Modeling Spoken Here - 2003/10

AS MODELERS WE are all used to
working with tools. We try to have a selection
of tools that are used to do a proper and
complete job. We use them constructively to
build and assemble.
Build and assemble: positive words,
wouldn’t you say? I believe all tools should
be used in positive ways for making things
better or for repairing things that are broken.
Tools are the physical things we use to
implement changes and create new structures.
This magazine is a tool. It is used to
inspire, instruct, and inform our members. In
fact, those three words are used in the new
Model Aviation Mission Statement that has
been approved by our AMA Executive
Council.
Communication devices such as
magazines and newsletters are important tools
for those who are sincerely trying to learn
more about our hobby/sport, and they rely on
the information they receive there to be
positive, constructive, accurate, and relevant.
In recent years another type of
communication tool has become very
popular. I’m referring to the Internet bulletin
boards and/or forums. No matter what your
interest, there seems to be a forum to cater to
it. There are many modeling forums, and you
can easily access them to ask questions,
answer questions, or simply state an opinion.
The immediacy of this type of
communication yields a potential for these
forums to be incredibly useful tools. If you
have a question, you can usually get a quick
answer. In fact, you will likely get several
answers from which to choose.
Most of those who post regularly on
modeling forums are dedicated, sincere, and
knowledgeable people who are there to use
that tool in a positive manner. They post
answers to questions, comment on subjects
about which they have opinions, and add to
threads in a mature, responsible manner, and
their only thought is to be constructive.
Unfortunately, there is a small percentage
which is determined to use this new tool as a
weapon. I have visited many of these forums
as a nonposting observer (I think the term is
“lurking”) and have found that there is always
a small faction that apparently feels
compelled to make a negative or derogatory
comment about every subject thread that is
started. Many of these negative types will
then expound on what they believe is wrong
with everyone else’s thinking, and try to
prove that they are the only ones who have
the “true” answers.
Obviously, most of those who are regulars
on any given forum know who the
troublemakers are, and they simply ignore
them and go on with the business of using
that forum in a constructive manner.
The real problem is when a newcomer or
beginner tries to use a forum as a learning tool
and doesn’t know who is giving out bad
advice or wrong answers. There are many
who can “type the talk, but not walk the
walk.”
Forum hosts are usually good about
jumping in when something gets out of hand.
They will delete flagrantly wrong information
or grossly inflammatory remarks. Most hosts
try to be as impartial as possible, however,
and sometimes they allow messages from
known troublemakers to remain posted,
knowing that most will simply ignore them. A
lot of time can be spent online arguing with
these individuals, and that is only tantamount
to dulling an otherwise sharp and useful
modeling tool.
If you hang out long enough at any of
these forums, you will begin to realize that
there are really only a few who routinely post
messages. These are closed loops for the most
part, and the audience is not as large as it may
appear to be, so any conclusions reached are
not necessarily those of the entire modeling
community on any given subject. A subject
being discussed can often be overanalyzed
and taken off on extreme tangents.
Such is the nature of a medium that allows
quick response. Sometimes I believe that not
enough thought is given to a response before
it is posted.
By all means, go to the forums that
cater to your particular modeling interest
and use them as tools to become a better,
more well-informed modeler. If you are a
longtime modeler with valuable
experience, go to them to share your
knowledge with others. If you are one of
the few who use forums as a weapon or a
means of attacking others, get a life.
Feel the need to communicate with me on the
preceding? My address is Box 68,
Stockertown PA 18083; Tel.: (610) 614-1747;
E-mail: [email protected]. All
constructive communication is welcome. MA
Bob Hunt Aeromodeling Editor
No matter what your
interest, there seems to
be a forum to cater to it.
Modeling Spoken Here
October 2003 7