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As some of you will know, I was the Moderator of this forum from 2000 -2007. During that time, there were occasionally (not often) suggestions that Rotorheads should be divided into two with a separate forum for 'Wannabes'. If there had been sufficient support for that, I would have arranged it. There never was.
As TC says, the blurb at the front of PPRuNe describes this forum as
'A haven for professional helicopter pilots to discuss the things that affect them.' It is primarily a forum for professional pilots, and most of the regular contributors are professionals - but PPLs and student-pilots have always been welcome.
The forum has a well-established ethos: It's a friendly 'crew-room' where we discuss everything from helicopter ops to highly technical topics, enjoy a laugh, have the occasional row and willingly help each other - which includes people with enormous experience and expertise helping PPLs and student pilots who wish to learn.
The formula worked and Rotorheads grew into one of the busiest forums on PPRuNe, one of the two biggest helicopter forums on the internet, and the biggest international forum with members working in a wide variety of ops all over the world.
Those who’ve joined in recent years might find it hard to believe but, in 2000 it was good going if the number of posts on a thread reached double figures. The number of views of a thread didn't reach three figures very often and the number of people on the forum at any one time never exceeded very low double figures. (There are 227 as I write this.)
These two threads from 2000 illustrate the point:
Drying Paint
Dead Forum
Over the years, there were entirely justified complaints from professionals about beginners constantly asking questions that had already been asked and answered endless times. We reduced that problem significantly by having the
'So you want to be a Helicopter Pilot' sticky at the top of the forum but, even if it was in flashing lights, some newbies would still post without reading it.
R22 questions and discussions have, for some time, been kept in one place as far as practicably possible:
'The R22 Corner'. There's bound to be some delay before threads are merged – all PRuNe Mods are volunteers who do the job in their spare time.
Things do get a little heated between the Pros and the PPLs from time to time; they always have. I no longer monitor the forum closely but, when I did, more often than not it wasn't the fault of the Pros – unless they should be criticised (not by me) for occasionally becoming totally exasperated by the sort of PPLs who think they know as much as the professionals and argue instead of reading and learning.
It's no longer my decision but, if it was, I'd keep it as it is: A professional pilots forum where PPLs and student pilots are welcome to ask questions and learn.
Peter-RB and
B47 TC does get chippy at times - I don't think he'd deny it - and I disagree with his stance in this thread, but he's also one of the stalwarts who helped to make this forum the success it is.
H.