Mini rant

[erchess]

To Followup On ChEArs

I would never post without looking in all the resources I have (The CD The Tax Library another printed book and another online research service) but sometimes I don't find anything that seems to be on point. Still it might be a good idea to mention that I looked at the contents of this tab and/or did a computer search for these terms and came up with nothing that seemed useful. That might make some feel better as well as give some kind poster a way to help me become more proficient at searching. (Maybe something that came up in my search had the answer and I didn't realize that it did!) My internet and computer aided searching is still very much a work in progress and people here have helped me get better.

[dtlee]

I have a different perspective

I have also seen instances on this board where people have posted questions about references which seemingly contradict their tax knowledge or other references. Sometimes those questions are obliged with a professional response; other times not so; other times the responses are mixed.

I think it is a pain when tax professionals post here rather than looking things up just as the other members of this board. However, just because someone has found a contradiction between two sources and is wondering if the law changed, it does not mean that they have no knowledge of taxes and should be treated like dirt. If you pay attention, you can tell who has done their homework and who is just mooching on others.

Some of the derided posters have cited where their confusion is. That is different from a person showing no knowledge or research prior to posting. Even though the question may be trivial to some of us, there may be a true point of confusion or there may be a real or imagined contradiction that, if politely clarified, would not necessarily embarrass the person for bringing up a question.

Those of us who have never been confused on a topic or never read something the wrong way or never handled something a certain way because someone else told us that is how it is handled are likely entitled to take a holier-than-though attitude. Still, I think answering the question just to point out that the questioner is ignorant is probably not very professional.

Why not just ignore a topic if you think the poster is ignorant or lazy?

[JohnH]

I prefer your approach. Sometimes I see questions that I assume the person should be able to figure out on their own, so I just skip over them. Other times I'm busy and don't jump in just because I don't have time or the inclination to get involved. Many times I don't know the answer myself and I wait for others to respond so I'll maybe learn something. Occasionally this happens even with basic questions related to a matter I've never dealt with.

In every instance, it costs me nothing to skip over a post. So I fail to see a big problem here, even with the occasional post by someone who's obviously not a tax pro. If they get no responses, they will have no choice but to go away. If they are a tax pro with a return sitting on their desk which has to be completed, they will eventually do their own research if no one has the time or inclination to help them out when the issue is basic.

Or, as is the case with a famous music critic being pestered all evening at a dinner party by a young composer who was desperate to play a piano piece for him. Finally at the end of the evening he sat down near the piano. Seeing this, the composer immediatley rushed over & began playing, but the critic was bored and fell asleep. When the piece was finished, the over-eager composer jostled him awake and asked "Do you have any comment?" He replied, "Young man, slumber IS a comment!"

[ShawnGuy007]

Mini Rant, example.

I had someone ask me if their wedding expenses were deductable, they were going to give me that information!!!

[luke]

just saying

Not trying to continue this discussion "negatively" but I've noticed some posters with designation "senior" and I question their questions?
It takes a while to determine which responders comments are worth reading....
BUT thanks very much for everyone on the board as it is VERY helpful to me....

[Gretel]

Not trying to continue this discussion "negatively" but I've noticed some posters with designation "senior" and I question their questions?

I bet I am one of them. I am not good with words nor with being precise, it is very hard work for me. Also, I have a small practice and in the 11 years I am practicing limited exposure to a number of issues. It is what it is and I am not ashamed of it. It is one thing to pass the EA test and quite another to put into context everything learned.