Is it only me who is tiring of all of this?

[smackdaddy]

Originally Posted by FSMike

I sympathize with CalebDs point. I have wondered if there is some way to set up a newby sticky to eliminate, or at least focus, some questions. A dedicated thread couldn't possibly cover all newb questions, but maybe it could offer guidelines on finding answers/commentary to newcomers.
There are times on boating forums where I am reminded about the adage concerning feeding a man a fish vs. teaching a man to fish. To paraphrase, Give a newcomer an answer and you have answered one question; teach a newcomer how to do his own research and you have answered a whole bunch of questions.
I don't know exactly what it would take to do this. I do know it needs to be attention getting somehow, so newcomers will take advantage of it.

Dude, you have obviously not clicked on the link in Dog's sig.

And hey, what about the Salt's thread? That's pure newbie gold!

Caleb, dude, you're just getting old and cranky. Of course, I would be too had I had to work on FOUR FREAKIN' HEADS in Bene's boat!

PS - You just need a good dose of FC.

[smackdaddy]

+1 Moonie. You hit it right on the head.

The issue I've seen over the past couple of years is that at some point people who give a lot of advice (the experts) start getting tired of giving the same advice over and over. Then at that point, one of two things happen...they either take a break from the advice giving (which is great) or they start getting bitter (which is butt-goofy).

When it's the latter, they either start creating draconian "methods" for how newbies need to "properly" ask their questions (which is butt-goofy) or they start mocking the newbies and their questions (which is also butt-goofy) or, worse, they do both (which makes them seriously ripe for slamming).

That's why I created the Salt's thread. It's basically a FAQ where newbs can get immediate answers to oft-asked questions from guys that know what they're talking about. The salts don't have to post yet another answer to the same question (and can become far less bitter), the newbs get great answers, and then have a way to jump to the very thread that covers their subject.

I know, I know...it's brilliant.

The misconception is that forums are just for information and learning. That's not right. A forum is just a big bar where we all hang out...newbs and salts alike. Some cool person will ALWAYS answer a newb's question - no matter how stupid it might be. That's the beauty of this bar. If you've answered a lot of them and are tired of it...just stop answering for a while. No harm no foul.

[SlowButSteady]

What surprises me is that some people appear to invest thousands, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, of dollars in a "new toy" without having much more than the slightest idea what they are doing. Perhaps because I got seriously into sailing while I was in college and grad-school, and rarely had two dimes to rub together, I read A LOT about boats before I ever bought one myself; and not just sailing, but boats, boat design, boat surveying, navigation, etc. A $5 used copy of Ian Nicolson's Surveying Small Craft may not have been as much fun as actually sailing, but it did provide hours of entertainment, AND required zero upkeep, zero slip fees, and could be ignored for weeks on end w/o harm. Reading, sailing dinghies, taking a college sailing class, sailing on friends' larger boats, and (as part of my career) being around boats of various sizes, gave me a pretty good idea of what I wanted and what to look for when I finally scraped enough cash together to buy my own small keel boat.

I'm sure that I had some "newbie moments", but I would like to think that I wasn't nearly as naive as some posters are around here. An ASA course or two, and the ability to plunk down a pile of money on a shiny 30 foot "hole in the water" is no substitute for experience. In fact, it's something of a recipe for disaster, IMHO. At best it's likely to lead the purchase of the "wrong" boat, and at worst could get the buyer/skipper into some serious trouble out on the water.

[cardiacpaul]

I don't have a problems with new people getting into this, I really don't. It can be daunting, especially if the peeps have been around some of the "uppity" yacht clubs, where the cap'ns look down their nose if you haven't got dyneema or CF sails on your 30 year old Tartan. (no offense to tartan owners)

I take issue with the pinheads that post a picture of a 30 year old "free" boat on craigslist, one thats been used as a backyard algae and mold growing experiment, then asks what its going to take to take her to bermuda, then argue when they are told numerous times that you don't really want to do that with "this" boat. If thats what you really want, then why ask?

I get amused when a guy thats got an arm full of "skills" wants to take a chain saw to the ass end of a boat cuz he thinks he can improve on a rudder design to make it "handle better". I mean really, if the marine architects saw a "better" way, maybe, uh, i dunno... they might have tried it?

And then he gets pissy when you mention that its going to be a hell of a project, one might want to look at a different boat... (why is he looking at this boat if it doesn't perform the way he wants it to, eh? )

Then why on gods green earth did you ask? Want someone to pat you on your head for your astute brilliance? No, the person wants acceptance and approval for his dumbass idea. screw that.
Tell ya what. If thats what you want to do, Hire Bob Perry, He'd be happy to tell ya that your as nuts as squirrel shite.

[sawingknots]

like i said before,if you don't think a question is up to your standard,DON"T ANSWER IT, simple,but if you do respond at least do it with the same dignity you would like others to show you

[deniseO30]

so I can't put a tiller on a center cockpit boat? LOL

[cardiacpaul]

as long as its not a ketch, go nuts! (whats a ketch)

Originally Posted by deniseO30

so I can't put a tiller on a center cockpit boat? LOL

[merlin2375]

Is it only me tiring of this? A newbie comes along and asks a dumb question and gets blasted by the people who've been on the forum for a while or simply have their question dismissed entirely.
--
Ok now I've said it the satirical way, but seriously...the most successful forums I'm on have the least amount of jerks. Threads have titles for a reason. Heck you can even see the name of the person posting before you go into the thread. WORST case, you enter the thread, read the question and then just leave. There's no real reason to stick around if you feel the thread is a waste of time, including responding.

Depending on the forum (regardless of the subject), it always goes the same way: newbie asks question, 1 person answers with GO GOOGLE IT, 1 person tells them to search, 1 person kicks them for even asking, 1 person answers polietly, and the last one questions if the person is a real ________ (insert hobby here) and concludes that they are not as hardcore as them so their question is invalid.

Newbie's are good, they keep questions coming up and often a forum can be their first foray into a new activity. We are all newbie's at some point (heck, I still am...and at this rate always will be)

[CalebD]

Originally Posted by deniseO30

so I can't put a tiller on a center cockpit boat? LOL

Denise,
If you could put a steering wheel there then why not a tiller instead?

Thanks for all the replies. I could not get to sleep and I am sure I have made more insightful posts in the past. Perhaps I am slipping or just need to spend some time on my own boat.
I like commenting on most posts by folks with smaller (eg., dinghy) boats as they are simpler and I think I know something about them by now. Yesterday I commented to a guy with a Hobie 14' as if it were a beach cat (yes, they make a Hobiecat 14' and a Hobie 14'). I'm definitely a few cards short of a full deck and need some time on the water.
It is good advice to leave ones snarkiness with their Snark sailboat as sarcasm does not translate well. Being polite or just not replying at all is the way to go unless you are CardiacPaul who entertains everyone with his brilliance, wit and orneriness. If I could only be half as amusing I'd be a happy guy.

Brad,
I don't know why I worked on cleaning all 4 of your heads. I know you and famn damily are just crapping them up right now. Hope you are having a great summer out there.

Thanks to everyone for allowing an old fart some time to vent. I'll be ok in about a week. I promise.

[JohnRPollard]

Originally Posted by sawingknots

like i said before,if you don't think a question is up to your standard,DON"T ANSWER IT, simple,but if you do respond at least do it with the same dignity you would like others to show you

Sure, definitely. But that goes both ways, too. We get a steady stream of folks who ask a QUESTION (along the lines of what CP mentioned) and then get testy or even belligerent when they don't hear the ANSWER that they expected or wanted.

Caleb, No worries.