Annoying advice requests

[NFrameFred]

"Be wary giving advice - a fool won't heed it and the wise don't need it"

 

[Old Corp]

Have seen it too many times to count working in the GS.

Couple of weeks ago, a fella comes in, says he is very intent on "getting set up for serious 1000 yard shooting". Emphasizes that he 'wants his stuff RIGHT'.
His intended total price range for all that he needs: 'I'd really like to stay in the $300 range or lower'.

Do you have any idea how difficult it is some days to not just throw your hands up and LAUGH?

 

[blujax01]

Just say get a Dillon. Seems to work for everything.

Yes. Yes, it does.

 

[Joewisc]

"Advice is like castor oil, easy enough to give but dreadful uneasy to take."
--Josh Billings

 

[Rule3]

Is this a bad time to ask what the best pocket knife is??

 

[ImprovedModel56Fan]

1 guy asked me what would be a good cheap deer rifle, I mentioned a .30-30. Guy then says he wants a real caliber that will actually kill deer like a .300 Win. Mag. So I told him why stop there, get a .375 H & H. I do like answering questions . . . .

I would, too, if they gave me opportunities like that. Excellent answer!

 

[Bat Guano]

All too true. Equally annoying are the "educate me on..." requests when there is a fire hose of information available at no cost and minimal effort. Back in the day you read and reread your one Stoeger book until it fell apart and by then you had it all memorized.

If you're going to make concrete in a wheelbarrow you don't just put the ingredients in unmeasured and stand there and look at the wheelbarrow--SOME involvement on your part is required!

 

[Stevie]

I'm increasingly reluctant to respond to posts requesting advice on equipment, as it seems that the requests are very seldom honest or candid in their expressed objective. Typical examples ask for recommendations for "the best" accessory for some particular purpose, and only later do we learn that the poster doesn't really want (can't afford, or is too cheap to purchase) "the best".

A recent query asked for "the best" small, lightweight, robust red-dot sight (for a long gun, I think). The Aimpoint Micro was my recommendation, and you'd have thought I was proposing pedophilia, apostasy, or something equally offensive and disturbing, when the price came to light. Turns out the person requesting the recommendation didn't want to hear about the "best", but instead wanted some magical way to cheat the "get what you pay for" reality. This seems to be all too common. People might at least have the courtesy to specify price parameters with these requests, so that those of us who have long since accepted the "get what you pay for" axiom aren't wasting our time replying to poorly stated requests for info.

Tell me up front that you want a recommendation for a scope for your new $1,000 rifle, that you'll be using on a once-in-a-lifetime hunt costing a month's wages and two year's accumulated vacation time, with a $200 budget for the optic, and I'll save my breath, so to speak...

OK....I'll bear that in mind.

 

[williamlayton]

Rule #1--Never wear your feelings on your shirtsleve.
Rule #2---NEVER, forget rule #1.
Give an honest answer--preferrably from experience--and let it go.
Blessings

 

[wuluf]

David, this is among your finest suggestions, and I'm taking it seriously, and to heart. Henceforth, inquisitive individuals asking after my unique, extensive experience and especially informative advice, will be required to submit a PayPal remittance, at the rate of $10 per paragraph of succinct response, upon receipt of which, my inestimably informative response will be conveyed. I'm hopeful of a comfortable retirement, projecting profits from this arrangement...

succinct???

 

[handejector]

Henceforth, inquisitive individuals asking after my unique, extensive experience and especially informative advice, will be required to submit a PayPal remittance, at the rate of $10 per paragraph of succinct response, upon receipt of which, my inestimably informative response will be conveyed. I'm hopeful of a comfortable retirement, projecting profits from this arrangement...

I wouldn't quit my day job yet.

 

[handejector]

Is this a bad time to ask what the best pocket knife is??

There are many good knifes to choose from....

(somebody was gonna do it)

 

[rags]

Seriously now, I just picked up a CTG. How much is it worth?

 

[Joewisc]

So, what would you say is the best caliber for hunting whitetail deer with?
I really want to kill 'em good, so maybe a 300 Ultra Mag? Or should I get a 300 Weatherby Mag? Or a 7MM Ultra Mag? Or a .338 Lapua?
Now I'll need a scope....

try eeny, meeny, miney, mo

 

[Chaosrob]

Seems to me that a lot of the questions are just easy to ignore if they annoy you. I have enough other stressors in my life to worry about a post on the internet. If it annoys you, skip it. If they do not want to take your advise cease to reply. It is a much easier path imho. Getting worked up about a post on the web is just simply not worth it.

 

[bgrafsr]

David, this is among your finest suggestions, and I'm taking it seriously, and to heart. Henceforth, inquisitive individuals asking after my unique, extensive experience and especially informative advice, will be required to submit a PayPal remittance, at the rate of $10 per paragraph of succinct response, upon receipt of which, my inestimably informative response will be conveyed. I'm hopeful of a comfortable retirement, projecting profits from this arrangement...

I have a question and need advice: How do I set up this paypal account thingy?

 

[GKC]

There are many good knifes to choose from....

(somebody was gonna do it)

Uh...wouldn't that be knives?

 

[DCWilson]

Seriously now, I just picked up a CTG. How much is it worth?

Less if you put a cheap scope on it.

 

[guy22]

I'm increasingly reluctant to respond to posts requesting advice on equipment, as it seems that the requests are very seldom honest or candid in their expressed objective. Typical examples ask for recommendations for "the best" accessory for some particular purpose, and only later do we learn that the poster doesn't really want (can't afford, or is too cheap to purchase) "the best".

A recent query asked for "the best" small, lightweight, robust red-dot sight (for a long gun, I think). The Aimpoint Micro was my recommendation, and you'd have thought I was proposing pedophilia, apostasy, or something equally offensive and disturbing, when the price came to light. Turns out the person requesting the recommendation didn't want to hear about the "best", but instead wanted some magical way to cheat the "get what you pay for" reality. This seems to be all too common. People might at least have the courtesy to specify price parameters with these requests, so that those of us who have long since accepted the "get what you pay for" axiom aren't wasting our time replying to poorly stated requests for info.

Tell me up front that you want a recommendation for a scope for your new $1,000 rifle, that you'll be using on a once-in-a-lifetime hunt costing a month's wages and two year's accumulated vacation time, with a $200 budget for the optic, and I'll save my breath, so to speak...

I just think it is human nature. They already kinda know what they want, and can spend. They just want someone else to say good things about their choice.

Guy22

 

[bobsdad]

"Best" vs. "Best Value"?

I believe that, in a lot of cases (not all), where the person asks for advice on the "best", they really mean the "best value".
I know that the word "value" can be complicated to define. But a lot of people are really asking to know which is the lowest price object that will meet and exceed their performance criteria. Of course they better think about, study, and define that performance criteria in some detail.
What do you think?

When people ask me for advice on what to buy, I ask them "What do you want it to do and for how long?"