‘Bona fide’ members
Discussion
Having been here for a number of years now, I can’t help but notice that there is a huge increase in the number of self-confessed ‘experts’ who often give extremely misleading and dangerously inaccurate answers to those members seeking assistance.
This covers all interests from “how can I fix that problem with my car/bike/PC/cooker/wife” through to “this is the truth about the law/Covid/government”.
Would it not be possible for those members who actually do know what they are talking about to have some kind of indication under their username showing that they have proved to PH that they have real experience or qualification to give advice on their subject?
Proof could be from recommendations, education certificates or employment.
It would not have to be compulsory but could give members some degree of confidence before wasting money or doing something dangerous!
This covers all interests from “how can I fix that problem with my car/bike/PC/cooker/wife” through to “this is the truth about the law/Covid/government”.
Would it not be possible for those members who actually do know what they are talking about to have some kind of indication under their username showing that they have proved to PH that they have real experience or qualification to give advice on their subject?
Proof could be from recommendations, education certificates or employment.
It would not have to be compulsory but could give members some degree of confidence before wasting money or doing something dangerous!
This is a discussion forum.
If you choose to take the advice it's up to you. If you want something done that you are not confident in doing yourself, don't ask for help from a bunch of anonymous people on a car based forum. Pay an expert.
Why has everyone got to have someone to blame these days? Take responsibility for your own actions.
If you choose to take the advice it's up to you. If you want something done that you are not confident in doing yourself, don't ask for help from a bunch of anonymous people on a car based forum. Pay an expert.
Why has everyone got to have someone to blame these days? Take responsibility for your own actions.
Tyre Smoke said:
This is a discussion forum.
If you choose to take the advice it's up to you. If you want something done that you are not confident in doing yourself, don't ask for help from a bunch of anonymous people on a car based forum. Pay an expert.
Why has everyone got to have someone to blame these days? Take responsibility for your own actions.
And that is the issue!If you choose to take the advice it's up to you. If you want something done that you are not confident in doing yourself, don't ask for help from a bunch of anonymous people on a car based forum. Pay an expert.
Why has everyone got to have someone to blame these days? Take responsibility for your own actions.
It’s always some else’s fault.
Tyre Smoke said:
If you choose to take the advice it's up to you. If you want something done that you are not confident in doing yourself, don't ask for help from a bunch of anonymous people on a car based forum. Pay an expert.
Very much this.If you take action on advice from a random on the internet in regard to something important, more fool you.
There are many people here who specialise in various stuff and could be described as experts in their field and you get to know who these people are over time and one thing they always say when giving advice is to also consult with an expert rather than just relying on their recommendations.
If you just rely on some bod from the internet and it all goes wrong then you’ve only yourself to blame. Most knowledgeable posters will point you in the right direction but generally that’s as far as they go. You want expert advise? Pay for it and then you’ll have some comeback if it goes tits up.
If you just rely on some bod from the internet and it all goes wrong then you’ve only yourself to blame. Most knowledgeable posters will point you in the right direction but generally that’s as far as they go. You want expert advise? Pay for it and then you’ll have some comeback if it goes tits up.
Ultra Sound Guy said:
Having been here for a number of years now, I can’t help but notice that there is a huge increase in the number of self-confessed ‘experts’ who often give extremely misleading and dangerously inaccurate answers to those members seeking assistance.
This covers all interests from “how can I fix that problem with my car/bike/PC/cooker/wife” through to “this is the truth about the law/Covid/government”.
Would it not be possible for those members who actually do know what they are talking about to have some kind of indication under their username showing that they have proved to PH that they have real experience or qualification to give advice on their subject?
Proof could be from recommendations, education certificates or employment.
It would not have to be compulsory but could give members some degree of confidence before wasting money or doing something dangerous!
For mortgage advice you could have proof that someone works with mortgage products but how would you gauge someone's ability to offer advice on relationships? Would you vet each person to assess their relationship satisfaction? Is a miserable 50yr old in a stale marriage any better suited to offer an opinion than a 50yr old single bloke in the Far East that spends his evenings with pay as you go locals?This covers all interests from “how can I fix that problem with my car/bike/PC/cooker/wife” through to “this is the truth about the law/Covid/government”.
Would it not be possible for those members who actually do know what they are talking about to have some kind of indication under their username showing that they have proved to PH that they have real experience or qualification to give advice on their subject?
Proof could be from recommendations, education certificates or employment.
It would not have to be compulsory but could give members some degree of confidence before wasting money or doing something dangerous!
I think the current system works fine. Lots of anonymous people chime in and thrash it out and stupid suggestions get called out as such. If I ask for advice on torque specs for a certain bolt and 9 people say 32Nm and 1 tells me to keep cranking on it until the head snaps off then I can work out myself which advice is worth following.
valiant said:
There are many people here who specialise in various stuff and could be described as experts in their field and you get to know who these people are over time and one thing they always say when giving advice is to also consult with an expert rather than just relying on their recommendations.
If you just rely on some bod from the internet and it all goes wrong then you’ve only yourself to blame. Most knowledgeable posters will point you in the right direction but generally that’s as far as they go. You want expert advise? Pay for it and then you’ll have some comeback if it goes tits up.
But that’s the thing, people come on here expecting freebies.If you just rely on some bod from the internet and it all goes wrong then you’ve only yourself to blame. Most knowledgeable posters will point you in the right direction but generally that’s as far as they go. You want expert advise? Pay for it and then you’ll have some comeback if it goes tits up.
Tyre Smoke said:
This is a discussion forum.
If you choose to take the advice it's up to you. If you want something done that you are not confident in doing yourself, don't ask for help from a bunch of anonymous people on a car based forum. Pay an expert.
Why has everyone got to have someone to blame these days? Take responsibility for your own actions.
I’m 100% in favour of taking responsibility for my own actions, and do!If you choose to take the advice it's up to you. If you want something done that you are not confident in doing yourself, don't ask for help from a bunch of anonymous people on a car based forum. Pay an expert.
Why has everyone got to have someone to blame these days? Take responsibility for your own actions.
What worries me is the number of times I see people asking for advice or guidance on here only for some total halfwit to give extremely misleading or even dangerous responses! Some people are naive enough to follow it, surely it would be in PHs interest to cover themselves before someone blames them for publishing bad advice?
Don’t forget (I’m sure that some on here are not even aware) that this was originally a forum for TVR owners and enthusiasts, and much of the earlier flow of information concerned asking experienced owners and mechanics for advice on their pride and joy!
Taking it to its extreme now we have many ‘overnight experts’ advising all about Covid/Government/how to avoid being prosecuted/how best to lubricate your brake discs!
When I first joined there were ‘real’ experts in mechanics, law, health and finance who gave out much advice and answered many queries with valid responses, quite a few of these have left, or no longer post, because they were harangued by self-proclaimed gurus whose advice was extremely suspect, but they shouted louder!
Many years ago I tried hammering frozen sausages into my neighbours lawn. Nobody told me to wear safety glasses......who do I sue? Then there was the time I went up the OXO ........ let's not go into that though 
Come on OP think about what you're asking for it's unworkable. You're more or less asking PH to take the blame for anything that goes wrong.
Come on OP think about what you're asking for it's unworkable. You're more or less asking PH to take the blame for anything that goes wrong.
car user said:
For mortgage advice you could have proof that someone works with mortgage products but how would you gauge someone's ability to offer advice on relationships? Would you vet each person to assess their relationship satisfaction? Is a miserable 50yr old in a stale marriage any better suited to offer an opinion than a 50yr old single bloke in the Far East that spends his evenings with pay as you go locals?
I think the current system works fine. Lots of anonymous people chime in and thrash it out and stupid suggestions get called out as such. If I ask for advice on torque specs for a certain bolt and 9 people say 32Nm and 1 tells me to keep cranking on it until the head snaps off then I can work out myself which advice is worth following.
nice theory but the reality can be the opposite - as an experienced, qualified and approved sparky I can comment on a request for advice on the DIY forum, only for several DIY heros to collectively post simplistic and ignorant assumptions that are utter bulls hit, and them be thanked by the OP for it! I think the current system works fine. Lots of anonymous people chime in and thrash it out and stupid suggestions get called out as such. If I ask for advice on torque specs for a certain bolt and 9 people say 32Nm and 1 tells me to keep cranking on it until the head snaps off then I can work out myself which advice is worth following.
Although I don't think authoritative badges would work so well in the subjects where individual emotive and subjective experience all have a valid input in forming an "opinion/interpretation" rather than there being a binary right and wrong, some posters would certainly enjoy it though.
Ultra Sound Guy said:
What worries me is the number of times I see people asking for advice or guidance on here only for some total halfwit to give extremely misleading or even dangerous responses!
Do you not think that these may be piss taking posts? Perhaps highlighting the frivolous nature of following advice from strangers on the internet?anonymous said:
[redacted]
I'd have thought that advice from people unknown to you should be treated as risky, placing the onus on the recipient to check before acting on it. Fortunately the internet is a quick and easy way to do this, on PH or outside.I don't see a problem existing here at all.
Ultra Sound Guy said:
Agreed! But the piss-taking posts are generally easy to spot, I have seen many responses on here which are from people who believe them to be true and can often lead to problems.
These people though, they are the ones responsible for Bleach having labels telling you not to drink it, you simply cannot cater for that level of stupidIf you compare the quality of advice on PH with even some of the "specialist" groups on Facebook, I don't think it's too bad on here.
I think it would be even more dangerous to start labelling people as experts - after all, who would judge?
By the way, my advice on sewing sandpaper into your underpants before going jogging was never meant to be taken seriously...
I think it would be even more dangerous to start labelling people as experts - after all, who would judge?
By the way, my advice on sewing sandpaper into your underpants before going jogging was never meant to be taken seriously...
From reading between the lines on OP's posts it looks like he's just annoyed by the Covid related stuff. Most likely doesn't like seeing people like BV pulling apart the "rules" or others questioning the rhetoric on the subject.
The request for "approved" voices only is basically just asking for censorship under a different banner. What happens if two people both meet the approval criteria have differing opinions? I'm sure someone like Mike Yeadon would have the qualifications to be allowed an input but you still wouldn't like what he had to say.
The request for "approved" voices only is basically just asking for censorship under a different banner. What happens if two people both meet the approval criteria have differing opinions? I'm sure someone like Mike Yeadon would have the qualifications to be allowed an input but you still wouldn't like what he had to say.
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