Do newbies get too much abuse?

We've all seen it...

Someone new to the niche joins a forum, starts asking questions without using the search, and it's a lot of newbie questions.

Then expert members come out and bash and abuse the newbie for not using the search because their question has been answered over and over again.

Here's the problem I see: If so, many newbies are not using the search, then maybe no one really thinks about or knows about that feature from the get-go. They could be enduring that abuse for no good reason at all.

Personally, I think newbies get abused too much for making the mistake of being new and not knowing forum etiquette. I think that very thing has helped decrease the popularity of forums.

What do you all think about this?

Personally, I think it's the moderators of the forum failing to put the so called expert or old members in their place. If they can't help a newbie get up to speed on how to use the forum, they should STFU!

Heatman said:

Personally, I think it's the moderators of the forum failing to put the so called expert or old members in their place. If they can't help a newbie get up to speed on how to use the forum, they should STFU!

Click to expand...

I agree with you.

I sometimes think forum owners are too afraid of angering their senior members when this stuff happens.

That makes me wonder who's in charge of the forum after all, right?

Heatman said:

Personally, I think it's the moderators of the forum failing to put the so called expert or old members in their place. If they can't help a newbie get up to speed on how to use the forum, they should STFU!

Click to expand...

This. The members nor experts run the show, the staff team run the show. If the members can't help the newbies out, then they can hit the door. Newbies are the key to keep the success of a forum going in the long term and short term. We all were newbies at one point. It destroys the entire reputation of a forum from the ground up if there isn't any positivity around.

Either you stop them in the tracks and they'll run around you all the time. Those members don't run anything, the staff do.

Shawn Gossman said:

I agree with you.

I sometimes think forum owners are too afraid of angering their senior members when this stuff happens.

That makes me wonder who's in charge of the forum after all, right?

Click to expand...

Then they should put their foot down. You should never be afraid to lay down the rules and any member, whatsoever. Doesn't matter who they are. Rules are rules.

Shawn Gossman said:

I agree with you.

I sometimes think forum owners are too afraid of angering their senior members when this stuff happens.

That makes me wonder who's in charge of the forum after all, right?

Click to expand...

I had same experience on VGR few years back. It was clearly obvious the forum owner had just ceremonial power because his older member who's also a mod was stepping on a lot of people but he couldn't do anything about it.