cole_walker26•1mo agoProlific Poster

DAE get way more honest answers when they ask something in person?

Three years ago, I was trying to figure out why my car kept stalling at stoplights. I posted on a forum and got like 20 different guesses, from bad gas to a computer issue. Last month, I had a weird noise in my basement and just asked my neighbor Dave, who used to be a contractor. He came over, listened for 10 seconds, and said 'Your sump pump impeller is shot, it's a $40 part.' He was right. Then last week at the grocery store, I couldn't find tahini and just asked a stocker. He walked me right to it and said they moved it last Tuesday. Online, you get a flood of maybe-answers... but asking a real person who's right there just cuts through all the noise. Has anyone else noticed the quality of the answer totally depends on how you ask?

3 comments

3 Comments

patel.leo1mo ago

I mean, sometimes you just need the right Dave. Forums are full of people who want to sound smart, not fix your actual problem. But that neighbor who's seen it a hundred times? That's the guy you want.

janaw111mo ago

Oh man, the online forum thing is so real. It's like you ask about a weird noise and suddenly you're getting a 12-step plan to rebuild your entire house from the ground up. Meanwhile, Dave just points at the thing making the noise and names it.

the_stella28d agoTop Commenter

Totally get what you mean, and patel.leo is spot on about needing the right person. This reminds me of trying to fix my old porch light last fall. I watched like three different YouTube tutorials that all said different things about the wiring. Finally I just took the whole fixture down to the hardware store and showed the guy at the counter. He looked at it for two seconds, pointed to a cracked piece, and sold me the exact part for four bucks. It's like the physical thing being right there just makes the answer so much clearer. Online you get a lot of people guessing, but in person they have to actually look at the problem.