll call. That's not the way things should be.

 

Roll calls are usually a fun spot and I am sorry yours is not. You have found some nice posters there though and I think there are probably more there that just post once.

 

If I may, I would encourage you to go to the meet and greet, especially if the 'nice' posters will be there. It's a great time to get to know some people and you may be pleasantly surprised. CC has a lot of members and it's always nice to meet with some of them. And who knows? You could find you are on the same cruise with them again and on the same roll call ;) It's certainly happened to us :)

 

thank you for posting.

[cruisemom42]

I think this board is somewhat in the same situation as HAL itself. As longtime posters leave or stop posting, new ones should be welcomed and encouraged to stay if the board (line) is going to thrive in the future.

 

I started reading these boards mainly to get HAL news and info to share with my parents (who do not have a computer). There are some posters here who have perfected the art of "innocent outrage" to just about any statement someone can make, and others who bully anyone whose experience differs from their own (as if it can't happen that two people have two different experiences...)

 

I have learned through trial and error not to follow up on comments to my posts from either of these two types unless one wants to get into an endless rabbit hole of nastiness and justifications. And I post a lot less than I did initially.

[3rdGenCunarder]

I have found that some of my posts have been deleted and I have no idea why.

 

I think we have a few precious posters who go for the "report button" pretty quickly.

 

If you post on this forum you must be prepared for others who do not agree with you. They are not being nasty they just don't agree with you.

 

If we were all the same it would be pretty boring. :)

 

There's disagreeing and then there's nasty. Unfortunately, some people can't disagree without starting a fight. We had some kind of team-building thing at work, and one of the skills was to "disagree agreeably," which is important in any group. (Of course, that label got reversed, and we used to joke about agreeing disagreeably.)

 

As for posts that were removed, sometimes a string of posts that originate from a problem post all get removed. So don't take it personally. Your post might not have been the one that got "triangled." You might try contacting Host Walt to ask for a reason a post got removed. I don't know if a mod will answer a question like that, but you could try.

[albingirl]

It can get testy around here and thats a turnoff. Lots of misunderstandings due to the tone of the postings. Being reprimanded publicly on any social media site is hurtful. I'll read when I need info but most the time I would rather just stay quiet. And please don't correct me on this post.

[GlennG]

When I saw this, I decided to post. I am one of those "newbies" who left so maybe I can give some insight. I was very enthusiastic when I first joined here, but...

 

I was pretty much told to go away when I asked someone who seemed angry not to be nasty to someone else. So I did go away. I have just been reading instead to learn what I can for my Holland America cruise. I have been reluctant to post since then.

 

I joined a roll call, and apart from one or two people, it is a pretty unfriendly place. I tried to join in, and my input was not welcomed.

 

I feel intimidated by some of the people on this website. There seems to be a bragging section, a picking section, a snobby section, and then a few who are very nice.

 

I read about members here talking about one another when they meet up on a cruise. Some are on the cruise I have booked, so I don't like that. Everyone seems to know everyone else, and there are cliques. I dislike cliques. Pompous people really turn me off, too. I know the written word does not translate well, so I try to make allowances for that. Probably my points are not coming across very well, either.

 

Now the positives - although I have not posted since being told to go away, by reading I have learned a lot about cruising, cabins, life on board a ship, what to wear on Holland America, and that kind of thing. I think I have learned who I can get the best information from, and who has a good sense of humor. There are lots of nice people on this website. But I will keep my distance and not join a Meet and Greet.

 

Hope that helps. Now I am going back to just reading. And I am willing to bet there are others like me who put their toe in the water and left quickly again.

 

Let me begin by expressing my gratitude to poconut. This response captures the essence of my own thinking when deciding to participate in this forum. I, very much, agree that there are some very knowledgeable posters on this forum. There are a handful of participants who have given me vital feedback and information to my questions. The feedback is almost immediate and in many cases, more accurate than information provided by Holland America Line.

 

Having said the above, this place has become a bit of a clique. At times, I feel that I'm interrupting a personal and private conversation among friends. It reminds me of the old "party line" telephones that I experienced in the 1950s. You could casually pick up your phone and mistakenly interrupt a private conversation.

 

Like the "party line" phones, some of the forum participants likely spend a lot of time on this board.

 

The lesson that I've learned is to pick and choose the areas of participation. I don't live for the Cruise Critic Board.

[Cruzin Terri]

When I saw this, I decided to post. I am one of those "newbies" who left so maybe I can give some insight. I was very enthusiastic when I first joined here, but...

 

I was pretty much told to go away when I asked someone who seemed angry not to be nasty to someone else. So I did go away. I have just been reading instead to learn what I can for my Holland America cruise. I have been reluctant to post since then.

 

I joined a roll call, and apart from one or two people, it is a pretty unfriendly place. I tried to join in, and my input was not welcomed.

 

I feel intimidated by some of the people on this website. There seems to be a bragging section, a picking section, a snobby section, and then a few who are very nice.

 

I read about members here talking about one another when they meet up on a cruise. Some are on the cruise I have booked, so I don't like that. Everyone seems to know everyone else, and there are cliques. I dislike cliques. Pompous people really turn me off, too. I know the written word does not translate well, so I try to make allowances for that. Probably my points are not coming across very well, either.

 

Now the positives - although I have not posted since being told to go away, by reading I have learned a lot about cruising, cabins, life on board a ship, what to wear on Holland America, and that kind of thing. I think I have learned who I can get the best information from, and who has a good sense of humor. There are lots of nice people on this website. But I will keep my distance and not join a Meet and Greet.

 

Hope that helps. Now I am going back to just reading. And I am willing to bet there are others like me who put their toe in the water and left quickly again.

 

I understand where you are coming from as I have been scared away a few times as well. I now decide who I will answer and when.

 

After the past year and a recent near death experience I have learned that life is too short to worry about what people write on these boards.

I come here for information. When I can provide something that will help, I do so. I try to remain positive and don't just post to see my name in print.

Terri

[Windsailer]

The only time I post is when I can provide accurate information in response to a question or if the subject is interesting - such as the "dog on the Amsterdam" and the old wine threads. Like many others, I don't post just to see my name in print.

[G&G]

To quote the late BB King;

 

"The Thrill is Gone"

[Lizzie68]

I have found that some of my posts have been deleted and I have no idea why.

 

I think we have a few precious posters who go for the "report button" pretty quickly.

 

If you post on this forum you must be prepared for others who do not agree with you. They are not being nasty they just don't agree with you.

 

If we were all the same it would be pretty boring. :)

 

Some good points. Some people seem to have their finger hovering over the red button constantly. Others can take any thread seriously off topic and get away with it, frequently. I had a post deleted that I apologised for being off topic for, for liking beagles.:o:D

[G&G]

Posters have stopped posting due to many reasons. Most on my mind is the off subject comments. Recently on one of my roll calls (not HAL), there was a poster ranting and raving about how he had worked for the same company for years, had great reviews and was passed over for a promotion; a much younger person got. What does this have to do with cruising.

 

I stopped posting reviews of my cruises because there was such lack of interest in my review based on reviews and remarks. But if you post about dress codes, smoking, sailaways, etc the sky is the limit !

[RocketMan275]

I have found that some of my posts have been deleted and I have no idea why.

 

I think we have a few precious posters who go for the "report button" pretty quickly.

 

If you post on this forum you must be prepared for others who do not agree with you. They are not being nasty they just don't agree with you.

 

If we were all the same it would be pretty boring. :)

 

It's not always what you post. If you responded using the quote function, the moderators may have removed your post because there was a problem with the post you quoted.

[kazu]

Posters have stopped posting due to many reasons. Most on my mind is the off subject comments. Recently on one of my roll calls (not HAL), there was a poster ranting and raving about how he had worked for the same company for years, had great reviews and was passed over for a promotion; a much younger person got. What does this have to do with cruising.

 

I stopped posting reviews of my cruises because there was such lack of interest in my review based on reviews and remarks. But if you post about dress codes, smoking, sailaways, etc the sky is the limit !

 

that's too bad that you stopped posting reviews - I always enjoyed them.

 

I understand how you feel having been criticized for not posting every day if I do a live thread. I learned to listen to the majority that encouraged me and try not to let the few upset me. (I did say try - LOL)

Edited October 25, 2015 by kazu