Is your question on BP appropriate?

[Doug Smith]

This is a rant...not really a question. I just saw a post that asked for extremely detailed financial analysis simply because they didn't want to pay a pro to help them.  I'm reading more and more posts like that lately. Instead of "Does anyone know a good real estate attorney in St. Louis?" or "I'm thinking of getting my real estate license. What's a good RE school in Dallas?", I'm seeing a lot of "Please tell me how to do this complex legal thing so I don't have to pay an attorney to do it." That's a lot like saying, "I have a lump in my breast. I think I'll let WebMD diagnose it." This is a great forum, but don't be surprised when Joe from Ohio, who read a Carlton Sheets book in 1988, tells you how to set up a depreciation schedule for your portfolio only to have it bite you in the butt simply because you didn't want to pay your CPA. Also, please don't use people. There are a lot of great licensed and experienced pros on this site that are happy to answer basic questions, but don't turn to an estate planning attorney on here and ask them to prepare your will for free in the DMs. Thank you for listening to my rant. I was raised to be a "giver", but that has caused me to allow others to use me periodically. I am just seeing a lot more "takers" and less "givers" recently. End of rant...thank you for listening.