I've been a member for a few years and been hanging around for quite awhile before that. When I am looking for help on a subject I want to know those giving advice are knowledgeable on that subject. When I look to see how long they have been around I see they are a "Senior Member." Then I see they have been a member for only a month. It seems they have nothing better to do than stay on TFL and post 30-50 threads a day until they reach that coveted "Senior Member" status. I feel this is misleading for those who are truly here to try and learn. This forum has alot of good info and experience but the armchair commandos and virtual gunsmiths do not contribute to this good info. It is frustrating to post a thread with a legitimate question then have it immediately buried by about 20 posts that ask the same stupid questions over and over. Then someone who might be able to help doesn't see your thread unless they start digging into the past. Can the Staff comment on this? Maybe I am way wrong, but I don't think so.
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Gripe that's a long time coming.
- Thread starter ds1300
- Start date
justin10985
Moderator
I could not agree with you more, some people have only been on here for a couple of months and have more posts then most of us that have been on here a little longer. Just make sure when you get some information, you get a second or third or even a fourth opinion. Also the staff is always here to help us out as well. But anyway thats my 2 cents. 
I've only been a member for a couple of months and I am at senior member status. I do not post just for the sake of increasing my post count and I try very hard to add value to any thread I post in. Maybe some folks do add junk to get the post count up to make them appear as experts; however, this isn't the case for me and lots of other folks here. I spend an hour or two a day here and on THR as I find it a great source of information and entertainment.
All I can say is take any and all advice with a grain of salt...
All I can say is take any and all advice with a grain of salt...
BanditSRT8
New member
Some forums I belong to use a reputation system that is quite helpful in this regard.
A member can give positive or negative rep points to another member and newbies who come across the site can instantly see on every member's post how prolific a certain member actually is by the amount of rep points they have earned.
Here is a shot of my personal rep point status on one of the sites:
The "green beans" are the rep points. Mine are somewhere around 6500 or so. That means that's how many times I was kudo'd on posts and information on that forum. I have been there a little over 2 years or so and try to be helpful, so my 'beans' reflect that.
Could be a good idea around here, but since other individualistic indicators such as avatars and signatures are not allowed, I doubt this would be either.
A member can give positive or negative rep points to another member and newbies who come across the site can instantly see on every member's post how prolific a certain member actually is by the amount of rep points they have earned.
Here is a shot of my personal rep point status on one of the sites:
The "green beans" are the rep points. Mine are somewhere around 6500 or so. That means that's how many times I was kudo'd on posts and information on that forum. I have been there a little over 2 years or so and try to be helpful, so my 'beans' reflect that.
Could be a good idea around here, but since other individualistic indicators such as avatars and signatures are not allowed, I doubt this would be either.
There's no guarantee that a person who has been here a long time is knowledgeable, nor is it always true that a new member doesn't know much. Furthermore, even a very knowledgeable and experienced person can be wrong or may be inexperienced in a particular area and even a tyro may know a lot about one particular subject.
Here's what you know about a person who has been registered a long time at TFL and who has a lot of posts.
They have not been caught violating the forum rules.
That's it.
Ultimately, each person reading the forum has to perform his own screening process to determine what is accurate and what is not.
Here's what you know about a person who has been registered a long time at TFL and who has a lot of posts.
They have not been caught violating the forum rules.
That's it.
The staff tries to make sure that advice that is dangerous or illegal is noted as such, but there's no guarantee that we see everything. As far as the rest of it goes, the staff is not the "truth police" nor are we infallible.
It can be helpful or it can simply be a popularity contest. It's probably better than using post count or longevity as a metric, but only marginally so.
Ultimately, each person reading the forum has to perform his own screening process to determine what is accurate and what is not.
prairieviper
New member
JohnKSa nailed it. Having a high post count means that, well, you have a high post count and that's about all that can be said with any degree of certainty. What amazes me is that on some forums I belong to, having a high post count is a big deal to some, almost like a badge of honor, which to me, is laughable. A gun forum is just one source of information about firearms related matters and certainly should not be the only source for questions more serious than things like "Which is better, SIG or Glock"?
Grandpa Shooter
New member
If you stay on a forum long enough, or go on frequently enough it will become obvious who knows anything and who is a poser. One clue is when you read a thread on reloading and someone says, "Just wait until ***** comes on, he'll have what you are looking for" Or you are reading about gunsmithing and they say, "Wait for 1911Tuner" and then you look up and one of the stickies is by that person. Just read and remember, it doesn't take that long.
Gripe long time coming
I've been a reloader, bullet caster since 1972 and have been shooting for 54 years. I'm still learning a great deal every week and month. BUT...I have also been a shooting magazine subscriber since 1971. Relying on an internet forum for technical advice is a "take your chances" proposition. You have to have your antenna tuned when you read postings and decipher the writers tone and season that with some smattering of your own common sense and experience. More importantly, knowledge obtained by reading what professional writers have been reporting for years is an investment that will pay priceless dividends over the years.
I am a member of two other forums and though I have filtered the "wheat from the chaff" in regards to knowledeable members, I swear that a good 60% of the posting members have never read their firearm or reloading manuals. Too many folks actually have bought into the desire for a big red "Easy Button" rather than spend a few hours a month reading firearm publications. They will spend $26.00 on a Wilson Combat magazine for their .45 ACP but not even $20.00 for an intro subscription to Guns & Ammo, Shooting Times, Guns etc. or any specialty magazine for the firearm and sport/hunting event they like. Go figure.
I've been a reloader, bullet caster since 1972 and have been shooting for 54 years. I'm still learning a great deal every week and month. BUT...I have also been a shooting magazine subscriber since 1971. Relying on an internet forum for technical advice is a "take your chances" proposition. You have to have your antenna tuned when you read postings and decipher the writers tone and season that with some smattering of your own common sense and experience. More importantly, knowledge obtained by reading what professional writers have been reporting for years is an investment that will pay priceless dividends over the years.
I am a member of two other forums and though I have filtered the "wheat from the chaff" in regards to knowledeable members, I swear that a good 60% of the posting members have never read their firearm or reloading manuals. Too many folks actually have bought into the desire for a big red "Easy Button" rather than spend a few hours a month reading firearm publications. They will spend $26.00 on a Wilson Combat magazine for their .45 ACP but not even $20.00 for an intro subscription to Guns & Ammo, Shooting Times, Guns etc. or any specialty magazine for the firearm and sport/hunting event they like. Go figure.
The Tourist
Moderator
I got into participating into hobbyist forums later in life, and foolishly assumed that most people told the truth.
A motorcycle forum owner, who I had doubts even owned a Harley, used that forum as a bully-pulpit to trash his local government. It seemed that some petty alderman was trying to keep him from parking an 18-wheeler on his driveway. There was a constant stream of threads updating us on his small claims actions.
This happened to me four times in a row. I would become a forum member, and within a few months I noticed that I seldom logged on. I began to monitor my 'favorites list' more carefully. If I didn't participate in six months, I deleted the forum. Over time, it happened more and more.
And I can't really blame people who get frustrated. However, instead of fixing a problem, it's just easier to move onto a better forum and leave your problems behind. One friend of mine tells me that when I find a place I like, I have eighteen months to enjoy it before the trolls find it.
He's been very accurate.
A motorcycle forum owner, who I had doubts even owned a Harley, used that forum as a bully-pulpit to trash his local government. It seemed that some petty alderman was trying to keep him from parking an 18-wheeler on his driveway. There was a constant stream of threads updating us on his small claims actions.
This happened to me four times in a row. I would become a forum member, and within a few months I noticed that I seldom logged on. I began to monitor my 'favorites list' more carefully. If I didn't participate in six months, I deleted the forum. Over time, it happened more and more.
And I can't really blame people who get frustrated. However, instead of fixing a problem, it's just easier to move onto a better forum and leave your problems behind. One friend of mine tells me that when I find a place I like, I have eighteen months to enjoy it before the trolls find it.
He's been very accurate.
TheBluesMan
Moderator Emeritus
I've been reading Internet forums for nearly ten years and the biggest problem that I have noticed of late is that very, very few people are willing to say "I don't know" anymore. It baffles me that people will answer questions about guns or laws that they know nothing about - giving answers that are easily verified as completely incorrect.
Everybody has an opinion, that goes without saying, but if your opinion is ill-informed or even completely ignorant, you don't have to put it out there for the world to read. This is especially evident in the Legal & Political forum where you are likely to read that George W. Bush is a champion of individual freedom and Democrats won't raise taxes.
:barf:
Everybody has an opinion, that goes without saying, but if your opinion is ill-informed or even completely ignorant, you don't have to put it out there for the world to read. This is especially evident in the Legal & Political forum where you are likely to read that George W. Bush is a champion of individual freedom and Democrats won't raise taxes.
:barf: