A talk with my cousin in Denver made me stop giving advice on this forum

We were having coffee and he told me, 'You know, when you just answer a question without asking why they need it, you might be giving them the wrong tool for the job.' He was talking about a time he asked online for a quick fix for a leak and got told to use epoxy, but the real problem was a cracked pipe behind the wall. It hit different because I realized I do that here all the time, just giving a direct answer. Has anyone else had a moment where they changed how they post replies?

3 comments

3 Comments

lucasw821mo ago

My uncle in Phoenix once gave me a socket wrench for a stripped bolt. I finally asked him why he kept giving me tools that didn't fit, and he said he just liked giving answers. That story made me slow down and ask more questions before I type a reply. How do you catch yourself before posting too fast?

umar5929d agoMost Upvoted

Totally agree with what you're getting at @lucasw82, that story hits hard. I catch myself by literally walking away from my phone for a minute before I hit reply, especially if I feel really fired up about something. It's crazy how many times I've typed a whole response, realized it didn't really answer the question, and just deleted it. Your uncle's story reminds me that sometimes the best reply is the one I don't post, lol.

williamb291mo ago

Sometimes a fast reply is the right tool, @lucasw82, so don't overthink every post.