Opinion: On forums, don't do DBTs (drive-by trashings)

I hear about frequent drive-by shootings in some countries. Fortunately that doesn’t happen where I live. But what I come across all the time on Q&A forums, is what I’d like to call DBTs (Drive by trashings).

It usually starts when someone makes a genuine effort to try to help answer a question. The DBT (drive-by trasher) pops in and leaves a nasty unhelpful message. It could be “That’s misleading” or “That’s wrong” or “You don’t understand how it works”.

But a telltale sign of a DBT is that they never go on to explain anything about their objection. They leave the nasty or condescending message that helps no-one. In the end, all they achieve is to add to the toxic nature of many forums. 

Often when I see one of these people, I challenge them. Far from being useful, invariably their comment often turns out to relate to some rare edge case. It isn’t relevant in the slightest and more importantly, it isn’t helpful to the person asking the question. 

It’s posted as a put-down.

I’ve written before about how toxic many of the forums are. The worst offenders are also PBs (points-bandits). Their very existence seems to be to chase as many points as possible on the forums. They’ll do as little as possible to help the person asking the question. Worse, they are also often DBTs. Their aim is to put down anyone else who might try to answer questions.

It’s simple. If you are super-knowledgeable and know that what someone has posted is wrong or incomplete, don’t be a DBT. The purpose of the forums is to help people, and you’re not doing that. Explain yourself, or it’s time to step away from the keyboard.

2020-05-05