Forum Pet Peeves

[sa1937]

How about extremely long posts, with no paragraphs. I do tend to skip those. My old tired eyes can't handle those.

My tired old eyes can't handle those either.

Huh . . . never really noticed that. Hey, anybody here have any suggestions for a Christmas present for my MIL??

<snicker . . . sometimes I just crack myself up>

HA! You'd never take them either. You also crack me up!!!

[IrishHeart]

Er... guilty? I've been on the board depressed, brain-fogged, and grumpy and have made posts I shouldn't have. I do always try to apologize.

I have never noticed that about you, Skylark.

I am talking about people who are (understandably) anxious and scared and grumpy--because they do not feel well, perhaps? I find we do a lot of explaining and soothing to get them to understand something. I sometimes find myself saying "sorry, maybe you misunderstood what I meant...." until finally there is an "aha"..oh, okay, I get what you mean.

For example, one time early on, I asked a MOD "did I do something to offend this person? Could you read this thread?" The MOD said "No, not at all. Maybe she is still ill. Gluten can make us grumpy, yes? " But, I felt terrible. Later, the new member apologized, friended me and said she was feeling paranoid from gluten and very stressed. Of course, I understood. No prob! that is why I never get upset with someone on here. You just do not know what he/she may be going through.

Granted, the written word (as we discussed earlier in the thread) is difficult --you cannot convey tone of voice, inflection, intention-- so inevitably, some misunderstanding may result and clarification may be necessary.

And sometimes, it's best to let it be, I guess?

Sorry, Lisa...this was long, but I made paragraphs so your eyes don't get too tired :lol:

[IrishHeart]

Huh . . . never really noticed that. Hey, anybody here have any suggestions for a Christmas present for my MIL??

<snicker . . . sometimes I just crack myself up>

:lol:

[Skylark]

How about extremely long posts, with no paragraphs. I do tend to skip those. My old tired eyes can't handle those.

you mean you find it difficult to follow posts with no punctation no spacing and no capitol letters? i can't imagine how you would pssibly find a rambling post full of run on sentences and typos hard to read after all it's the way some people talk anyway dont you know what i mean? and besdes we should all be nice to evryone and try to read no matter how badly they type after all that person might be relly smart and only come across as dum because they have never bothered to learn to type oh wait i guess that is a keyboard attached to their computer but they still nned our help with their celiacs disease because they are sick too and ppl who dont type well are still ppl

I ALSO HATE IT WHEN PEOPLE TYPE IN ALL CAPS AND DON'T REALIZE THEY'RE SHOUTING!!!

[Skylark]

I have never noticed that about you, Skylark.

I make good use of the edit button on my bad days!

[beebs]

I'm here to peeve! Celiac's disease or celiacs disease. AUUUUGHH! IT'S NOT PLURAL AND IT'S NOT POSSESSIVE!

Thank you. I feel much better.

Oh yes, me too! That drives me insane.

My pet peeve is when people give out medical advice on the internet and its wrong. Not you guys - you are all so well read. But like - people on other forums who don't have a clue - it drives me mad!

[Darn210]

My pet peeve is when people give out medical advice on the internet and its wrong. Not you guys - you are all so well read. But like - people on other forums who don't have a clue - it drives me mad!

Oh it's here, too. The good thing about this forum is there are plenty of opinions and a large number of people willing to post dissenting opinions. If the advice is totally wrong, members are all over it. If it's not necessarily wrong . . . or right . . . but something that shouldn't be taken lightly, enough members post opposing opinions such that the original poster is left . . . confused? . . . and hopefully will talk to a professional.

[sariesue]

Or they get several pages of suggestions and nix every one of them.

I never understood that. What's the point of asking a question on a forum and then insisting that every suggestion won't work. Can't people just say thanks and move on if a reply isn't helpful?

How about extremely long posts, with no paragraphs. I do tend to skip those. My old tired eyes can't handle those.

I have fairly significant ADD so long paragraphs without breaks get skipped over. Sometimes I have the concentration to read one post like that but it's hard when a thread contains multiple walls of text. I get distracted and miss things that sometimes are important to the post. However I think I might over compensate and make too many breaks in my posts. Which probably annoys those who prefer walls of text.

Oh yes, me too! That drives me insane.

My pet peeve is when people give out medical advice on the internet and its wrong. Not you guys - you are all so well read. But like - people on other forums who don't have a clue - it drives me mad!

What I find worse are the people who encourage others to not get tested while they are still eating gluten and just to give up gluten and see if it helps. I find this to be poor advice because you have to be eating gluten to have valid test results. While having a dx or not is not vital in the sense that you don't need a rx in order to buy gluten-free products. But depending on your life it can be important.

[AVR1962]

I don't like how the forums on this board don't have "stickies" at the top with the most commonly asked questions. This is something I see used in most other forums and is EXTREMELY helpful. It helps all users, especially new ones, quickly find information, and avoids a million people asking the same question over and over instead of assisting them in benefiting from previous conversations about the same topic.

This would be very helpful. I don't like it when someone comes in a questions what works for you.

[mushroom]

My big one is, "How long will it take until I feel better?" Goodness gracious, who knows???

[Di2011]

My big one is, "How long will it take until I feel better?" Goodness gracious, who knows???

how long is a piece of string

everyone is so different so looking back at my "journey". I think back to where I was and what I was going through and it seemed different to all the norms. I think what most gluten intolerants go through (before knowing what is the biggest of problems and getting to know all of our experience) is something that seems so unique to them - and me at the time - "it must be normal" "depression" "anxiety" "IBS" "bad diet" "lazy" "anorexia" "bloated" "constipated" "diarrhea" "... how many are there to add"

Nothing I felt like at time seemed like gluten intolerance. One day I was sick in bed with sinus infection and the next day I went home from my bakery job with head to ankle DH.

Could anyone have told me how long it would take to sleep through the night without cold packs?

[Di2011]

This was my first post. I was a mess and didn't have a clue.

[Di2011]

so perhaps this topic is not required ? for newbies ? please?

[Skylark]

so perhaps this topic is not required ? for newbies ? please?

You thanked people on the board on your first post! That's a great way to start out. Please don't feel self conscious about what you write because of this thread.

It can be frustrating to try to help people who reject every idea, write incomprehensibly, or refuse to provide information you need to answer their questions. It's even more upsetting to see bad advice given, or someone offered a crazy alternative remedy when they should be at the emergency room! We're just venting a little bit, like waitresses do about difficult customers back in the kitchen.

[IrishHeart]

You thanked people on the board on your first post! That's a great way to start out. Please don't feel self conscious about what you write because of this thread.

It can be frustrating to try to help people who reject every idea, write incomprehensibly, or refuse to provide information you need to answer their questions. It's even more upsetting to see bad advice given, or someone offered a crazy alternative remedy when they should be at the emergency room! We're just venting a little bit, like waitresses do about difficult customers back in the kitchen.

Beautifully said, Skylark. .....or like teachers about some students....or parents about unruly kiddos.... It's all just harmless venting and soon, those newbies will be here venting, too...because they will be the "veterans"

[Di2011]

Yes all so true... and I was having a bad night

[sariesue]

so perhaps this topic is not required ? for newbies ? please?

This topic is not required for anyone and is meant to be fun. I find it interesting to see what annoys people and to see if others find similar things annoying. I am actually newer to the forum than you, but I have belonged to other online forums in the past so some of my peeves were started in another forum. Like the walls of text I mentioned. Regardless, if this topic bothers you feel free to ignore it.

[IrishHeart]

Yes all so true... and I was having a bad night

Hopefully, your day was better today, hon!

[kareng]

I think these are just peeves for any forum. My son goes on car forums and robotics forums and has many of the same issues. I guess it's just part of forums. Like people driving 45 MPH in the left lane , on the highway, where the speed limit is 70. It doesn't just happen in Kansas, it happens everywhere!

[Di2011]

My all over DH has gone into a mad frenzy so my sense of humour is somewhere well below the skin, literally.

I just couldn't help but think that each of us have our own set of symptoms/problems and when new members come on this forum they are (as I was) in a pretty bad state, physically and mentally.

To go to a car or similar forum and read about how members don't bother checking historical posts/FAQs is one thing but for people who are sick, in distress or feel like I did at the time is a completely different matter.

I think we need to encourage vulnerable people to get their personal situation on a thread - without feeling like they need to read thousands of them to get some very mixed information.

[kareng]

My all over DH has gone into a mad frenzy so my sense of humour is somewhere well below the skin, literally.

I just couldn't help but think that each of us have our own set of symptoms/problems and when new members come on this forum they are (as I was) in a pretty bad state, physically and mentally.

To go to a car or similar forum and read about how members don't bother checking historical posts/FAQs is one thing but for people who are sick, in distress or feel like I did at the time is a completely different matter.

I think we need to encourage vulnerable people to get their personal situation on a thread - without feeling like they need to read thousands of them to get some very mixed information.

We try to fix them. Move them to the right topic or remind them that the info is old. I've even pm'ed people to tell them they have just responded to three 7 year old topics and probably won't get a response.

We don't seem to attract a lot of 14 year old boys wanting to cuss & talk dirty!

[IrishHeart]

Newbies are less likely to come to the Gab/chat room section in the beginning phase of using this forum as their focus is on finding answers. Here, though, we are free to discuss ANYTHING BUT celiac because that is what we all devote our free time doing and sometimes, we need a break from that, too. Most of us go overboard trying to HELP PEOPLE and treat them with respect and kindness.

So we like to LAUGH too, because all too often, we deal with so much sadness and despair on here and it gets to us too, you know?

Most often, we are laughing at ourselves.

For the record, I relive some of the anguish and pain I dealt with for many years sometimes as I read the newbies' desparate and frantic posts. It's heartbreaking. I was a mess myself and often out of sorts because of gluten. MANY of us can testify to feeling grouchy or confused because of gluten!

But, I put that feeling aside because I feel it is best to share experiences and information and help the newbies as I was once helped.

I think you may be misinterpreting this thread as being unkind.

But these people are the kindest, most compassionate lot I have ever had the privilege to encounter. Just like a tired Mom who vents to her girlfriend about her kids, we have let off some steam so we can keep doing what we do for others every single day: help--with compassion and care and a sense of HUMOR.

Because without that, hon, we are all doomed.

[sariesue]

My all over DH has gone into a mad frenzy so my sense of humour is somewhere well below the skin, literally.

I just couldn't help but think that each of us have our own set of symptoms/problems and when new members come on this forum they are (as I was) in a pretty bad state, physically and mentally.

To go to a car or similar forum and read about how members don't bother checking historical posts/FAQs is one thing but for people who are sick, in distress or feel like I did at the time is a completely different matter.

I think we need to encourage vulnerable people to get their personal situation on a thread - without feeling like they need to read thousands of them to get some very mixed information.

Actually, because they are sick and in distress is a bigger reason why they would need to read the FAQs section, if we had one instead of just posting where ever they felt like. It is a change to arm new people with information that they need immediately. This could be a complete list of symptoms, a search engine for dr's who specialize in celiac and celiac centers. The instruction to start their own thread instead of hijacking another. This that would make their transition into this community easier. I belong to a mental heal forum I have seen new members be scared off by other new members who didn't read the FAQ's section. In the case I'm thinking of one member who started their first post and was listing their current symptoms they had recieved a few responses when another fairly new person hijacked their thread and listed their extensive list of symptoms. The OP felt that that the other poster was comparing their symptoms in a negative way. Like little kids taunting on the play ground. "my symptoms are worse than your symptoms. My symptoms are worse you can't possibly be that sick.... The person posted how upset they were by this then never came back. Do new members still make mistakes with their first posts on that forum, sometimes but it's so infrequent it's been over a month. That is because the FAQs section instructs people to start a post about themselves instead of sharing their story on someone else's thread. The FAQs also lead them to a search engine for dr's and for real life support groups. The goal of FAQ's sections is to prevent that from happening. Have you considered that your first posts would have been different if there was a FAQ's/Read First section here?

[kareng]

We have a very short list of rules that are agreed to when people join. Many do not read them or ignore them. If we made them longer, I

doubt they would read them.

We do have some basic info on the main Celiac.com page. Facts change, sometimes quickly.

I don't know a lot about what it takes to format this forum or the legalities of the appearance of endorsing things, like a list of Celiac savvy docs.

I think part of the charm of this forum is that people try to help each other. You can get impersonal lists of symptoms, what not to eat, explanation of the disease on many websites.

[IrishHeart]

I think part of the charm of this forum is that people try to help each other.

Yes....Charming, compassionate and often, life-saving. It's where I came to read and learn and all the pieces of the puzzle that I was came together.