ColoradoBelle1 said:
I don't see a need to 'weight' the pos/neg effect of a post. If there's a problem, identify it and try to offer solutions to fix it. Flaming the bearer of bad tidings is kinda silly. Of course, taking a negative post to heart and belieing that one room with a frayed rug means ALL rooms have frayed rugs is also kinda silly.
But aren't you basically contradicting yourself there?
Example:
Post: "I've stayed at at BCV twice and both times the housekeeping was sub-standard."
Response: "I've stayed there 20 times and every time the room was immaculate."
By your own criteria, the original poster is trying to identify a perceived problem, yet the responder is providing reassurance that this is not norm (i.e. not all rugs are frayed.) That's how many of these discussions begin.
...it seems that whenever anyone posts a negative experience that they apologize and ask not to be thought naughty. What up with that!!!!!
Different posting styles.
...frankly if 10 or more DVC owners post about a certain resort being dirty or understaffed...then I think it entirely probably that the resort is temporarily dirty and understaffed.
And that represents your own personal bias...the source of any discussion / debate. We all have our own.
Why do some people get so defensive?
By definition, a defensive posture is assumed in response to another going on the offensive. We all have topics on which our feelings are sufficiently passionate to respond if we sense another individual inappropriately encroaching on that territory.
For what it's worth, I think we all know there are times when posters are raked over the coals for posting what they intend to be helpful comments to the group. But in the grand scheme of things, those examples are still only a tiny percentage of the posts here.
Factual errors deserve to be addressed, lest they be left to mislead other readers.
Perceptual issues (cleanliness, quality of service) are usually those that lead to discussion. Most times there is a lot of value in that discussion. Yes, the discussion can go overboard at times, but that's not reason enough for people to withhold comments which may otherwise add value to the discussion.
On the other hand, when people post a negative...I don't feel threatened by that. Yet is almost feels that others do. I don't understand it, but it seems taht some people want to go into denial that anything negative could exist at WDW...and that those who post about a neg experience are somehow naughty or picky.
Most posts on these boards get hundreds of views by different forum members. Example: someone makes a negative comment about housekeeping at BCV. That post gets 400 views and 10 posts sharing additional (perhaps opposing) viewpoints. 390 people didn't feel like commenting on the post either way. Can we really say that the 10 people who did respond were wrong for doing so?
Personally, I think all discussion (OK, MOST discussion) is good discussion. And I suspect that in many occasions, those who posted a complaint and received feedback will experience one of the following:
1. Receive justification and reassurance that they were not alone in their experiences.
2. Receive reassurance that their situation was unique and does not represent the status quo.
3. See the situation from a different point of view and rethink their initial response.
4. Discover that they didn't have enough factual information to properly deal with the situation at the time.
And, the back-and-forth discussion may also prove valuable to other innocent bystanders who find themselves in a similar situation down the road.
