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Pete -
To quote a very old group of rockers "You can't always get what you want, but if you try, somehow, you may find, you'll get what you need."
Asking for feedback, in the very best sense, speaks volumes about being a considerate person. I thank you and others for that. I have a certain dislike for some who are always "TELLING," not sharing, information. Those who care about others, care about what others think. They value other peoples opinions because it matters and it does make a difference. Knowledge abounds everywhere, even on internet forum boards. Anyone who refuses to listen to the comments of others is probably self-centered and suffers from a superiority complex; an unfortunate social illness. The exchanging of ideas (opinions) has always been a primary ingredient in the progress achieved throughout the civlized world.
Some days we are the student, some days the teacher. Each of us are more knowledgeable and skilled in someway than most everyone else. We should always share our best talents with those who desire to gain from our knowledge. Likewise, if one wants to grow as a person, we must also reverse that role and finds ways, each day, to learn from others. I think that's available here.
While many have said that the only constant in life is change, we must remember that the sea of knowledge expands exponentially with age. There is always something to learn each day and I think that the internet, while not a panacea for all things, is a wonderful arena filled with opportunities to learn and grow. Isn't some of it garbage? Of course, there's refuse everywhere. Anyone who visits 'message boards' regularly knows that. But the real issue is that the internet has opened the "door of knowledge" to so many people who have not had access to such resourses in the past. It's the classroom of the future.
Yes, it would be nice to be able to validate opinions, particularly those that appear to be authoritative in response. Anonimity of authorship almost always invalidates what follows. While some individuals will always find ways to infilltrate and 'stink up the place,' for the most part they are a minority. The true measure of character and citizenship is for a person to stand behind his/her words. Most threads that I've read seem to do that. I remember well my father saying to me long ago, "son believe nothing of what you hear, and only half of what you see, and you'll not over estimate the truth." A certain reasonablness and balance must always be present, after all, listening as well as reading is a skill.
Peter is right, a large part of every forum, is entertainment. I've sat in the balcony of the U. S. Senate listening to our great statemen at work. I walked away feeling very entertained, delightfully so, and I learned things too. Entertainment should be a part of the process. It shouldn't dominate nor be the objective, but there's room for it so let it be.
I know that in the past few months (8 to be exact) that I've thoroughly enjoyed being a part of this forum. I've posted some threads, read many and I have been enlightened at times. I think what's important to remember is that for a large number of users/viewers this may be the only true "forum" where members can query and get responses that, not only satisfy their need, but allow them the opportunity to access opinions/views of many who do the same thing as they do, umpire baseball games.
The management of this forum should, I think, provide guidance to the membership informing them of the poster's who are qualified and certified to be quoting chapter and verse. It does take quite awhile to determine which poster is credible and speaks from knowledge vs. those who don't. It would save a lot of time if members could find that out sooner, rather than eventually having to figure it out by oneself.
Pete, it's far from perfect. It's a work it progress. Like you, like me. I do know this, it certainly beats what was here before. I'm planning on hanging around for awhile.
Ed
[Edited by etbaseball on Aug 29th, 2002 at 03:19 AM]
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Ed
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