It's not just complaints. A person asks a question " where can we buy fresh oysters"? The answer might be " you idiot-don't you know that raw oysters are unhealthy." If you can't answer a question as posed, don't reply.

I think that is it. I think that some posters use the complaints as a way to bash others and some posters really do have questions and concerns that can be answered and addressed. Telling someone that their worries or concerns are misplaced and that possibly everyone is subjected to the same process or rule sometimes helps. Sometimes collectively we can find a solution. One time I read that a poster was disrupted in their sleep by a street lamp being too bright and wanted a shade put on it. I would never think to complain about that and would never think to ask to have it shaded.
(It wasn't) Sometimes things seem very unrealistic to others and you swallow hard to not answer in such a way to diminish the poster or have enough fortitude to not answer at all, and in most cases the poster will then continue to find some answer or continue to complain. I guess that some of us are more patient and compassionate than others.

Where is Gracie?

Yes, I agree. And as this is just an internet chat site I do not find it to be representative of people I've met in the Villages. In spite of its faults, and yes, The Villages does have some IMHO, I've met some wonderful people here and am having the time of my life. If I had judged The Villages based on comments I've read on this site, I would probably have a different opinion of Villagers.

Well thought out post with excellent reasoning.....you are always fair and honest. I enjoy reading your opinions..........

I do believe that a few folks misinterpret someone's asking a question with regard to something that they, the long time Villager, might conceive to be negative......or disparaging to THE VILLAGES.......when in reality it was NOT intended that way.

I remember when some coyote sightings were happening.......
I mentioned that we had spotted one during our first Lifestyle Visit....
The coyote was walking along the white picket fence, with its head hung down.......INSIDE our backyard (the golf cart path was on the other side of the fence). Our home was on Merryweather Way near L.S.L.

WE know what coyotes look like. Vermont has them. We hear them when we go for a walk int he foothills. People spot them. No one in Vermont would DENY that coyotes are in Vermont..........ditto for Colorado.

In the Villages, however, coyote is a bad word and spotting one is even worse.

This is what people are trying to explain....in my opinion anyway.
Not necessarily complaints, but no one takes anyone seriously.

Farmlands in Vermont have rodents, beavers, groundhogs, you name it.....we don't deny their existence. When people inquire as to if there is a problem in TV, knowing of their existence in Florida......I think they'd just like reassurance that the issue is "under control" or controllable.......not to hear that they don't exist.......or that the person asking is the one with the problem. Again, honesty is always the best .

Heck, rats are in the New York City subways and in the walls of the best high rise buildings. A Fact. Not a complaint.

A nice realtor in Mount Dora told us that "Yes, rats are in Mount Dora, but we do our best to keep them out of the homes"........to me that was honest.....it was something I could deal with. It's an older town; I assume with a sewer system.......and we found out all too well, in Venice, that they were in the sewers...and got into the condos......doing property damage.....people on here have said, do not buy near water...nuff said.

Denial can be powerful , in the wrong way, but truth is always better.
No place is perfect and every place has something or other............

Ditto for the alligators or the man who jumped in to save his pooch.
All he got was negative flack from posters........people didn't even believe it happened, even after it was in the Orlando Sentinal. I mean, come on.
That is negative. Not those asking the questions in all good faith and sincerity....with a need to know.

This is why some people do not believe that all posters are real people, but are part of the establishment who work there.

senior citizen: Thank you for the kind words. I agree with premise regarding denial being powerful.

In my humble view the critic of a "so called complaint" response will face the same judgment as the so called complainer. You identified one of the controlling factors "a power play by denial. another is when a critic deals with the situation in absolutes. Ex I like good steaks. Does anyone know where I can good steaks in The Villages? Critic, Why would you want to eat steak or meat for that matter its only going to kill you faster?
First the critic never addressed the question and secondly was more interested in his/her view belief, etc.

Our society is diminished because people have become accustom to political speak in the form of denials, absolutes,etc. that we forgot how to ask probing questions to get at the truth or at least a satisfying compromise.

Sometimes posters read only the last post and do not take the time to read all of the posts and some posters focus on one detail and do not take the time to get the gist of the post. Some posters do not jump, they leap to conclusions and the conclusions are proceeding from very illogical premises.

Many posters live here and have lived here for some time and other posters have visited here for a week or two. Many posters having seen the villages for the first time are incredulous and want to know "What's the Catch?????" I think almost everyone feels that at first. I think all of us worry that it will continue to be as well maintained and as well run after buildout. Or the IRS issue will not be resolved and hurt all of our pocketbooks, although many are thinking about that differently, well never mind.

There is nothing wrong, in fact everything right about people who do not yet live here questioning process and procedures and ways of doing things that are different here but I do have a problem with them posting facts about this place which are simply not true. New readers don't know what to believe and those of us with justifiable pride in the place we have chosen to live year round or a good part of our time and in which we have sunk sizable dollars and are very satisfied, get a little riled when something is stated as fact that is not a fact. We get a little annoyed when someone who does not live here incorrectly judges a situation and proceeds to address it as if it were a fact.

[QUOTE=golf4me;683766]Sometimes posters read only the last post and do not take the time to read all of the posts and some posters focus on one detail and do not take the time to get the gist of the post. Some posters do not jump, they leap to conclusions and the conclusions are proceeding from very illogical premises. [Quote]

Thanks you beat me to the punch in posting my exact thoughts! Case in point: poster lost wheelbarrow and asked if anyone might be selling a used one. The answers actually devolved into chastising OP for not shredding his/her personal info before putting it at the curb! Hello?

Barefoot, Excelllent post!

Sometimes I think (CAUTION!! Opinion coming!!) this board is the equivalent of a therapy session. It's free and you know people are going to listen to you! Some people come here to vent, complain and gripe... then there are those who tell us how everything is wonderful in their worlds (YAY!).

In one ear (or eye) and out the other with the complainers...

Right again. I totally understand your train of thought.......

If and when we get there, and if you truly do like good steaks, as per above mention.......we will have you and your family over for "Steak Pizzaiola" which my dad used to make.........life is too short never to have a steak and this one is comfort food for Italians and non Italians alike......

Will post on the kitchen or recipe section.........in case you can't wait until our house sells........

Complaints can be valid and even necessary to bring attention to a problem. However, I get a little leery of complaints that bring words like "BEWARE" & "SCAM" in the title.

Opinion
 

This is a well said post...thank you! I rarely post unless something really
moves me to do so simply because of all the "attackers".

Sadly, they always manage to find some little thing within your sentence
to b....h about and then you have to defend yourself. I really don't
think that is the purpose of this forum.

I have used the info received on this forum to make my own decisions
about certain establishments, etc.... good or bad.

My only concern with any post is that is contain accuracy. Some people state facts that are simply NOT facts (I'm not talking about an opinion). If I bring this inaccuracy to their attention they blast me. Many people read this forum and I won't let a false statement sit out there without rebuttal. Am I right all the time? Of course not but if someone restates a fact to me and provides proof then I apologize for my error and will sometimes redact my post.

Me too.

There will ALWAYS be people at both ends of the spectrum - one who complains and one who adores. Some will complain that it gets dark too late now and some wish it got dark around midnight.

I came on here last July looking for information on TV. What I found was that the vast majority of people are helpful. I may not get the answer I was "hoping for," but an honest answer is what I really want.

Everyone has that little something that they do not like and thus are likely to complain about it. In addition, views vary around the country. I am a native New Yorker - some people cringe at that! Oh well - that is their loss.

Personally, when I read the posts, I read the complainers also. maybe he/she has a valid complaint. But, as was stated before, when someone inquires where they could get a good steak and are told you should not eat beef - the ignore button comes on.

Some find beauty in anything and some find ugliness in the same things.