Nick is somewhat correct, but..........

[space]

But first....
As Mick K´s. signature states for the BASE Board;
"Everything you ever wanted to know about BASE Jumping, but didn't know
who to ask."
Well apparently, there is no clear guide on who to ask, if one is BASE/Board ignorant and sincere, then the only choice is to post it for the BASE/Board world to see subjecting it to ridicule or high flammage factor with little to do with what they wanted to know responded to....
So Mick, I ask you on behalf of the sincere newbies to your site, is it possible to ID
newbies to your site and perhaps direct them to who to ask? So they don´t stand out as a flame target. Maybe a little orientation thrown in for "how not to piss-off" the egoist monitors before they post on the Board? Maybe this is asking much, I am clueless on website construction, But you are the expert here...

And Nick, you are partially correct on your statement in your post "It´s Funny...Almost!" referring to others & my predicted response. You Predicted that I would reply "No student of mine would ever ask such a stupid question."
If your prediction had read like this "No student of mine would ever ask such a stupid question on the BASE Board." Then you´d be absolutely correct.
If they wish a second opinion from other than me, You (BR), Adam (CR), Dennis (GSL), Tom Begic (ABA), etc. are on my recommended list as "People in the Know".

As for the Original post of "base jumping in utah"
I dissected the post to come up with my opinion of it as a troll. (any critique is welcome here).
#1, the reverse prioritization of the subjects asked about. First was where, then how...Vise versa would have most likely resulted in a much more positive response from the Lurkers.
And then of course was #2. The lack of a proper email address to respond to though he asked for personal responses...
So this left 2 differing scenarios IMHO....
#A..The obvious troller,
#B..Someone so innocent, naive, and sincere that they did not know; (1)How to write their own email address, (2)How not to set themselves up as a flame target, Or (3)how to not post twice....

This led me to two possible logical conclusions;
The Troll or YKPAIN (Young Kid Playing Around INternet). I chose the Troll, though I could be wrong. But it will be easy to tell because if he is sincere, he will post again in response to what we write. If he is a Troller, he will be sitting back LHAO at the effort put into his post, but unbeknownst to him, we have the possibilities to improve the BASE/Board.
Everyone keep up the good work and dialogue...
readyalater,
space

[imported_mknutson]

I have a solution to this problem!
There needs to be a "team" of experienced jumpers the are here on the board. This team will be able to help the newbies instead of flaming them.

WHO WANTS TO JOIN THE TEAM?
I will have to set you up as such, and you MUST be registered with the forum!

I think this would be great!
--
Thanks

Mick Knutson
BLiNC Magazine

"Everything you ever wanted to know about BASE Jumping, but didn't know who to ask."
--

[guest]

I think this is a GREAT idea!

I'd love to join the team in about five years, when I have the experience to contribute something positive.

Until the, I hope you guys do this. It would be VERY helpful to folks (like me) who have lots of questions.

Thanks Mick!

--Tom Aiello

[guest]

Mick, I agree that too many posters are instantly flamed. This is a byproduct of these types of discussion groups. However, if newbies post to a seperate forum in search of answers, alot of good information is likey to be communicated with few observers. It also would not be ideal to limit responses to only a few people. There are a lot of folks w/ worthwhile input and insight yet limited experience or notoriety.

I would be willing to participate in a substance oriented forum. However, It needs to be set up to better the entire board. If we pull the issues of substance and worth into a seperate or closed forum the Board will continue spiraling towards a collection of useless and petty bickering.


Adam Filippino

Consolidated Rigging, Inc.
http://www.crmojo.com

[imported_mknutson]

This team idea is a very simple and non-limiting idea!

Everyone on the "team" would have a "team" icon nxt to their posting. THen a newbie can see the team responses, and everyone elses response.

I can create a new forum, but getting users to it will take some time!

The "team" aspect will traverse ALL forums.
--
Thanks

Mick Knutson
BLiNC Magazine

"Everything you ever wanted to know about BASE Jumping, but didn't know who to ask."
--

[Mike]

This is a great idea. It would be nice to have a team of expert consultants. I also think this team should be very diversified. Maybe have a list of all the team members with their individual credentials, i.e.

John Doe: BASE Manufacturer, IPBC Overall Champion 2001. 450 BASE jumps

Jane Doe: Master Rigger, 600 BASE jumps

And so on, down the list.

Maybe a list would be too cumbersome to reference, but the information should be available nonetheless. That way, not only does the reader know that the author of a post is on the 'team', but can view their specific areas of expertise as well.

[guest]

My friends,

In my humble opinion, this process is working just fine. If someone is sincere and serious about learning to BASE jump then he or she will deal with the potential harshness of the "hardened" members of our group appropriately and persistently request the information sought here. I do not see the need to make this forum resemble the federal government in it's unnecessary application of bureaucracy like the development of an elite "team". I believe that each and every individual writing here has valuable information to share and is equally important. I find it odd that SPACE pokes fun at me for "taking the bait" when responding to a "troll" when I was simply offering my opinion on what is desirable in terms of qualifications for jumping here in Moab. Even if my written statements were not viewed by the person who requested the information and subsequently did not leave a valid e-mail address after asking people to e-mail him with information; they were certainly viewed by many others. If my opinion, which is based on a great deal of Moab specific experience, is helpful to anyone; then I am extremely happy. I can clearly see that even though our "core group" disagrees from time to time on certain ethics issues, we seem to agree on basic safety and technical considerations. That is good and I don't think we can do much better than that within this format. After all, helping your brothers and sisters learn to jump as safely as possible is apparently a goal we all share, regardless of our other differences.

I wish you all many injury-free BASE jumps.

Forever,

Earl Redfern