Skipping forum posts in the future.

I seem to be having problems with the forums. Maybe others have had better luck than I. I thought it would be nice to post questions and receive answers in return from people that have had similar issues or at least could possibly point me in the right direction. I've posted a number of times and never received any replies to my questions. I posted a question this morning and received a rude comment in return. I guess I don't understand how a question posted by another member could have 1000 views but only 10 responses? What kind of support is that?

Don't let one bad experience turn you off before giving it some serious thought. This journey will have it's ups and downs but we have to roll with it and fight back hard. I know you know how b/c you have already shown success with your loss. Keep it up.

For the most part I've had great support here. They don't always tell me what I want to hear, but that helps me think outside the box. If I think someone is just being nasty, I try to ignore it. Sometimes it's hard to tell in a post without hearing something actually spoken, how it was meant. I hope you'll stay with us. You have lost 40 lbs! You are having great success.

I only see one forum post from you that didn't get a public reply-- it was a "looking for buddies" message. Those tend not to get public replies, which sort of makes sense since the invited response is for someone to contact you privately or send you a buddy request. There's really not much to say publicly as a response to those.

A few comments... A lot of people have been on this site for a while, and we get used to seeing the same questions time and time again, and honestly just don't take the time to offer our thoughts on the same question for the 5th time. The forums are all still out tehre and you can usually find good solid discussions on most questions if you just do a search for your topic. Example: your post about tapping feet... great post. But do a search on "fidgeting" and you'll see some good discussions already about it, so some people don't chime in.

As far as the rude responses, people can be harsh here sometimes. You have to take it with a grain of salt. We're mostly strangers and I think people generally feel like they can be brutally honest. A lot of people need that brutal honesty in order to make a lifestyle change. I agree it can get a little tough at times but for the most part people are just trying to help. If it's going to upset you I would suggest keeping it to the journal in a less public place.

Don't give up!

I'm with Bkeller on this. I myself am one of those who do not often reply to the "already answered numerous times" questions. There are several reasons. The obvious one is that I frankly can get a little tired answering the same things over and over again. It happens quite frequently. Everyone here is helping in the forums because of personal interest, and not as a job, so we do what we can, we prioritize our time available, and this is a typical thing for me to skip.
The other reason is, that when we scatter the information in several threads talking about the same topics, then it becomes much more tricky to find the information we need. Think of it this way: If you search for "fidgeting", would you rather find 50 threads with a little info here and there, scattered all over the place, or ONE thread with all the valuable info right there. This is why it pays off to search before posting. All your answers are most likely asked before.
I actually set up a topic on this once. I'm not sure how much response I got.
When it comes to rude responses, I try not to do it. I am not purposefully rude, but I sometimes push people or provoke to get a reaching, because I see that they need it. If someone (I have no idea if OP did this or not) posts how they are not losing weight, but doing everything, yet I see that the main dish says Burger King for a week straight, then I'll tell it to the person and I will not gift wrap and cushion anything. I feel that the person is best served by us stating the obvious so they can see where the issue is. If we don't do this, then the person might not actually understand what we're saying.
Whether you use the forums or not, is of course entirely up to you. I will, however, say that this is the best weight loss forum around, and that I couldn't have reached my final goal had it not been for this forum. These guys have saved my life. Literally.

Have you joined any groups? Sometimes it's easier to get answers from the groups because it's a smaller audience and those who have similar interests.

I had a question about breastfeeding - I didn't post it here, I posted in my breastfeeding group - and I got some good responses.

Also, try searching the forum before you post - maybe the question has already been asked and answered. As a few others mentioned - sometimes the same questions come up multiple times. It's not excusing rudeness - but I think some of the people see the same post over and over.

With that said, we all were new to FS at one point, so I try and keep that in mind when I see a new person asking a question. We're all here to better our bodies. It does frustrate me, because I feel that if you can't say anything nice (or helpful), maybe you shouldn't post!