Saturday 16 March 2013

Internet meet up

I know that it's a rule that you shouldn't meet up with people that you've only met over the internet.  However, isn't there an exception to this if the meeting is in a public place, and it's more than a 1 on 1?

Venue for the meet up
Hence, I recently attended my 3rd meeting of the Melbourne Trip Advisor group, most of whom are active on TA's Melbourne discussion forum. Even though they're self-selected and an open invitation appears on the internet to attend, those who came along were an interesting group of genuine people, with a real interest in helping travellers through the TA forums.

One couple was from interstate and another attendee was from the US who was in Australian on business.

The TA "community" is keen to maintain its credibility, and the long-term members keep a close eye on new "faces" that appear in the forum, to see that they don't depart from the etiquette of keeping contributions constructive and reasonably accurate.  If subtle or not-so-subtle hints don't work, then the ultimate recourse is for TA "Big Brother" to cut off access!   TA is a substantial US corporation, so it has an interest in maintaining its image.

2 comments:

  1. I find it disappointing that, before asking questions on the TA forums, many people have not done even the most basic research themselves. In particular, they have not checked previous posts or the FAQs provided on the forum. Quite frequently the question that they post has been asked, and answered, previously.

    People like this impose on the time and generosity of the members of the regular TA community.

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  2. Definitely agree with Aimi's comment. I find it strange that people who are sufficiently internet-savvy as to post a query on TA haven't checked out the numerous resources available on TA and elsewhere on the internet before posting questions that arise again and again. However, it occurs frequently.

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