# Wasting



## crossles (Jun 21, 2007)

ok, im wasting my time on this board. over the corse of a week it hasnt helped. Ive experienced bad attitude and yet although 1 or 2 people have made the effort to try and help, for a board with as many members as this one focusing on Excel assistance, theres barely anyone willing to try and help. 

Im not an MCP but i notice theres a few on this board. shame they cant share what they know though. Why are they here?


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## Aladin Akyurek (Jun 21, 2007)

> ok, im wasting my time on this board. over the corse of a week it hasnt helped. Ive experienced bad attitude and yet although 1 or 2 people have made the effort to try and help, for a board with as many members as this one focusing on Excel assistance, theres barely anyone willing to try and help.
> 
> Im not an MCP but i notice theres a few on this board. shame they cant share what they know though. Why are they here?



There was at least one "MCP" that tried to help you... Are you sure you considered the help in a cooperative manner?


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## Hermanito (Jun 21, 2007)

Well, just for being sure, I checked your complete posthistory... and to be honest: the only 'attitude' I read, came from you! You barely provide enough information in your questions, when it is not answered soon enough you already complain, when additional info is requested by other users, you complain... 
If anyone is wasting time, it would be this board on you...  :x 

I'm 100% sure there are many people here, all volunteers, who gladly put their own time in helping others, but I guess it's never enough for some...
Are you somehow entitled to be helped here? If you receive no answers, there's probably a good reason for that, and that is not because 'the mcp's on the board can't share' !!
I suggest you try to reformulate your questions, try to provide some sample data to clarify the problem(s) and you'd have more chance of getting an answer... the board offers no guaranteed answers though...


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## crossles (Jun 21, 2007)

I dont feel im entitled for help, but thats what this board is set up for. I put a bit of faith in my time that maybe something good may come of it. Thats why im here.

As for my bad attitude its responsive. The reason i dont provide data is because the data itself is completely irrelivent to the query. the instance you are referring to, the data was usernames for my company domain. You want an example? "1x-9GH" and erm..... what has that got to do with the question in hand? Nothing.

Point is, i blanked out the data for corporate purposes. If you realy want it to look nice, then fill it in yourself, and whilst your at it, print it off and give it to the kids with some crayola, maybe they'll make it pretty for you. 

On the other hand i dont give a hoot if its pretty or not, as long as it performs. The username itself isn't required in order to achieve the effects I am after.


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## crossles (Jun 21, 2007)

By the way as i said, 





> 1 or 2 people have made the effort to try and help


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## Hermanito (Jun 21, 2007)

I quote (and agree) from Jon Peltier's answer you are referring to:


> You've blanked out so much that I have no idea what the plot is supposed to be showing.


It was impossible to see any correlation between the graph and the data and you expected someone to give an answer??
For reference, I'm talking about http://www.mrexcel.com/board2/viewtopic.php?t=14341&postdays=0&postorder=asc&&start=10
bottom of the page... 
I'm pretty sure noone can make any sense from that screenshot, only you, because you know what's behind it...


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## crossles (Jun 22, 2007)

erm..... well if u look 2 posts above the one u just made, ull see an example of the data I used. Username: "1x-9GH"

you see i think i just pin pointed the problem with this forum. nobody bothers to read the posts between the first and last, meaning ur own conclusions are drawn that it doesnt make sence, but if u actualy read through it, you'd know differently. 


What amazes me, is ive had more replies to this non-excel problem related post than i have to any of the problems i've been having. 

What can i say to that? im simply stunned.


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## litrelord (Jun 22, 2007)

We have a lot of regulars here who spend a significant amount of time helping people. If you criticise the way this help is given you have to expect others to defend it. 

The vast majority of people who come here ask for help and get the response they’re after quickly and accurately then go away happy. They usually come back again and again and become part of the community. Every so often someone has other ideas about the way help is given and would rather go somewhere else for help. That’s fine as well. No-one will hold a grudge if you decide not to return, that’s your own choice. Of course we’d be more than happy if you decided to stay, would no doubt welcome any suggestions on how you think the board could be improved as well; so long as they were put in a diplomatic and non-aggressive manner rather than open criticism with no possible solution. 

It may be worth bearing in mind that a lot of people on this site are also members, moderators or admins at most (if not all) of the other best excel/office related sites out there and you’ll likely get the same response anywhere else if you posted in the manner you have so far. The excel community isn’t huge and the people who have tried to help you here are some of the best in the world at what they do. I’m not saying you need to kneel at their feet – just maybe show a little more respect to people who are highly talented and willing to help you for free.


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## Lewiy (Jun 22, 2007)

You may want to have a read through this thread:
http://www.mrexcel.com/board2/viewtopic.php?t=272087
Hopefully it will give you some idea of the reason why posts don’t get answered.  I have not read through your post history, but it could just be down to bad timing.

I must say that I have found this board to be more than helpful on many occasions and the community is very friendly by nature.  I’m always sad to hear of people who have had a bad experience.  Again (having not read your posts yet) I think the key to getting a good answer is by asking a well thought out, constructed question.  Also you may find that whilst you believe certain things to be irrelevant to a question, it may well be beneficial information to someone trying to help because it will help them to understand what you are actually trying to achieve.


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## TinaP (Jun 22, 2007)

The point is this is a voluntary source for information.  You voluntarily join and you can voluntarily leave.  Those offering help are doing so voluntarily.  If someone needs more information in order to help you, you may give them the info or you may not.  The help you get is limited by your refusal.  If you really want help, you would give information.  

My question is, why didn't you just make something up.  You're right, we don't need to know who works in your department, so put in fake names.  Don't argue with someone who wants to help you.


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## erik.van.geit (Jun 22, 2007)

crossles,

It's always sensitive to talk about poeples behaviour. We cannot change each other, but we can try to understand each other. We can share our opinions. *The way we share opinions is most important to my sense. *I feel almost personnaly attacked by your first post in this thread. That's what I honestly *feel*.

Is this what you were talking about?
http://www.mrexcel.com/board2/viewtopic.php?t=14341&postdays=0&postorder=asc&&start=16

You were lucky to get Jon Peltier - a real graphics expert - online. If he tells you that he can not help with the information you provided, you can only accept that, since you are the one who needs help. Do you really think that someone would write "it is not clear to me" while it would be??

kind regards,
Erik


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## Mark O'Brien (Jun 22, 2007)

Come on everbody.  Let's make it right!  Crossles has maybe made one ill-worded response to Jon Peltier, then mistakenly started this thread to vent and had at least one ****ty response to a genuine question.

(S)he has obviously had a tough week trying to get some problems solved and may not be particuarly used to describing their problems in a sufficient manner such that people can help.  Of course, looking at some of the posts for help, the requests could require quite lengthy responses that will require patience on both the part of Crossles and the person providing the solution.  Let's all just join hands and make it right.  Let's try and help Crossles.

http://www.ozgrid.com/forum/


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## ExcelChampion (Jun 22, 2007)

The fact that Jon Peltier, who is THE authority on Excel charts, had trouble understanding the OPs request probably means that the OP is out of luck.  If Jon couldn't make heads or tails out of it, I doubt anyone else could.

Crossles, you were pretty lucky to have Mr. Peltier respond to your post and you probably burned the only bridge that could definitively have helped.  I would suggest apologizing for being a wee-bit crass in your responses so that everyone can get back to solving your Excel issue.

If you don't receive the help you need, perhaps you can help yourself by visiting Jon Peltier's Excel Charting website:-
http://peltiertech.com/Excel/Charts/index.html


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## Greg Truby (Jun 22, 2007)

oh stop, stop... wipes tear from eye to see screen...

Lemme get this straight... dude posts an Excel chart question in a forum and actually has one of the top five Excel chart guys on the entire planet actually stop by his thread and offer to help and the dude _"dis's"_ him?! WOW!!! That's funny!  

If you posted a question on a political discussions forum and George Will or Fareed Zakaria stopped by your thread and asked for clarification of your question would you react the same way?  'cause, lad, Jon P. is to Excel Charts what them boys are to politics & history.  Very, very, very well informed.

And then, then, he sulks into the lounge to bemoan the fact that the rest of the board - all stunned silent by *anyone* dissin' Peltier - is not jumpin' at the chance to help him.   

For an encore, wanna post a SUMPRODUCT() question; get a response from Aladin, and then tell him to get stuffed?


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## RichardS (Jun 24, 2007)

> ... wanna post a SUMPRODUCT() question; get a response from Aladin, and then tell him to get stuffed?



Now that's funny.


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## Kevlarhead (Jun 25, 2007)

The reason you've had so little luck is simply because your original post was so opaque.  E.g.

"Column 1 
=IF(Anareg=DeskAddC,TEXT(Anais,"General"),NA()) 
Colunm 2 
=IF(AnaFCRV="",NA(),IF(Anareg=DeskAddC,VALUE(AnaFCRV),NA()))"

What's Anareg?  What's DeskAddC?  What's in Anais and why should the cell display it if Anareg = DeskAddC?  What's AnaFCRV?  What is its relationship with Anareg & DeskAddC?  What's the point of this graph in the first place?  Why are some cells blank "depending on user specification"?

Requests for you to provide more information weren't intended to be obtuse, they were simply because your post required more information to be answered effectively.  This could have been dummy data; XYZ, ABC.  Person1 to personN.  Anything that would have further defined the scope of the problem and made clear what your eventual aim was.

The reason you got no replies to your original post was because I assume everyone who looked at it couldn't begin to supply an answer, until Jon Peltier stepped up, and he failed because, although good with Excel charts, he ain't (as far as I know) psychic.


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## Legacy 68403 (Jun 28, 2007)

I don't think some of the things you have said in you post are acceptable. I know when I post anything in this forum I hope that someone will take the time to read my problem and spend their time trying to solve the problem using their knowledge.

I never post a problem thinking it must be solved I can only hope it will be because eveyone has to have hope.

I'm not an excel expert but when I get a chance I try to solve other problems that they have taken their time to share as it isn't fair that I can expect someone to help me if I havn't tried to help someone else.


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