Why do people post questions in threads that have already been answered?????? READ the posts people!!!!
I admin a combat flight simulator board, and we tend to get the same problem. We even have one entire section of the forum built as a 'Knowledge Base' (which plenty of people have spent some serious time putting together) for new guys to reference. Roughly 90% of the questions we get could have been answered had they read the Knowledge Base.
There was consideration at one point to make it so that before you could post in the forum for the very first time, you would be required to answer a 5 question 'test'. The test would
require you to use the search function and the Knowledge Base to answer the questions correctly and pass the test. This suggestion by some of us on staff was rejected...which I was bummed about.
One thing I have noticed though, is that with a demographics around here, there are a lot of 'analog' people...folks that are 'hunt and peck' with the keyboard, and would rather poke their eyes out then troubleshoot a minor issue with their computer. Those people (of which there are a lot in our demographic - no, don't say there aren't) usually are the ones who have problems with 'google-fu' and find it hard to use search functions in the best manner. I can sympathize to an extent...there is a certain way of thinking that needs to be applied to get the best results you want in search, and some folks just aren't wired to think like that. I'm not saying it's wrong, just that it is.
With the 'Wikipedia' generation, it's more of an issue in that there is a
lot of information out there, and can be overwhelming if one doesn't have initial guidance. The tough part is trying to help them build an initial 'framework' that they can then build upon when learning about the hobby.
How can L1 & L2 flyers not know the basics?????? (CP/CG relationships, what reloads will fit in my case??, can I stuff a big motor in my estes kit, take it trans-sonic and expect it to survive???, etc) Engage brain before engaging mouth (or fingers in this case)!!!! Do a little research on your own, you might learn something!!
This I find troubling. If you have an L1/L2, you should not be asking any of these kinds of questions. Or, if you do have these questions, you should already have the ability to know where to get the answer on your own. Noobs have an excuse...an L1/L2 guy does not.
"Name my rocket" "What color should I paint my rocket?" "What rocket should I build next?"
These questions I find somewhat amusing.
One of the best things about rocketry, especially once you start kit bashing/scratch building, is to develop your own 'personality' as it were. To make and name custom designs, paint jobs. To explore doing new things (staging, boost gliding, etc) on your own verses having your hand held all the way. As a young person especially, living under a ton of rules growing up, rocketry was one of the ways to be able to express yourself, to learn, to have fun learning, while staying safe. To experience the highs and lows on your own.
It saddens me a little when I see folks who do this all the time. Take some initiative! Learn by doing! Take off the training wheels and go for it! You can do all of that, and still be smart and stay within the safety boundaries. There are so many more tools available now to allow you to do that then there ever was when our generation was doing this.
Now you kids stay off my lawn!
FC
