Mr Nosheds, thanks for your interesting input but the truth is that everyone lies. Some for good reasons, others for bad reasons and yes we all do it..
IRL maybe, but in our personae here that is never, ever, even in the tiniest extent, acceptable behaviour.
If you were to spend a little time to count up the number of posts here on this forum since it was established then you may find that there are quite a few. Many of them are of the kind that follow the line "can I.....". If we were to sit and type the precise reason then there would be pages and pages of exactly the same kind of stuff, all as long winded as you...
Tough - if you cannot, or will not through laziness do your job here properly then you have no business being here.
Let me say this as loudly and as clearly as I can:
LYING TO PEOPLE IS ABSOLUTELY UNACCEPTABLE AND INTOLERABLE, AND NOBODY WHO DOES IT HAS ANY PLACE HERE.
Since no one here is paid to offer our help, then it is down to each person who contributes to offer his own reason for not assisting or to discourage...
Reason yes, lies no.
Folk can take the advise or leave it as they wish,
How can people possibly make a judgement on the advice you are giving them if it might be a pack of lies?
People come here for advice because they expect to encounter professional and/or experienced people who know what they are talking about. If you lie to them you are deliberately not giving them what they have good reason to expect, you are making a mockery of the whole idea of professionalism, and you are undermining the whole reason for this site existing.
it certainly is nothing to do with you to dictate how anyone answers.
Dream on - it is everything to do with me - how dare you try to make out that I am not allowed to criticise liars?
It is also worth considering how ones response is received... To suggest to a poster that he or she is not competent may be technically correct when put into the correct context, however there are plenty of thin skinned folk out there who would read "Not competent" as "Incompetent" which is not correct in any way shape or form, they simply haven't proven themselves to be competent in the subject being discussed.
Then in the context of what they are asking about they are incompetent - that's what the word means, why shouldn't they read "not competent" as "incompetent"?
The fact that experienced tradesmen give their time to help folk is to be commended and most folk who come here with problems that I and most of us believe that this forum is designed to help with leave satisfied..
Are you saying that this forum is set up to patronise and lie to people, and that they should be satisfied with being treated like that?
I personally do not believe that we should be helping with gas issues or issues covered by G3...
Then your personal solution is blindingly obvious - simply don't help, if you aren't prepared to help properly.
BUT DO NOT LIE!
If you want to contribute with some technical help then I'm sure that those who wish to work on gas and the like will receive your advise with gratitude.
I don't want to, but my not wanting to does not lead me to think that I should lie to them.
Although it may not be illegal for them to meddle in such matters or for you to advise them, I think that any sane human being would regard your encouraging them as immoral.
You have a seriously depraved view of the world if you equate not lying to someone as encouraging them.
I think now that this issue has been done to death, I see no further point in our discussing this issue. Folk can now read these posts and decide who is the voice of reason.
If you want to talk about reason, then consider this. I can give you a categorical assurance, based on many exchanges in the electrical forum, that being told something is illegal makes absolutely no difference to people. I have quite often seen people change their mind about DIYing beyond their competence when the magnitude of the task is properly explained to them, but I have hardly ever seen anybody say "Illegal? Oh well I won't then".
You of course will pronounce yourself the hero of the oppressed, I really am not bothered
I am not the hero of the oppressed, but you really should be bothered, because lying to people who ask your advice is incompatible with the status of a professional.
If you are a member of any professional body, I wonder what they would say if you told them that you make it a policy to lie to your clients because telling them the truth is too much trouble?
I know that none of us get paid for giving advice, but that is irrelevant - the questioners here are our clients because we volunteer our services to make them so. Nobody is forcing you to be here, but if you choose to be then you should discharge the responsibilities you have voluntarily chosen to take on in a professional manner, not lie to people because you find it too long winded to tell them the truth.
In short, if you are not prepared to do the job properly then just go away.
but I will expect you to advise these people on all technical matters that sane gas fitters and heating engineers will not..
It is quite possible to not give advice without telling lies - perhaps you should try it.
