AOPA Forum Dying?

Tom-D said:
One must remember AOPA was sued for what they allowed to be Posted on their forums.

Never heard the results of that action.
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I thought that was Avweb???
 
jimbilly said:
Oh yea and time to change your avatar? Can we get the starbucks cup back? Or the underwater beer perhaps?
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I liked the one with him and his wife in the cockpit. It made it clear why he's such a happy, well-adjusted guy!
 
narchee said:
Not enough silliness over there.
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Oh, I don't know; just this week I watched Cap'n Ron trying to 'educate' Wally Roberts on an IFR charting issue. :rofl:
 
Forum activity is way down, and what's being posted is often unrelated to aviation.

Between that, and the incredibly bad state of reading comprehension and understanding, requiring post after post clarifying what's already been said three different ways, the forums are now often more aggravating than enlightening.

I am not alone in this opinion. Of our gang at Oshkosh (the group of pilots who make up the Compound we build in the North 40 each year) I am the only one who still participates in any online forums. And my activity is minimal.

Considering that we all live in different states, and our friendship was 100% based on "meeting" on-line back in the early 1990s, that's sort of sad.

I've asked them why they left, and the answer was the same across the board: The signal-to-noise ratio was just intolerable. We now stay in touch in our own little private newgroup, free from the personal insults and ridiculous displays of "mine is bigger" that pollute so much of the internet today.

I feel badly about this for just one reason: Newbies are the losers. When I was a pilot wannabee, a pilot in training, and a new pilot, the old Newsgroups were a Godsend, providing enormous amounts of information that I could not obtain any other way. I certainly wasn't going to get answers at the little rural Wisconsin airstrip I was training at, and certainly not at 1 AM when the questions popped into my head!

Now, I'm not sure I would dare to ask a question here, or on AOPA, as a newbie. Most of the time it feels like there are only a handful of us truly active non-commercial GA pilots left posting.
 
Jay, there is a discussion on an off roading forum I sometimes visit that is going through the same thing. It seems everyone is on Facebook now, and gets their info, even techical info from there. It seems participation is way down.

I don't do Facebook.
 
Anthony said:
Jay, there is a discussion on an off roading forum I sometimes visit that is going through the same thing. It seems everyone is on Facebook now, and gets their info, even techical info from there. It seems participation is way down.

I don't do Facebook.
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lol Of the guys in our OSH group, only three of us are left on Facebook. All the rest left for various reasons, but many left for the same reasons they left the forums.
 
PPC1052 said:
Why the prejudice against the instrument students?
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No prejudice. I am an on again off again IR student (currently on again).

CPO was just a specific example because he was highly active and immersing himself in his training and I think it got a lot of people's attention.

His thread was a fun read. I hope he comes back.
 
And you think this --- why?
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I guess there are those of us who think a united front is better than each of us going their own way. AOPA is lobbying congress on many issues that affect our freedom to fly. That is why I think that. But, to each his own. If you don't think it is important, that's okay. I just happen to think that it is important.
 
Jay Honeck said:
Forum activity is way down, and what's being posted is often unrelated to aviation.

Between that, and the incredibly bad state of reading comprehension and understanding, requiring post after post clarifying what's already been said three different ways, the forums are now often more aggravating than enlightening.

I am not alone in this opinion. Of our gang at Oshkosh (the group of pilots who make up the Compound we build in the North 40 each year) I am the only one who still participates in any online forums. And my activity is minimal.

Considering that we all live in different states, and our friendship was 100% based on "meeting" on-line back in the early 1990s, that's sort of sad.

I've asked them why they left, and the answer was the same across the board: The signal-to-noise ratio was just intolerable. We now stay in touch in our own little private newgroup, free from the personal insults and ridiculous displays of "mine is bigger" that pollute so much of the internet today.

I feel badly about this for just one reason: Newbies are the losers. When I was a pilot wannabee, a pilot in training, and a new pilot, the old Newsgroups were a Godsend, providing enormous amounts of information that I could not obtain any other way. I certainly wasn't going to get answers at the little rural Wisconsin airstrip I was training at, and certainly not at 1 AM when the questions popped into my head!

Now, I'm not sure I would dare to ask a question here, or on AOPA, as a newbie. Most of the time it feels like there are only a handful of us truly active non-commercial GA pilots left posting.
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I disagree Jay, with your comments regarding the friendliness and usefulness of this forum to newbies and people who want to ask general questions. Just recently I have asked a couple of questions that some would consider dumb, but I got polite responses, very quickly. This has been my experience in general.

This forum is, and has been a great resource for me.

About the only time I have gotten less than polite responses to posts is when I have tried to defend California when people insult the state. So... I just don't do that anymore. :redface:
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
No prejudice. I am an on again off again IR student (currently on again).

CPO was just a specific example because he was highly active and immersing himself in his training and I think it got a lot of people's attention.

His thread was a fun read. I hope he comes back.
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Let me try this with a little less subtlety: Instead of living vicariously through a prospective private pilot's journey (which is your past), why not focus on your own education toward an instrument rating (your future). Make your own magic by creating discussion on those topics new to you.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
I am not on the AOPA forum so I don't know how it compares.
But the comraudery(sp) on POA is cool

EdFred is having his fly-in this weekend, Gaston's is coming up, There are little pockets of flying meetups going on here and there. My wife's bday is next weekend and normally I would get her a tie or pair of socks but we are flying out to visit Jay at his hotel.

In between the silliness here, there is a community bound by flight.

I think we just lack students at the moment.
CPO! Where are you???
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Did I miss a memo? Is there a link for the EdFred fly in? Do I wear underwear or not? Inquiring minds..
 
RalphInCA said:
I disagree Jay, with your comments regarding the friendliness and usefulness of this forum to newbies and people who want to ask general questions. Just recently I have asked a couple of questions that some would consider dumb, but I got polite responses, very quickly. This has been my experience in general.

This forum is, and has been a great resource for me.

About the only time I have gotten less than polite responses to posts is when I have tried to defend California when people insult the state. So... I just don't do that anymore. :redface:
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I am glad to hear it. My journey to becoming a pilot was greatly enhanced by my online experiences, and I'm gratified that you have found a welcome here.

I think the vast majority mean well, but there are a peculiar few who, either by intent or personality, treat people badly. In my experience, these nasty few commonly share two traits:

1. A harsh writing style. These posters type whatever they are thinking. Basically, the filter that would prevent them from saying something verbally is missing when they write.

2. Poor reading comprehension. This has created more online angst than any other single trait, IMHO. Someone will say something innocent like "High wings are better for photography", and four posts in someone is accusing the OP of "hating low wings". It's crazy, and I've seen it happening more and more.

IMHO, this has driven off many good people over the years, both on AOPA and POA forums. I have no idea how to fix it. :(
 
Jay Honeck said:
I am glad to hear it. My journey to becoming a pilot was greatly enhanced by my online experiences, and I'm gratified that you have found a welcome here.

I think the vast majority mean well, but there are a peculiar few who, either by intent or personality, treat people badly. In my experience, these nasty few commonly share two traits:

1. A harsh writing style. These posters type whatever they are thinking. Basically, the filter that would prevent them from saying something verbally is missing when they write.

2. Poor reading comprehension. This has created more online angst than any other single trait, IMHO. Someone will say something innocent like "High wings are better for photography", and four posts in someone is accusing the OP of "hating low wings". It's crazy, and I've seen it happening more and more.

IMHO, this has driven off many good people over the years, both on AOPA and POA forums. I have no idea how to fix it. :(
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Maybe just the nature of the beast.
Pilots are for the most part going to be somewhat dominate, type A, structured folks.

A lot of people that fall into that category have difficulty not being an ****ole.

In other words, this place is full of pilots :)
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
Maybe just the nature of the beast.
Pilots are for the most part going to be somewhat dominate, type A, structured folks.

A lot of people that fall into that category have difficulty not being an ****ole.

In other words, this place is full of pilots :)
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Maybe I've just been lucky, but in my experience pilots are the smartest, kindest, most generous people I know. Of my closest personal friends, all are pilots, and most were met on-line, many years ago.

Of course, the ones like you describe get shunned pretty quickly, in my circle. Life's too short to hang with azzholes.
:)
 
Jay Honeck said:
I am glad to hear it. My journey to becoming a pilot was greatly enhanced by my online experiences, and I'm gratified that you have found a welcome here.

I think the vast majority mean well, but there are a peculiar few who, either by intent or personality, treat people badly. In my experience, these nasty few commonly share two traits:

1. A harsh writing style. These posters type whatever they are thinking. Basically, the filter that would prevent them from saying something verbally is missing when they write.

2. Poor reading comprehension. This has created more online angst than any other single trait, IMHO. Someone will say something innocent like "High wings are better for photography", and four posts in someone is accusing the OP of "hating low wings". It's crazy, and I've seen it happening more and more.

IMHO, this has driven off many good people over the years, both on AOPA and POA forums. I have no idea how to fix it. :(
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I don't understand how people are getting so fired up by these few hostile posters. Its easy enough for me to ignore the snarky/irrelevant posts and move on.

Not sure how you get to: "you have offended my honor, we will now duel to the death(argue to infinity or leave the board).

Its probably that reaction that the snarky poster is looking for, don't give them the satisfaction.
 
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jimbilly said:
I don't understand how people are getting so fired up by these few hostile posters. Its easy enough for me to ignore the snarky/irrelevant posts and move on.

Not sure how you get to: "you have offended my honor, we will now duel to the death(argue to infinity or leave the board).

Its probably that reaction that the snarky poster is looking for, don't give them the satisfaction.
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Some of them start an argument and when shown to be completely wrong they whine to the mgmt. Sand in the vag and just can't take it. Oh well, it's the way the nation is headed
 
Bob Noel said:
Maybe he means the start of the 2020 campaigning season.

;)
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That's right- Kim Kardashian is vying for your vote as First Lady in 2020. Hubby has already thrown his hat in the ring....( is there a 'wretching' emoticon available?)
 
Palmpilot said:
Oh, I don't know; just this week I watched Cap'n Ron trying to 'educate' Wally Roberts on an IFR charting issue. :rofl:
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:yikes: Say it isn't so!! That would be as silly as him trying to educate or contradict doctors or lawyers on medical or legal issues.

...........

Oh, wait. He's already done that.

Never mind.
 
Gerhardt said:
They locked me out of the red board after Claire got that restraining order against me.

Seriously, I liked it over there even if the mods were a bit heavy-handed.
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Claire had a restraining order on you??

I thought it was this guy:
nnp3t1.jpg


I remember something about black eyes and underwear...
 
ElPaso Pilot said:
Claire had a restraining order on you??

I thought it was this guy:
nnp3t1.jpg


I remember something about black eyes and underwear...
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Let me be Frank. I have been around for a long time on AOPA and for far less time here, and snarkiness exists in both places. Worse on the AOPA forum (only place I got into an online argument with anyone). I've deleted far more posts than I have ever posted because I'm not interested in p***ing matches online. Not. Interested.

But even in this thread it seems there are those that are trolling to pick a fight. I just don't understand why people feel compelled to get their jollies that way.

Anecdotally, I used to find lots of good deals in the Classified section on AOPA and I've noticed in the past year and a half that has dried up.
 
You got that did ya? I actually miss the guy and I read all of his posts, watched his videos. Same with Bruce who is great in person. Diversity is a good thing, driving folks away not so much.
 
I let my membership lapse. Usually I don't get locked out of the message board when that happens, but this year they shut me out. I'm going to re up with them mostly for the forum. Every now and then something good comes up for sale there.

Speaking of, does any one have a code for the headset bag as the gift instead of the hat?
 
With the advent of many of the pioneer posters leaving, the same can be said of this page.
 
Tom-D said:
With the advent of many of the pioneer posters leaving, the same can be said of this page.
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Perhaps, but lately, comparing the number of new posts each time I visit this forum and the number when I visit the AOPA forum indicates that there is a lot more activity here than there.
 
Palmpilot said:
Perhaps, but lately, comparing the number of new posts each time I visit this forum and the number when I visit the AOPA forum indicates that there is a lot more activity here than there.
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There always has been more babble here than there. (not always but) AOPA started the web/forums in the fall of 1997. Wide open free for all posts back then, until a few got their feeling hurt, and AOPA started making rules.
 
I feel like a large portion of the red board problem is due to its segregation. They really don't have a Hangar Talk-style section where members can discuss non/slightly aviation-related subjects, so it becomes too regimented. The Hops-n-Hamburgers/Regional forums really shouldn't be separate, in my opinion, nor should there be so many subforums. Hell, the "hat in the ring" forum has had zero posts, because it's an awful idea, lol.

That being said, there seems to be some knowledgeable folks over there, but just no sense of fun/camaraderie.
 
I miss Wayne, he always called it as he saw it! He did stop nearby a while back and I took him and Bob Bement to dinner. :D
N3368K said:
Wayne Bower emailed me recently. He's doing fine and staying busy. Just got tired of BS so prevalent on boards. We became friends through Purple Board and met when he was passing through and remain friends. I do miss his input on boards.


Jim R
Collierville, TN

N7155H--1946 Piper J-3 Cub
N3368K--1946 Globe GC-1B Swift
N4WJ--1994 Van's RV-4
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