Advice from the Net?..What Can You Trust?

[Ironflight]

I was chatting with an RV owner yesterday, someone who has a number of airplanes and bought a nicely-built RV-8 that he just loves to fly, but didn?t have time in his life to build. We were talking about tail wheel mods and a few other things, and I suggested that he ask his questions on the forums here at VAF to tap into the considerable knowledge base. His response was interesting - he?s been here before, but his concern about asking questions (or more generally, using information found here) could be summed up as ?who do you trust?? He pointed out that on many topics and questions, if you read an entire thread, you will see diametrically opposed advice and answers to the same question. So what does a non-builder, or new builder do? Without the experience to understand and interpret the results, they can be just as lost as they were before they wandered in the door?..

Now my own interpretation on the ?multiple answer? issue is that, in reality, there are almost always multiple acceptable solutions to any problem. Very rarely is there only one ?right? way to do something. In fact, when I am evaluating information for myself, I tend to ?select out? solutions from people who state that ?the only way to do this is?.? Because that tells me something about their own ability to evaluate solutions. (I am aware that statement might ruffle a few feathers, but think about it - no one knows everything and all possible answers - how can they be sure there isn?t another solution that works as well, or better?)

In the old days, of you wanted to build an airplane, and you didn?t have all the expertise required, you joined an EAA chapter, or found like-minded people at the airport, and learned from those resources. Today, it is much more common to rely on internet advice and connections, but as we know, the greatest ?joke? of our time is ?it must be true, I read it on the internet!? I am very careful to evaluate ideas and suggestions that I get to see if there is physical truth behind them, and to see if I hear the same information from multiple sources. ?Trust, but verify? is a good phrase that works for me. Out of habit, when someone gives me an answer, I usually ask for a reference - a document, manual, or other source other than simple word of mouth ("Is this written down anywhere?"). The truth is that these RV?s we build are relatively standard machines, using tried and true design and technical details. It?s not like they are rocket science, and there are very few truly ?original thoughts? involved in building or maintaining them. Most everything you need can be found in a book - the forums are a great place to point you to the authoritative work.

The internet is a great way to communicate new ideas and to pass on information which might be common in one region of the world but not known elsewhere. All the good scientists that I know want to check the references when they hear new stuff, and as an engineer in Flight Operations, we have an old saying: ?In God we trust - all others, bring data!? Word of mouth, passed from generation to generation is liable to corruption - the message can get garbled, and what once proved to be a great way to do something in a particular situation might very well be incorrect when applied to something else, yet without the original source of that information policing how it is used, later generations might not realize it?s limitations.

So?.how about other?s thoughts? To what test do you put the ideas you find here and on other forums? This might be a good topic of discussion here on a forum where people come for answers, and many of us come to help out those seeking those answers. I personally hope that people take what I write, look for other references, sort through my ideas to see if they are applicable to them, and only use my thoughts if they truly appear to pass the highest scrutiny?.

Paul

[Yukon]

Interesting question Paul. For instance, how do you explain the guy this morning saying "Remove your Slick mags before they kill you" while P-Mag guys continue to fly their multiple P-Mag installations in the face of very poor service history?

I have gotten to the point of believing only about 10 per cent of what I hear here on the forum, the rest being pure entertainment.

[lostpilot28]

Very interesting topic, Paul. I hardly feel qualified to even post, but I'm opinionated (somewhat within reason) so I'll comment anyway.

I think it's fairly easy to identify most of the suspect posts as being one-sided or someone replying without having sufficient knowledge about the subject matter. So I can fairly easily rule out the "junk". There really is a lot of useful information here, but you need to be careful about what you use. Even if you choose to use someone elses experience, give it some thought as to what you may be getting.

IMHO, I rule out the posters on the extremes. Those that love a product to no end and would bet their life on it (auto gas, sikaflex, PMags, etc), and those who yak incessently about how something will kill you (auto gas, sikaflex, PMags, etc). They may have some valid points, but the message gets really wrapped up in emotion that it's almost useless.

[the_other_dougreeves]

As both Ronald Reagan and Felix Dzerzhinsky (the original Chekist and founder of the Soviet Secret Police) used to say, "Trust, but verify."

TODR

[Rivethead]

Recently I had the occasion to talk to someone on the phone about exhaust systems and a related problem I was having. We got into a whole lot of conversation about many subjects and engine cooling came around to the focus of the conversation. At one point he mentioned a particular thread that was several days or maybe weeks old that had been retired. His comment was, and I'm paraphrasing, 'There's not a one of them that knows what they're talking about'. That struck me since I had already decided either that was the case with this particular thread or I needed to do a bit more of my own research. There is a huge amount of off the cuff anecdotal information found all over the web and no web site is immune not even our favorites. I've noticed also that the more technical the question the more disparate the answers become. It's a lot of fun to jaw bone over this stuff but the take away message is, via con dios and be careful of what you use. Nothing beats the good solid information that can be found at a large, or university, library.

[RScott]

Forums of any sort are just online bull sessions sorted by topic. Some people are more knowledgeable than others and you have to learn who they are, learn to recognize their names. Then sometimes those 'experts' start spouting off on topics on which they are not experts, so you have to recognize that, too. It's up to the reader to learn to sort the good information from the misinformation.

[N395V]

You have to take many factors into account.

As mentioned above the extremes you need to be wary of. Some people love a product or concept so much they are blind to it's shortcomings. Others will be adamantly opposed to something though they have no experience with that which they expound upon.

In general I pay attention to the following.

1. How many posts has the advice giver got under the belt?
2. Are they quality posts or me too posts?
3. Does the poster have first hand experience or is their opinion based on hearsay or is there some sort of bias present?
(ask the poster a direct question like "how do you know that what you say) this is a dynamic board not a read it and take it or leave it type of option.
4. Look at a posters profile, do they seem to have a background that would qualify them for what they say.

5. Have they posted on this subject before and how often?
6. How do others on the board respond to or treat the poster whos advice you are looking at?
7. If a particular thread is long enough what is the ratio of diametrically opposed answers. Is it 50/50 or 70/30.
8. Does the advice make sense, if not ask more questions?

Then of course there are questions or issues for whicch there is no definitive answer or there are ,as Paul mentioned, several correct options.

Advice on the internet should not simply be a read it and accept it or reject it proposition. As with anything else in life an important decision requires research until you are satisfied with the answer.

I find on organized web forums most who offer advice are knowlegable experienced people or if they are postulating conjecture they so state up front.

More dangerous than erroneous advice is a willingness to accept advice without researching it a bit further.

[N395V]

Originally Posted by Yukon

Interesting question Paul. For instance, how do you explain the guy this morning saying "Remove your Slick mags before they kill you" while P-Mag guys continue to fly their multiple P-Mag installations in the face of very poor service history?

I have gotten to the point of believing only about 10 per cent of what I hear here on the forum, the rest being pure entertainment.

John,

Just exactly what rationale do you use to suggest that 90% of what is posted on this forum is less than accurate?

[DGlaeser]

I've got the same philosophy as Paul - trust, but verify. Show me the data. I am an engineer, so I pretty much ignore the emotional stuff and home in on whatever facts are presented (if any).
When I first got on the Matronics Lists (AeroElectric and RV) in 2004, my first impression was this is more entertaining than "must watch TV" (the catch phrase that year) As my Internet browsing expanded to include VAF and some Yahoo lists, it became obvious in no time, who was trying to impart knowledge, and who was just spouting opinion. It is all food for thought, some meat & potatos, some candy.
In the end, each builder has to learn enough to be comfortable with his/her decisions on what and how to build. The more you learn, the easier it becomes, and the waterline of knowledge of those participating is raised along the way, even if all you learn is who to believe and who to ignore.

[f1rocket]

I think it comes down to thinking for yourself. I don't mind getting both ends of the spectrum when I ask a question because the responses allow me to challenge my own thinking as to how I was going to solve the problem. I've found that some folks really don't want to think, they just want an answer and they want it to be the "right" answer for them without investing any of their brain cells.