Constant referring to old threads and posts!

[g-mady]

I know im about to poke a hornets nest here but… :}

People constantly refer to old threds on this forum. It is only justified for the “becoming a helicopter pilot” thread.
People are always posting “already been done” or “we’ve had that discussion here”.
It drives me mad! If that’s the case nobody should post anymore, we should all just trawl through the archives…

The reason – many post become out of date quickly, especially in this industry! And the whole point of a forum is discussion, not – “we’ve already discussed this here…”

Anyone else agree?

Rant over! :ugh:

[Mr-AEO]

Hmm...didn't someone say that last week?:}

If there are 2 duplicates set at a proximate time, I think it's legit to post the fact, that way the author of the duplicate can delete his/her thread. Bearing in mind, some people use really odd titles to describe the contents sometimes, which doesn't help.

More importantly, my RAN Seahawk is looking tired on my desktop, looking forward to the March picture/calendar.;)

[Bravo73]

What about this scenario, g-mady?

You're sitting in the pub with a group of mates discussing, say, which is the bestest helicopter in the whole world ever. As always, the group puts the world to rights and you come up with the definitive answer. The conversation then moves onto another topic.

Another friend comes into the pub and asks everyone what they think the best helicopter in the world is. You have a short discussion and tell your mate that you all came up with the definitive answer 5 minutes ago.

Then another friend comes into the pub and s/he too asks what the best helicopter in the world is. What happens next? Do you all have the same conversation for the third time or groan and then tell him/her to move on?


Well, the same applies here. Only on a forum, you have the ability to 'rewind time' and point your buddy to the discussion that they've already missed. (And that doesn't even include the wasted server space that multiple, repeated discussions on the same topic fill up.)


Any clearer now? ;)

[Lightning_Boy]

In that case, try this thread!

http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=266047

:ok:

[cptjim]

I think you also have to keep in mind that new pilots join here all the time and may be willing to offer something that hasn't been brought up before on the old topic.

[Bravo73]

I think you also have to keep in mind that new pilots join here all the time and may be willing to offer something that hasn't been brought up before on the old topic.

In that case, forum protocol dictates that they add their thoughts to the old thread, rather than start a new (repetitive) thread....

Why do you think that the mods spend so much time and effort collating all of the info on a certain topic into the same thread? (See the various threads on the individual aircraft types as examples...) I can assure you that they don't do it just for the 'ell of it! :ok:

[g-mady]

Fair point "bravo 73" however...

what if that pub conversation lasted a few years in between friends comming and going from the pub.
The conversation you had last year is now out of date as X new helicopters have been produced and your old discussion about the bestest helicopter didn't consider the new Robinson R500e with 5 turbine engines and so its wrong.

As "cptjim" says, people new come and go - there imput is welcome and in an industry that is constantly changeing its only a good thing for recent up to date discussions.


Do a search for EC120s and youll find threads dated 5years old!!! :confused:
MADY

[soggyboxers]

g-mady.

And what if the old textbook from which you learned what little you know was written 20 years ago has not changed :confused: . You just learn that, still buy the book, and use the search engine to obtain updates - no? If you're incapable of doing that in the 21st century maybe you're in the wrong profession :yuk:

[g-mady]

touché

MADY

[Bravo73]

Do a search for EC120s and youll find threads dated 5years old!!!

I did what you suggested, g-mady, and found a thread about the EC120 which was started on 6th Feb 2000. The most recent post was made on 7th Feb 2007.

How much more current do you want? :ugh:


Are you finding the concept of 'forums' hard to come to terms with??? :rolleyes:

[g-mady]

Not at all

I think you misunderstand me Bravo73, of course searching through "older" threads for relevant info can be useful.
What annoys me however is upon posting a geniune question, someone replies simply "already discussed ..." especially when the post they refer to is a year or more old. If they go to the effort of post that statement they could try and provide an answer or not post at all...

the old saying "if you can't say something useful dont say..."

Most posters using this forum have the sense to search for old discussions first anyway and then ask if they cant find it - then its justified.

Takes all sort I guess:rolleyes:

MADY

[Heliport]

g-mady

If they go to the effort of post that statement they could try and provide an answer or not post at all... Sometimes, the most helpful response is to refer to a thread where the question has been answered and discussed. Bravo73 does that quite often, as do some other regulars. It frequently generates further discussion without going over the old ground again.

It doesn't necessarily matter if the thread is 'a year or more old.' If the answer has changed, the thread will be updated by discusssion.
Most posters using this forum have the sense to search for old discussions first anyway and then ask if they cant find it Many regulars do. 'Most posters' is over-stating it.
It may appear that way, but I regularly merge new posts with the relevant existing thread.


Heliport

[topendtorque]

Heliport
seing as how you're on air, how is it that now one cannot just push a quote button and edit out the unwanted to have a nice blue box there.
Have upgraded with something or other of late, do we need to download something?
tet

[Heliport]

how is it that now one cannot just push a quote button
One can.
An experimental quote facility was removed because it put too great a load on the server, and people were quoting entire posts instead of choosing the particular parts to which they were responding. (I didn't see that happening in this forum, but it was a problem in some of the others.)

Instead, simply select the http://www.pprune.org/forums/images/editor/quote.gifbutton.

[topendtorque]

Instead, simply select the http://www.pprune.org/forums/images/editor/quote.gifbutton.

why thanks, easy to see I'm more a hands and feet type than computers driven:) or driven computers, if you'll pardon me:{
tet

[cl12pv2s]

I actually think G-MADY makes a valid point.

As a long time poster, I used to get frustrated when issues would crop up time after time. It made me think that people were lazy to search and simply didn't listen. However, it seems the flow of topics is cyclical, and over, say a year's time, things come back.

Like I said, I used to get frustrated by this. Now I accept it. I realised that boards like these were interesting and new, and a huge source of knowledge - back then for me, but...

...now that I am an 'old-timer' here, I don't feel the need to post...there's not much more I can say, that I haven't said in the past or that someone else won't say. So now I am content to lurk. I have accepted that topics will come up time after time, but that's life isn't it?

I guess it is a reflection on the health of the industry. As newer pilots come through, they get to that inquisitive stage (that we all got to) and utilise boards like this. Nothing wrong with that. Can't blame them, as I was once there too.

Old-timers, if we can’t help with the same enthusiasm as you once did, then we must move over and let someone else do it.

That being said, what gets my goat is when someone posts a question with the 'expectation' that an answer is due without really taking care in the post. A lazy post, all set about with spelling, punctuation and grammar errors deserves a lazy reply. In that instance, referral to the search pages is justified.

Also, I actually think the collation of 'similar topics' by the mods is sometimes overdone, to the extent that finding specific information on a subject becomes harder.

Take the 'What's New In West Africa' thread for example. Very interesting if you are in West Africa. For someone wanting to know more about West Africa, this thread is next to useless. It has become a mountain of posts few of which really tell me (as an interested party) what is 'new' in West Africa.

The R22 thread. I no longer can be bothered to look at this thread. If I was searching for something specific I am sure it would be mentioned there, but am I really expected to trawl through the hundreds of posts?

Maybe the efficiency of the MODs to continuously collate topics, doesn't actually add to the board's usefulness.

Lastly, there is the question of 'currency' of the material. Whether or not the information is new or old, there is a psychological response to reading something already there. Your mind tells you 'it's old'. Compare that to asking a question, and getting fresh text in front of you. Now you can be sure you have 'current' thinking. So human nature will always prefer a new thread.

cl12pv2s

[g-mady]

Thank you "cl12pv2s" :ok:

For fear of overstaying my welcome with this post I will try to keep this short.

I do very much agree with the Merging threads comment. The R22 thread is so merged it is impossible to follow the line of discussion. Threads have just been added as an entire block, and the thread is now vast.

I think I should leave it at that before ...

MADY

[Seymour Belvoir]

The trouble is that some of the threads on this forum seem to degenerate into a slanging match between posters and become increadably dull and painful to read (may I refer my learned friends to the thread about helicopter flying schools in Aus). The only way to get a quick and easy answer sometimes is to start a new thread.

If you don't want to read a thread which some-one else has started....then don't, but please let others get on with their lives too.


...standing by for slagging off......

SB

[skidbiter2]

Some people mustn't have a life at all?
If a question has come up for the umpteenth time and it bores you, is it not easy to run your finger over the mouse wheel and carry on to a new topic? :ugh:

[SimonCFI]

Hey guys,

I can see both sides on this. It gets old to hear the same questions again and again.
But then the search engine has its troubles with short terms like CFI, CV, R22,... and that might make things difficult for some people (especially the ones new to the whole thing). Also if you look for things like "job prospects" you will find posts from 2000 or older. Also if somebody just has a simple question, he/she might not have the time to look through 69 pages of posts to probably find an answer.
I always try to find things with the search engine and I have to say, most of the time it works, but other times it doesn't.
So here is a sugestion: if you are really that offended by people posting the same threads over and over again, ignore it. It's a free world, you don't have to answer the question. If the person really just is lazy and doesn't want to use the search engine, fine, there are 2 options now. One: the person will get an answer from somebody who doesn't mind writing things again, or two: no answer, so if the question is important enough the use of the search engine will eventually become necessary.
If I have time, I'll write you an answer if I know it. But usually by the time I read it, somebody else already answered it, which makes me believe that this forum works really good and that there are people out there who just anwer a question if they see one without any unnecessary comments! :D:ok:
And while I am writing this: Thanks to all of you for all the good advice to be found in here! I appreciate it !:ok:

[Seymour Belvoir]

SimonCFI

Haven't I just said that in the post above?!!!!!

[Whirlygig]

Er... SeeMore... Your post refers to the bickering that can go on and Simon's post refers to the vagaries of the Pprune search engine and Three Letter Acronyms (amongst other things!!).

Both valid points but I read them as different points being made.

If you think Rotorheads is bad for new threads on old subjects (it's not), try Professional Training. :}

For those wanting to search for TLAs, there's a thread on Computing explaining that the search can be made through Goo-Goo using site:pprune as part of the search criteria. This will help for many.

Cheers

Whirls