acerc

Well, take it from an expert, your all a bunch of blowhard's that don't know squat! LOL!!! Just read through this entertaining thread, nothing better to do right this minute, and laughed my but off.
Most forums these days are more hype, hot air, and argumentative than anything. I do actually feel sorry for newbies looking for help now-a-days.

Radical Departure

My Feedback: (13)

That make three of us!! (just got through configuring and deploying a replacement web filter appliance, so have a few moments to catch up here while the users start pounding on it..hehehe)

Alcuy

Trying to satisfy a group of people on whether or not an individual is an expert or not is another situation where there could be a very wide spread in opinions. The only gauge someone can use is how well the contributor's "advice" conforms to what he /she would have said or done. That said, when I read posts to garner information or knowledge, I do what every "experienced" hobbyist tends to do. I tend to compare what is being posted with my personal experiences (if I have any) and how others in the thread are responding to those posts. I do not profess to being an expert but if I have done something that works or doesn't work I remember that and hopefully can pass that information on to someone who needs it. I avoid posting on things I have little or no knowledge about. But I do have an opinion!

For someone who has no experience and is trying to get started, I think one way they can find answers for anything is by asking, or the other is by experimenting. Yes, they are likely to get answers that conflict because what they get is usually an opinion. And peoples' opinions vary widely. So the point of this thread is well taken. Unfortunately, I do not have an answer.

How can an individual parse through the huge volume of peoples posts to get answers I guess is to keep reading and if they are lucky there will be someone who can provide the answer they need in the context that fits. Hopefully they choose the "right" answer if there are differences of opinion!

Some means of rating would be nice... But who will be the judge(s)?

Propworn

My Feedback: (3)

Self proclaimed experts in any forum are somewhat like opinions and there is a famous quote that puts everything in perspective in regard to both of them. It goes something like "Opinions (you can substitute self proclaimed experts if you wish) are like XXXXXXXs everyone has one and everyone thinks everyone else's stinks."

Dennis

speedracerntrixie

My Feedback: (29)

So please explain to me how someone who may proclaim himself to be an expert devalues his advice.

[email protected]

My Feedback: (1)

iam just a good flyer dont care who thinks they are experts>i have fun worry about your self not any one else

speedracerntrixie

My Feedback: (29)

I tend to look at it a different way. Suppose your car was acting up. Would you want advise from an " Expert " at car repair or just an average Joe? When I was new at R/C I looked for the experts whom I could learn from. At that time my definition of an expert was someone who possessed the building and flying skills that I desired. Now if you are happy with both of those you may feel no need for experts. Agreed that the object is to have fun. Some of us accomplish that flying circles and bringing home a complete airplane, some of us like to push harder. Different strokes, nothing wrong with either.

Top_Gunn

My Feedback: (6)

We shouldn't exaggerate the extent of disagreement here, especially in connection with advice to beginners. You won't find many posts, if any, claiming that Sig Kadets (Senior or LT-40) are lousy trainers, or that OS engines don't run well, or that any of the major brands of radios don't work, or that certain unnamed companies have great customer service. I don't fly electric planes much, but I have a good idea of what some good electric trainers are, just because they are recommended so often. And everyone who asks about starting out gets the same good advice, repeatedly: Find a club and an instructor, and don't buy stuff until you've done that. Sometimes threads that look like they're full of disagreements are just presenting a range of reasonable opinions, like a thread now about different kinds of glues (bottom line, different people like different glues, for reasons they are happy to explain). Once in a while somebody who plainly knows nothing about the subject will post something claiming that if a plane is flying with its tail low that means it's tail-heavy, or pushing the always-popular downwind turn myth, etc., and then people jump in, but that's the nature of on-line discussions.

I miss the old-time local hobby shops staffed by experienced modelers who could give you good advice, but they aren't going to come back, and the internet is a pretty good substitute. And some of those hobby shops weren't always above selling people junk, so we shouldn't romanticize them too much.

It probably is a good idea for rookies to steer clear of the AMA forum, though.

stu48

I had a club training officer tell me that my plane was tail heavy and needed a couple of ounces of lead in the nose. Wrong! it was way too nose heavy. I've had "experts" try to tune my 4-strokes by ear. All ended up way too lean in the air. I guess I was fortunate. I started back when you had little local hobby shops that sold magazines and books. I learned a lot by reading AND "comparing" bits of information. I bought a book on RC aircraft design from a modeling magazine this year. Geesh! If you were way into flaps and weird configurations, the book could be helpful otherwise only a few pages were devoted to standard wing-stab and fuselage-tail-nose ratios. The older magazines had many helpful articles on design and building but they died with the flood of ARFs and RTFs. For me, I've bought my last ARF. I've had to modify way too much too often and these were NOT el-cheapo products. I much rather design and build my own. Okay, maybe one day I'll buy an electric mid-size to play with while building.

BobbyMcGee

Maybe there should be a separate forum for posts intended as paeans to one's cleverness, versus assisting others by proclaiming oneself to be an "expert."

stu48

To newbies: When see a conflict going on, use your own common sense. May one side is right, maybe the other, maybe some of both sides are right. Your best bet is to find a local club and join. Visit; Meet and watch people; Ask a question here and there; Offer to help. Of course, I'm one of those people who learn best by observation.

vertical grimmace

My Feedback: (1)

There is more than one way to skin a cat.

We are products of our environment/ experience. What worked for me, because of the path I took, may not have worked for someone else coming from a different path.

Stopper gas tanks are a good example. A stopper tank may work fine with gasoline without ethanol, but the gasoline available around here has ethanol. So they do not work well.

Another good example is a recent thread on installing hinges. I do not think any poster with a technique ever admitted to having a failure. And they all had a different way of doing it. Of course a couple professed their way as the only way. Well obviously they overstated their view.

porcia83

My Feedback: (8)

after 20 so years of these....this video is as close to real as possible. Amazingly on point, and funny as hell. Almost every detail is exactly as it happens in real life.

http://<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/DYu_bGbZiiQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

BobbyMcGee

Yep. That electronic reverb voice problem happens all the time. And the "recap" email ... hysterical.

Propworn

My Feedback: (3)

Why the need to proclaim ones self an expert in the first place. Then when someone disagrees with your advice or opinion the next 5 pages of posts are the two or three self proclaimed experts wagging their wands or crossing their swords trying to convince everyone who is the biggest expert. If it weren’t so pathetic and counter productive it would be funny. The prime example was the beginner who asked which two stroke oil he should use. Someone early in the thread recommended following the manufacturers instructions as to brand and premix. That wasn’t good enough advice instead the so called experts started arguing over which oil was best. Then the claims of who was the best expert by rhyming off supposed credentials, diplomas, degrees, work experiences on and on. I even think there was a guy weigh in on the subject, who insinuated that he may have invented synthetic oil. All of the information was nothing but technical papers anyone could look up on the internet or the manufacturer’s web pages.

Did it help the OP decide which oil to use? Not likely as he didn’t post after his original query. Most likely he got his answer in the first few posts that actually had information of value to the beginner.

The rest carried on for pages ad infinitum trying to out trump each other with so called expertise.

All that was needed was to tell him to follow the manufactures instructions and if the particular brand of oil recommended was not readily available recommend a suitable alternative. Out of all of the possible suggestions that would have come forward at least there should be one brand he could obtain locally.

This is only one example of the ridiculousness of so called experts hijacking a perfectly simple question by a beginner. When you do this you’re not doing this to help any beginner you’re just attempting to inflate your own ego.

Dennis

A6TEXAN

i think the Edge 540 is a great flying aircraft !.

jester_s1

Am I the only person who sees the irony in the situation of a thread that universally decries people who get on the internet and go on and on and on with non substantive posts about inane topics has now made it well into page 3 and will probably spill over into 4 and possible even 5 by tomorrow?

Propworn

My Feedback: (3)

Should start a pool see who can guess how long it will run.

Dennis

vertical grimmace

My Feedback: (1)

There are so many new items to our hobby, that we all are beginners over and over again. It was not that long ago, I converted to gas. I certainly felt like a newbie to that, and asked lots of questions and started new threads trying to find answers. In spite of the tangents, and obtuse directions these threads can take, by and large I feel they are invaluable, as most in this hobby are sincere and very helpful. You just have to learn to take the good from the bad.

porcia83

My Feedback: (8)

The dog barking, or bird chirping is a constant. Any the most obvious BS line is "oh sorry, I was on mute, what did you say". The instant messages go crazy at that point, everyone knows the person was multitasking and needs to buy some time to save face.

I laugh every time I see that video.

Hossfly

This item down through #70 is very funny. Only problem is that it is all so true.

rcjunky67

+1

rcjunky67

I say 7, one of the reasons I log on to this forum is to learn from the rest of you. I have been an automotive technician for 22 years now , and , believe it or not one of the sources I turn to when I can't find the answer's I need is GOOGLE!!! When you do a search for a problem, or a specific issue involving a specific automobile, you will most likely find a "FORUM" for that type of car or truck . And find other's and their experiences with the same issue for that specific type of vehicle.

Do I consider myself an expert, not hardly , but I do know how to use information. It's just not always easy to find what you need,and I've got the scarred knuckles to prove it. But just having one more place to look sometimes does the trick. Believe me , the automotive industry as a whole has way out paced this hobby as far as change goes. And while not impossible, it can be very difficult to keep up with. Which is one of the reasons we should think of the person asking for help,more than of our own ability's or ideal's and how good or smart we think they make us look. We all have certain things we can do to help.

All that aside, I guess my point is simply,there is seldom only one right or correct way to get the info you seek, so having a multitude of different sources ,i.e. post, can be deemed most helpful. I think we must all keep in mind that as custodians of this great hobby, we should ,all of us, try our best, to remain true to what we loved about it so much to begin with. And do our best to pass it along.

jim billings

I asked this before in the newbies forum but no expert ever answered. I'll ask again: Various airplane gyro gadgets require that the plane must be set in a "level" configuration to make an initial setting of the gyro. My question is, how do I determine if the plane is level? Put a level on the rear stabilizer? What if the rear stabilizer is not flat? Arrange the plane so a line from the center of the prop to the rear of the plane is level? How do you determine the "rear of the Plane"? Arrange a level on the bottom of the wing? What if the bottom of the wing is not flat. Please give an expert explanation. If not, please give an expert opinion. If not, please give an expert guess. If not, please give an expert "I don't know!"

bjr_93tz

I'm reminded by something I read in the LTUP forum on another site about way back when the consensus was that the world was flat. The consensus didn't make it right, the consensus was simply the number of people who were wrong.

If the advise from an "expert" stops you from crashing your plane then it was good advise whether it was technically right or wrong. If the advise from an expert stops you from having fun with your plane then it's bad advise.

Don't forget, the bloke who won this year's (and last years) MotoGP world championship probably couldn't name four ingredients used in making the tyres he was running on so asking Marc Marquez about tyre compounds or construction might not as be insightful as asking the bloke at Bridgestone that's never thrown a leg over an RC213V.