Tweetie Pie

I think it's because TA is a much more international site, with most of it's members being from the USA. There are a few members on HT who live abroad ( and I'm one of them)but the majority are Uk residents and as such will give a review or ask a question more in line with what is important to the British. I do post at times on TA but have never advised anyone to look at HT as on the whole I find HT a much friendlier forum and wouldn't want to attract the negativity and often nastiness that I sometimes find on TA.

Judith

I tend to use TA only if I can't find the info/reviews I want here. And most of the time, I get what I need here.

I must say (and it's only a subjective impression) it does seem to me that HT is much quieter this year overall.

i use both here and TA, mainly on the costa brava forums, and regularly refer people from TA to here.
this site has much more information on coach holidays for example than TA and so i refer these people here.
it is also much better here for getting advice re complaints than TA and definitely better than moneysavingexpert where i am constantly amazed by how much wrong information is spouted by people. i have referred people from MSE to here as well for those reasons.
i don't find TA particularly unfriendly, certainly not on the forums i use, but some posts can be viewed that way particularly when english is not the posters first language-and TA is much more international than here.

i've been saying ht has gone quieter for a while now, could be many reasons why. i still come on here everyday for a look whats going on i go on ta as well. ta is very good for getting up to date reviews
one thing i don't agree with fully is how most people think it is very friendly on here, most members are nice and helpful but some jump on you like a ton of bricks, i.e if your new and ask a question which the member thinks everyone should know the answer to already.
just my opinion.
regards tracey

.....sometimes it's for their own good - sometimes it's the only way to protect our sanity!

if someone comes on and says they feel they are being cheated by a T&C, I wouldn't expect them to know about things like The Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations - but if they say they never bothered to read the T&Cs, they just ticked the box and now want us to find them and tell them what's hidden there then my reply might be a bit sharp!

And don't forget whilst TA might be a bit softer it's reviews do have a bit of a reputuation for not being completely accurate.

It's been said before and it's still in force. No-one can post a review on our site from the country where the accommodation is situated, the post is removed and a comment left. Also TA initially set out as an accommodation link provider.

trasjohno wrote:

one thing i don't agree with fully is how most people think it is very friendly on here, most members are nice and helpful but some jump on you like a ton of bricks, i.e if your new and ask a question which the member thinks everyone should know the answer to already.

Tracey please let either myself or one of the mods know if you feel you are unhappy with a response to any of your posts.

I have been a member of HT for six years and have posted from time to time. I must admit I don't post as much as I used to, I think that all the questions I have had over the years have been answered and as I tend to go to the same places on holiday I don't need to ask again!!

I still visit HT most days and although I do visit TA, I much prefer HT's forums and I have never had a duff answer to my queries!!

I will carry on visiting HT and if I have a query in the future I will know where to come

The majority of peo0ple will have already booked their break for this summer, and will have had the answers to many of their questions. They won't post again, until they need more information.

I find generally people on here are so so helpful, there are some real experts on here and its where I come first for info.

Mine are getting booked later now and my years here have taught me all or at least much of what I need to know , making me more confident in making a quickish decision .

I think that all the questions I have had over the years have been answered and as I tend to go to the same places on holiday I don't need to ask again!!

Perhaps the answer is connected with the above. I'm not getting at any of the people who posted the above comments because as one of the other 'regulars' I know that you all have posted answers to others questions too but it did make me think. If there are a lot people who only come on here to ask questions and don't stick around or re-visit to see if they might have the answers to others' queries then the board is only going to be busy as those who do reply to posts make it. And connected with Steve8482's post, if it's the same diehard regulars who end up answering most of the questions - especially if they have answered the same question a number of times before - then perhaps it's inevitable that boredom will set in on their part.

I'll be one of the first to fess up that there have been times when I have not taken the time to answer a question on the grounds that I have either already posted a long answer that took some time to prepare in the past and a little searching on the board by the poster would have found it. And/or, I've thought 'Surely I can't be the only person here who knows the answer?' and I then wait and see if someone else posts but they don't and I wonder why not? In both cases I will usually get around to posting an answer but it can get wearying at times and I admit that there are times when I only join in when I either think that I have something in particular to contribute that other's mightn't (eg about Cuba) or when I'm bored and have nothing better to do when it comes to some of the more general discussions.

It's probably not a question that anybody can answer but I wonder how many people there have been who post their question and once they have the information don't bother coming back until they have another? If everybody did that there'd be nobody here to read and answer their query would there

SM

thanks glynis
i didn't mean myself personally, but i have seen some new members posts in the past be ridiculed because the member replying thinks they should already know the answer.
maybe this is one of the reasons the site is quiet because some new members are scared off.

Hi Tracy - See the attached thread that was started a while back - on exactly the point you raised

http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=45&t=150325&start=0

We can spend many hours thinking of why people are not visiting as often. Reading the posts on this topic I think we have already mentioned a few, but might I suggest one or two others.

First we have a reference to Facebook. I am a member there but all my information is restricted as I only use it to share with my family. I personally find it rather banal. Reading comments here and on other forums about it I have no wish to change my settings. Last year I found some pictures posted of me from an event and I had them removed. TA and the other travel sites are useful when researching but as others have said HT is always my first port of call.
The fact that some of our former regular members do not post can be summed up very easily. They have lost patience.
I do know as I have done the same at times, members have spent many hours researching answers to problems posted only for very insulting comments to be posted by the OPs. Why bother if that is the response you are going to get? Except for a small few, none of us claim to be experts, but we do have specialist knowledge in some areas and utilise those skills in trying to help.
Just occasionally some of those we help do come back and say thanks. Some even stick around and try to help but if the ignorant few who insist on rejecting help/advice and accuse us of being friends of the TOs then why bother?
One other point to consider is that the internet has grown, so not only are there other places to research but people are no longer polite. Posters do not ask they demand. They don't say please or thank you. They think it is their right to act in the way they do.
The one thing that keeps me loyal to HT is that the vast majority of people who post on here are nice friendly people - I suppose we will just have to put up with the few that come on who are not.

fwh

so not only are there other places to research but people are no longer polite. Posters do not ask they demand. They don't say please or thank you.

When I start looking for my next holiday, I might have a list of 3 or 4 different countries, apart from various resorts. I will ask for information in several threads, before I eventually decide on a destination. I will always try to respond to any answers I receive, even if it's just to thank people for taking the time to reply to my post. Politeness costs nothing

then perhaps it's inevitable that boredom will set in on their part.

I'd say there is probably a bit of truth in that for me . Of course I still visit everyday and over the last few years there havnt been many instances where I have needed advice but I have always enjoyed putting my two penneth in on any topic where I could help or give an opinion. In short there was a time when I couldnt keep my gob shut

I wouldnt say I've lost patience , those that dont say thank you or acknowledge an answer have always just been a minor irritation for me . The friendliness, helpfulness , laughter and bonds made over the years far outweigh that aspect for me But now I find myself reading a topic but if there are already answers I am more frequently finding that I dont bother adding my bit any more or as SMa says I wait for someone else to . Why ?? . Probably because the forums are quiet and in all honesty are becoming a little boring and have lost their spark as old faces slowly disappear .

I think one of the main things I find is that I or anyone else posts a question and because that question got asked in 2006 or something then I get a link to where the question is and my post closed. I then find if I want an answer to my question I have to go through 50 pages to find the answer.

Sometimes we just want a quick answer to a question in General Discussion that 99% of people will look at and if one of the 99% know the answer then they will post. BUT If my question is Moved then how many of that 99% will see it? I don't visit every section of the forum every single day so a question I may know the answer to I may not even realise the question is there at all!

Now I know that if I ask in the Tenerife forum (main section) about a restaurant, if someone knows the answer, they will post! If that question gets moved to the Eating out section then I don't think many people will even see the question!

I am very active on TA, but that's mostly because of the type of questions. Many more travellers want help with an itinerary (for Greece), info about transport, the sites, accommodation etc. which is where I can help.
Whenever there is anything on here to answer I will do, but on the whole there is very little as the majority are doing package &/or one destination holidays. Just 2 totally different kinds of forum, you can't compare. I did put a few posts on here with detail & with the lack of response I soon realised it wasn't what people wanted & this was much more about AI, package, sun & beach holidays.
I do find some of the questions & discussions on here are so outside of anything I would think about or consider important enough to ask a question, mainly because none of those things have featured, or mattered, to me in the last 25+ yrs, so I'm unlikely to change now!

It's probably not a question that anybody can answer but I wonder how many people there have been who post their question and once they have the information don't bother coming back until they have another? If everybody did that there'd be nobody here to read and answer their query would there

The above quote has always been the reason which keeps me motivated and loyal to this site....if nobody writes, then the forum will die and those wanting information will get none.
In the past when I've been particularly interested and active, I have been accused of 'taking over a particular forum', so I've thought 'fine, let someone else answer the question, let someone else go look for the information because I'm not on this earth to waste my time and be accused of something when all I'm trying to do is help a faceless stranger' and I've sat here and seen a question sat on the board for days/weeks with no replies, which I could answer with valid information.

Did those who accused me of 'taking over a particular forum" did they come forth with any information.?
Well the answer is No and now I hardly look in that forum and any information I have, I keep to myself.
It's a pity, I don't think TA is a threat or has ever been a threat to HT because it has no community and having a community is what I believed made HT different from all the other sites out there"¦or maybe I'm just an old fool.?.

Times change and Face Book might be attracting people for certain things, but it will never replace solid information from those who have actually been to the resort or stayed in the accommodation, and having the assurance that the real holiday makers come on HT.
Opinions may differ, but I refuse to live in a world full of sheeples and I've always believed that if you take something out, then you should give something back.

Some folks don't seem to think that way anymore.

Sanji

The above quote has always been the reason which keeps me motivated and loyal to this site....if nobody writes, then the forum will die and those wanting information will get none.

I agree entirely, which is why when things are quiet, I enjoy a banter about the lighter stuff like make up, Eurochic, beach towels e.t.c. I would never knowingly not acknowledge a reply I've had to any of my posts - it's just common courtesy as far as I'm concerned.

Opinions may differ, but I refuse to live in a world full of sheeples and I've always believed that if you take something out, then you should give something back.

Some folks don't seem to think that way anymore.

So True.

I stand by what I said - HT is the PREMIER SITE - The posts in this topic prove that. All the rest are poor copies.

fwh

I love HT and have been a member for a few years now and contributed a fair bit and had some really helpfull avice on various subjects, but I use TA a lot because they have a lot more ' locals' active on the forums than we do here on HT, which I find great for getting another perspective on a resort . I do agree with everyone though, that if you've given a piece of 'asked for' advice and the original poster doesn't bother to come back and aknowledge it, then maybe people get a bit disheartened ?