Sounds good to me, Bob!

 

Sounds good to me.

 

Hey Bob! Nice to see ya over here too. While I do like listening to peoples discussions on the subject, I know what ya mean about trying to "convince" that one design is so much better than another. It can be annoying at times. I also like my 6" f/8 frac. Not quite looong, but at 6" I'm getting into mounting problems if longer! Lol! Meade AR6.

 

Amusing that a thread critical of argumentation quickly starts an argument over where to put the thread! I'm personally far more interested in positive expressions of appreciation for different qualities of the hobby & equipment, rather than debates about whose perceptions and preferences are superior / correct. But some folks seem to like those debates and so they should probably have their place on any astro forum. My main gripe is having to wade through the bickering, and inevitable refereeing, in order to find statements to the intended topic of the thread.

For instance, a thread titled "what's your favorite Barlow?" will invariably solicit useless comments like "I don't use Barlows." Then someone asks "why?" and the thread devolves into yet another debate about transmission loss, chromatic fidelity, etc. I think I have actually seen this exact example multiple times.

It's not only arguments that cause tedious tangents. A thread of virtually any topic is liable to see a picture of equipment get posted, which inevitably leads to comments and questions about the pictured equipment, and suddenly the "what's your favorite glob?" thread is all about where Joe Schmoe got that custom finder shoe. (No offense to Mr. Schmoe, he's a swell guy).

Since a stated mission of this site is to be user-friendly, connecting related discussions, reviews, etc. so that they are easy to consume, I think controlling tangential ramblings should probably be a priority. It occurred to me that a "Tangent" button could be placed along side the "Quote" button on each post, operating much the same way as "Quote", except that it would highlight text in the original post and create a hyperlink to a separate thread / subthread. So someone could highlight the above line "what's your favorite Barlow" and, using the tangent button, make a link to a thread beginning with his post "I don't use Barlows." Viewers of the "favorite Barlow" thread could choose whether they want to follow the related topic. If hovering over the hyperlink displayed a title to the tangent thread, then the non-Barlow users would know where to go to express their disapproval.

Overuse of such a feature could hurt discussion flow, and I have no idea what it would take on the web-tech side of things. But I think it could work and would be worth a try if technically feasible.

As for my telescope preferences, this about sums it up:

 

Guidelines maybe,rules no! It is just how you read it. I like to let the text define the character of the person.

 

I never try to convince anyone to buy things, but if asked I will give an opinion based on personal experiences. I agree, everyone should be allowed to own what they prefer and if you don't approve of their choice that is fine, but leave that choice to them.
Floyd

 

The OP sounds to me like one of those things that goes without saying . . .

 

Telescope politics: don't ya just love it?

 

The one thing that really chaps my, um, donkey, is when a newb comes on with the standard question, "What telescope should I get?" and instantly gets about a dozen "Get a dob"s in four-part harmony. A dob is NOT always the best scope for someone to get. I used to be the "crazy Mak guy" over at that other forum, and this universal dob-promotion society would annoy me no end. (I've calmed down since then.)

I'm also NOT saying that a dob is the wrong scope, either. I would just ask that before automatically singing "Get a dob" (the Silhouettes original version) that you ask them some questions first. Such as:

1. Do you have any physical problems that would prevent you from lifting 25 pounds or more?
2. Do you live in a small apartment, or a house with storage space limitations, or with someone who would object to having a telescope the size of a small water heater?
3. How do you feel about having to collimate the scope every few months, or even every few weeks, depending on how you use it?
4. How do you feel about needing to let the scope cool down for 30 to 45 minutes before using it?

Depending on the answers to these questions, a dob could certainly be appropriate. But then again, it may not be.

 

As long as I've been in this hobby, I've never owned a Dob or an SCT. And I even met John Dobson, the creator of the Dob, and I knew Tom Johnson, the founder of Celestron. Kinda weird, isn't it?

 

I must agree, never advise what to buy unless it's your spouse. My choice was based on physical limitations first and check book second. Any beginner can do the research. I did and am happy.

 

I always ask myself "What would Jesus use?"

 

OMG that gave me such a chuckle!