PPRuNe Forums - Tech Log Philosophy and Emphasis

Tech Log FAQ

Forum Philosophy

Where are we coming from in Tech Log ?

This part of the thread attempts to describe what Tech Log is about and ways in which PPRuNe members might be able to get the maximum value out of the forum .. and have some fun at the same time.

First, Tech Log is not ...

(a) an academic ivory tower with information being rigorously correct and subject to strict peer review.

(b) an idealistic think tank.

(c) available for, or of use only for, experienced Industry people. We want all PPRuNe people to use this forum and know that they are welcome and welcomed here. You will find here Industry beginners right through the whole range to the most experienced of Aviation, related Industry and academic personnel.

So then ... what might it be all about ?

Perhaps it is a place where

(a) anyone with an interest in aviation can ask any technical question .. and we intend "technical" to be interpreted fairly generally. Questions need not be about the flying side of things .. but will be welcome so long as they have at least a tenuous connection with aviation. Questions are asked and comments/answers provided by the most experienced through to the least experienced within the Industry according to their knowledge and interest in the subject.

(b) the posts within a thread will be polite, reasonably restrained, and generally pertinent to the subject ... without being too dreadfully dull and boring.

(c) everyone who wishes to participate can have their say without fear of ridicule, sarcasm, or any of those other nasty things which might cause people not to participate.

(d) heavy emphasis is placed on education and low-key training so that those who are not too sure about a subject can find a reasonably accurate set of information so that errors in thought, logic, and knowledge can be corrected in a friendly and supportive atmosphere.

Are there any rules or suggestions ?

(a) abuse of another poster will not be tolerated at all ... play the ball hard by all means if the subject matter is controversial .. but NEVER the player. In using the term "abuse", we include anything of a nasty nature... including overt sarcasm, vilification, etc., etc. .. Please remember that a poster may be very new to the Industry and not have as much knowledge as more experienced people .. the aim is to spread the knowledge base amongst all who might have an interest in learning. This is not to suggest that friendly banter is not welcome .. I am sure that we all understand what is being suggested here ...

Moderators will edit posts to remove anything which is unreasonable or may, if considered appropriate, delete the post. In the most serious of cases, a poster might be denied the opportunity to post in the forum. It is a reflection of the good intentions of the people who frequent Tech Log that this sort of thing occurs very, very rarely.

(b) thread subjects should have a technical thrust.

(c) try to make the thread's title relevant to the subject so that it will attract people most likely to give useful responses.

Titles should be sufficiently specific to define the intended subject and the poster's need for information. If you are a PPRuNe or Tech Log newbie, don't be too worried ... cast caution to the winds, do the best you can, and the rest of us will do our best to help you out.

Keep in mind that, for some people in out of the way places, net access is expensive ... it may just be that the specialist with the answer to your question doesn't bother to look at your thread because the title is too vague.

(d) if you post a question, try to be reasonably precise ... and include some explanation (where appropriate) of the background to the question or the reason for the question or why you are asking the question ... sometimes it helps if you give a very brief description of your experience ... (eg "I am studying for my PPL/CPL/ATPL", "I am working in such and such a field", "I am studying for such and such a course outside of flying", "This question came up in the bar on an overnight last week" .. whatever). This helps all those who might wish to participate in the thread's development .... it won't help you if what you wanted was a straightforward two-liner answer suitable for PPL level but you get a university postgraduate level discussion or thesis...

(e) if you are posting an answer, please qualify your comments where appropriate, e.g., "on the such-and-such aircraft", "in my airline", "under British rules", etc. Sometimes, useful and detailed comments are rendered unusable if the reader doesn't know the context.

(f) consider a mini-title at the top of your post to highlight the thrust of the text.

(g) read the entire thread before posting to avoid repeating the content of an earlier post.

(h) one of the limitations with the site is that, if the original post is deleted, a thread disappears.

Please, if you start a thread, DO NOT DELETE YOUR INITIAL POST. By all means edit it, or even delete all the text in it ... but don't delete the post itself. It is extremely frustrating to many of us to lose an interesting thread if the original poster deletes that first post either intentionally or by accident. The moderators do not delete threads but may, if the thread content so warrants, move it to a restricted area for assessment by the people at the top of the food chain.

(i) try not to identify specific people and companies. Potentially this can expose the site to legal problems. Moderators may edit posts to avoid this problem ....

Are you likely to get a precise and totally accurate answer to your question ?

If the question is straightforward and suits a straightforward answer, then perhaps. However, several factors need to be kept in mind

(a) often a question can be answered at different levels of accuracy and complexity where the most appropriate level will vary according to the knowledge, needs and experience levels of the person asking the question.

(b) it is an Industry truism that, if you ask 10 pilots (engineers/ATC-ers/FAs etc., etc.) a complex question, you will probably get 20 different answers. Sometimes a slightly different approach to an answer will make just that little bit of difference to your understanding the subject material ... we all learn and understand in slightly differing ways ..

(c) in a to and fro discussion, such as we often see here, digressions sometimes lead onto related and more interesting discussions ... which is one of the delightful strengths of this forum .. but is the main reason that your thread title and initial post should be reasonably precise .. so that the thread discussion at least starts off in a direction which might be useful for your immediate needs and preferences ..

The grateful thanks of the Moderators go to all those who participated in the development of this thread ....

And now, good people, please do enjoy your time in the Tech Log sandpit with the rest of us ...

best regards,

The Tech Log Moderators :ok: