Posted by BobbiCT on 3/1/10 9:43am
Msg #324747

Don't pick on the newbies ...

It's not totally their fault they are on this board, newly "licensed" and looking for names of good paying companies to work for.

My mother's hairdresser passed along a Jan 18, 2010, issue of Woman's [something or other], which is a magazine at every grocery store checkout, hair and beauty saloon. It's EXPERT gave advice on good part-time, work-from-home jobs: Become a "licensed notary" and earn $50 to $150 per signing ... it only takes a $50 - $200 "certification course." The NNA was listed a a site as well as this board and some others.

The one-paragraph recommendation to become a "mobile notary public" left a great deal out. Like a "commissioned" notary may only earn 25 cents to $10 on a notarization ... and doesn't need "certification".

Reply by Grammyzoom on 3/1/10 10:02am
Msg #324748

There is sooooo much more than learning how to notarize a document to become a loan signer and few sources tell the newbies that. Newbies are just people who are looking for a way to earn a living, either part time or full time and who do not yet have the experience or education they need to be successful.

I have stayed off of the "talk" for years because it hurts to see how discouraging it must be for the people new to this business. They flounder and try to get useful information, and instead, are made fun of and leave feeling useless and uncomfortable. I have decided that from now on, I personally will try to discourage some of these people from thinking they are better than anyone else and instead of imparting their great wisdom to those who are in need, choose to make themselves feel better by making someone else feel badly.

Are there others out there that feel the same way I do and who are willing to step in and do something about it? I hope so. If so, let's band together and make this a good place for everyone to come and learn.

Wow! that felt so good!

Reply by jba/fl on 3/1/10 10:14am
Msg #324749

GZ - such nobility surely will be rewarded....may they all

be in your backyard. How fast will you then 'mentor'?

Reply by Grammyzoom on 3/1/10 10:33am
Msg #324756

Re: GZ - such nobility surely will be rewarded....may they all

I do believe that it is attention that the "no names" are seeking, so perhaps it is best to just ignore their comments and go onto the next topic.

Perhaps if they have no one to arue with, they may go elsewhere.

Or, the bunch of them can continue to pat each other on the back for all of their clever comments and glorious put downs.

Reply by Grammyzoom on 3/1/10 11:04am
Msg #324763

Re: GZ - such nobility surely will be rewarded....may they all

I mentored you in your next post about ..............travelers

Reply by jba/fl on 3/1/10 12:27pm
Msg #324780

Re: GZ - such nobility surely will be rewarded....may they all

So, who is the "no name" you are referring to? Me? I'm linked. msm143 - no name, no liink, no consequence.

As for the person who changes location - English is not my first language. I learned from a Dane who learned from the Brits; my family comes from Scotland and we do some odd spellings, plus I am spelling challenged and have never come across as anything less. See message: 324714

Reply by mwm143 on 3/1/10 12:46pm
Msg #324784

Leave me out of it JBA

It was pure coincidence that you happened to be the 3rd poster albeit not surprising.

Reply by Les_CO on 3/1/10 1:14pm
Msg #324788

Just curious jba

So your native language was Scottish Gaelic?

Reply by mwm143 on 3/1/10 10:17am
Msg #324750

Three cheers to GZ

"personally will try to discourage some of these people from thinking they are better than anyone else and instead of imparting their great wisdom to those who are in need, choose to make themselves feel better by making someone else feel badly."

I completely agree with you. A huge problem on this site is that the original topic is always hijacked by one of the members of the Supreme Court of Notary Rotary who seeks out any opportunity to "one up" the poster. Usually by the 3rd thread. The last thread of any post rarely, if ever has anything to do with the topic.

Good luck. I'm certain you have the support of a few hundred others who read but don't even bother to post here because of the above comments.

Reply by Susan Fischer on 3/1/10 4:21pm
Msg #324795

Yes! And a few others too. n/m

Reply by MW/VA on 3/2/10 8:18am
Msg #324857

....is always hijacked by one of the members of the Supreme

Court of Notary Rotary who seeks out any opportunity to "one up" the poster.
You are entitled to your opinion, but this remark does a great disservice to the many notaries who come to this site to answer questions & help others.
As far as Newbies are concerned, we usually direct them to message #33325 that contains a wealth of information about this business that would normally have to be gained through years of experience.
We might get irritated by the fact that XYZ is selling this profession without realistic expectations.
The remark made yesterday about the "bus" was totally out of line, and some of the regular posters called him out on it.
This is a very tough business. If anyone is too intimiated to participate in the forum, how on earth are they going to make it out there with the unscruplous companies that are lirking & often prey on newbies?

Reply by jba/fl on 3/2/10 10:35am
Msg #324876

Re: ....is always hijacked by one of the members of the Supreme

" If anyone is too intimiated to participate in the forum, how on earth are they going to make it out there with the unscruplous companies that are lirking & often prey on newbies?"

We have seen in the past that sometimes people come on here, make their little 'stabs' then turn tail and skip off into the ether, not to return until another business frustration enters. Then they start their process over again.

In business, one must hold their stance and not turn away for if they do someone will be more than happy to usurp their position. When one weathers a storm, one becomes more knowledgeable perhaps not about the business, but one's own capabilities. Subjected to stresses is how backbones crumble or straighten; steel is tempered becoming stronger, iron wills are formed, and so on.

Those who step up and out subject themselves to ridicule or conversely, respect, if only self respect and everything in between. It takes gumption to take a stand and fight for the right things. It takes a thick skin and a back like a duck's and a smattering of teflon coating to endure sticks and stones lobbed at one, getting deflected leaving one intact and self-confident.

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 3/1/10 10:20am
Msg #324752

"I have decided that from now on, I personally will try to discourage some of these people from thinking they are better than anyone else and instead of imparting their great wisdom to those who are in need, choose to make themselves feel better by making someone else feel badly."

Very noble cause - perhaps you'd like to address the "short bus" comment in the thread below...seems to me that fits right in with what you're talking about.

Reply by Les_CO on 3/1/10 12:42pm
Msg #324783

Maybe if all the ‘newbie’s’ would just send you $99 for your course, they would know everything about this business, and not have to come here for advice?

Reply by JanetK_CA on 3/1/10 11:34pm
Msg #324837

I have to take slight issue with part of your comments, specifically: "They flounder and try to get useful information, and instead, are made fun of and leave feeling useless and uncomfortable."

There is an abundance of useful information available here for the taking. All they need to do is "try" a tiny bit harder. I don't know how long you've been reading here, but back a couple of years for a while there - when the NNA and others were actively recruiting people to get into this business to sell their classes and goods - we were getting bombarded, almost on a daily basis, with people asking the most basic of questions, often things that had been asked and answered just the day before (and sometimes just a few threads down on the same page). The slightest effort and there would be no need to "flounder".

Experienced notaries would take time from their busy schedules to dash out a quick response only to be admonished because it wasn't put nicely enough or they weren't willing to freely give away something they'd worked very hard to develop. Even the most patient can get tired of that after a while. Yes, there were some whose responses were way over the top and we'd see the board get taken over for a while by long, nasty exchanges. But thankfully, those seem to be mostly a thing of the past (I hope ).

" I have decided that from now on, I personally will try to discourage some of these people from thinking they are better than anyone else and instead of imparting their great wisdom to those who are in need, choose to make themselves feel better by making someone else feel badly."

There may be a couple of individuals for whom this is true, but I think the vast majority here really care about elevating the quality of notary work being done and are genuinely interested in providing accurate information to others. I hope this board doesn't go to the other extreme. It will be everyone's loss if more of the most experienced decide that they don't need the aggravation and don't bother coming here anymore because people interpret potentially helpful posts as too harsh or not pc. I can think of a couple off the top of my head from whom I've learned a great deal, but they don't bother posting because too many complained about their style. Like I said, our loss!!

[Also, sometimes comments meant tongue-in-cheek are taken to heart. That's a hazard of the written word and hard to avoid completely. Helps to not take ourselves too seriously -- and we can all use some humor from time to time... ]

Just my 2 cents.

Reply by desktopfull on 3/2/10 12:00am
Msg #324841

I agree Janet.

I won't bother telling anyone anymore to get a business plan, research the business they are going into, research the companies that they plan to do business with, or use the "Orange Search Button" as it is considered being mean, nasty, harsh and rude. From now on the PC crowd can take care of gently hand holding the newbies and protecting them from the cruel world of business and NotRot posters.

Reply by Notarysigner on 3/1/10 10:30am
Msg #324755

....."It's EXPERT gave advice on good part-time, work-from-home jobs:"

This is a profession I believe so it take a little bit more.....it would have been nice to know who the "expert" was and "expert" in what?

Anyway, it is my belief that more people take this as a professional livelihood than a part-time stay at home job. I don't know about the rest of you but I have to leave my home to do a signing, no work-from-home here. IMO

Reply by MrEd_Ca on 3/1/10 11:04am
Msg #324764

Re: Don't pick on the newbies ... or the oldbies, either ...

I agree totally and would also like to include 'oldies' in that paragraph. I figure we are all on NotaryRotary searching for education & knowledge. And passing on that information also (exclusive of the list of our own personal stash of high paying tc's & other contacts, of course) to each other. Most of the existing sources of this knowledge, be they many of these certification companys (ABC being a frequently sited example) & many of the states SOS's &/or 'Manuals" are, in many cases, pretty lame. To quote from the NR preamble:

"Notary Rotary.. was created to allow professional notaries public to share experiences, advice and opinions with other members of the profession."

I like that sentence & enjoy the discussions that reflect that. I recoil in horror & disgust when the discussions go in the opposite direction (e.g. the bus comment).

Reply by RJE/MI on 3/1/10 12:06pm
Msg #324777

I am in no way a "Newbie". . . .

but I totally agree with you Carol. I have been closing real estate transactions for 21 years. When I found this site I thought I hit gold with all of the great advice and support I saw on NotRot. I waited quite a while before posting anything just because I was too busy reading all the posts and taking in all the valuable info I could from all the experienced Notaries. I in no way believe that I know everything. Laws change, SS come and go, years go in between some experiences and I forget how to handle it, etc.

I have a lot to learn and a lot to offer. I was a little gun shy about posting on the board because of all the unnecessary, harsh and/or totally off the subject comments to some of NSA's postings.

I would post something and sure enough I would get someone who seems to just be sitting there waiting to strike when something is posted that in their opinion is worth a degrading balling out over.

I actually use to take an extremely long time mulling over my posts before actually pushing the button to make very careful that I thought of any angle my post may offend or anger someone. But still I did. Not all the time but enough to make me feel like I really didn't want to waste my time with these posters that seem to only want to "show off" for complete strangers on the board by their bullying.

I'm on board with you to make sure these "Newbies, Oldies or whatever their case may be for needing info or support from a NSA educated or experienced in the posters subject to do only that.

I'm not naive enough to think that these bullies will change the way they go after people but if the majority of us let them know that we don't agree with someone being bullied that way it will be easier for them to post and bypass the bully comments.

I also want it known to "hesitant posters" that although I have experienced a little bullying most of the responses have been very helpful and supportive and isn't that the reason for NotRots popularity?

Reply by Susan Fischer on 3/1/10 4:23pm
Msg #324796

Ha! Love 'oldbies'... You're aces, MrEd. n/m

Reply by Marty/TN on 3/1/10 1:58pm
Msg #324790

Bravo Defense. Y'all play nice. . .

Reply by Cari on 3/1/10 7:33pm
Msg #324816

its not so much that the newbies are being picked on...its

just that it seems that every day, there is 1 or 2 coming on this forum, asking the same questions...

if they would only read the Welcome message above, and go to the Rules & Guidelines, they would 'learn' all they need to from this forum.

the problem is that they, the newbies, want 'quick fixes', on how to do this or that or the other....

so, it does get a bit frustrating to read the same questions over and over again....

i think someone mentioned sometime ago, that perhaps NotRot (Harry or Traci) can put a 'NEWBIE' forum, just for them to ask questions...i think that would be a great idea....

then, have them 'graduate' sort of, to the next level of forum...like the 'smart a$$' forum or the 'old farts' forum...LOL...

Reply by Sylvia_FL on 3/1/10 8:08pm
Msg #324818

Re: its not so much that the newbies are being picked on...its

"'old farts' forum...LOL..."

Hey! I resemble that remark!! Watch who you are calling an "old fart" LOL

Reply by JanetK_CA on 3/1/10 9:41pm
Msg #324827

Re: its not so much that the newbies are being picked on...its

I agree with the first part of your post, Cari. (But I'm not really in favor of a separate newbie forum for reasons I've already discussed before.)

Perhaps we're all a little guilty of over-generalizing this issue. Because of the onslaught of newbies - and I'm talking about at least six years' worth - coming here for an easy answer for whatever issue they might have, many who have been here a while may have developed a reflexive reaction: "OMG, here's another one!"

The result, however, of that onslaught of basic newbie questions has been the amazing collection of information available on message 33325. And it's FREE! Someone just has to be willing to take the time to read it. (I can't think of any other industry where people make that kind of information available to their competition.)

Some *have* gone over the edge with the tone of their remarks and have thrown them at some who weren't among the worst offenders of having an attitude of entitlement. (E.g. "Gee, just tell me what I need to know and do it nicely." But some of those comments (imho) have been deserved - to a certain extent. However, I think things have gotten much better here than they used to be on both ends.

For one, some of the harshest "oldbies" no longer post for a variety of reasons. (I'm not going there...) And it seems that many of the newbies that have come here in more recent times are making an effort to do some searching first and are showing a much different attitude. These folks are generally welcomed and offered significant help. Some of them have ended up becoming valuable contributors to this board. I think both changes have resulted in much improvement.

Reply by Susan Fischer on 3/2/10 3:47am
Msg #324843

Whaddya know, recurring questions - tender toes dipping

into the shark-infested waters.

Those Snoobie/Newbies...

Those intrepid Posters.