Jump to content

Filtering Bullsh*t


Runtoeat

Recommended Posts

Note: In reading comments to my post, I have revised some of the wording:

 

The recent thread on flaps was both enlightening and also thought provoking for me.  I feel the need to address the part of the discussion which dealt with a certain forum member's constant interjections of nonsensical comments and obviously incorrect information. One of the reasons I come to this forum is to occasionally add information I feel might be useful to other members.  However, I mainly come here to get specific information from experts which I cannot find elsewhere regarding the maintenance and safe operation of my CTSW.  After hanging out for a few years on this forum, it is obvious to me who those members are that I can expect to give reliable advice and information on any topic desired.  It is also obvious which members just provide "noise" to discussions.  I'm not totally sure what motivates the "noisemaker(s)".  Perhaps it's just stupidity but I think not.  My suspicion is the motivation to constantly make nonsensical and inaccurate statements is to get attention.  As other members state, this is distracting and degrades our forum.  It can also be dangerous should a person stop by our forum and happen to read an excerpt from one of the threads which only contains the inaccurate statements have been made.  However, I also agree that we cannot start deciding which statements are factual and which are inaccurate and start restricting comments. Like our outside everyday bombardment of information, we must consider all that comes in to us and decide which statements are accurate.  I find it very easy to filter out the "noise" and to only concentrate on the topics and comments of these topics by those I know and trust.  I think someone who stops by our forum can also quickly determine who the "noisemaker(s)" are and do the same.  It is interesting that accurate answers to topics result through the rebuttals made by our members which refute the inaccurate and nonsensical statements some make here.  Instead of ignoring those who repeatedly make inaccurate or confrontational statements, I am saddened to learn that members have left our forum because they were unable to ignore or were too distracted by the bullsh*t and have capitulated to the few who do this. This is unfortunate because those who have left may have been serious contributing members who were unable to take the good with the bad, which to me is life in general.  I'm sticking around, knowing this forum is a source for information which cannot be found anywhere else and because I can filter out the "noise".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The recent thread on flaps was both enlightening and also thought provoking for me.  I feel the need to address the part of the discussion which dealt with a certain forum member's constant interjections of nonsensical comments and obviously incorrect information. One of the reasons I come to this forum is to occasionally add information I feel might be useful to other members.  However, I mainly come here to get specific information from experts which I cannot find elsewhere regarding the maintenance and safe operation of my CTSW.  After hanging out for a few years on this forum, it is obvious to me who those members are that I can expect to give reliable advice and information on any topic desired.  It is also obvious which members just provide "noise" to discussions.  I'm not totally sure what motivates the "noisemaker(s)".  Perhaps it's just stupidity but I think not.  My suspicion is the motivation to constantly make nonsensical and inaccurate statements is to get attention.  As other members state, this is distracting and degrades our forum.  It can also be dangerous should a person stop by our forum and happen to read an excerpt from one of the threads which only contains the inaccurate statements have been made.  However, I also agree that we cannot start deciding which statements are factual and which are inaccurate and start restricting comments. Like our outside everyday bombardment of information, we must consider all that comes in to us and decide which statements are accurate.  I find it very easy to filter out the "noise" and to only concentrate on the topics and comments of these topics by those I know and trust.  I think someone who stops by our forum can also quickly determine who the "noisemaker(s)" are and do the same.  It is interesting that accurate answers to topics result through the rebuttals made by our members which refute the inaccurate and nonsensical statements some make here.  I am saddened to learn that members have left our forum due to their capitalizing to the few who constantly blurt out false statements. This is unfortunate because those who have left may have been serious contributing members who were unable to take the good with the bad, which to me is life in general.  I'm sticking around, knowing this forum is a source for information which cannot be found anywhere else and because I can filter out the "noise".

Agree, but like everything in life , including all kinds of technical and social information, including "The News", we have to learn to discern between good and erroneous information. My experience is that this is a very informative forum and I have gotten very useful and timely information on critical and non critical aspects of flying and maintaining my CTLS. I think when people say , I disagree and then present serious Scientific evidence, the issue is made much more clear. There are certain people, that participate in this forum, whose opinion I regard highly, others less so. However nobody is infallible. I will continue to visit this forum because it is informative, and because I like the intellectual discussions on a variety of subjects but mostly on flying and maintaining my aircraft. I will continue to filter the noise from the valuable information and RARELY offer my opinion. I say rarely because of my lack of technical knowledge. And I appreciate when people give me good advice and correct ,nicely, any erroneous impressions I might have.  Ultimately the consumer of information has to make the decision of what is useful and what is not. I'm hoping the well informed people do not leave the Forum, and yes there are many members silently listening and evaluating useful discussions.

 

Cheers

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wasn't going to comment and was going to walk away, but.......

 

No different from other forums or people we meet in our regular lives, but we adapt and move on. We either fix the issue with a person and when that is not a viable solution we quit seeing them or talking to them. I tend to just Roger, why do you think FD has a standard spec larger cooler?all away and have no more contact otherwise you empower them to annoy, frustrate and control your emotions.

Not a angle person I have walked away from has had anything to say that as life changing.

 

No big deal as we have been ding this since we were children.

 

Don't empower or give control. Walk away.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wasn't going to comment and was going to walk away, but.......

 

No different from other forums or people we meet in our regular lives, but we adapt and move on. We either fix the issue with a person and when that is not a viable solution we quit seeing them or talking to them. I tend to just Roger, why do you think FD has a standard spec larger cooler?all away and have no more contact otherwise you empower them to annoy, frustrate and control your emotions.

Not a angle person I have walked away from has had anything to say that as life changing.

 

No big deal as we have been ding this since we were children.

 

Don't empower or give control. Walk away.

 

I agree only after reasonable effort has been applied to correct things. I  feel we also have an obligation to others to point out things, for example, where they may be wrong, misguided or even where their actions that may be unreasonable. They learn. That is what learning is. But lets not come down too hard on the first inaccurate opinion. The long histrory of science is full of them and in their disproving, great strides have and will continue to be made.

 

But the other side of the the equation is this. "A" person says "x", "B" person says "y". A repeats "X", now a bit louder. B, repeats "Y", maybe in a different way and often very loud.

 

Now "C", "D" and "E" persons come into the debate with better information or an alternate presentation of the facts. And we all learn a bit more.

 

At that point, you would think any normal person would accept the weight of opinion. Alas not all, ever. And from then on we treat them with the respect they have earn't. But they might one day come up with a screamer of a thought bubble that becomes so much more. We can hope.

 

For me, this forum is brilliant for the resource that it is about our small part of the intellectual world. The things i learn are far more than i add so thank you everyone.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Larry,

 

"I agree only after reasonable effort has been applied to correct things. I  feel we also have an obligation to others to point out things,"

 

Absolutely, but once pointed out how many times can you kill that horse. Debate it and point out the error and it may not be an error, but a personal choice and then leave that poor horse alone.  Everyone gets an opinion right or wrong. We don't give enough credit to people to see the difference. People will be just fine after a civilised debate or rebuttal. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Everyone gets an opinion right or wrong. We don't give enough credit to people to see the difference.

 

I have SO much more to say, but I'm weighing the best way to say it.

 

Remember, no one has been named as the subject of this thread, so all statements below are referencing some hypothetical forum member.

 

There are opinions, and there are facts.

 

Hypothetically:

 

Opinion: I prefer low wing over high wing.

 

Fact: The ailerons and flaps on a CT are not connected in any way.

 

An old adage tells us to "never argue over facts". For example, it's silly to argue over whether or not the capital of Florida is Orlando. That's a fact that can easily be looked up and confirmed or falsified, so there's really no reason to debate it. Similarly, the flaps and ailerons on a CT are either linked or they aren't.

 

What is aggravating, disconcerting and troublesome is someone misstating a fact, then being educated on why that fact is incorrect, then either restating the incorrect fact repeatedly, or even denying ever having said it. In the above hypothetical, even after being shown text quoted from the POH, a diagram, two videos and explanations by mechanics who have worked on the interconnect, still sticking to the misunderstanding as stated in the hypothetical.

 

I could go on, but really think I need to reflect on the political correctness of what I really want to say.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There's a point where it needs to be recognized that some people abuse open discussion to the point of stifling it... And I am not a fan of such abuse to where facts are twisted so badly that someone could be seriously injured.

 

There's been a couple things that came up where if this were a medical discussion forum, I wouldn't be surprised if someone would have called the state medical board.

 

Google only provides a 2-3 line excerpt from pages. I've seen that bad info pop up.

 

What comes of this is ultimately up to the admins as this is their house, and I will still play by the rules as this doesn't change my desire to share and help, but in my own opinion, enough is enough.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have SO much more to say, but I'm weighing the best way to say it.

 

Remember, no one has been named as the subject of this thread, so all statements below are referencing some hypothetical forum member.

 

There are opinions, and there are facts.

 

Hypothetically:

 

Opinion: I prefer low wing over high wing.

 

Fact: The ailerons and flaps on a CT are not connected in any way.

 

An old adage tells us to "never argue over facts". For example, it's silly to argue over whether or not the capital of Florida is Orlando. That's a fact that can easily be looked up and confirmed or falsified, so there's really no reason to debate it. Similarly, the flaps and ailerons on a CT are either linked or they aren't.

 

What is aggravating, disconcerting and troublesome is someone misstating a fact, then being educated on why that fact is incorrect, then either restating the incorrect fact repeatedly, or even denying ever having said it. In the above hypothetical, even after being shown text quoted from the POH, a diagram, two videos and explanations by mechanics who have worked on the interconnect, still sticking to the misunderstanding as stated in the hypothetical.

 

I could go on, but really think I need to reflect on the political correctness of what I really want to say.

When you have  an opinion, and you prove it with facts and Scientific evidence , it stands of it's own weight. I think the preponderance of rational people will see the value of the argument. I think that is valid enough. You may find people that may argue clear distinct facts but that does not make valid argument less valid. I'm sure you can find people that believe the earth is flat and argue about it. It is what it is . You can always say I disagree for these reasons and leave it at that.

You should not be the one disconcerted, the person who has not got a clue is disconcerted, only he or she may not know it at the time. Anyways, that is my opinion.

 

Cheers

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks frfly172.

 

"Most of the information,I get from this group is very informative. The rest I just smile and ignore it. "

 

See. You need to give the viewers more credit. There is misinformation everywhere, but yet we all seem to survive. So I see debate as good and attacking a person just because you think they posted wrong info is pointless and counterproductive. Solving problems and learning.

 

Like I said we are all students and all teachers. I personally learn from every single person here. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Aviation boards have the same problems as Youtube, chat sites, news sites, any online format where commentary is allowed.  In fact, some of the most inaccurate and outright disinformation and spin can be found on the so-called mainstream and 'professional' media.  This is a big reason incompetent and even malicious people have gained power in the country and have damaged it's fabric and future.

 

IMHO the worst found on aviation boards are those that pontificate on subjects and products they do not own or use.  Especially when they deviate from factory expertise, manuals, documentation, and safety regimes.   Aviation is not immune to politics either since so much of it is controlled by politicians.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Aviation boards have the same problems as Youtube, chat sites, news sites, any online format where commentary is allowed.  In fact, some of the most inaccurate and outright disinformation and spin can be found on the so-called mainstream and 'professional' media.  This is a big reason incompetent and even malicious people have gained power in the country and have damaged it's fabric and future.

 

IMHO the worst found on aviation boards are those that pontificate on subjects and products they do not own or use.  Especially when they deviate from factory expertise, manuals, documentation, and safety regimes.   Aviation is not immune to politics either since so much of it is controlled by politicians.

Okey Dokey

 

Cheers

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...