WADDYA RECKON?
GT CALLS OUT THE GROWING KEYBOARD-MORON CLASS
LIKE A LOT of you, I can hardly remember the preinternet world. The online free f low of information and easy access to ot hers’ knowledge can be terrif ic and finding and buying stuff is easier now t han ever.
But there are drawbacks. That easy access a lso means dealing with the not-so-clever...
For example, on one Holden-themed Facebook page someone asked about a VT Commodore
SS f itted wit h a 3.8-lit re Supercharged V6 engine: Was it rea lly an SS…?
Yes, actua lly, it is – Holden did offer a Supercharged V6 VT SS. Not many people rea lise t his model ex ists because not many were sold.
Anyhow, a rocket scientist ca lled Ja mes, joined in wit h: “SS is a V8, if it’s a V6 it’s just a Commodore S and later SV6.” James’ statement was, of course, wrong and a few wiser people pointed t his out. As an aside, a couple of enthusiasts mentioned t he super-ra re early-90s V6-powered V P Commodore SS, too, of which only a tiny number – as litt le as si x – were made.
So, did James say something like: ‘Hey thanks fellas, I learned something today,’ ?
Did James admit that he was (oh-my-god!) wrong?
No. Instead, James – who judging by his photo, was probably wearing a nappy when the V T was new – went on a tirade of abuse claiming what he wrote was his ‘opinion’:
“I can put my opinion for ward as much as I like it’s just a badge on a car so the facts on t his matter don’t rea lly matter,” he wrote. “Tr y to debate me on something important and you will get buried wit h a tonne of facts and statistics…”
Uh huh. James posted severa l more increasingly tox ic remarks but t hat f irst one revea ls his mind-set and I guess, brain-power: Even though Holden did build a V6 SS, and even though what James wrote was incorrect, he was entit led to write it – and have other people not question, nor attempt to correct what he’d written – because it was his ‘opinion’.
Can you imagine working with a bloke such as James?
Some of the most excruciating useless terms you’ll read on-line are: ‘We Love Ours’ and ‘Never Had A Problem’. When people ask for information about a product t hey’re interested in buying – and people often do about any thing from a 4WD winch, to t y res, swags, or gaskets for an engine – you can bet that ‘We Love Ours’ or ‘Never Had A Problem’ or ‘Highly Recommended’ will appear in t he f irst halfdozen responses.
Sometimes the enquirer – or another interested reader – will probe f urt her, ask ing: “Hey thanks, where have you used your [product] so far? ” You’ll be surprised how often t he answer will be like: “We haven’t used it yet, bought it yesterday, but we love it ! ”
Example? “Ver y impressed with ‘Brand X’ wiring,” someone wrote on a VW page, regarding a replacement wiring harness for a VW Beetle. “Placed my order on March 18 for the V W Bug delu xe k it. Received it March 22. It is of ver y high qualit y and came with detailed instructions… Highly recommended!”
A picture showed a st ill-in-t he-packet wiring harness, complete with a wrong-shape fuse box that would have required plent y of work to f it it into a V W. Yet this bloke was gushing about qualit y and was happy to ‘highly recommend’ it to a ll his Facebook buddies, despite t he fact it wasn’t on t he car yet, clea rly wouldn’t f it t he car and – of course – hadn’t yet been used !
And how about: “But It’s Good Value, or “I Got A Good Price” written by ever y clow n who has bought t he cheapest, crappiest product… but needs to somehow conv ince others he’s made a wise decision.
This behav iour is studied in education/training and sa les/marketing courses and it’s frustratingly fascinating. I’m never sure who are the bigger idiots – t he people of fering useless adv ice or t hose who ta ke it wit hout question !