The Moderators have a policy to make,we should back them.
They have more Information than we do,so we must accept
there policy for our saftety and there legal rights.

 

I back them, but not blindly. You really ought to question more, it is one of the strong points of this site. Questions are the basis of teaching.

If they made a firm rule about something I'll shut up and soldier, but this is an open discussion. What I hear you say is obey without understanding, no discussions allowed. Think about it. All of us make the site what it is, it couldn't exist without quality users.

As for information, we have as much info as we're willing to research.

 

Whatever rules are adopted, let's be sure they are reasonable and address real issues of safety, not some hypothetical fear.

Most important, they need to be applied consistently and objectively. Take two current threads that deal with making an ignition HV spark:

This one got locked before it got very far: http://forum.allaboutcircuits.com/showthread.php?t=39336

This one is still open and up to 4 pages: http://forum.allaboutcircuits.com/showthread.php?t=39162

I find very little difference between the two to justify the different treatments. Please believe I am not in any way criticizing the moderators by these examples. The rule on HV is simply ambiguous enough to make consistent application difficult. BTW, ignition systems can give a nasty jolt, but I personally would not restrict their discussion here because of safety concerns.

John

I did a quick scan on both thread, seemed to me the competence issue was in play here. Like it or not, competence counts. Fact is, you can not be completely even, because the users aren't even. We get kids to reckless adults to professionals, and they will all have to be treated accordingly.

To those who are trying to do advanced projects that can be dangerous without paying their dues in learning we inform them of the danger and cut them off. If they are willing to learn we teach and build up their background level. To those who appreciate the dangers and have a deep background in the subject and are wanting other points of view they get that too. I would hate to see this site turn into a kiddie play ground, as it would be very boring.

There is a difference in asking for weaknesses in a schematic and asking for a schematic.

 

I have a better idea....Please don't think I am pushing my suggestion about VIP forum
But what if we had that we can discuss situations like this with experienced members and mods away from n00bs and prying eyes. This way discussion is open instead of PM's, which the way I see it is far more effective

This way we can decide what to do with such threads, that have health risks.

 

It has neither been confirmed nor denied that the mods have such a forum, but I'm pretty sure they do.

 

OW!!
and I wanted to have fun there....

so which means threads are locked after discussion, if so..who are we to argue?

 

I frankly don't see how the first post in either thread can be used to judge the OP's competence. The OP for the locked thread wasn't even given a second chance.

I know we disagree on whether the moderator's guess at the OP's competence should be a factor, but to presume it does goes against the very foundation for making safety a criterion for closing a thread.

For example, an "incompetent" could latch onto a thread by a "competent," do something that is silly, make a mistake and hurt himself or others. All the time, this site in the name of safety would deny the "incompetent" the opportunity ask a question, to learn, and to fix the silly error before harm was done.

Another factor that has been raised to justify censorship is liability. It is hard to think of a more appetizing case for a plaintiff's attorney than one for which a restrictive rule existed but was not applied. That might just be negligence. If the reason for not applying the rule was a presumption of competence made by a moderator, just imagine the line that questioning could take, assuming the moderator passes some basic questions about his training and experience in judging competence. I suspect the moderator would have a hard time giving specific measures that were used to assess competence. Just be sure to bring a fat check book.

John

 

It's a tough call to lock a thread or to withhold advice to someone you suspect is unable to do the tasks in a safe manner.

I was once asked about responding to homework questions ... how do you know who is needing guidance and who just wants you to do their work? That was before the rules were written about the OP showing their efforts in solving the problems. That was a tough one to describe to the person who PM'd me.

I do not envy the moderators in that position ... close or not close a thread.

All Sgt is asking for is defined guidance in this matter. Everyone here can express their opinion on when to give or withhold responses. The result will be a stronger forum. Even though we have rules, some still choose to render assistance when the OP doesn't follow them. Not once has the responders been chastized. I doubt they ever will, nor should they. The responders will learn, just as the OPs with questions, why the rules are what they are. Are the rules 100$ ... nope. They were written by humans with all the human faults.

Dave may own this forum, but the forum is useless without the quality users. The users suggest the rules and when they are approved (by whomever), the moderators enforce them. I'm sure the moderators discussed the rules behind the secret door, and they need that space to complain, argue, and plain ol' blow off some steam.

I personnally think this is the best forum I've visited.

 

I frankly don't see how the first post in either thread can be used to judge the OP's competence. The OP for the locked thread wasn't even given a second chance.

In my opinion it is far to random which threads that closed or not closed. I also think moderators are in some cases are to trigger-happy then it comes to closing down.
A good example is this case http://forum.allaboutcircuits.com/showthread.php?t=39336. In this case nothing was even made, hence the danger minimal. So a few control question should have been asked. Like what are you tying to make and why.
In another case which can find any link to. The OP wanted to build a power line modem (PLC Modem). The OP had question about the transformer (which was certified for such use). But the moderator completely misunderstood and closed down the tread. Then I sent the moderator a PM trying to explain what the OP wanted to do. The moderator did not even bother to answer.
I think in many cases that the moderators could have shown more flexibility before closing down a thread.

 

Experienced members should be the one to decide when to close a thread.
IMHO.

 

Every one of the moderators were experienced members before they put on that moderator hat.

 

Every one of the moderators were experienced members before they put on that moderator hat.

My bad.. I didn't know that.

 

I don't know the history of all the mods, I'm a relatively late arrival myself. I suspect they look for someone unflappable (which I'm not) and experienced. Bertus is both, and he has a knack for finding resources.

 

Hello Bill,

I arrived at about the same time you did.
Join Date: 04-05-2008
I have always been fascinated by electronics.
I also like to "walk" the internet for finding answers to the questions, as I do not know all by heart.
My main interesse is the RF techniques, as I am also a HAM-radio amateur (not active at the moment).

Greetings,
Bertus

 

It wasn't that long ago when there were no rules and no moderators. I joined here in Apr 2005. I gave up being a moderator at military.com's forums Dec 2005. Probably in 2006 the rules were established, for the various topics. The main one was the OPs producing their work, especially in the homework section, otherwise responders would be doing the work and not getting the CEUs (Continuing Education Units) credits or any credit ... other than recognition here by their peers.

Dave started a good thing here and it's certainly grown to be one of the best, if not the best electronics forum. The moderators do a good job, even when the overunity types appear.

 

I think that any thread Rifaa starts should be immediately locked.

Seriously though, Joe's right - I'm just trying to get a reading on what the official board policy is, or will be.

Moderating is a doggone tough job. I've done it before, and didn't enjoy it much. You can't make everyone happy - but, that's not why they are Moderators; it's to ensure that the policies of the board are upheld, and try to keep things more or less organized. Without our Moderators, this place could turn into a cesspool in a big hurry.

There isn't much room for improvement in the way our Mods handle things on here; it's pretty light-handed.

 

I think that any thread Rifaa starts should be immediately locked.

.

Hey ... why is that? Nooooooooooo.

Nice to be noticed though!!
Being in a speck compared to all the big guns here.
Really happy I am amongst u all.

and Sgt. Lock away..I know ur kidding. That one was real tear breaker