I voted all of the above. I've been involved in aviation and modelling of various types (at least to some degree) since I could walk. By that, I mean, I grew up hanging around my father at the local airport, 'helping' him work on the skylane, great lakes, and stampe he maintains partnerships in. I messed around with ukies and r/o gliders a bit growing up, then got into r/c cars. A few years back, I decided it was time to start flyingr/c planes. I had accumulated just enough knowledge over the years to be dangerous. When I found out about RCU, after I started flying a gws cub, I read and read and read 'til I couldn't read no more. THEN I started asking questions. Using the search feature answered most of my questions before I ever posted anything. And, I was able to figure out which members gave responses that made sense and were consistent. I'm amazed at the patience of people like Minnflyer, answering the same question over and over......I'm sure I asked some of 'em. I even admit there's times I posted questions where I wanted to hear a certain answer, but I never questioned anyone else's intelligence when they didn't tell me what I wanted to hear. In my humble opinion, more people need to learn how to do their own research and be willing to take the time to learn things properly. Anyway, I din't mean to write a novel here, sorry for the long post.

Couldn't agree with you more however, the few times that this topic was brought up many seemed offended by the fact that people would respond to someones question with something like "thats been asked before try searching" seems that that phase is offensive to some...go figure

DB,

With all the thoughtfull advice I've seen you despense here you're the last person I'd expect to need to appoligize to anyone...

Crashem,

You're absolutely right. I don't feel that telling someone to search is the best way to instill confidence in the members of RCU. solely because it doesn't directly help the poster. If I remember seeing relevant information somewhere, I usually try to do the search myself and post a link to the results. Lord knows I never turned up the right information when I first logged onto RCU and started reading, so I know it takes a while to get used to how the search feature works.

Crashem,
Thank you. Nice of you to say that, but I did toss an insult at wings, and it wasn't necessary.

Matt,
I'll sometimes suggest a search, but say, "you might try doing a search next time", then answer the question anyway.

(Don't know why the "smiley" buttons haven't been working for me. I have to type them.)
Dennis-

I take all the advice I recieve and sort through it. I will try the most logical of the advice.

My experience is that there are many knowledgeable people here. Some are better able to put into words a difficult subject that people can understand, Minn and DB as well as FH Huber come to mind. I am an engineer by training and an Auto technicial by advocation (I won't go into how I got here). When I answer I am constantly fighting with myself. I try not to overwhelm people with information. But my engineering background keeps getting in the way. I tend to use big words and obscure terms. I don't mean too. But i do too often. I know a lot and have a lot of experience. My biggest trouble is to put the idea simply and clearly. I also tend to say what I want and end it. I am too dry and technical. No humor and I tend not to be conversational.

Oh well here I go again rattling on. What I am trying to say is this. Take it all in. And digest it all. And your answer will usually be a combination of several posts. Just keep looking for those nuggets of info you need. BTW I gotta work on my humor some too!!

Mark Shuman

Crashem,

I posted questions about Center of Gravity yesterday and today(fri) I gave some advice to someone obviously newer than me. Although I am very new to this hobby and know very little about basic concepts like Center of Gravity (I'm learning every day), I have learned quite a bit about the Aerobird and Firebird (personal experience only) and felt like I had some good information to offer as I've just personally been through many of the questions other beginners experience and ask about this plane. I'm empathetic to the challenges because I just went through them myself over the previous several weeks, and I'd hate for them to give up on it because they couldn't make it past a particular hurdle. I guess I also feel sorry for the regulars to have to answer the same old tired questions and give the same advice over and over again, (they do an admirable job. I'm new to RCUniverse as of several weeks ago but already I've seen certain questions over and over) so if I know an answer on a subject familiar to me from recent personal experience....why not take some of the burden off the regulars? If this is offensive to some I'll be happy to keep my mouth shut and not offer any advice, but surely it gets tiring explaining things like the difference between an elevator and a rudder, doesn't it?

ON to the question. This is forum is fabulous and a godsend. I've asked lots of questions and I've gotten lots of answers. I've also learned alot. The more responses the bettter...each person brings a slightly different perspective and experience. I weigh each answer and decide for myself if the answer fits my needs, application, budget, etc. Some people are gruffer than others or less tactful, but I try to appreciate and evaluate each answer and not have a chip on my shoulder. Sometimes I might not like the delivery but the information is valuable. I can't say that I don't notice the number of posts a person has, but this has very little to do with how I evaluate the information given.

I have genuinely appreciated all of the responses to my questions!

auto5man

I have found that if I carefully read and evaluate all the advice given, and then do what FHHuber says, it usually turns out right

Wings I dont know that I would use that as a guage.
I do see some names all in a row but most of the times these guys know what they are talking about . I dont dought that this could be the case in some instances but definatly not most times.