Be careful who you trust

[drillman88]

Several months ago I had a friend approach me about buying an air compressor and finish nail guns.He was planning on installing prefinished flooring in his home and respected my opinion.So after spending the better part of a day with him we found a great deal on what he needed and I showed him how to use these tools safely.I told him whenever he was ready to do the flooring to call me, I installed flooring in my last home and could get him started.He told me another friend had access to the flooring stapler and much experience with its use.
Last week he called me and asked me to come look at the compressor it wouldn't drive the staples down far enough.Anyway I got there and his "friend" with much experience had him driving the staples through the grooves and not the tongue then they were beating the next board into place as best they could. They had done a whole room this way and there were some gaps between 1/8 to 3/16 between the boards.My heart sank when I saw this .He is a really good guy.I showed him the proper way to install the flooring but short of ripping up what he had already done there was nothing I could do for him.
He will have to look at this as long as he is in this home and know he trusted the wrong person

[cabinetman]

Some lessons are learned the hard way (or expensive way), and all you can do is just throw your hands up. The same holds true with advice on forums. With an earnest desire to get advice, questions are posted and replies come in. It's the same scenario of who do you trust. It may get to a decision of how many said one thing to how many said something totally different.

I find it interesting on some forums that one day a noobie to WW'ing is asking questions, and a few days later is giving "expert" advice. There's always the myths and scuttlebutt that gets propagated on forums from what people hear and read and relate as truths. That can be mind boggling.

So, the "expert" advice does raise the question of trust.
.

[MikeMcCoy]

I don't have many "pet peeves" but Cabinetman just hit on one. I really dislike seeing someone ask a question that they prefaced with "I'm completely new at (x) so how do I Y? They get a slew of answers that start out something along the lines of "I haven't done this but recommend (fill in the blank).

[Hellrazor]

That is a problem with a lot of people, tools and the proper way to do something. One of the wonders of the internet age, you can look up the proper way to do almost anything. He should have stopped the minute he encountered the problem or gaps.

[dkerfoot]

I don't have many "pet peeves" but Cabinetman just hit on one. I really dislike seeing someone ask a question that they prefaced with "I'm completely new at (x) so how do I Y? They get a slew of answers that start out something along the lines of "I haven't done this but recommend (fill in the blank).

The dangerous ones never mention that they haven't tried it themselves, but instead pass on what they read as though it were learned through a lifetime of experience.

If it is prefaced the way you describe, at least you know what you are dealing with.

[poolhound]

Some lessons are learned the hard way (or expensive way), and all you can do is just throw your hands up. The same holds true with advice on forums. With an earnest desire to get advice, questions are posted and replies come in. It's the same scenario of who do you trust. It may get to a decision of how many said one thing to how many said something totally different.

I find it interesting on some forums that one day a noobie to WW'ing is asking questions, and a few days later is giving "expert" advice. There's always the myths and scuttlebutt that gets propagated on forums from what people hear and read and relate as truths. That can be mind boggling.

So, the "expert" advice does raise the question of trust.
.

I am with you on this, newbies to any forum really have to be careful when they get advise. Levels of experience are relative and even if I already know how to do something I may often post a question to generate other ideas or learn how others have approached the same task.

I love this forum as the vast majority of the core contributors, if not proffesional cabinet makers (some I know are), have learned from personal experience. I am by no means a proffesional but have been doing major home improvements and woodworking since I bought my first house around 25 years ago and have done most things from basic shelf hanging to complete home refurbishment, plumbing, rewiring and of course furniture making. I would hope that anybody receiving advise (from me included ) would aim to validate in some way before embarking on a new venture. As this thread shows mistakes can be costly.

One other note on forums. The more mainstream the topic the more "experts" you will find and the worse the problem gets. Luckily for this forum WWking is a pretty narrow field compared to others. I am also a semi-pro photographer and have read and contributed to many photo forums. Whatever my level of DIY and WWking expereince my photo and technology background is much more extensive and some of the total trash that is written on these photo forums is unbeliveable. Lots of missinformation from folks who dont understand the basic principals.

I guess much like "buyer beware" your could say "forum questioner beware."

[gsmittle]

Just remember, with free advice, you're getting what you paid for....

OTOH, I've seen more than one highly-paid, clueless "expert."

g.

[LarryG]

I agree with Doug. I actually don't mind the "Well, I'm not sure, but ..." replies too badly, most of the time. The disclaimer is there, and it's generally clear that the reply stems from a sincere wish to be helpful. Sometimes, of course, it is NOT helpful, or even downright wrong; but someone will usually issue the necessary correction.

The "experts" I cannot abide are those who proclaim, "I am the authority," puffing out their chests and bullying those who would dare disagree with them -- and all the while ignoring all requests to provide some solid proof that they are what they claim to be. Sorry, but I'm not that gullible. This is the Internet, where anyone can claim to be anything. In my view, the higher the level of claimed expertise, the higher the burden of proof. Until I see that proof, I dismiss everything the person in question has to say as just so much unverifiable hot air.

[JimD]

It does not annoy me when I see an obviously inexperienced person trying to give advice but it does make me want to say something that helps somebody not get mislead (unintentionally I am sure). After reading subsequent posts, I have wished I worded something more carefully too. One of the nice things about getting free advice over the internet is you are not totally dependant on one person's advice. Ususally mis-statements get corrected.

It is not quite as glaring but hearing what somebody paid for something made of wood or to get something done on their house has made me want to be everywhere helping everybody before too. An example that will probably always stay with me is my across the street neighbor paying $400 to get the hose faucet reattached one Sunday evening. I saw Tony running around (I was in the yard) but he didn't ask for help and I did not stop doing whatever I was doing. Later he told me that while he was washing the car, the pipe going to the faucet broke and started flooding his crawl space. He did not know where the shutoff was but found it and then paid a local plumber to fix it. They did such a poor job (faucet was several inches off the brick) that he paid another plumber to come out and really fix it. Then he disputed the first bill. I told him to come to me next time but he moved away after that. I wish I had stopped what I was doing and walked across the street. Our supply lines are plastic and I think I had a cap that would have gotten him through the kids baths until the next evening when we could have had all the parts and fixed it properly - for less than $20 (assuming the faucet had to be replaced). It would have taken me less than and hour and he was a good neighbor.

Jim

[MilDoc]

I agree with all the above. I consider myself an "intermediate newbie" in woodworking. The only time I chime in with WW advice is when I've had some experience with the question.

But I love to read comments to questions. And if it's something I've wondered about, I wait until I see a LOT of comments.

[Ed62]

The dangerous ones never mention that they haven't tried it themselves, but instead pass on what they read as though it were learned through a lifetime of experience.

That post reminds me of a book I read about a year ago. I don't remember the exact situation, but I read about a WW technique that just seemed dangerous to me, even though I never tried it. I brought my suspicions to light on this site. Sure enough, I got enough answers that validated my suspicions. It was dangerous, the way it was written. So just because you read about it in a book, doesn't necessarily mean that the author is an expert either.

Ed

[Uncle Cracker]

I have observed that people who think they know everything tend to be an annoyance to people who, like myself, actually do know everything...

[poolhound]

I have observed that people who think they know everything tend to be an annoyance to people who, like myself, actually do know everything...

I bow (virtually) in awe of your omniscience. I would be very grateful if you could PM me the winning lottery numbers for Saturday.

[leehljp]

It rubs me the wrong way when someone asks which of two ways, tools, items (or dress) would be best, and after your answer they choose the other one.

Kind of like a wife asking husband what dress/blouse she should wear!
With LOML, I just keep silent.

I worked with an fellow that was always pumping information on home repairs and tools and end up doing or buying something else! Then he would ask what went wrong. I did not hesitate (several times) to tell him that he didn't listen!

[Uncle Cracker]

I bow (virtually) in awe of your omniscience. I would be very grateful if you could PM me the winning lottery numbers for Saturday.

Speaking as someone who knows everything, I know that would mean I would have to split the pot with you...