# Mr Excel Etiquette



## Expiry (Mar 31, 2008)

There was a thread on here, recently, about some posters not thanking the contributors that solved their specific problem. This annoys me a little, but not as much as those posters that basically want you to do their job for them.

Instead of saying "Hi, I'm trying to do this, can you steer me in the right direction", there seems to be an increasing number of "I need to do this. Post the answer".

Has anyone else noticed this? 

I don't know if it's just something lost in translation from people that perhaps don't use English as a first language, or whether people are just ill-mannered.

Perhaps those of us (more you, than me) that help out others, should make a stance against impoliteness. Or forward their posts onto their mothers - see what they think!

Expiry.


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## SydneyGeek (Mar 31, 2008)

Yeah, it gets up the nose a bit. 

The people who help on this Board do it for free. Good manners are free too. 

I generally find that, if a particular poster is either rude, or wanting the whole solution on a platter, I'll look for other people to help instead. Better for my blood pressure that way. 

Denis


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## lenze (Mar 31, 2008)

I agree with Denis. I don't do projects on the board!! I did my share of those when I worked for the state. I also try to avoid homework questions.  I also tend to pass when someone asks a question that has been answered 100's of times on the board (Deleting Duplicates, Sheet name in cell, etc.) There is a search tool available. 
One thing that does get me, is when several answers have been given, and the OP post back "It worked" without saying which solution they used.

lenze


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## Domski (Mar 31, 2008)

Totally!!!

If I see a post that just is just a list of requirements along with a 'please do this for me' I generally just skip past, especially if it appears that the individual has made no effort.

I did reply to one a while ago asking for what amounted to a stock control system being developed with forms, security etc asking what progress they had made themselves and the answer I got was that they had no knowledge of Excel and didn't have the time to learn.

I think there should be a pop up when people sign up to the site stating that the people who post replies here do it out of there own good will and not because they get paid for it or have nothing better to do.

As Droopy would say "That maked me mad!"

Laters,

Dom


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## Greg Truby (Mar 31, 2008)

Like Lenze & Denis, I will usually just mouse right on by posts like that.  Other times, when the mood strikes, I'll pause for a moment and say "show me the work you have done on your own thus far".  Most times a spoonfeeder will follow behind me and give up the answer and that's fine.  Seldom makes the OP more independent; but I'm not gonna lose sleep over it.  And once in a while, the OP will surprise me and post back code they've done and show that they have indeed done some work.  In which case I'll usually help.

I also tend to use something of a sliding scale.  More patient with newbies. Expecting more self-reliance of members w/ a fair number of posts under their belts.  Admittedly this is purely subjective. 

For the record -- I don't think English being one's second language has any significant correlation w/ laziness.  I would posit that a better R<sup>2</sup> would be found using age for the independent variable.


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## Joe4 (Mar 31, 2008)

> Perhaps those of us (more you, than me) that help out others, should make a stance against impoliteness. Or forward their posts onto their mothers - see what they think!


The best thing to do is just ignore them.  And certainly don't take it upon yourselves to "correct" them.  Don't want to get caught playing "back seat Moderator".

I agree with Greg's approach, and subscribe to pretty much the same line of thought.


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## VoG (Mar 31, 2008)

Yes some people are rude and don't bother to respond and I just make a mental note to ignore them in future. I also hate the 'it worked' without saying what worked.

I tend to ignore threads asking for help on massive projects. But what really gets my goat is posters who ask a 'little' question, get a reply, ask another 'little' question and it soon becomes obvious that they are expecting you to help with a big project. I found an old example of this http://www.mrexcel.com/forum/showthread.php?t=275785


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## TeacherEric (Mar 31, 2008)

Most of the time when I come to this forum it's just to read and learn what people have asked, and what the Masters have written for the answers.

I do understand your frustrations with posters not being polite, it's annoying even to me, and I'm not the one helping.

I will admit that I've created a project and needed help with steps, and by the time I log on to this board, I'm so frustrated from reading and searching that I just jump on the board and post my problem because I know the code or whatever I'm doing just doesn't work.

I made one post not to long ago, I thought I just had some formula wrong, but it turns out I needed to use VB to fix my problem.  I was absolutely dumbfounded by how ignorant I am with Excel, I had no clue what I really needed to do.

I do my Excel projects because I enjoy the challenge, and a couple times because my boss asks me to do something and I can usually get it done, sometimes with your gracious help.

Being a high school (secondary) teacher, I know the feeling of no internal reward due to certain individuals - not knowing if you helped, or has your efforts been in vein?.  However, to my students credit, they are children, not working professionals.

Giving selflessly the way you do, the reward comes from within when you know you've helped someone, but it sure helps to read a praise for your deed.

Thank you for your continued support of my ignorance    I hope to someday give a little back.  Till then, I do what I know is best, keep quiet, read, and let the Excel experts enjoy their hobby of helping others.

Teacher Eric


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## lenze (Mar 31, 2008)

Teacher Eric:
As a teacher, you might find <a Href="http://www.mrexcel.com/sunshop/index.php?action=item&substart=0&id=90">this</a> interesting.

lenze


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## Russ At Index (Mar 31, 2008)

Evening All ,

Just about everyone who has contributed to this thread has
in some way helped me in my ever challenging quest with XL.

Be it as a response to one of my threads , or whilst searching
for the solution , you have , as we all do , taken the time to 
assist whenever & wherever possible.

Thank you all !

My Mother , School Head & various other "Grown Ups" would always
say:

Manners Maketh Man.( Not meant to be NON PC ! )

Perhaps in this ever evolving world of technology we 
are forgetting the basics , as mentioned in this thread , manners are free !

Just off to remind my daughter to say Thank You to Mummy for a nice supper !!

Russ


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## wraith972 (Mar 31, 2008)

Folks, I know that I did that today and don't really like it much. It made me feel even more guilty when I read this post. Kind of along the lines of what Russ says, I know I get so frustrated because when I think I've got something from the boards that I thought I could use to help me with my problem and then find out I was missing another element. It's easy to just post "your" problem. 

I spend hours and hours trying to figure something out first and have learned so much from all of you and your generous help. I hope I always say thank you and in a way I'm saying it again. Reading this will make sure I approach all of this from your point of view as well as mine in the future.


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## starl (Mar 31, 2008)

When an OP doesn't say thank you or acknowledge the help  - I'm in agreement, that's just rude.
But, there are people who contact the consult address and we send them to the board for assistance. These may be people who do not know Excel! Who have no idea where to start looking for an answer. The purpose of the board is to help anyone, no matter their skill level, with Excel. Tho, I don't think we expect people to post entire projects here!! When I send someone here, it's usually for a question I know is simple, but I do not have the time to answer it (or the follow ups). I do not purposefully send someone here when their question is clearly a project. When you see such questions, feel free to *politely* explain that what they're asking is quite involved and they may be better served requesting a quote from MrExcel (there's a link to consulting at the bottom of each page). Not that I'm looking for more work! But it may help someone who doesn't realize the purpose of this board.. someone may actually think this is a "free for whatever you may need" board.. just as some think that the work done through the consulting side of the site is free... (yes, some actually think everything we do is free...but we need to pay for this board somehow!)


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## Greg Truby (Mar 31, 2008)

And, of course, I've done the opposite. If I see that the OP's request is in the nature of a large project and they do not appear to have the time or Excel know-how to pull off what they describe; especially if they appear to need it right away, then I will post a link to the consulting page and tell 'em to ask for Tracy! :wink:


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## lenze (Mar 31, 2008)

> then I will post a link to the consulting page and tell 'em to ask for Tracy!


Anything you can do to get her out of the stables

lenze


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## starl (Mar 31, 2008)

Greg Truby said:


> And, of course, I've done the opposite. If I see that the OP's request is in the nature of a large project and they do not appear to have the time or Excel know-how to pull off what they describe; especially if they appear to need it right away, then I will post a link to the consulting page and tell 'em to ask for Tracy! :wink:



That might explain why I've been working almost 24x7
I haven't had a weekend off since last spring..seriously. And with a foal coming mid-May.. I don't know what I'm going to do...


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