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There is perhaps a bigger question here of defining how we, as a community, ask for, give and take advice.
In the past few weeks, both this thread and the "Respect This Forum" thread were started. They seem, at least to me, connected somehow.
So, speaking just as one voice in the big FastLane Group, this is my opinion, for what it's worth...
People are going to ask for advice on forums like this. Sometimes people ask to prompt a discussion of "How can I...?", which I enjoy immensely. It gives me ideas for thinking outside the box. BTW, that's how I interpreted ATW's initial post that prompted the firestorm. She was looking for creative thinking. I don't have a house to sell and I don't want to buy a self storage unit, but I still thoroughly enjoyed the "what if you..." responses.
Sometimes people are asking for very specific issues - I formed a C Corporation in Illinois and work in Ohio, what do I do? To be honest, that's the type of questions I answer in my work and so initially I hesitated about whether to answer them. I figured that the person who posted that question on an open forum probably wouldn't be a client of mine, at least right now. And if I can spread some good will by giving good advice now, who knows? Someone else might read it and decide to call my CPA office or visit my website. And maybe the person posting the question might grow his business to the point where he could become a client as well.
The thing I don't do any more is engage in debates. The "How do I..." that is nothing more than a bait is a waste of time and energy. There are people on the forum that if they enter into the discussion, I just back away. I have felt very disrespected in the past on this forum on occasion. That's when I came to the conclusion that my participation is voluntary and if a couple of people are rude, then I can just choose to leave the thread...and I do.
I have mixed feelings on the concept of charging for ideas. In my career, I've seen LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of ideas and a relatively small amount of implemention. Ideas are precious, but they are also very cheap. It's doing it that counts. Not just talking about it.
I bet I get at least 2 offers a month at my office from someone who has a brilliant idea that will make me tons of money, but first I have to sign a non compete. I ALWAYS say "no." That's because I'm concerned I might already be working on the idea in some form already and if I sign the non compete, then I've just tied my hands on my other project.
I've also had people come up to me and say, "I have a great idea..." and then proceed to tell me. I may or may not agree, but generally am just polite and say something like "That sounds interesting.." Then they say something like, "Great! I'll give it to you for just 10%" That just feels icky. I can't describe it any better than that.
Information wants to be free. That's not to say that it's anyone's obligation on this forum to answer, or not answer, a question. We all choose how we want to interact on the forum.
Okay, big surprise. I answer because I have a hidden agenda. Well, a couple. It's promotion for my CPA practice (probably more limited) and for my tax education site. (See, I'm not even going to tell you the website name so I'm definitely not spamming) I also like having a few in the "favor bank", so that I can post questions I get like the "Someone is using my name and pic for deceptive marketing". I got some sage advice in that thread and actually a little counseling as well. Thank you all who helped me with that issue. And, I like rep speed. It's crazy. But, I enjoy the feedback of what people like and what they find helpful. And, finally, it gives me ideas for subjects to blog about. I can keep my finger on the pulse of this community, which helps me think of new things for my tax blog. (For those of you with a daily blog, I know you understand - it gets hard to think of things!)
In the past few weeks, both this thread and the "Respect This Forum" thread were started. They seem, at least to me, connected somehow.
So, speaking just as one voice in the big FastLane Group, this is my opinion, for what it's worth...
People are going to ask for advice on forums like this. Sometimes people ask to prompt a discussion of "How can I...?", which I enjoy immensely. It gives me ideas for thinking outside the box. BTW, that's how I interpreted ATW's initial post that prompted the firestorm. She was looking for creative thinking. I don't have a house to sell and I don't want to buy a self storage unit, but I still thoroughly enjoyed the "what if you..." responses.
Sometimes people are asking for very specific issues - I formed a C Corporation in Illinois and work in Ohio, what do I do? To be honest, that's the type of questions I answer in my work and so initially I hesitated about whether to answer them. I figured that the person who posted that question on an open forum probably wouldn't be a client of mine, at least right now. And if I can spread some good will by giving good advice now, who knows? Someone else might read it and decide to call my CPA office or visit my website. And maybe the person posting the question might grow his business to the point where he could become a client as well.
The thing I don't do any more is engage in debates. The "How do I..." that is nothing more than a bait is a waste of time and energy. There are people on the forum that if they enter into the discussion, I just back away. I have felt very disrespected in the past on this forum on occasion. That's when I came to the conclusion that my participation is voluntary and if a couple of people are rude, then I can just choose to leave the thread...and I do.
I have mixed feelings on the concept of charging for ideas. In my career, I've seen LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of ideas and a relatively small amount of implemention. Ideas are precious, but they are also very cheap. It's doing it that counts. Not just talking about it.
I bet I get at least 2 offers a month at my office from someone who has a brilliant idea that will make me tons of money, but first I have to sign a non compete. I ALWAYS say "no." That's because I'm concerned I might already be working on the idea in some form already and if I sign the non compete, then I've just tied my hands on my other project.
I've also had people come up to me and say, "I have a great idea..." and then proceed to tell me. I may or may not agree, but generally am just polite and say something like "That sounds interesting.." Then they say something like, "Great! I'll give it to you for just 10%" That just feels icky. I can't describe it any better than that.
Information wants to be free. That's not to say that it's anyone's obligation on this forum to answer, or not answer, a question. We all choose how we want to interact on the forum.
Okay, big surprise. I answer because I have a hidden agenda. Well, a couple. It's promotion for my CPA practice (probably more limited) and for my tax education site. (See, I'm not even going to tell you the website name so I'm definitely not spamming) I also like having a few in the "favor bank", so that I can post questions I get like the "Someone is using my name and pic for deceptive marketing". I got some sage advice in that thread and actually a little counseling as well. Thank you all who helped me with that issue. And, I like rep speed. It's crazy. But, I enjoy the feedback of what people like and what they find helpful. And, finally, it gives me ideas for subjects to blog about. I can keep my finger on the pulse of this community, which helps me think of new things for my tax blog. (For those of you with a daily blog, I know you understand - it gets hard to think of things!)
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