AA Light Threads

jake25 · Apr 8, 2008

First off, i'm all for welcoming new comers, and making them feel at home

But... I'm not sure about you guys , but i'm seeing a lot of threads from people with <10 or 20 posts asking for information about a AA light whose answers can be easily found via simple lurking or searching.

I think I/We need to really stress doing some research on your own, for you new comers. When i first found CPF i registered and lurked for months before getting my light. Ironically enough it was a AA dexlight and i love it.

This doesn't apply to just AA light either, maybe other battery types as well.

Maybe i'm just crazy but i'm seeing a lot more traffic nowadays and a lot more new people.

Just my 2 cents..

BTW the Dexlight is awesome, and as i think marduke puts it, its a hidden gem.

Yucca Patrol · Apr 8, 2008

I'm a moderator on a couple other forums, and I believe that forums work best when newcomers are not welcomed by being scolded to use the search function.

Although "flashaholics" may tire of newbie questions, they don't have to read every post if it does not interest them.

Remember that many people will come here because they have a one-time need for a quality piece of equipment and may not be ready to learn all of the flashaholic lingo.

Not everyone who has a real and timely need for information here is going to spend enough time to ever understand what it means to put a DX Q5 P60 in their SF 6P, they just want some advice on how to select the best flashlight for their needs. I believe that a forum such as this one should help these people as much as it helps the more experienced and knowledgable members.

Flashaholics bothered by newbie questions should ignore such posts and let more helpful and patient members offer their wisdom. There is always someone willing to help without making newcomers feel unwelcome or that they have accidentally stepped into a cult meeting.

My 2 cents

cave dave · Apr 8, 2008

I posted a similar topic in cafe and thought it would generate more discussion.

How to ask a question.

sorgun · Apr 8, 2008

Yucca Patrol said:
I'm a moderator on a couple other forums, and I believe that forums work best when newcomers are not welcomed by being scolded to use the search function.

Although "flashaholics" may tire of newbie questions, they don't have to read every post if it does not interest them.

Remember that many people will come here because they have a one-time need for a quality piece of equipment and may not be ready to learn all of the flashaholic lingo.

Not everyone who has a real and timely need for information here is going to spend enough time to ever understand what it means to put a DX Q5 P60 in their SF 6P, they just want some advice on how to select the best flashlight for their needs. I believe that a forum such as this one should help these people as much as it helps the more experienced and knowledgable members.

Flashaholics bothered by newbie questions should ignore such posts and let more helpful and patient members offer their wisdom. There is always someone willing to help without making newcomers feel unwelcome or that they have accidentally stepped into a cult meeting.

My 2 cents

I really agree with you. That's how I came here. Even if I haven't asked that many questions myself, I have learned a lot from other newbees questions. Thank's to all of you that have the patience to put up with us that lack experience.:twothumbs That is one of the reasons why CPF has become on of my favorite forums.

Gunnar

umc · Apr 8, 2008

Even after all of the lurking and searching I do on this sight I'm still clueless when it comes to flashlights and have the need to ask newbie questions quite a bit. Sometimes it just takes a fresh twist on the same old question for it to make sense to some.

tposs01 · Apr 8, 2008

umc said:
Even after all of the lurking and searching I do on this sight I'm still clueless when it comes to flashlights and have the need to ask newbie questions quite a bit. Sometimes it just takes a fresh twist on the same old question for it to make sense to some.

I have to agree. It's so easy for someone sitting behind a computer to flame somebody for asking an innocent question. We're talking flashlights here, no open-heart surgery. I have used the search function countless times, but weeding through every single post that mentions "AA" is an exercise in futility.

Lighten up. Pun intended.

jake25 · Apr 8, 2008

tposs01 said:
I have to agree. It's so easy for someone sitting behind a computer to flame somebody for asking an innocent question. We're talking flashlights here, no open-heart surgery. I have used the search function countless times, but weeding through every single post that mentions "AA" is an exercise in futility.

Lighten up. Pun intended.

see, i open a discussion to talk about new comers and their questions

you jsut turned it into a direct insult saying i "flame people" you're just making an insult and trying to start an argument.

i dont know about you but i seem to remember where my threads are, if i have a question about something i know which thread to go to, bookmarks might help you.

please keep this thread friendly.

tposs01 · Apr 8, 2008

There was no mention of jake25 specifically flaming anyone and I did not intend to imply you were flaming anyone. It was a general statement about posting on forums such as this one. My apologies...

umc · Apr 8, 2008

tposs01 said:
There was no mention of jake25 specifically flaming anyone and I did not intend to imply you were flaming anyone. It was a general statement about posting on forums such as this one. My apologies...

For what it's worth, that's how I took it. I didn't see your post as referencing the OP.

lightsandknives · Apr 8, 2008

Yucca Patrol said:
I'm a moderator on a couple other forums, and I believe that forums work best when newcomers are not welcomed by being scolded to use the search function.

Although "flashaholics" may tire of newbie questions, they don't have to read every post if it does not interest them.

Remember that many people will come here because they have a one-time need for a quality piece of equipment and may not be ready to learn all of the flashaholic lingo.

Not everyone who has a real and timely need for information here is going to spend enough time to ever understand what it means to put a DX Q5 P60 in their SF 6P, they just want some advice on how to select the best flashlight for their needs. I believe that a forum such as this one should help these people as much as it helps the more experienced and knowledgable members.

Flashaholics bothered by newbie questions should ignore such posts and let more helpful and patient members offer their wisdom. There is always someone willing to help without making newcomers feel unwelcome or that they have accidentally stepped into a cult meeting.

My 2 cents

As a moderator on another forum, we too have wrestled with this question multiple times. We decided it's just better to let the forum run as it's intended and to let the newbies ask questions and members answer. What we found was that the most senior members would not necessarily answer the questions because they'd answered them so many times in the past. But, the newer members seem to step up to help the newbies and their questions.

If you stifle the newbies, pretty soon the forum starts to die. This is a forum, not a wiki. I believe interaction is good and I don't feel the need to read every post, only the ones that interest me. I still consider myself to be a newbie in the world of flashlights (or at least mods and electronics), but I'm often a little afraid to ask a question for the very reason of this post.

chaosmagnet · Apr 8, 2008

CPF needs some comprehensive FAQ documents.

Marduke · Apr 8, 2008

chaosmagnet said:
CPF needs some comprehensive FAQ documents.

It's called the Welcome Mat

AA Light Threads

jake25

Enlightened

Yucca Patrol

Enlightened

cave dave

Flashlight Enthusiast

sorgun

Newly Enlightened

umc

Enlightened

tposs01

Newly Enlightened

jake25

Enlightened

tposs01

Newly Enlightened

umc

Enlightened

lightsandknives

Enlightened

chaosmagnet

Newly Enlightened

Marduke

Flashaholic

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