General > General Technical Chat
Designated "Expert" Forum Users?
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fourfathom:
For me, the bottom line is this: It's not broken,  so don't fix it.  I think what we have here works just fine.
MK14:

--- Quote from: fourfathom on February 16, 2022, 02:50:13 am ---For me, the bottom line is this: It's not broken,  so don't fix it.  I think what we have here works just fine.

--- End quote ---

Sometimes you don't realize how good things (the status quo), was, until it gets reduced or lost.

In my experience here. When/if someone responds and has made technical mistake(s) in their answer(s). Other helpful members will typically come along, and gently (or more) nudge, the thread, with the corrected answers. I.e. The current system seems to be working quite well for most people.

On the other hand, I can understand that it is much harder for a true beginner here. To sort out the good answers, from the not so good ones. So, there is at least some merit, to the 'experts' designations. Even if I think it is a bad idea, overall.
Cerebus:

--- Quote from: MK14 on February 16, 2022, 02:24:28 am ---But beginners don't need help from just extreme experts. Many people can help them. Typically their questions are actually rather simple, which just about anyone (with some electrics know how/experience) can answer.

--- End quote ---

I don't think the need, if there is a need, is for beginners to get answers from "extreme experts" but it would be helpful if beginners and newbies had a way of determining if their advice was coming from someone reasonably sound instead of one of the Dunning-Kruger victims. The problem is that providing help while simultaneously having to disprove the, often shouty, incorrect contributions from the Dunning-Kruger types is both quite hard, and time consuming.

As I've already opined, I'm not keen on badging, or whatever, of the acknowledged 'experts', but while we're demolishing that idea it would be useful, I think, to look at whether there is a way to help newbies navigate the proffered opinions until they get enough knowledge to know when they are being bullshitted or know the personalities well enough to know who to trust and who to disregard.

It might be as simple as agreeing that that we provide a bit of moral support to the sound. If someone trustworthy is offering advice and the usual muppets are muddying the waters, a reply such as "You should listen to Tim (or Tom, or Dick, or Harry) he knows what he's talking about." would be a useful pointer and certainly more productive than picking on a wrong or dubious reply and amplifying it by trying to point out the faults. I must confess that nowadays I let some egregious mistakes from certain repeat offenders slip by because I know that disagreeing with them will just produce a long, drawn-out pointless argument. Occasionally I make the effort, but it's rare now. It would however be much easier to actively bolster the good replies and I wouldn't find it hard to do that.
mawyatt:

--- Quote from: MK14 on February 16, 2022, 02:24:28 am ---
--- Quote from: mawyatt on February 15, 2022, 08:05:05 pm ---Of course the issues of selection and whatnot are difficult, the IEEE seems to have done well with the Fellow nomination and selection process, maybe that model should be considered.

--- End quote ---

But this forum, isn't to be confused with a very high end University and/or gathering of top Professors. It is a place for various levels of electronics people (hobbyists, workers in the industry, and sometimes experts).
So we shouldn't want/need such formalities here.


--- End quote ---

Maybe you should go over to the IEEE and find out what the membership actually is!!! It's composed of young students, undergraduates, graduate, post grads & professors alike, everyone is welcome, no degrees required!! However, they do demand a high level of credibility in papers that get published.


--- Quote ---But beginners don't need help from just extreme experts. Many people can help them. Typically their questions are actually rather simple, which just about anyone (with some electrics know how/experience) can answer.

--- End quote ---
My experience indicates that the best teachers are the most knowledgable in the subject matter! When a newbie is asking for help, they are often asking to learn as well, and what better way to enrich this learning experience than expert guidance.

--- Quote ---If someone gets too obsessed with wanting expert only opinions, then it could mean that if they wanted your light bulb changing, you would insist on it being done, only by someone with 3 degrees, 2 masters and at least one professorship and 40 years plus experience.

--- End quote ---
Dunning-Kruger mountain effect??

--- Quote ---
If we decided one person on the entire forum, is THE expert. Surely they wouldn't have the time and motivation to answer ALL the questions on this forum.

EDIT: Reworded, to be more pleasant.

--- End quote ---

And why would we decide on THE one expert, now that would be a brilliant decision!!

Anyway, it seems most folks are not in favor of a group of "experts" in various fields, mainly to help newbies with question/answers and some fundamental learnings.

Best,


MK14:

--- Quote from: Cerebus on February 16, 2022, 03:26:22 am ---
--- Quote from: MK14 on February 16, 2022, 02:24:28 am ---But beginners don't need help from just extreme experts. Many people can help them. Typically their questions are actually rather simple, which just about anyone (with some electrics know how/experience) can answer.

--- End quote ---

I don't think the need, if there is a need, is for beginners to get answers from "extreme experts" but it would be helpful if beginners and newbies had a way of determining if their advice was coming from someone reasonably sound instead of one of the Dunning-Kruger victims. The problem is that providing help while simultaneously having to disprove the, often shouty, incorrect contributions from the Dunning-Kruger types is both quite hard, and time consuming.

As I've already opined, I'm not keen on badging, or whatever, of the acknowledged 'experts', but while we're demolishing that idea it would be useful, I think, to look at whether there is a way to help newbies navigate the proffered opinions until they get enough knowledge to know when they are being bullshitted or know the personalities well enough to know who to trust and who to disregard.

It might be as simple as agreeing that that we provide a bit of moral support to the sound. If someone trustworthy is offering advice and the usual muppets are muddying the waters, a reply such as "You should listen to Tim (or Tom, or Dick, or Harry) he knows what he's talking about." would be a useful pointer and certainly more productive than picking on a wrong or dubious reply and amplifying it by trying to point out the faults. I must confess that nowadays I let some egregious mistakes from certain repeat offenders slip by because I know that disagreeing with them will just produce a long, drawn-out pointless argument. Occasionally I make the effort, but it's rare now. It would however be much easier to actively bolster the good replies and I wouldn't find it hard to do that.

--- End quote ---

Good point(s), and I agree with you (even if I don't agree with the proposed solution in the opening point of this thread).
It's very hard for me to place myself into the feet/head of these complete beginners and even some with slight experience with electronics. As I have not been in that position, for a very long time.

I now know, looking back into my early days of electronics. That some/many of the projects in electronics magazines (from a long time ago), were in a number of cases. Not especially well designed. In some cases they wouldn't even work. In others, some parts of the design were, let's say questionable.
But that hasn't stopped many people from progressing through their electronics hobby and/or University/similar and/or electronics career paths, with, in some cases great success.

I'm not sure what the best solution is. Perhaps it is leave the forum as it is, or come up with a solution to that problem.
Anyway, I'm not necessarily convinced an 'experts' detonator, is necessarily the right solution.

Some websites, use a points scoring system, where answers are up-voted or down-voted. But I think (as already mentioned by other(s) ), that solution also has its many downsides. Including that the best answers, won't necessarily get the highest score. At least not with 100% reliability, that is.
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