Truth, Lies, Chat boards, and Free advice.
There has been a growing problem since chat boards for special interest groups such as RC sailing have become popular.
It is probably best described in a simple scenario such as this??
Mr. Jones sees a model sailboat sailing gracefully along at a local park on a sunny weekend afternoon.
Since Mr. Jones has always had a soft spot for models because he remembers them from his childhood, he goes home from the pond and does some research on the Internet. He happens upon a chat board just like this one. He signs up with his new username and password and makes his first post.
[i]?Hello everyone,
This is my first post here. I have been reading through this chat board and you all seem very friendly and knowledgeable.
I would like to get in to model sailboats and was wondering if you experts had some advice for the newbie.
Mr. Jones ?[/i]
Here is where the problem comes in.
Mr. Jones gets several replies to his question. As a newbie, he believes everything he reads. (I mean the posts all come from people much more experienced than he is so it must be true, right?)
One says ? You have to have the boat that everyone else sails in your area. ?
Another says ? Brand X equipment is good, but don?t buy brand Y because I never had any good luck with it.?
A 3rd response says ? I like brand Y, it always works well for me?
There are several other replies bantering back and forth about brand X and brand Y and how good and bad it is, and then the original topic goes out the window and is replaced by meaningless crap that nobody cares about…
Mr. Jones is now even more confused and figures that it is not worth the hassle. He goes elsewhere and finds another hobby to entertain himself.
I see this exact scenario happen hundreds of times a week on several different chat boards.
The real shame is that people with little or no experience make a factual statement and say what they think is helpful but in reality only mislead and discourage the new guy.
Some basic rules.
If you sail at your local park on a Sunday afternoon a few times a year, you are not an expert!
If you have only owned 2 or 3 boats in your RC career, you are not an expert.
If you do not attend outside events, or go to at least one properly run regatta a year, you are not an expert.
Sailing with your Uncle John on his real boat once on lake Erie last summer does not make you an expert.
If you have over 500 posts a year on a chat board, you spend way too much time on the computer and not enough time on the water. You are certainly far from an expert.
The list goes on…
The moral.
While I never want to discourage interaction between modelers, please be careful where you buy your advice. Free advice is often not worth the price you pay.
The real experts will agree with the above statements. The people who jump in and try and defend their past advice are the ones you need to be weary of.
Remember, A real expert will always stand behind any past or future statements. Why? because they truly are experts!
Peter R.
www.climatemodels.com
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