Stupid Advice (rant)

[Bleep]

Being a member of several BBS's and reading a lot of posts over the last year or so I find that there a lot of people giving advice when they dont have the slightest idea of what they are talking about. Why do people do this? It seems as if this has become more and more prevelent lately ( last 6 months or so) Please people give good advice not off the wall stuff that could result is a crashed system or worse. New machine owners have a very difficult time as it is without bad advice. This also gives the BBS a bad name so PLEASE dont give advice unless you pretty much know what you are talking about.
If this is in the wrong forum im sorry.
Bleep

[deep_sky]

hey bleep..
what happened? i read your post in hydraulic's topic about sysopt and was wondering exactly what happened to give you such an opinion. I hope that I did not give you bad advice. I am relatively new to owing and dealing with computers, but I try to give advice to best of my know knowledge and if I have no idea about a someone else's problem, i do not say anything. i am sorry that you feel this way though...hopefully you wont get anymore bad advice in the future...i know that i have gotten nothing but good from this forum...

[Underclocked]

I think Bleep is referencing the 220v question most recently. Of course, this could be a lousy opinion /forum/wink.gif

[Apostle 83]

When I get bad advice, I tend to get somewhat angry - but then I remember that people are just trying to help, or they wouldn't take the time to write a reply. Ya just gotta learn to take the meat and spit out the bones.

[Comtech]

Have you ever tried to diagnose a problem, and suggest the correct solution when you can't see the computer, don't know what the error messages may be, have no idea what the configuration of the system is, may not know what the OS is, don't know what the CPU or RAM are, don't know what version of BIOS it is, don't know the computer has some oddball mouse/modem/soundcard/NIC/SCSI...???

Once you've got half this figured out, the guy's probably spent $100 at the local shop to get it fixed anyhow.

Now tell me that bad advice is given out too much on BBS's!

Usually it's suggestions, and only sugestions.

If people would do a little research on their own, our jobs as techs wouldn't be so much fun!
Jim

[Bleep]

I have not recieved bad advice but one time and never complained about it. My worry is that new computer persons with problems do not recieve bad advice or suggestions. If anyone wants to hedge their advice with "it was just a suggestion" that is fine with me. I personally would never give a "suggestion" or advice that may crash a persons machine. As to being a tech. I have never had a prob that I could not work out myself with a lot of time. But it is nice to get advice from one who has had the same prob and has solved it saving me a lot of time. And you were right about the 220 Volt post. There were some of the most awfull "suggestions" that I have ever read on any bbs.
Rant over and thanks for the comments.
Bleep

[CMonster]

Here was the worlds worst advice:

"If the gas (natural gas) pressure is too low to run that kiln fully up to temp you can always adjust the regulator up" -guy at the ceramics store

Here was the stupider thing; I followed the advice!!! I cranked that regulator up ever so slightly (overclock a gas meter?)- when something inside it broke and caused full street pressure to expand and split the seams of my meter and catch my house on fire at the waterheater inside the hall!!!

I shut the gas off and managed to put out the fire - 30 hours later the gas company had a new meter and regulator installed -and I had a new waterheater along with some fresh paint in the hall .... had to repipe the kiln with larger pipe - the original problem

Morale of the story: bad advice sucks



[This message has been edited by CMonster (edited 10-30-1999).]

[C.C.]

EVERYBODY gives it and EVERYBODY takes it.....at some point or other. Mistakes do happen, but agreed, there is a lot of stupid people in this world that do a lot of stupid things. Just remember though, nobody is perfect all the time. C.C.

[Bleep]

CMonster:
Whooo what a blooper. I will never again say anything about bad advice. I have used bad advice a time or three and just mark it up as a real learning experience. By the way I use Peat and charcoal in my Pot Kiln. My other Kiln is electric and costs a ton to run it.
Bleep

[Vampiel]

I have seen the same thing many times, although I think many times the words just come out wrong, but sometimes its just totally off.

[MrEd]

I think (and this is just MY opinion), that there is really no such thing as bad advise, just mislead questions. One good thing we should start doing, is if someone gives us advice on a problem we are having, and we try it, or know it doesn't work, add it to the thread. How much time would it take to post: "Nope, sorry that didn't work, in fact it caused another problem". That way we all know that with "That" particular problem, such and such advise doesn't provide the correct solution. As mentioned, we don't have "that" persons computer in front of us, and thus we are just basically offering suggestions based on similar experiences. I've done it myself actually, posted a reply that I thought was similar to a problem I had experienced, and it turned out to not be. We've all done it at some point, I'm sure. Anyway, there is my "suggestion". Let's take the best message board in the world, and make it just a notch better.

Thank you, and goodnight. /forum/wink.gif

-MrEd
/forum/smile.gif

[AuraEdge]

Usually when someone gives bad or erroneous advice, within the next 5 minutes, a ton of us SysOpt'ers jump on it and correct the guy.
Well I know I try to...Although ive given my share of bad advice too.

[pickel]

Guess I've been lucky. I have received nothing but the BEST advice and suggestions from the other members here. Ive checked out
"overclockers" and "POST" and believe me, the folks here, in my opinion, are alot more on the ball, even though the boards share some of the same members. My computer has really improved dramatically since I came here, it's
like a new world and I am really grateful to
have found this site. As I have said in the past, it's like being back at the drag strip some 30 odd years ago, with everybody swappin
parts, blowing engines and transmissions,
sometimes wining and getting a throphy.I
feel that something in me has been restored
and the best of the old world has been opened
up in totally new experience but with the same vibes. Instead of cruising Union Turnpike( For those of you from Queens) and
camping out at the White Castle, I have a whole internet and don't have to buy a new set of slicks ever other week. Hope Ya'll know what I mean.I never thought when I got this computer, that anything like this was going on, and I real proud that it is.
Guess ' I've carried on enough. But I still say.....

BRONX BOMBERS RULE

Sincerely the pickel

P.S. my computer restarts when I dailup the ISP, and ideas modem drivers?????

[MDHerman]

Certainly advice or suggestions posted recklessly, or worse in bad faith or malice are inexcusable. I've not seen any here (to my knowledge!) I've had many problems and the posters here have taught me a great deal. Conversely, after spending 2-3 days (or 2-3 weeks!) working on and resolving a problem, I feel qualified to post a suggestion if someone poses a problem like the one I had just resolved. I think it's implicitly obvious to any intelligent reader that the posts are good faith suggestions. Nowhere is it writen that anyone's advice here is guaranteed! I applaud everyone on this board who has sweated out and resolved computer problems and then contributed.

Thanks!

mdh