Why are Pilots Like This?

spiderweb

spiderweb

Final Approach
Joined
Feb 22, 2005
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Display name:
Ben
Over the years I have visited other types of webboards, including a couple of which pertain to my field of expertise. Maybe I'm slow, but I've only recently realized that of all these boards, only on aviation webboards do participants seem so eager to show off, denigrate others' skills, methods, and even intelligence.

I enjoy discussions, and spirited debates (politics being a favorite), but I don't understand some of the attitude on aviation webboards. When I first joined such boards as a student, way back in 2001, I don't remember all the douchebaggery.

I'm not leaving this board (much to the chagrin of a lot of you, I'm sure)--just wondering why a considerable amount of people enjoy anonymous or near-anonymous *****-spats.

And before I finish this post, I'd like to add that some of the nicest pilots I've ever met are FAA-types.
 
spiderweb said:
Over the years I have visited other types of webboards, including a couple of which pertain to my field of expertise. Maybe I'm slow, but I've only recently realized that of all these boards, only on aviation webboards do participants seem so eager to show off, denigrate others' skills, methods, and even intelligence.
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I'll just say, you obviously don't hang out on any engineering websites. :)
 
I have a well founded opinion on the topic, but there's no way I'm touching that with a ten foot pole on POA.

Isn't it ironic. Don't ya think?


I haven't been a part of many online forums, but I have been a contributing member of a boating forum, a motorcycle forum, a personal watercraft forum, a gun forum, and a pilot forum. My experience has been about the same in all of them. From that experience, I have drawn some conclusions about the types (mainly two) of people that cause most of the trouble, and is common across all the genres . I won't expound upon it, because it would only cause trouble.
 
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It's not just on the message boards, I've met a fair amount of pilots (and people) in person who possess the same character traits.

I suppose that every pilot thinks they're a good stick and they can fly their airplane the best using their own technique. I think we're all guilty of that crossing our minds at one point or another.

I've often wondered about a select few on this board and wondered if they act the way they do in person or if they just seem that way because they can hide behind their computer screen. :rolleyes:
 
what is your field of expertise, if u don't mind me asking?

BTW, when this board allowed more boobie jokes, everyone was much happier. then the mods stepped in..............I'm not saying I completely invented the idea, but boobies make everyone happier.
 
eman1200 said:
what is your field of expertise, if u don't mind me asking?

BTW, when this board allowed more boobie jokes, everyone was much happier. then the mods stepped in..............I'm not saying I completely invented the idea, but boobies make everyone happier.
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LOL. I do feel like the overall tone of this board has changed within the past few years.
 
eman1200 said:
what is your field of expertise, if u don't mind me asking?

BTW, when this board allowed more boobie jokes, everyone was much happier. then the mods stepped in..............I'm not saying I completely invented the idea, but boobies make everyone happier.
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Here you go:
iu
 
I must have missed the FAR that says all pilots must agree all the time. Or is it just in the AIM?
 
Pilots tend to be a more tuff and ornery crowd, typically type As, not many beta males, so what may hurt your "feelings", well that hardly gets a rise out of most pilots.
 
Ryanb said:
I suppose that every pilot thinks they're a good stick and they can fly their airplane the best using their own technique. I think we're all guilty of that crossing our minds at one point or another.
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I agree. My observation has been that as a whole, aviation attracts a certain personality and that personality tends to believe they are better than they really are and that their technique is right and everyone else isn't. I mentioned this before here and was met with quite strong disagreement when I said that I felt that the average POA pilot was well, average.

Ryanb said:
I've often wondered about a select few on this board and wondered if they act the way they do in person or if they just seem that way because they can hide behind their computer screen. :rolleyes:
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There's probably some of both. I can see how keeping your true identity secret could lead to some overzealous posting but it seems to me that some of the overzealous posters are pretty open about who they are. I suspect those guys are much the same in person as they are on the board.
 
eman1200 said:
Lol mulli, come pick me up in the cirrus on Saturday and let's go get a drink. I mean burger.





I'm MUCH uglier in person.
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Heading to the lake this Saturday but can do next Saturday. It's a cirrus so it will have to be a $1,000 hamburger run. F the $100 hamburger runs and throw in some vodka
 
Unmoderated forums 'always' end up trolled to death. Give the troll types a playroom to romp in and moderate the on-topic parts. Doesn't matter whether it's aviation, engineering, or sex.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
eman1200 said:
what is your field of expertise, if u don't mind me asking?

BTW, when this board allowed more boobie jokes, everyone was much happier. then the mods stepped in..............I'm not saying I completely invented the idea, but boobies make everyone happier.
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Especially those cute blue feet.
 
Ryanb said:
It's not just on the message boards, I've met a fair amount of pilots (and people) in person who possess the same character traits.

I suppose that every pilot thinks they're a good stick and they can fly their airplane the best using their own technique. I think we're all guilty of that crossing our minds at one point or another.

I've often wondered about a select few on this board and wondered if they act the way they do in person or if they just seem that way because they can hide behind their computer screen. :rolleyes:
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I agree.

I will add that there is often something lost in translation, so to speak, when you're conversing with the written word. When you remove the body language and the inflection in the voice, you're removing half of the information we use to communicate effectively. This causes us to say things in the wrong way, or take things in the wrong way, and it causes a lot of problems. I have learned that after meeting some online screen name in the flesh, I see them in a whole new light, and it's usually better than expected. I know I've been lambasted before because people misunderstood what I was trying to say. It made me really mad to get shellacked like that, but after going back and reading what I wrote, I can see that I really didn't say what I was trying to say effectively. For the sake of honesty and reinforcing my point, I did not like Tim Winters on POA. I thought he was a jerk. I met him at Gaston's, and I thoroughly enjoyed him. Similarly, Clark1961 rubbed me the wrong way sometimes. I met him in Denver in June and I think he's a great guy!! Don't tell him I said that. Anyway, we should all keep in mind that when we attempt to communicate in this way, words is all we have, and it's much harder to really present our thoughts without the other cues.

Also, I heard somebody say boobs, and I'm for it.
 
OkieFlyer said:
I agree.

I will add that there is often something lost in translation, so to speak, when you're conversing with the written word. When you remove the body language and the inflection in the voice, you're removing half of the information we use to communicate effectively. This causes us to say things in the wrong way, or take things in the wrong way, and it causes a lot of problems. I have learned that after meeting some online screen name in the flesh, I see them in a whole new light, and it's usually better than expected. I know I've been lambasted before because people misunderstood what I was trying to say. It made me really mad to get shellacked like that, but after going back and reading what I wrote, I can see that I really didn't say what I was trying to say effectively. For the sake of honesty and reinforcing my point, I did not like Tim Winters on POA. I thought he was a jerk. I met him at Gaston's, and I thoroughly enjoyed him. Similarly, Clark1961 rubbed me the wrong way sometimes. I met him in Denver in June and I think he's a great guy!! Don't tell him I said that. Anyway, we should all keep in mind that when we attempt to communicate in this way, words is all we have, and it's much harder to really present our thoughts without the other cues.

Also, I heard somebody say boobs, and I'm for it.
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I getcha 100% on that. Communicating over text can get you in trouble if you're not careful with proper grammar and wording.
 
eman1200 said:
what is your field of expertise, if u don't mind me asking?

BTW, when this board allowed more boobie jokes, everyone was much happier. then the mods stepped in..............I'm not saying I completely invented the idea, but boobies make everyone happier.
Click to expand...
Since when did we limit jokes about blue footed sea birds? IIRC, even Mari (EverSkyward) participated.
 
mulligan said:
Heading to the lake this Saturday but can do next Saturday. It's a cirrus so it will have to be a $1,000 hamburger run. F the $100 hamburger runs and throw in some vodka
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yikes. for some reason I thought u were closer than that. not sure I could contribute enough moolah to make that trip worth it.
 
spiderweb said:
I enjoy discussions, and spirited debates (politics being a favorite), but I don't understand some of the attitude on aviation webboards. When I first joined such boards as a student, way back in 2001, I don't remember all the douchebaggery.
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And then you become a douche bag yourself.
 
spiderweb said:
Over the years I have visited other types of webboards, including a couple of which pertain to my field of expertise. Maybe I'm slow, but I've only recently realized that of all these boards, only on aviation webboards do participants seem so eager to show off, denigrate others' skills, methods, and even intelligence.

I enjoy discussions, and spirited debates (politics being a favorite), but I don't understand some of the attitude on aviation webboards. When I first joined such boards as a student, way back in 2001, I don't remember all the douchebaggery.

I'm not leaving this board (much to the chagrin of a lot of you, I'm sure)--just wondering why a considerable amount of people enjoy anonymous or near-anonymous *****-spats.

And before I finish this post, I'd like to add that some of the nicest pilots I've ever met are FAA-types.
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Geeez, what an idiotic statement, obviously from a poorly skilled pilot!!!











I kid!


I've been wondering myself, and it's not just this board.
 
No way pilots are going to agree on everything. When they don't, a "discussion" takes place. No brainer there. A lot of times the subject doesn't have a clear cut answer either.

Also, some people look at knowledgeable / experienced pilots as "show offs" and some people on here can't stand to be corrected. You have to be humble and accept, there's always someone that knows more than you.
 
These are likely signs or early signs of manopause that your seeing. I say a short prayer every night for these folks.

In case you didn't know, WebMD states the following about manopause: "Manopause is a mental condition typically found in men in their mid to late 50's brought on by the realization that old age is just around the corner. However, signs of manopause can occur as early as mid 20s. Symptoms include: frequent reminiscing about the “good ol’ days”, cranky judgmental attitude, and a closed minded approach to anything new. The condition is difficult to cure and almost always progresses into old-timers disease.
 
People are bold behind a keyboard. Just the way it is. Many would never say it to your face.

Let it slide off ya...
 
GlennAB1 said:
Yeah, and if you can't you should get off the internet.
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I'll agree with ya, Glenn, that we should all we willing to let things go, but a similar effort should be made by those that regularly say things that cause trouble. It goes both ways. Definitely got to grow some thick skin on the interweb, and in life for that matter. It's just part of the game, but there are also those that just enjoy stirring the pot, acting like they know everything, and/or talking down to people.

Should we say if you can't be nice, then get off the internet? No. As much as I'd like people to be kind to one another, that statement is as dumb as yours.

If you find yourself (not you specifically) in heated debate over and over, at some point you've got to quit blaming the other guy for not letting it slide off. You might just be a jerk. If that is something you take pride in, it's your prerogative, but it's sad.
 
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