Friendly Proposition

[Doc Jones]

As most of you know I'm a veterinarian. I belong to a professional internet community called the Veterinarian Information Network.

It has a message board very like the C&F community where vets can go ask questions, discuss weird cases etc...

There is however one very significant difference. Each of the message boards has a handful of board-certified specialists that are moderators. One of these experts always weighs in on each topic.

Because I know they are specialists I weigh their opinions more heavily than those of all the other posters. Everyone is free to post their thoughts but the specialists are identified so that if they say something you can know it's from a legitimate source.

What would be wrong with implementing such a system here? What if Dale and Joseph et al. assigned special status to people known to them to be the most qualified. I mean the really serious players and makers.

They could be given the status "Mentor" or "Exalted Poobah" or some such thing that would be noted under their name.

That way when a seriously experienced player or well-respected whistle-maker chimed in on a thread, the newbies would know who they were and give proper weight to their comments.

I think one of the things that really rasps the wise and experienced is the fact that some newbie can contradict their advice and seem to have equal weight. This would solve that particvular problem once and for all. It works beatifully on the vet board.

Just a thought.

Doc Jones, Poor piper, mediochre fluter, average whistler

[cowtime]

That might work-providing no "egos" rear their ugly heads.

With the board certifieds you have bonified experts. It is not a subjective call as to who the experts are.

I personally, think it would be a good idea. But, having been around pipers and pianists way too much, I also know that egos can and do get in the way of good ideas....

[Denny]

...and what might the qualifications be for the pub?

[Doc Jones]

That might work-providing no "egos" rear their ugly heads.

With the board certifieds you have bonified experts. It is not a subjective call as to who the experts are.

I personally, think it would be a good idea. But, having been around pipers and pianists way too much, I also know that egos can and do get in the way of good ideas....

I love people with cows. They always have good sense.
You make some great points. I guess the solution would be to assign folks that are undeniably qualified, like makers that have been around a good while or players that are seriously steeped in the business of making music. Or, really old guys that have just been at it for years.

It would also seem important to designate specific areas of expertise.

For Example

Pat D'Arcy
Accomplished Uilleann Piper
Recording Artist

Or

Terry McGee
Published Flute Historian
Flute Maker 25 years


You wouldn't need to have hundreds of them and they wouldn't really have any status they don't already have. It would just give new readers a heads up that this particular person has been around and knows whereof they speak.

Doc

[peeplj]

While a decent enough idea at first glance, I'm afraid this would result in all kinds of trouble.

I don't see a way to implement a system like this without bruising some egos and inflating others.

I'm afraid the resulting turmoil would be more likely to discourage those with questions than to educate them.

--James

[gonzo914]

I have no cows, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express recently. At least, I think it might have been a Holiday Inn Exp. I lose track.

I think it's a dandy idea, at least in theory. That way, a new person wouldn't assume that just because someone has thousands of posts posts, he (or she) know what he (or she) is talking about.

Can I be Designated Snot? That way nobody will assume that I know what I'm talking about.

[talasiga]

.....Can I be Designated Snot?.......

Dear GonzoJi,

I am refurring to your latter of the 7th instant wherein you are seeking membarship as a "Designated Snot" [sick].

Our Bored offers said designation in three types. Accordingly please to find a white, a green and a yellow form for pleasure of your choice.

Mr GonzoJi, if you are thinking to be complaining about any spellings in my latter please to be considering that I have a large wife and 24 children and I cannot to loose my job. Also please to note how perfectly I am spelling the word "mediocre". See?

Ys,

NehtaJi
for the Bored of Designated Snots

[CountryKitty]

For what it's worth I think it's a very good idea. While music is a far more subjective area than any form of medicine, it's also more confusing due to the many 'gray' areas to a beginning msuician such as myself.

As to the concerns about egos interfering, most people here offer their advice to others out of a sense of helpfulnes and community...making them less prone to problems with egotism to begin with. And I like the suggestion:

"It would also seem important to designate specific areas of expertise.

For Example

Pat D'Arcy
Accomplished Uilleann Piper
Recording Artist

Or

Terry McGee
Published Flute Historian
Flute Maker 25 years


You wouldn't need to have hundreds of them and they wouldn't really have any status they don't already have.


Just my $0.02 worth.




(...now could someone tell me what the heck ever happened the cotton-pickin' CENTS sign?!)

[missy]

I, too, on the surface think it's a good idea......

.....but thinking more about it, I don't know.

With your vet board (btw, can anyone read that? My son just got a job as a vet assistant and is thinking about becoming a vet or vet tech and I'm sure he'd like reading it) you have people posting knowledge, but NOT trying to drum up business.
With musicians, while they can be the greatest people around, many ARE in business, so if they sell instruments, or recordings, or such, there may be some slight "prejudice" in their opinions. While that's not a bad thing, it could turn into some ugliness.

Perhaps some "test" questions before one gets status awarded? "What's the best whistle?" "Where can I get whistle notation for Stairway to Heaven?" You know - the usual questions that pop up.....

[emmline]

I don't know. There are certain ways of assessing expert status in medicine (experience, education,) which would be difficult to find parallels for in the whistle, or music world. Sure, certain people could be said to have greater experience in performance or craftsmanship, but there's still so much subjectivity involved.

I think the difference is that veterinary medicine is weighted more toward science than art, whereas the subjects on this forum can't really be scientifically quantified and are much more about individual aesthetic preferences.

I mean, who should get the final say--Jackson Pollack, Norman Rockwell, or Sadie the Elephant who paints with her tail?

[Tyler]

For Example

Pat D'Arcy
Accomplished Uilleann Piper
Recording Artist

Or

Terry McGee
Published Flute Historian
Flute Maker 25 years

Doc

...and what might the qualifications be for the pub?

Tyler Morris
Self-published author/musician/photographer/mechanic
Expert in Asshattery
26 9/10ths years experience
6000 HP
Charisma 3 pts
Sarcasm 15,000 pts

Special Skills
Knicker Twisting 25,000,000 pts +4d20
(modifier roll by target has no effect)
Language: Engrish 50 pts +1d20
Photoshop Blackmail 50 pts +1d20
(can only be blocked by Bureaucracy Alibi spell)
"Liberal Hack" 10 pts +1d20
(Can only be deflected by Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy spell)
Air Guitar 100 pts +2d20
(Can only be countered by Chewbacca Defense Card)
Air-Head 5 pts + 4d20
Tinwhistle 5 pts +2d6
(Roll of double 1 results in audience losing hearing for 1d6 hours)




Please make sure to fit that all under my avatar

kthnksbai

[Doc Jones]

On reflection, I think it would be disastrous to use a title like "Mentor" or "Poobah" that would surely fan the surly flames of disgruntled ego maniacs and mal-contents.

The really accomplished would just be given a "nod" that they have some special credentials. I think the few folks that would merit such a nod would be fairly universally agreed upon.

They wouldn't have any special authority nor would they have any commitments (except the comittment we all should have to be civil).

I think it would be great for new board members to know that a certain person has vast experence.

On the vet boards I sometimes post opinions that are different than those posted by the specialists. I've been in the trenches 15 years and have a differenet view of things at times. But those who read my posts can immedietely see for themselves that I speak with no formal credential. Doesn't stop me from speaking and doesn't stop me from being correct. By the same token, the specialists are allowed to be incorrect.

Readers (and posters) would still have to use their brains with this system.

Doc

[Wanderer]

For Example

Terry McGee
Published Flute Historian
Flute Maker 25 years

Tyler Morris
Self-published author/musician/photographer/mechanic
Expert in Asshattery
26 9/10ths years experience

Tyler, I know your post was in jest.

But it did make me think of an important question..

Who's going to be keeping track of anniversaries and changing all of the titles when another year for the player/business owner goes by?

[Doc Jones]

For Example

Terry McGee
Published Flute Historian
Flute Maker 25 years

Tyler Morris
Self-published author/musician/photographer/mechanic
Expert in Asshattery
26 9/10ths years experience

Tyler, I know your post was in jest.

But it did make me think of an important question..

Who's going to be keeping track of anniversaries and changing all of the titles when another year for the player/business owner goes by?

Great point. How about:

Terry McGee
Published Flute Historian
Veteran Flute Maker

Doc

[djm]

My opinion is the same here as it was in the UP forum. Being experienced/expert on a subjuect does not mean you are able to communicate well with others or behave in a mature fashion. Some of the nastiest, most insulting posts come from those who are "supposed" to be in the mentor class. Often good information is so badly or incompletely presented that it is not even recognized as good information except by people who already know it.

If the forums had originally been put together by a board of "experts" as a way to offer their help to others we would not be in the position we are in now. But the "supposed" experts are the last to set up something useful or helpful such as these forums, and are often the last to volunteer information.

There is also the continuing dichotomy of those who want a facts-only information-now forum, versus those who would like to chat/socialize. There are still calls to get rid of the Pub just to be miserable. Fortunately, C&F continues to ignore such misery-guts and remains the most popular site of its type, even though there are other sites these people could go to.

I think we are too far past the point of designated "experts/mentors" at C&F. Such people may want to address their shortcomings and start up their own forum elsewhere.

djm