I've actually asked on behalf of a friend before, since the guy claims to hate posting on forums, but then he's dyslexic and visually impaired so I guess he has an excuse.

From some other gaming-related forums I've been on, I've learned that in some cases what they're trying to "hide" is that they're seeking support for, or otherwise using, pirated software. An example is someone asking a question about a Steam-exclusive game (like Half-Life 2) and when asked about doing Steam-related operations (like verifying the local game files) they respond with something like: "oh I don't know about that, it's on a friend's computer, and the friend says it's an Amazon version not related to Steam." I've seen those kinds of threads play out over the years, and it's very frustrating from the perspective of someone trying to help and basically being told: "thanks but no thanks, now make it work!" 😵

I'll also agree that more broadly it's very annoying to try and participate in a tech-support thread where it's assumed that the responders/helpers can read minds to fill in the various "blanks" associated with the question, and are also often berated for not providing a complete answer instantly. I haven't seen this happen quite as much in recent years as it once did, I think partly because "computers" have both become more common and less popular - I'm sure if I was into smartphones or tablets I'd be able to get my fill of these kinds of questions though... 🤣

VileRancour wrote:

I've actually asked on behalf of a friend before, since the guy claims to hate posting on forums, but then he's dyslexic and visually impaired so I guess he has an excuse.

Well I'm both as well but I don't use it as an excuse.

I can however see the vitriol that can occur on forums so I get why some folks simply stay away from them.

As for these kinds of posts/threads on behalf of somebody, yes they can indeed be annoying as many times it is exactly that, they are trying to get some kind of non-official program/game to work on their machine.

But I simply look at what response they get if any and try to respond with what info has been given, if they respond with any kind of bad response I simply ignore them and move on.

I've even had a few forum PM's that asked for help instead of posting in the forums themselves and I simply state they should ask in the forums to get a better response.