Senior member?? HAH!! This was something I avoided like the plague, rather sucessfully, I must admit. I figured that sooner or later Mikey would start asking for bucks to be here (fortunately I have been wrong about that so far), and the senior members would be hit first.
How did I avoid it? Well, first of all, I asked to omit the 'MD' part of my original logon. This request was granted, but required (much to my delight) the omission of about 400 posts! Then, when Mike and Sparky were doing one of their periodic screw ups, er, ah, that is, UPGRADING of the Forum, I asked for the appellation 'whacko' where 'member' usually was. This allowed me to get away with another several hundred posts. Unfortunately, my whacko status was lost with yet another, er, ah upgrading (heh) of the Forums. Even then, I managed to get several hundred posts, and was still a junior member due to some glitch in the hardware. Unfortunately, one of the forumites, who was well intentioned, brought this fact to Sparky's attention, and I was finally busted. But I had a very good run!
Frankly, I don't see that the titles mean anything. I am willing to listen to anyone, no matter what his/her credentials are. I can separate the BS from the valuable info.
Even the newbie questions are sometimes useful, in that it makes me reconsider my position on a particular subject when responses from other forumites differ from mine.
The recent Talonite (r) vs. a metal detector thread, while not a newbie question, demonstrates this. I have answered this question about 5 or 6 times, each time describing how a metal detector works. With the latest thread, however, I did some more research, and found out that most metal detectors are operated in pulses, and the detector is triggered when a magnetic field is detected in between pulses. I didn't know this. In short, I learned something.
That is what this forum is about: learning. You don't need a title for me to listen to you. As Emerson said, 'There is in every man that which I may learn from him; and in that, I am his student.'
Easyrider; welcome aboard. Your opinion on this subject is obviously well thought out; it is reassuring to see such wisdom in new arrivals. May you stay a long time, and learn more than you expect to.
(formerly whacko) Walt
