The Golden Rule

[naildoctor]

Dearest Geeks,
I've only been a member of this community for a short while and have found SO much support from a lot of wonderful people. But I've also noticed something else. While searching threads and reading comments, a few geeks have been rather unkind to newbies looking for information. They've asked questions like, "Where were you trained so that we can understand what kind of people are coming into this industry?". And I hate to say it, but the ones that begin with"Not to be rude" or " Not wishing to be argumentative" usually turn out to be just that. So, what do you think??

 

[Mrs.Clooney]

Often questions like 'Where did you train?' or 'how long have you been doing nails?' etc.... is because people don't fill in their profiles well enough for geeks to be able to offer the right help or point them in the right direction.

I have seen it so many times. eg. a question like, 'why are my clients enhancements constantly lifting?'

On checking their profiles you find that nothing except name, sex and location are filled in. It helps to know how long they have been in the industry as lack of experience and incorrect prep may be the cause of the lifting. It also helps to know if they were trained on a one day course, home learn or reputable training establishment as this shows the support they were likely to have been given. Some wannabe techs purchase their nail kits from Argos with no training!!

The above is just an example, but do you see where I am coming from?

 

[Bebeautiful]

Hi naildoctor, I found that some geeks are unfair to newbies as well as those who have been here for a little while. IMO, this site is supposed to help anyone who comes across it without bring told off or accused of something that was not intensional, I have had this nasty experience and it isn't nice it is very offputting, so please geeks be mindful of other geeks and give us all a chance. :hug::hug:

 

[naildoctor]

I do see where you are coming from. However, some of the replies can come off as unkind. We are on here to try and help one another and learn while we're at it. Its not what you say, its how you say it!:green:I do understand that there are people who post in the wrong place, too. Perhaps they should be in consumer queries instead of the professional forums. But my whole point in starting this thread is to understand why people respond the way they do-so thanks for helping me to understand your point of view.
I think when some people are on the internet, they feel anonymous-like they can say anything without it being personal!:irked:

 

[Bebeautiful]

Hi Mrs Clooney,
I see where you are coming from but I think the real issue here the way some geeks ask certain questions without giving it a second thought as to how the recipient will understand the question, also some geeks have had personal messages that other geeks may not get access to. :hug:

 

[hippy-chick]

another thing is that newbies haven't read the Geek Commandments so ask questions in the wrong categories

you have public asking advice on a professional forum on what hairstyle would suit them,

also, their is a search button to check that the question hasn't already been asked before.

I'll give you an example:

someone will come on and ask what skin range should they use, if they had looked in the search engine first, they would find that this subject has been discussed on numerous occassions, and will have about 15 threads devoted to that subject.
Hence we feel a little jaded.

As Mrs C has already said, if the profile isn't filled in sufficiently, we don't know if the question is being asked by a professional TO a professional, OR if its a member of the public wanting advice.

You also get people joining and getting a little bit carried away with past topics and dredging them up, we check the date of the last posting and sometimes its from 2005.

I've been a member for about 9 months now, and its best to keep in the background whilst you get your bearings before opening old posts willy-nilly and doing your research before posting a new topic.

You will also note, that their is a warm and welcoming atmosphere to the forum, and we are happy to help anyone out, as long as they abide by the geek rules.

another thing that we get on this forum is newbies wanting us to do their homework for them. Now, I know myself (being a tutor) that sometimes a course question can be interpreted in many ways, so it is fine to ask for clarification, and some very established geeks have asked for this, but when you get someone coming on, stating the question and waiting for the answers to roll in, when the question is extremely basic and they would have found the answer in their course notes, or in a good reference book that their lecturer has no doubt recommended to them, then we can also feel a little jaded by that.

Coupled with members of the public buying items for department stores and asking professional advice on how to use substandard products that, or worse than that, public suggesting that they have watched a nail tech do nails twice, and are setting themselves up as nail techs, then it can be diffcult to remain warm, welcoming and give advice.

hth

 

[suzie49]

another thing is that newbies haven't read the Geek Commandments so ask questions in the wrong categories

you have public asking advice on a professional forum on what hairstyle would suit them,

also, their is a search button to check that the question hasn't already been asked before.

I'll give you an example:

someone will come on and ask what skin range should they use, if they had looked in the search engine first, they would find that this subject has been discussed on numerous occasions, and will have about 15 threads devoted to that subject.
Hence we feel a little jaded.

As Mrs C has already said, if the profile isn't filled in sufficiently, we don't know if the question is being asked by a professional TO a professional, OR if its a member of the public wanting advice.

You also get people joining and getting a little bit carried away with past topics and dredging them up, we check the date of the last posting and sometimes its from 2005.

I've been a member for about 9 months now, and its best to keep in the background whilst you get your bearings before opening old posts willy-nilly and doing your research before posting a new topic.

You will also note, that their is a warm and welcoming atmosphere to the forum, and we are happy to help anyone out, as long as they abide by the geek rules.

another thing that we get on this forum is newbies wanting us to do their homework for them. Now, I know myself (being a tutor) that sometimes a course question can be interpreted in many ways, so it is fine to ask for clarification, and some very established geeks have asked for this, but when you get someone coming on, stating the question and waiting for the answers to roll in, when the question is extremely basic and they would have found the answer in their course notes, or in a good reference book that their lecturer has no doubt recommended to them, then we can also feel a little jaded by that.

Coupled with members of the public buying items for department stores and asking professional advice on how to use substandard products that, or worse than that, public suggesting that they have watched a nail tech do nails twice, and are setting themselves up as nail techs, then it can be diffcult to remain warm, welcoming and give advice.

hth

You beat me to it, I agree with everything thats said here.
And when I first joined I was that person who bought a set off ebay and thought I could 'DO NAILS' my own only admittedly, and came on here for advice, quite rightly i was told to go get trained, before I do any damage to my nails..and as was rightly pointed out ..why should they go out and spend ££££££ on training and give away free. :hug:

 

[JANEY K]

Hi Naildoc

I have only been a full member of the site for 4 months now and i understand what you mean...i haven't had this experience of nastiness myself but i do put my hand up that i have said the words"not to be rude" a few occassions( i'm to honest for my own good at times) but i have to say it is that i'm on the line of thinking the same as mrs clooney ,

Quite often the questions like "Where did you train?" or "how long have you been doing nails,beauty therapy etc is really because people don't fill in their profiles properly or don't fill them in at all for us all to be able to offer the right help or point them in the right direction.I have seen it many times recently with threads to the effect of "why is my clients gel enhancements popping off" and you don't see what systems they are trained in....this information is obviously important especially if you have long term nail techs using the same systems can be able to help you as much as possible.

however on checking their profiles you do find that nothing except their name, sex and location are filled in.when i registered i filled out everything in my profile(except my guild numbers as i feel they are not relevent) It helps to know how long they have been in the industry. It also helps to know if they were trained on these one day courses or home learning course or reputable training establishment such as college or the other respected\reputable nail centres as this shows the support they were likely to have been given.

Others are logging on asking for "help please help" and turn out to be "wannabe" nail techs who have purchased their nail kits from Argos or an unauthorised distributor with no training whatsoever are on a professional site for professionally trained people like you,me and everyone else..we feel our professional advice and training we have worked hard for is abused and off course we are going to feel a bit jaded about it. On the whole it is also noted, that while i have been on this site there is a warm and welcoming atmosphere to the forum for new geeks, and we are always happy to help anyone out.

There is also the FAQ link and that is important on the geeksite ,it's the rules and regulations of the site ..so as long as people abide by the geek rules we are a happy bunch.

do you see where i am coming from?

 

[Mrs.Clooney]

I agree that very occasionally some posts are downright nasty and it is call being a troll. However, the written word is very different to the spoken word. When speaking you can hear intonation and emphasis on words and whether they are said harshly or gently or with humour.

The use of the smileys eg.:hug: or :wink2: can mean the difference between something being interperated as kind or offensive.

In the past a couple of my posts have been interperated as harsh when they were definitely not meant this way at all :cry:.

We are a very large community on this site and as with all communities you will always get a mix of characters, opinions and attitudes. Some good and sadly some not so good. The mods do their best to deal with any problems and often other geeks will offer support to another geek if they feel a unwarrented comment or downright nastiness has been dished out. I don't think it happens often though.

 

[Jen Smith]

Bare in mind folks that the written word can be misconstrued... and sometimes taken out of context of the posters intention.

On the whole this site is extremely helpful and welcomes new technicians from the whole beauty industry and as a rule we all rub along very nicely

Happy Geeking!! :hug:

 

[Scoobydoo2]

I'm really glad I've read this thread as I have been a member for about 10 months but never really been taken seriously. I guess that is because I have not filled in my profile, I have been a beauty therapist, clinical aromatherapist and beauty editor in total spent nearly 30 years in the industry but just don't understand much about computors so thought OOH don't get that and skipped it. Perhaps I should fill it in fr a little credibility eh?

 

[Mrs.Clooney]

I'm really glad I've read this thread as I have been a member for about 10 months but never really been taken seriously. I guess that is because I have not filled in my profile, I have been a beauty therapist, clinical aromatherapist and beauty editor in total spent nearly 30 years in the industry but just don't understand much about computors so thought OOH don't get that and skipped it. Perhaps I should fill it in fr a little credibility eh?

It is ok to not understand technical stuff like computers. Neither do I :green:. I've learned more about computers on this site in a few years than anywhere else in a lifetime due to helpful geeks.

If you struggle to understand or know how to do stuff on Salon Geek, then post your query in the forums for site stuff. Geeks are always happy to help :hug:.

Sometimes it might take a day or two for a reply so remember that geeks are busy during the week or socializing on weekends. Happy Geeking :green: x

 

[naildoctor]

Dearest Geeks,
I've only been a member of this community for a short while and have found SO much support from a lot of wonderful people. But I've also noticed something else. While searching threads and reading comments, a few geeks have been rather unkind to newbies looking for information. They've asked questions like, "Where were you trained so that we can understand what kind of people are coming into this industry?". And I hate to say it, but the ones that begin with"Not to be rude" or " Not wishing to be argumentative" usually turn out to be just that. So, what do you think??

Thanks to all for responding. But I do have to clear one thing up. The quote about "Where were you trained" wasn't really about that part, it was the "so that we can understand what kind of people are coming into this industry". Thats what I found to be demeaning. :irked:

 

[1999judy]

Thanks to all for responding. But I do have to clear one thing up. The quote about "Where were you trained" wasn't really about that part, it was the "so that we can understand what kind of people are coming into this industry". Thats what I found to be demeaning. :irked:

So what is "the golden rule" exactly??
You think we should be offering advice to techs who don't pay insurance or have little or NO training?? And aren't really bothered about getting any?
Or...should we just answer college students questions so that they can get through exams without revision?
I think we are the most helpful people here but at times I feel like we are being taken advantage of somewhat....to say the least.
Fill in your profile...let us know who and where you are in your career??
We are always as helpful as can be hun x

 

[naildoctor]

So what is "the golden rule" exactly??
You think we should be offering advice to techs who don't pay insurance or have little or NO training?? And aren't really bothered about getting any?
Or...should we just answer college students questions so that they can get through exams without revision?
I think we are the most helpful people here but at times I feel like we are being taken advantage of somewhat....to say the least.
Fill in your profile...let us know who and where you are in your career??
We are always as helpful as can be hun x

The golden rule is to treat others as you would like to be treated. I believe that is also geek commandment #5. This isn't about offering help to uninsured people w/ no training, not in the least. So I'm sorry if thats what you thought this thread was about.

 

[1999judy]

The golden rule is to treat others as you would like to be treated. I believe that is also geek commandment #5. This isn't about offering help to uninsured people w/ no training, not in the least. So I'm sorry if thats what you thought this thread was about.

This is geek commandment no 5

5 - Reply to others how you would like them to reply to you.

This is possibly THE most important of all commandments here. I have a low tolerance for members who show disrespect to others (even if the disrespect is somehow warranted). Rude and thoughtless posts are the fastest way to make you look like a right ass in front of the world. Its also a quick way to find yourself on the wrong side of a ban with a shed load of negative reputation points. If you can't say it nicely, don't say it at all.
​

Is this what you mean hun?

 

[naildoctor]

This is geek commandment no 5

5 - Reply to others how you would like them to reply to you.

This is possibly THE most important of all commandments here. I have a low tolerance for members who show disrespect to others (even if the disrespect is somehow warranted). Rude and thoughtless posts are the fastest way to make you look like a right ass in front of the world. Its also a quick way to find yourself on the wrong side of a ban with a shed load of negative reputation points. If you can't say it nicely, don't say it at all.
​

Is this what you mean hun?

Absolutely!!:green:

 

[1999judy]

OK....not been around as much as usual lately but hope this just means that people are asking about training etc and it's coming over in a blunt way??
Sometimes a or a :hug: can make a hell of a difference when asking a question, as has been said before.
When posting on a forum you soon start to understand who means well but maybe doesn't do it with hearts and flowers and some may just be blunt.
Hope it doesn't put you off hun x

 

[naildoctor]

It doesn't put me off, I just hate seeing others treated this way and know for a fact that many have stopped "geeking" because of how others have treated them. I am pretty tough, but just have a soft spot for the mistreated.:wink2:

 

[The Geek]

Frankly, there just isn't a need to request more information on someones background (or similar) unless it would be directly relevant to answering the question.

When you respond to a thread, you are actually responding to possibly tens of thousands of people over the years that your post will exist for. Therefore answer as if you are answering on stage to an audience of tens of thousands of people.

If someone is having problems with lifting, does it matter if it is a veteran of 20 years or someone who is on day 1 of their course? Does it really matter if someone filled in their profile or not? Why feel like we have to be the 'keepers of knowledge' that people must 'qualify' to receive before we bestow the answer upon them? Considering that any nut can put virtually any thing into their profile, why make that a quantifying factor of answering a question?

On the flip side, some people are just too freaking sensitive and misconstrue posts, get all heated about really silly stuff like user titles, huff and puff, and complain about the negative experience. Whelp... crap happens. If you let an anonymous 'someone' on a web site post something that 'gets you down', you need to learn to stop giving people so much emotional control over you

FWIW, I have zero tolerance for people who are rude, abrupt, arrogant or short in their posts.

Love to all from Sunny California