Don't agree. Very often the dialogs you are talking about are as interesting and/or instructive as are the original question and answer.
Often they're also very amusing and I feel pleasure in reading them.
Just an opinion.
Giovanni S. Crisi
Sao Paulo - Brazil

MedicineHawk,

Thanks for your opinion.

Your remarks somehow remind me of a place I used to work. Right after I was discharged from active duty in the U.S. Navy where I was an AMS (Aviation Structural Mechanic) working on F/A-18 hornets, A-4 Skyhawks, A-7 Corsairs and the last of the F-4 Phantoms. Anyhow, this place I worked produced engine stands and I was an entry level Mig welder and my boss was the kind of guy who didn’t want to see the welders hood up unless he was changing the roll of wire, but hey, it was his shop and he was shelling out the $5.50 per hour so we did what he wanted. I was a 1595 6 class certified Tig welder but had never pulled the trigger on a Mig and it was quite a challenge for me to get up to speed with the rest of the fellas working on the production line.

Here on the ol AWS website however I have a bit of a different view. Not only can I answer a question (for which I could easily be charging a significant consultation fee) but I'm making contacts with folks who I have come to hold in high regard professionally and even personally.

I'm here reading and posting because it pleases me to do it. For me the "sea stories" make the experience here all the richer. In fact my opinion would be to encourage those posters here to be even more alliterative and loquacious. To expand on technical ideas and relate them to professional experiences that have been a joy or blessing in there lives, to share the hard won victories out there in the workforce and also to communicate stories that tell the truth about the ever present dangers to be found in our trade.

Personally, I want a semi-answer to a question or problem I have. If I ask a question that I know is in a book but I cannot find it, I would rather be told what book it is in. I would rather buy the book and read it than have someone tell me what it says in the book. I feel I will be better at my job by reading the book than I will ever be by being told what it says. By getting the "semi-answer" I am forced to read the book and that just might keep me from asking the next 10 questions I have.

Let me ask you a question, medicinehawk, if I were to walk out in my shop to 2 different people and make sure the welding machine is set right. First person I walk up to I set the weld machine by the WPS for him/her.Next welder I make set the machine himself/herself. All I do is ask questions. "Tell me what the WFS is that you are running and what the WPS calls for,Tell me the amps you are using and what the WPS calls for, Tell me what volts you are using and what volts the WPS calls for.
So in a year which one will be welder and which one be a bead runner?(Not everyone that can run a bead is a welder)
Giving the first person the exact answer does not help that person grow as a "welder". But give the other guy a "semi-answer and he/she will be better off in the long run and so will I.

Hi Hawk,
I agree with you for the mostpart about getting to the heart of the poster's question, so they can get their bearings and head towards the answer they came searching for. But I also feel many of these boards are very impersonal because the poster gets that quick to the point answer and that's the end of it. Many of us that participate here have become more relaxed at asking questions, or answering if we can, or like you have an opinion and simply state how we feel about something. Personally, I like the invitation to rib somebody every now and again, my hope is that the *lurkers*,(you know that there are people who view the board but are afraid to participate) who would never type a single word, may see this as a relaxed environment and come on in and ask the question that has been bugging them or share their experiences with a particular topic. My hope is to help where I can and make a friend or two as I go. I've relied on this BBS for many things...."moral support" being one of the biggest on my list, along with instruction, advice or to simply ask opinions of the forum.
Hawk, I hope you take this as only my opinon and not a jab at you or anyone. :)
John Wright

Hawk,
I have to say that I agree with the responses so far. I do feel that a person should get an answer to the initial question and I think that happens for the most part. It is true that sometimes the posts go off on a tangent but that usually is still related to welding and may be valuable information to me, and I assume to others.
I appreciate the entertainment value of all the posters; many, many people have written about their personal experiences that adds perspective to the world I live in, and in some cases the humor made the day go better.
There have been some posts that went on for quite a while, some I participated in, some I didn't. Some of them I drilled down through and decided I didn't need to read them and moved on to the next topic.

I appreciate the fact that everyone is respectful and keeps the conversation clean. Bad actors are not tolerated, unlike many other discussion boards. Overall, I think this forum has grown into exactly what the participants (and AWS) wants.

I understand that time may seem to be wasted by getting away from the point, but (in the most respectful 'tone of voice' I can deliver) you too have a choice and can easily skip past anything you don't wish to read. That's the beauty of this, we can all do the same. I'll bet that in time, you too will participate in some form of Atta-boy, Wow-me-too exchange. Meanwhile, we all value your input too.

Chet Guilford

There are some people that like to talk alot and there are some that dont. Sometimes people are in the mood to talk alot about a subject and sometimes some just want a simple answer so they can go cure their problem that was upsetting them. I know when i have a problem im usually wanting to get it figured out, not sitting around BSing. Bottom line, everyone has a different personality.

In my opinion, the "good in that" lies in being able to communicate a common interest, share experiences, exchange knowledge, and realize that we just don't know it all.

I have come in contact with two people that I worked for or very closely with when I was a kid who could barely shave in a mirror much less put a root in a pipe in one. Both from this BBS.

Many of the questions on this board and MANY others could be answered by saying
Refer to page 182 of the 'Everything to know about welding handbook' for your answer. However we take that information, put it in some of our own words or words we think others will understand, and SHARE it.

Sometimes at work, many people talk about their interests. Sometimes at play, many people talk about their job.

One thing common here is an interest in welding. For some it may be lifelong, for others it may just be a semester or maybe an afternoon wasted trying to fix a broken lawnmower part. But it is still an interest in welding. Sometimes the other things may leak out too.

Have a nice day

Gerald