There's been a rash of targetted help requests lately, and of course I understand the reason. Consumers have been $#@$'d around for so long that they're desperate to get good help. Here are a few concerns, though: 1) I am always a bit reticent to answer questions that are specifically targeted to just me. The reason: I'm not an attorney, and I've not set myself up here to give one-on-one advice to individuals. In fact, that's why I disabled my email in my profile long ago. My brother, who is an attorney, wisely warned me of potential consequences and liabilities associated with offering advice which is targeted to a single individual. So, for example, I will instead often point the way to the INTRO posts or to specific discussions that may be relevant, etc. 2) On the other hand, when somebody posts a general question to the membership at large -- i.e., "I've got this chargeoff, how would anybody here approach this?" -- I feel as free as any Creditnet member to chime in with my opinion. 3) People who ask for help from a specific person may be missing out on just the thing they needed to hear offered up by somebody else. When I read a headline like "ATTENTION JOHNB49" I tend to think, "hmm, that's for JohnB49" and skip to another posting. Don't forget that JohnB49 may well know the answer, but then again, he may not. JohnB49 may be very intelligent and have an opinion worth hearing, but you may benefit from what others have to say too! 4) The Creditnet Primer (one of the INTRO posts) encourages new members to read and then post a general query asking for assistance. That way, the entire community can work together to build a new mutually-beneficial discussion based upon the new challenges presented. So, to sum up, it's probably best NOT to post public entreaties to specific individuals. If they are open to individual solicitations for assistance, then their email Profile link will be enabled. Otherwise, you can assume that the individual in question shies away from offering one-on-one legal help. Finally, a specific headline like "Does Chase give CC post-BK?" will likely garner better answers than one along the lines of "Question for Louloubelle" in almost every case. In any event, it's far better to solicit opinions across the board anyway because that results in a virtual buffet of knowledge and discussion. I hope this helps somebody! Doc
Great reminder Doc, thanks again. It's always a good idea to give at least some specifics too. I've been seeing the famous; "Well I sent my DV to Eq., what do I do now". lol Answer: READ!
Awwww... it helped me. Except... for a minute there I was a celebrity with my name glaring in the subject line, and then you said people shouldn't ask for me by name anymore. :-( I'm deeply hurt. And I shall go drown myself.
Good post.....when someone asks for the opinion of one specific cnetter, not only is it somewhat presumptious, but it also exlcudes the possible opinions/advice of the other 7,699 cnetters.
A pet peeve of mine therefore worth reiterating ! Well articulated, Doc ! Of course, the way you worded the subject header, I'm lucky I even read the damn thing ! LOL.
don't be so modest doc... j/k well and i agree. i think that different people are 'specialized' in different areas. i know people who are awesome with cra things because they work for them, or people who are good to direct ca questions because they work for one...those type of things...but i do see your point. so next time i don't want your opinon, i will be sure to include your name in the subject line...j/k i still appreciate the jersey feedback though, refreshing....
AMEN about being specific w/ subject lines!! It helps tremendously in reading the board efficiently AND doing searches! Especially when a search turns up 1,486,250 posts to wade through!
