Is this the proper forum, or even protocol, to express my gratitude and sincere thanks to all of you who have taken the time, and effort, to answer the questions I’ve put forth?
A. Yes it is
B. No it is not
C. No it is not but I’m okay with it
D. _________________
Good Answers (13)
Audrey C
Technical Recruiter at HCR Group, Inc.
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I am ok with it. Most of your questions are fun to read.
audrey@hcrgroup.net
I will accept all invitations to connect.
Alice D
Human Rights Instructor Virginia Tech, Substitute Teacher MCPS and Court Appointed Special Advocate
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C.
I can imagine there are reasons why somewhere after the fifth personal
'thank you" you receive 1043 more. To make sure you do thank everyone you send a generic at the Q&A site. And then bit by bit you work yourself down the list of all replies and thank each of us.
My version of D would be: I have a personal reason for not responding to all of you individually now so please for the time being accept this generic "thank you"
Cheers, Alice
David S
SharePoint SME, Workflow Architect at John Wiley and Sons
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A: I Agree - there are not enough Kudos passed around; there is always room for a thanks. Shame on you that do not think a little thanks goes a long way.
Mykel de W
Test & Process Consultant Squerist
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C, under normal circumstances I would expect someone expressing his/her gratitude to me to make sure I'd hear it. Now I gotta go looking, somehow it just doesn't seem that grateful.
greetz
Arun A
Author || Coach:Corp-Leadership/Strategies/Life/Business || Architect:Smart Businesses || Lead Auditor:ISO 27001
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C
As, we as a community have decided to group together here and exchange knowledge...haven't we...to become wiser.
To do this we voluntarily spend time here.
We also gain individually by doing so.
So being thank full is not mandatory.
Thats my reasoning.
Notwithstanding the above:
"Courtesy begets courtesy"...in that vein this initiative will go a long way to prove to the forum that their are people who have not forgotten the nuances of being courteous as a human being at every step.
It shows class.
You have gone up another notch in the mindsets of professionals like me.
Thank you for showing us the way.
Arun
Sonia O
Business Development Manager at Mississauga Board of Trade
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C
As a person, I would prefer a more personal email, but as a LI member, I know it is not always possible.
Thanks
Sonia
Rajeev V
CEO and Owner at Smart Hiring - www.smarthiring.com
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D
We are all learning. So Thankyou's can be added as Thanks in advance with your Q.
Mariam I
CEO at Saaze Corporation
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C. No it is not but I’m okay with it
I believe in personalization and read every single answer carefully. Initially, I replied to every single person, but then got super overwhelmed, specially when they re-replied and I had to re-re-reply. I still try to get all.
The way I see it, behind the answers are several very interesting people I would like to get to know better, but reality bites and I just can't keep up with interacting with all. LinkedIn doesn't seem to have the 'reply all' with a generic response and even if it did... not sure if I would use it, being the personalized person I am.
Ryan L
Social Recruiting and Social Media Strategy at Kenexa
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To me it is not an issue. I truly believe this forum is for us, and the more we all communicate in the open, the better success I think we all will see from this site. Though personal thank yous may be better, do you really have the time to respond to every answer? Your day would not be very productive.....
...Will I recieve a thank you for this???? lol
D. It's a great way to expose your profile further - you naughty cheeky scamp you!!
It's what a lot of others do with their bland, po-faced answers to questions, so what the heck!!
I'll go with "C" only because it beats nothing at all.
I can only convey my personal opinion on this matter. Over the years I have taken time to answer many such questions on various forums. Some of them have been highly technical and detailed. Once released, the answer is ignored. It is as if the person asking the question thinks they are entitled to my time and my expert opinion, my intellectual property if you will, just because they are on the Internet. I think that has become known as "the entitlement mentality."
I don't consider it quid-pro-quo since, to be honest, I only ask real questions of people whose opinion I trust. If I ask a question of the general population is is often just to get some feedback on a suspected trend, or to, heaven forbid, provoke some thought. I may not be rich, but I still don't need strangers intervention in my life.
When I ask questions, rather few actually, I do try to reply back individually with a "Thank you." That way the person knows that I did read their answer and have acknowledged their input ... even if I don't agree with their position.
One of the questions I asked is how best to use this site. I was not all that interested in a real answer, per say, I was more interested in getting the opinion out there that LinkedIn is not as impressive as the promoters what us to believe it is. For that matter, I am still not impressed. I firmly believe that it simply reinforces socioeconomic stratification. I'll admit that I have found some assistance, and a few good ideas, but nothing that has turned towards any real gains. I am still underemployed, and don't see that changing any time soon. I have a B.S. in T-Com Management, and I am working as a Security Officer/Field Supervisor. If that is NOT underemployment, I don't know what it. No one I work, save for the owner, has a degree.
I have intelligent answered certain op/ed pieces in Yahoo, and had one business owner tell me that I was "common as beer" when I explained my situation. Actually the full quote is "You think you are Champagne but you are as common as beer." This was after explaining that I have my degree, my experience, my skills, and have written a number of books. Since he is a business owner he has the self-righteousness to make such a judgment call. Mind you he was trying to convince everyone that they should trust business owners and the GOP rather then the Government and Democrats. Did a real good job with that one.
In another case, here in LinkedIn, a reported posed the question concerning the direction Yahoo was going. I gave him some quick feed-back, and followed up with a section on Yahoo (and the "idiot" culture) from my current work "Wealth." Never got anything back from him. That section I sent him had substantial research in it.
When pointing out such inequity, I am often dismissed for "complaining." I don't know anyone who likes to work for free, and I sure don't need the ego stroking. If a person agrees with me, fine. If they don't, that is fine too.
I may have gone far afield here with these little stories, but the point is the rabbit entitlement mentality on the web. No, you are not entitled to my knowledge. Yes, I do expect to be paid in some way for it. Even if it is only a personal and sincere "thank you."
Lou S
Art Director + UX Lead and Design Consultant
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D. Is this your way of expressing your gratitude and sincere thanks to all who have taken the time and effort to answer your questions? Or just another question? If it is another question ... how will you express your thanks for those that have answered it?
Links:
Henriette H
Portfolio Analyst (Asset & Portfolio Management) at Eneco Trading
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Jonah,
how you handle your gratitude is up to you, but let me give you an anecdote concerning my first answer on LI.
It was a filosofical question, I put a lot of effort in making a solid answer, I even wrote the person a personal note asking for workshops on the matter at hand in my country and never got a response. So I figured that that was the norm on LI.
What happened next:
To my surprise, to the next answer I gave, I got a response. Same for the third. With those people I'm connected now, with that first one, I don't think I ever will (I will still see his questions as he is in my network).
So, for getting in touch with potential interesting people, take the time to write a thank you note. It doesn't need to be an elaborate story, just thank you.
Does this help?
More Answers (6)
Daniel J
District Leader at Primerica Financial Services and Owner, David Gordon Productions
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B, no it is not. The proper forum is to send write a personal response to each person who has taken the trouble to answer your question. Even a simple "thank you for your response" is better than simply posting a generic thank you to everyone.
Let me ask you this. If you gave someone a wedding present, would you think it acceptable to publish a notice in the newspaper thanking everyone for their gifts?
Sheilah E
Owner, ★SME Management:.......... Business Management and Accounting Consultant
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Hi Jonah,
Daniel is correct. This is not the way to thank others. One many of those who have helped you may not see it, and more importantly they each answered your questions separately from others questions, right? So they deserve an individual reply thanking them. It is also a way to begin to get to know people. I reply to everyone whether their answer was good or helpful and that includes those that leave less than kind responses (usually privately). But each one has a right to voice their thoughts, try to help etc and each deserve their own personal reply.
Sheilah
A is my recommendation, since you have come to this site to ask answer to a general question, thereby taking advantage of the cumulative knowledge and intelligence and experience of the group you addressed this to. Your saying thanks helps to build credibility to the Q & A part of LinkedIn. That's my way of lookint at it. Learning is never ending...
Robin C
Project leader and Museums and Institutions Consultant
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Jonah, IF it's your only method of expressing gratitude, then B - it's not. There's no guarantee that anyone who has answered your questions will actually pick up your thanks posted this way. Better, if they are sincere, to take the trouble to write a note direct. Something like this doesn't come across as sincere but as a way of saving you effort.
Plus, it's not a question, and this is a Q&A forum, not an all-purpose noticeboard. It's better kept clear of general exchanges of goodwill, gratitude, news, recipes, etc.
Good luck.
Terri L M
Planning and Strategies Consultant; speaker, trainer, author.
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Jonah:
If you just 'post' a generic 'thank you' there are many who responded that would never see it, and it takes away one of the best opportunities to get to know other networkers better....a little bit of added 'conversation' on your topic, maybe better insight into the person who responded, etc.
While a generic "Thanks for answering' may get you off the hook for sending the thank yous your mother told you were necessary, it's not the kind of thing that tells me someone is interested in getting to know me better and how we can help each other.
Patrick H
Semiconductor Sales Professional
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D
I totally agree with Daniel and Sheilah. A private note to the individual who responded. Time is money afterall and the folks who have taken time out of their busy work day or preciouse personal time deserve at minimum a thankyou e-mail for their time and responding.
When I post a question I thank each person promptly and I close my questions within 5 days.
