In my opinion, I think this forum is one of the places where it is okay to tip toe around someone, to be cautious about what we post. I think that if we are interested in helping a fellow member when we decide to post on someone's thread, it might be helpful to start by asking what they think would be helpful-unless they have been very clear about the sort of feedback they are looking for. Taking the time to ask before proceeding might take a few seconds of our time but if the goal is to help, maybe that's okay.

I agree that it would be helpful for the person creating a thread to detail what they need. But, that probably won't happen every time and not everyone will even know how to describe what they need. I know that at times I have read through a thread, to see what has been posted and to see how the OP is responding to what is being posted, to give me a hint about how to proceed. And, if I am truly unsure and concerned that I might say the wrong thing-then I decide it's probably best not to post.

I know that sometimes I end up making assumptions based on a few sentences or a few posts on a thread. I have to remind myself that words have different meanings to different people. Maybe I am responding to a post or a thread based on my own experiences and I try to remember that each person responds in their own unique way to similar experiences. And, I have to remind myself that it's very difficult, unless specifically specified, to know what the tone and feeling is behind the written word.

I just think it might be helpful to take the time to ask or clarify what someone needs or to discontinue a response when it's clearly upsetting the OP.