Southampton-London Thread Proposal

[Host Bonjour]

Hello Everyone,

 

Some of the most frequently posted topics are understandably about how to get from port to destination, in most cases, Southampton to London. We noticed a similar trend on our Italy port board and with our newer boards there is a feature that lets us pin a topic to the top of the forum but will also keep it listed with the rest of the other topics on the board. I put a post with new information about the Civitavecchia to Rome train initiatives aimed specifically at cruise passengers arriving in the mornings to spend the day in Rome.

 

I then posted my own topic about this "experiment" of pinning the Civi-Rome train topic as a heads up and to see....did this even make sense? I know not everyone has the same questions about getting from port to town and everyone is always welcome to post separately of course but as we see on some ports, theme threads can be helpful when focused. As I mentioned over in my post on the Italy board, when I was able to keep up with merging threads that were virtually identical requests, I immediately noticed that topics with other different requests immediately came into view which made me hopeful that everyone had an equal chance of getting an answer to their question whether it was one of the more popular topics we see or something a bit different. 

 

I'm here to see if you think this board might benefit from a similar type thread, here's the pinned Italy thread:

here's the thread where I mention it: 

 

Let me know what you think...yeah or nay? A thread each for train or car questions? Do you think another recurring topic might make for a better pinned item? Just wondering if there's a way to make clever use of an option we have and simultaneously help boost the likelihood for folks' posts to get viewed since there'd be a place for a popular question(s) to be answered. 

 

Thanks for taking the time to read this post and as always, for all of your wonderful contributions to these boards. 🙂

[SteveH2508]

My immediate thought is how to deal with the problem of information going out of date. Several CC users (probably mainly newbies) do not look at posting dates so get outdated information. I am not necessarily advocating deleting old posts, but some way of highlighting that it is old info might be helpful.

 

In this particular case, someone may well find loads of posts about cheap Megatrain fares to Southampton from London. These fares have not been available for at least a year now. Just a thought.

[LHT28]

do people actually read the stickies ?

On the surface it sounds like a good plan though

[Globaliser]

12 hours ago, SteveH2508 said:

My immediate thought is how to deal with the problem of information going out of date.

 

12 hours ago, LHT28 said:

do people actually read the stickies ?

 

I think that it's an excellent idea, and one that I've mulling about for a long time, but done nothing for the two reasons identified here.

 

On other boards, compendia of useful information - truly FAQ in this case - are kept up-to-date because those who start the relevant threads can keep them up to date by editing the early posts as information changes. CC's policy of no editing after 20 minutes means that this can't be done. The early posts in the thread will then go out of date unless a mod takes on the burden of keeping them updated. And as there seems to be dire shortage of mod capacity, that's not going to work well.

 

The other problem can be dealt with by having a strict policy that any random thread starter who asks "What's the best way of getting from Heathrow to Southampton?" will be told "Read the sticky", and then have their thread locked immediately. Once that culture beds in, CCers may learn to read the stickies instead of just posting a new thread whenever a question comes into their heads. Unfortunately, current tolerant CC policy towards repetitive questions by people who have plainly not bothered to do even two minutes' research may be inconsistent with a strict approach. And it doesn't help that people so often parrot the nonsense about there being no stupid questions: that may be fine advice for a 7 year-old child, but of course there are plenty of stupid questions that can be (and routinely are) asked by adults.

 

For myself, I would happily contribute to an effort on sticky threads that I know something about. But I cannot be bothered to answer the stupid (ie unthinking) questions any more. Some CCers here have the patience of saints in that respect.

[John Bull]

14 hours ago, SteveH2508 said:

My immediate thought is how to deal with the problem of information going out of date. Several CC users (probably mainly newbies) do not look at posting dates so get outdated information. I am not necessarily advocating deleting old posts, but some way of highlighting that it is old info might be helpful.

 

In this particular case, someone may well find loads of posts about cheap Megatrain fares to Southampton from London. These fares have not been available for at least a year now. Just a thought.

 

14 hours ago, LHT28 said:

do people actually read the stickies ?

On the surface it sounds like a good plan though

 

These two points had occurred to me as well.

 

There seems to be a plethora of stickies on all forums - they're almost all about CC rules and even in my early days I didn't pay much mind to them.

 

Some time back I "saved" my responses in order to answer subsequent similar questions without wearing down my typing finger.

But each time I used one it needed to be changed because the advice for a world-wise able-bodied couple wanting the cheapest method from, say, the Paddington area is very different to that for a single-parent with two kids leaving from the same area and wanting the simplest transfer.

And invariably some of it was out-of-date. For instance the demise of Greyhound UK and Steve's example of the demise of Megatrain. 

In fact if someone creates a new post on an old thread I check back through that thread to point out any advice that is no longer relevant.

 

To / from London's airports? Mebbe, with provisos.

To/from central London? I'm not so sure.

 

Yes, some folk are lazy.

But I remember my early days on CC, when I had no idea about search facilities. So I tend to be more easy-going on folk with a low post-count. And I cringe when a newbie is greeted with a curt and discourteous reply.

And yes, some of us are suckers for repeat questions. But we have the choice to ignore those questions - sometimes if I'm busy or feeling bad-tempered I'll pass by, sometimes if I'm bored or feeling benevolent I'll respond. My typing finger, my rules. 

 

JB 

[Turtles06]

Colleen, I think the idea of a sticky for a basic transportation question that is asked repeatedly in this forum is a good one.   (I've lost count of how many posts I've put up recommending Smiths for Airports and Blackberry Cars .  I don't mind answering repeated questions, though, but I do wish people would use the search engine.  Or even scroll down a page or two.)  However, I share the concern expressed by others above that stickies just aren't "seen" -- readers eyes tend to glaze over them, and the more there are in a forum, the worse that problem is.

 

I suppose the only way to find out would be to put up the sticky as an experiment, and then see if people miss it and start new threads asking for the same information. . .  (If that does happen, I like Globaliser's suggestion of a reply directing them to the sticky, and then locking the thread.)

 

I do think it would be important to caution readers that some information in any sticky could be out of date, but that's the same issue in any thread that has turned up through a search.  

Edited March 11, 2019 by Turtles06

[tartanexile81]

It would be a good idea............. if only people bothered to search for the information they need - even as a sticky.  I post regularly about getting to Edinburgh from Rosyth / Queensferry or Newhaven and nobody seems to search for the information. 

[Globaliser]

It occurs to me for some reason () that we may also need a sticky thread about how to get from Heathrow (and Gatwick) to various frequently asked-about points in central London.

[Turtles06]

3 hours ago, Globaliser said:

It occurs to me for some reason () that we may also need a sticky thread about how to get from Heathrow (and Gatwick) to various frequently asked-about points in central London.

 

I had the same reaction earlier today. 

[Globaliser]

On 3/18/2019 at 12:45 AM, Turtles06 said:

I had the same reaction earlier today. 

 

And we have another one today ...

[Turtles06]

And one more today....  

[LocoLoco1]

I like it. ie HEATHROW to SOUTHHAMPTON's DOCK   COPENHAGEN Airport to CRUISE DOCK  etc. LocoLoco1 TOM

[Blue and Green]

Ugh. Not a fan. Just read through 6 pages and 140 replies on a thread that was updated for 2019, and still didn't find the information I was hoping to find. But when I did a search, I saw others referring posters to the thread.

That was an updated thread for 2019 (Wonderful Copenhagen), but I would also be concerned about information being out-of date.

The thing I like about this site is the activity on the boards and great responses to questions. 😊

If it turns into more and more sticky threads on topics, why not just read reviews elsewhere on the inter-webs? 😒

[Globaliser]

15 hours ago, Blue and Green said:

The thing I like about this site is the activity on the boards and great responses to questions.

 

But does it really help if each time someone asks exactly the same question as before, it just garners a new collection of random answers, many from people who are just guessing, and some of the answers being just 100% plain wrong?

[Blue and Green]

24 minutes ago, Globaliser said:

 

But does it really help if each time someone asks exactly the same question as before, it just garners a new collection of random answers, many from people who are just guessing, and some of the answers being just 100% plain wrong?

I don’t mind sharing my experiences even if a question has been asked before, and I greatly appreciate the patience others have in answering my questions. I do try to use the search function first, but at times that leaves me with additional questions that may be unique to our travel needs/desires.

Regarding the wrong answers or the “guessing,” there is nothing to prevent this from happening whether it is a sticky thread or a regular thread, right? I always read questions/answers, information, and reviews with my critical thinking cap on, whether posted on Cruise Critic or elsewhere.

Anyway, just my opinion and perhaps not a popular one. The main down-side I see to the proposed thread is that these things seem to encourage the “Read the Thread” response to questions, which then in turn limits (perhaps by subtle intimidation) additional posts related to a topic outside of the increasingly unwieldly thread.

[Host Bonjour]

Thank you for taking time to share your thoughts. Sounds like we'll have a go at it then.

 

I agree, it seems in the past, our old stickies tended to become 'ghost stickies' in that they languished around up there on top of the boards collecting dust as if trapped in an old attic doing nothing. (Don't tell them I said that!)

 

Our newer boards...not sure what it is, how the pinning works, the algorithm, (a spiffy avatar would be something!) or it couldn't just be using the word pinning over stickies (or could it?) but I noticed that it's working on Italy. I took a chance and thought....maybe it might be a helpful tool here but it's best if you're all on board. For the test run, I tried it on a big, busy forum and haven't been thrown to the lions....yet. To see if it would be helpful here, well, I needed to know you were down to have a go. I'm thrilled (chuffed?) we can at least try and see how it works.

 

Of course, anyone can and will still post their 'how do I get to/from' exact question, perhaps with a unique twist, 'I'm traveling with my accordion,' which we kind of WANT to see, so it's not to ever discourage anyone from posting separately but hopefully to create a useful reference guide. 

 

This means we can get to the questions of tours - which, why, West End Shows, Welsh castles, alternative port stops, Cork - it's not just for wine (it's OK, I'm an Irish citizen too...) as maybe the typical questions go into a focused thread on airport transportation and Southampton transport, or as I still love to hear it called, the boat train. I'm most excited about this part - where the actual 'visiting' topics could become more prominent, although indeed, what can you visit if you cannot sort getting from ship to town. Nevertheless.....

 

You've all become such legendary guides here on the boards, would you want to have a crack at writing up something that can be pinned? No pressure...but maybe... Tartan, JB, Global, Turtle, LHT, some of our esteemed, in-country members....if you wanted to select a topic and put something together, post it and I can pin it.

 

To start I think we can work on, as planned, Southampton to London train, and if you think it makes sense, include the car hire options too. The thread will hopefully bloom from there. Then when it gets to be however many pages...I hope...what I do, for example with Wonderful Copenhagen, Danish Viking starts a new one each year. (If you ever fancied an Edinburgh page Tartan, have at it 😉 )

 

Other pin ideas: For now, we can probably fit two more up there, see how it goes.

What's the best use of that space? 

Airport to London? 

Port to? 

 

Please feel free to email me for quicker connect...I get a LOT Of board notifications on post updates (and then I have daft moments too!) so I can work on this quicker to get it up and running. Should be in my sig but...

hostbonjour@cruisecritic.com 

 

 Tip of the hat to everyone for contributing to the conversation and for ALWAYS being here to help make the board, and so many others, extraordinary. Cheers 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 7, 2019 by Host Bonjour

[tartanexile81]

Well it's funny you should say that Host Bonjour as my previous threads are a bit out of date now and I was thinking of doing something along the lines you suggest.....

 

There have been several changes in the last couple of years on how to get to Edinburgh from the ports especially with the introduction of direct shuttle buses.  Most people don't even know there are 4 terminals!  Anyway I volunteer at Rosyth and Queensferry and have earmarked a couple of days when cruise ships will be docking at Newhaven and Leith. I was going to go along, take photos  and create a thread which could be pinned if you want. 

 

I should also say that our cruising website is also very useful -www.cuiseforth.com- and we're currently working on an app. 

[Host Bonjour]

Hey Tartan!

 

Sounds like a great idea to make an updated ports arrival thread. You're right, there are many questions here about coming into port, getting to Edinburgh and usually the first reply is 'specifically which entry?' It's not like landing at an airport when there are typically one, maybe two options. OK, London has many but not really for long haul travelers.

 

Our regulars do updated threads for Northern Germany, Denmark, Spain, I start updated ones on Italy, so I'm hoping maybe we can get one or two or so going here. I do think they'll not only be helpful resources, but that then there will be more visibility for other topics. 

 

Ready whenever you are. You know where to find me 🙂