Tell me what I should do.
By carpenter5
@carpenter5 (6782)
United States
November 21, 2009 11:56pm CST
This really frustrates me about mylot, and I was wondering what you do in this situation.
Last week, I was watching a movie in the late night hours. I was curious what others thought about a specific Hollywood actress, who has won several awards. So I ask mylotters about her...what they had thought about this specific movie, and what their favorite movie she'd filmed was.
I got several great responses. Then I got a response that was one line. "Never heard of her."
Now, if the guidelines here at mylot tell us to respond to those who leave an answer to our discussions...how am I supposed to respond to that? Do I ignore guidelines, and ignore that response?
There are many times that I get an email saying "Your friend shaun72 (Sorry friend, I'm using you as an example!) has started a discussion on mylot." Now, if Shawnee has asked us for the best way to cook spinach, I'm not going to reply because first of all, I hate spinach unless it's fresh and in a salad. You put it in water, and I'm not going to touch it. I don't even like the smell of cooked spinach. So I have no idea how to answer her question.
But I'm certainly not going to respond to the discussion with one sentence like "I hate cooked spinach."
I think it not only wastes Shawnee's time to come over to mylot, only to find that there's nothing to respond to. And if I'm not mistaken...am I not correct in saying that any response less than 3 lines doesn't give either party credit?
So in the future, do I just ignore them...or should I leave a message and ask them not to respond to something they don't know anything about? Those of you who know me at all know that I don't want to be mean to anyone. But I could use some advice.
5 people like this
11 responses
@lovelyn_medrano (3070)
• Philippines
22 Nov 09
Well personally carpenter5, I dont reply to topics that is not in my interest or if I have nothing more to say than yes or no blah blah blah... I don't think that is a "quality discussion" too. I sometimes get one line or two lines response to my discussions too but to be nice, I don't correct them by saying "you should not respond if you have nothing to say". I think that is a bit rude. Don't mind them at all, if you wished to reply to them, then do so. Anyway they spent some of their time reading your discussion... maybe they just don't know how to put in words their opinions...
@carpenter5 (6782)
• United States
31 Jan 10
I hadn't thought about it that way. I know there are times when it's the country's language which creates a barrier when you and the friend who is responding are from different countries. I have to read carefully sometimes to make sure that I'm understanding what they are trying to say.
@carpenter5 (6782)
• United States
4 Feb 10
I am here for a little of both I guess. I do love reading all the discussions and responding to them...even those that I don't agree with. But I also kind of like the earnings that we receive from them. When I first came here, I was a little sceptical about whether or not we would actually get paid. but, Since I've been paid several times since then, I'm don't doubt anymore.
@lovelyn_medrano (3070)
• Philippines
31 Jan 10
actually there was once a member here that responded to me in a single line as well, then received a private message from her too afterwards. She say sorry for a short response. She really wanted to response to lots of discussions but she just can't fully express herself. She loves to read every discussions, as she said and learn so many things in here. Not like most of us who is after the earnings too, aside from the things we enjoy doing here...
Happy mylotting! 
1 person likes this
@paula27661 (15811)
• Australia
24 Nov 09
I agree that type of response is just a waste of time. I receive emails each day advising me of most of the discussions that my friends have started. I read each one and respond to most but not to the ones that I cannot make a worthwhile contribution to. I think we need at least four or five lines to each, otherwise nothing has been added to enrich the topic. I particularly like it when MyLotters connect back and forth over a topic and a real discussion ensues.
2 people like this
@carpenter5 (6782)
• United States
31 Jan 10
I try to do the same thing. Sometimes, I'll see a discussion that while I don't know anything about it, I'd like to! But even in those times, I make sure that I leave at least 3 lines and tell them: No, I don't know the answer to your question, but when you find out, would you be sure and let me know?
@peedielyn (1207)
• United States
24 Nov 09
And here I was feeling guilty for writing way too much on my responses. I have gotten the same one liners too and it aggravates me. I simply reply to them with questions and maybe they will answer back in a better response, unless it has nothing to do with the original post in the first place. I enjoy reading the responses that some give even if I don't have a response to give back. If I were you, I would explain that they will not be given credit unless their responses are 4 lines or more, and then ask them a detailed question about why they answered this way. If I post a discussion and people respond to it, do I get credit? I must have missed that somewhere. Happy Mylotting and good luck to you!
2 people like this
@carpenter5 (6782)
• United States
31 Jan 10
You get credit for the discussion itself once at least one person has responded. That's one of the reasons why there is a link to "Discussions with no responses". I try to check it out occasionally, to help others out. I also go onto my friends pages and look at their discussions to see if they have one that has no responses. It's a win-win situation. I get credit for responding, and they get credit for posting the discussion.
@Lucky09 (1763)
• Philippines
22 Nov 09
hi carpenter^^;;
i know how you feel as i get annoyed to those kinds of responses too. the worst i saw was "sorry i don't know" gggrr! not in my discussion but it's really annoying to see these kinds of posts. i think you are not obliged to comment back on this kind of responses...or if not, maybe, you can report it as a violation to the quality of the discussion since it is not any help at all and no opinion, feeling or sight has been shared
2 people like this
@leafsound (348)
• China
22 Nov 09
From your sentences, I can know you are honest woman, and you respect your friends,and hope your friends also respect you.
I want to tell you, you come mylot for enjoying, but many people come for money. They wish gain money in the shortest time, so they only give you a sentence response. But don't worry, mylot will treat them, a sentence response will not be paid, so please you ignore them. Usually new members will do it because they don't know the rules. When they grow up in mylot, they will know only quality articles will get much payment.
2 people like this
@carpenter5 (6782)
• United States
31 Jan 10
Yes, I do enjoy my time here at mylot, and recently have added one of my mylot friends to my facebook friends. That is where I do most of my socializing. I need to make money as much as the next guy. Part of the problem with one sentence is that if I don't have a response to my question that is at least three lines, I don't get credit for the discussion. It's just like not getting any response at all.
@GardenGerty (169406)
• United States
24 Nov 09
I do not know anything about a specific line lenghth giving you a credit. In your actress example, you can just be oblivious, and prattle on as a response. You could say something about all the movies she has been in and why you like them and recommend a movie for that person to see. You do not lose on the prospect, even if they do. Guidelines do not say you have to respond to all either. About the spinach, you could respond: Although I have no desire to eat cooked spinach because it seems slimy and bitter to me, my favorite way to eat spinach is raw, as I am standing in my garden harvesting it. Or something to that effect. I would never expect you to be mean. Relax and enjoy your time here.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (169406)
• United States
31 Jan 10
Well, a blabbermouth like me would only have a problem coming up with an adequate response if I was feeling unwell.
So, you guys, if I ever start an epidemic of short answers with no meat to them, you will know that something is wrong with me.
So, you guys, if I ever start an epidemic of short answers with no meat to them, you will know that something is wrong with me.1 person likes this
@carpenter5 (6782)
• United States
4 Feb 10
Now, that's funny! One day last week, I was responding to some new discussions here. Mike was sitting beside me on the couch, while I was on the laptop. He leaned over to see what I was doing and started laughing. When I asked what he was laughing about, he said "I was just noticing that you took three sentences to say what could have been said in about 5 words." So, I guess I'm a blabbermouth too! LOL Oh well, whatever gets the point across I guess!
BTW how do you put the smiley's on a discussion? :)
1 person likes this
@carpenter5 (6782)
• United States
31 Jan 10
I don't know for sure either, but I do know that one day I decided to try and figure out if there was a 3-4 line limit to get get credit. I answered a discussion honestly, but only wrote 2 lines...3 sentences. That was the only discussion I did all day. The next day, when I checked my earnings page, it had zero for the day before.
1 person likes this
@danishcanadian (28954)
• Canada
30 Nov 09
MyLot won`t kick your butt if you ignore people who leave short nothing-more-to-say responses like that. I ignore those all the time, and nobody complains. Sometimes there is nothing further to say, and this is definitely one of those times. Just do what you think is best in this situation. You seem to have a good reputation on here, so it shouldn't be a problem.
1 person likes this
@carpenter5 (6782)
• United States
31 Jan 10
aww...thanks Leah! I love to see when you've responded to my discussions here, and to posts and photos on gather as well. At least I can depend on you giving me an honest opinion, even when we disagree! That's one of the reasons I've stayed on here despite some of the disappointments.
@carpenter5 (6782)
• United States
31 Jan 10
I think I've only reported someone a couple of times total since I've been on mylot. One of them was for horrible language! They had misspelled the words on purpose so that mylot wouldn't catch it! I'm always amazed at the lengths people will go to in order to cheat the system. It wasn't even one of my discussions, but one started by a friend. This person left a response, and when my friend dared to disagree with them, they proceeded to cuss her up one side and down the other. I felt like it was totally inappropriate and quite frankly just pure meanness.
1 person likes this
@bunnybon7 (50970)
• Holiday, Florida
6 Feb 10
i know so many do that. its usually newbies. i often wonder if they will get mad if i explain in a response. sometimes i just give back a short response. sometimes it doesnt even seem they know what i was trying to ask or say
they should do as we do and go find something we know how to respond to. hopefully they will see this discussion. 
it is annoying when they do that.@carpenter5 (6782)
• United States
8 Feb 10
Well, unfortunately I got a few well written responses and I got a one liner telling me that I shouldn't tell someone they couldn't respond to a discussion. So I give up. I'm going to just keep doing what I've been doing, and that's ignoring those that don't write enough to help me out. It's their loss, because they're losing credit for those posts...
@carpenter5 (6782)
• United States
31 Jan 10
I would never ask someone not to respond. I do wonder why they would take the time to leave a response that doesn't contribute to the conversation in any way. Why not simply go on to a different discussion that you knew something about, or had an opinion about? That is the only thing I was asking.
Besides, there are many that are here to make money, and I can tell you that the one time I left a two line response, I didn't get credit for it all.
