Chile Forum

Unfortunately, it goes both ways.

If a new poster of the Gen X or younger range or even a younger Boomer (microcomputer revolution era) makes their presence known, the standard protocol as with any forum is to lurk and get a feel of the atmosphere and also do some research to understand the past and present of the forum before making one's splash.

Example of what not to do: the thoroughly agendaized idiot who just posted off the cuff in the TPS thread.

We have been besieged by spammers and trolls in the past who use the I'm a newbie approach to push their product or service or attempt to disrupt the forum for sport.

So it goes both ways.

Ahhh, EE good to see you back in action.

We do from time to time jump the gun around here. Hell, one of the newest moderators that stepped up to fill the void of EE while he was off line during the crisis I once took as a spammer and tried to ban (still kicking myself for that one).

We are hard mostly on new members (under about 40 posts), because it is a test to see if they are for real. Also, if you noticed when the forum came together to account for our own, EVERYONE stepped up. We did not waist a second on spammers from India, china, or whatever. We knew immediately and intimately who was for real on the forum, and who our friends were that might need our help.

I mean I had a serious short list of about 3-4 members missing (and a couple other people missing) in the 8th region, that we were only about 24 hours away from me landing a plane, in a disaster zone under military martial law, and put my own life and my team's life on the line to go find. They are not our clients either. All of our clients were already accounted for in the first 24 hours. They were simply forum members that their families and friends had contacted us for help. I even had discussed with Vince our pilot about how best to include it in our flight plan when delivering aid in to the areas we were looking at delivering aid.

This is not some abstract face book posting type forum. Many of us know each other in person. So, we take it seriously when a new member joins. Think of it as kind of like joining the allchle.net frat, there is an initiation period.

admin wrote:Think of it as kind of like joining the allchle.net frat, there is an initiation period.

Ok - two apologies on one page - SORRY CHARLES - but really, does validating non-spammers extend to allowing ignorant taunting of seemingly well-meaning posters?

I'm all for free speech, BUT (and yes, there is always a but), this is an extension of your place of business and I would like to think that serious members can help build your base by giving their advice without prejudice.

I (not being in Chile) may not be able to properly respond to all questions, but I would like people (like somethingnew) to feel that they're able to ask questions without being insulted. Even if the poster in question was a spammer with a seemingly valid query, would it not be better for the forum that a valid answer was given (and searchable ) then the responses polluted with name calling?

I guess I'm overly sensitive to this because I so limit my online exposure and haven't been calloused by other forums. allchile matters to me and I want to see more 'newbies' benefited by the amazing knowledge represented here.

Well, I don't know Kirbilly but it sounded like he was worried about family and relatives after the quake and along comes someone worried about their personal adventure in Chile... it must have come across as, well... trite. Not my call, but I'd be inclined to cut him some slack on that one. That said, the best response as you've said, is factual, searchable, and ultimately useful to all.

I'll head south again at the end of the month, I'm sure I'll find Chile to be 90% its cool, vaguely infuriating self. I think of it as the wild west of south America

And yes, EE, making it through an 8.8 with comparatively little loss and damage is an achievement. From what I read, Seattle and the NW coast of the US are very exposed to a similar event. And while I don't want to be a doomsayer, the 1960 quake was followed by a similar huge event at the northern end of the ring of fire.

Umm I'd like to mention that I'm seeing the "Gracias" TV ads by Chile thanking its South American neighbours for helping and sending aid. That's a nice gesture

I apologise to anyone i have wound up....I have been a bit up tight about Chile since the Earthquake.....People that know Chile properly i think will understand..... The Chilean people mean so much to me and are some of the nicest and friendly people i have ever met........If the original poster knew the true Chile and what it can offer a don,t think that they would be posting so soon after what happened.........Something i have never done in my life is post on a internet forum to ask about a Place......The best way in my book is to save up the money for a ticket and go to Chile with an open mind and heart and discover for yourself.............I suppose the internet has taken that sense of Adventure away a little bit because it makes it so easy to find info on a place where you are going so the mind and heart are already cloudy....

So my advice to the original poster is..........Save up for a ticket....Just jump on the plane with an open mind and heart.

But see Kirbilly, that is YOU and your prerogative. Not everyone travels without asking questions first or being prepared, for some the research before a big adventure is part of the fun of the trip. I'm widely travelled and do extensive research before leaving home. I find it fun and exciting to plan. Maybe because I'm a travel agent from a previous life, but nonetheless, we are all different in how we approach travel.

I LOVE Chile and it's people, you only have to read back my posts to see how I always stand up for Chile, Santiago and Chileans, but I was happy to answer the questions of the OP as I believe that tourists dollars into the country at this stage is positive. I don't believe it was too soon to ask, I personally was craving for some normalcy on a forum that was rightfully so all about the quake at the time, whilst here in Santiago, we were all blinking like deer in the headlights feeling odd that life was weirdly normal for us.The media exaggerated the conditions in Santiago (yes, I know Santiago is NOT Chile... ) and we all have to do what we can to spread the word that life is continuing, that investors shouldn't withdraw and that tourists are welcome. Some people picture a country in ruins, when it really isn't, do we want to perpetuate that, or let people know that this amazing country withstood the almost unbelievable?

Granted, I did not lose any friends or family in the earthquake, so my view is pretty sanitized (apart from being quite nervous every time an aftershock hits and I was a bundle of nerves last week when my kid's school was evacuated), but I didn't find the OP offensive or insensitive or untimely at all.

Letting the 2010 Quake redefine this country, or this forum, would be a mistake in my opinion. That this terrible event deeply affects the country is obvious. But let's not rename Chile "Quakelandia" and make it all about the quake. Life has to march on.

I totally agree. I am sure we will have many many discussions over the quake and reconstruction efforts in the months and possibly years to come in terms of what does it mean, what kind of effect is it having on the country, and so on; but, it is also by no stretch the only thing going on in Chile. Chile is still here, and much of it is exactly the same as it was before the quake.

I am hoping the quake in the end is a rallying point for many changes and improvements that the country was in desperate need of before the quake.