Travel overkill?

August 9, 2012 8:39 AM

Is it bad form to post a third (and possibly fourth) travel question that is quite similar in content to two I've already posted?

I posted two very similar travel questions about New York City and London within the last 13 months or so, the first in July '11, the second in December. The gist was essentially asking people to recommend travel sites/experiences that accord with my urbanist/transit interests; answers were very helpful.

I am going to Toronto in September and considering posting a similar question (with some additions/changes, as I am not traveling solo this time). Is it bad form to post a third* variation on the urbanist-travel question with a new destination? I'd imagine that if I posted my identical question every week about a new city -- LA this week, SF next week, Chicago after that -- this would become tiresome and I'd get called out on it.

I promise I am not trying to secretly crowd-source a "Urbanists' Guide to City XYZ" article series, and am only coming back because I happen to find myself at a very fortunate junction in my life when I can travel relatively frequently* and largely arrange trips according to my own interests, and Metafilter has been very good at helping me do that. I just don't want to abuse site resources and "overstay my welcome," so to speak.

*I may be going to Beijing in the spring, which could be a fourth...

posted by andrewesque to Etiquette/Policy at 8:39 AM (13 comments total)

I feel like it's not a huge problem but if people have given you resources the past two times it's good to let people know "Hey I already know about this this and this through my research but are there any other things that I am missing?" the way you have been doing.

Otherwise yeah it does look like a "crowdsource my urbanism!" thing and might leave people wondering. You're a contributor here in other ways so I wouldn't worry about this terribly much.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 8:42 AM on August 9, 2012

People have actually successfully crowdsourced research using AskMe before, sometimes with and sometimes without attribution.

I think intention is everything. If your intention is good and you're not trying to game the community or exploit it, these sorts of questions are fine.

Also, travel questions are *incredibly* common on AskMe and frequently center on the kinds of things that geeks like.

I think it really becomes problematic when people ask questions every week back-to-back, or when they appear to be stuck on a particular issue or obsession. But travel questions spaced a few months apart is so thoroughly in the realm of kosher that it should have an OU on it and be given its own section in the grocery store.
posted by Deathalicious at 9:52 AM on August 9, 2012

I would also encourage you to add your questions to the wiki, and be clear in your Ask that you've already read the relevant Asks for that specific city.

I don't much pay attention to who asks what questions like this, so I wouldn't necessarily notice that you've asked similar questions about other cities. I think questions about related interests but different locations are totally fair game for travel Asks.

What I do get irritated by is people who ask travel questions without apparently having read similar questions about the same location. (I really only notice those about San Francisco-- as much as I love telling visitors about my city, there are only so many times I am willing to contribute to the "what cool things are there to do in SF?" question.)
posted by gingerbeer at 11:07 AM on August 9, 2012 [4 favorites]

If you're going to Toronto and like meat and booze, go to the Black Hoof. Then report back your experience so I can live vicariously through you.
posted by slogger at 11:54 AM on August 9, 2012

From the above-the-fold part of your question, I was thinking you would be asking every week.

~6 months apart? Not a problem at all. Go for it.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 1:00 PM on August 9, 2012

Also I find stuff like this crazy helpful, because I also travel a bunch and I do AskMe searches all the time trying to find good info. So do it! You prevent the rest of us having to ask!
posted by mckenney at 1:28 PM on August 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

Different cities? As long as you've searched past questions i think it's cool. Better than say, repeatedly asking for feedback on your same old OkCupid profile, anyway.
posted by crabintheocean at 3:46 PM on August 9, 2012

crab, that's a shitty and unnecessary dig at a user looking genuinely for more help
posted by 6550 at 6:27 PM on August 9, 2012

MetaTravel could of course help fix this once and for all.
Update on this once floated pony please?
posted by adamvasco at 1:40 AM on August 10, 2012

I hope it's ok, because I ask a lot of travel questions and since I continue to like food, cocktails, and museums they're probably all pretty similar.

I will say I've gotten the best feedback by being really specific about what I'm looking for. Not just "where's the best food" but "I see that X and Y place have good reviews, which one would you pick for Z occasion?"
posted by JoanArkham at 5:43 AM on August 10, 2012

Nothing different ever happens in NYC, so what's the point.

Just kidding. I consider Mefi an essential travel resource.
posted by spitbull at 7:53 AM on August 10, 2012

Dude, the more travel questions, the better - I just posted my third or fourth one this year. This site is the very first place I go for travel info, and it has yet to steer me wrong (my son and I had a fantastic time in D.C. thanks to our friend the HiveMind).
posted by julthumbscrew at 1:22 PM on August 10, 2012

Good to hear this! I'll make sure to read previous askmes and avoid "I'm going to Toronto, what do I do???" type questions.
posted by andrewesque at 7:55 AM on August 12, 2012