Where do posters go?

I've noticed something interesting about the aviation newsgroups: posters
tend to disappear. I don't mean the posts getting lost, I mean that certain
people will post for a while and then just stop.

The way I see it, these groups have 3 types of inhabitants: the prolific
posters, the lurk mostly but post sometimes (who I feel I am a part), and
then people who post for a while and then disappear.

For example, a year or so ago, someone by the name of Tracey was asking
about questions about the medical. It seemed that she was on some sort of
medication that may have been a problem. She posted for a good 3 or 6
months and then nothing.

Another example: When I first started lurking this group, there are a
gentleman who worked as a professor of aerospace. He kept yelling at us for
discussing aviation accidents before the NTSB reports were completed. After
a while, gone.

I could go on and on reciting examples, but you know what I'm talking about.

Do these people decide to get out of aviation? I know that nobody here
knows for sure (unless you know the person some other way) so I guess this
is more of a general wondering than anything else. (I would be really
shocked if someone posted what happened to everyone how ever posted here but
then stopped.)

I guess what got me thinking about this was that I was wondering how many
(what percentage) of people get into aviation only to leave it. I think it
happens more than most think. (And, no, I'm not talking about the
percentage who fly until they cannot pass the medical due to advanced age.
I'm talking about the people who start flying and then, months or years
later, quit.) If all these people who have stopped posting are any
indication, then the number must be quite large.

If all these people who have stopped posting are any indication,
then the number must be quite large.

I don't think it is any indication. There are far more reasons to
stop posting to newsgroups than losing interest in aviation.

I don't personally know ANY pilots who visit this newsgroup. Most
aren't even aware of its existence.

"Greg Esres" wrote:
I don't personally know ANY pilots who visit this newsgroup.

Me neither, until I happened to run into Greg Arnold at the gas pumps at
St. Elmo Airport one day. We got to talking about his YAK (very cool),
introduced ourselves, and he recognized my name from r.a.*.

Most aren't even aware of its existence.

My regular pilot buddies don't even know usenet exists, and I've had no
luck getting them interested. Even setting up a reader in their AOL
accounts is beyond most of them.
--
Dan
C172RG at BFM

My regular pilot buddies don't even know usenet exists, and I've had no
luck getting them interested. Even setting up a reader in their AOL
accounts is beyond most of them.


Keyword "newsgroups"

Or, even faster (but =very= nerdy g keyword "news:rec.aviation.piloting"

(no quotes)

Sheesh, if this is too much for them, how do they ever figure out what runway
to land on?

Jose

--
(for Email, make the obvious changes in my address)

Sheesh, if this is too much for them, how do they ever figure out what
runway
to land on?

What makes you think they can do *that* either? ;-)

Seriously, I've tried to introduce a couple of local pilots to newsgroups.
In most cases, the textual format (Read: NO PICTURES) causes their eyes to
glaze over.

Bottom line: This is a forum for highly literate people -- which is
extraordinarily rare.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Bottom line: This is a forum for highly literate people -- which is
extraordinarily rare.


I'm as cynical as the next guy (*cynic: n: an optomist who has met reality
unexpectedly") but that's over the top. This is most definately not a forum
for "highly literate" people. IT requires the ability to misspell,
misattribute, misunderstand, misbehave, and utterly mangle the English
language. It's filled with a bunch of maroons (and for the OS-challenged,
macaroons), and utter imbiciles who are totally incapable of appreciating the
pearls of wisdom dropping from our ruby red lips.

Anybody who can pound on a keyboard (vertantly, or inad) can do the Usenet
thing.

But it does require interest, and maybe they are just not interested. It's
like hangar flying. Nice, but I'd rather do the real thing. I won't buy
inability as the reason people don't come here.

Disinterest for many reasons, yes. But not inability. If you can read a
sectional or program a GPS, you have the smarts. (and if you can do both,
you're a dying breed g(

Jose

--
(for Email, make the obvious changes in my address)

"Jay Honeck" wrote in
news:XZbyb.362668$Fm2.362602@attbi_s04:

Bottom line: This is a forum for highly literate people -- which is
extraordinarily rare.

Highly literate? Oh come now! Have you seen some of the posts we get on
here?!

Bottom line: This is a forum for highly literate people -- which is
extraordinarily rare.

....or Cub Scouts posing as big boys.

On Sat, 29 Nov 2003 17:11:18 -0600, "Dan Luke"
wrote in Message-Id:
:

Even setting up a reader in their AOL
accounts is beyond most of them.

It is that aspect of usenet that tends to raise the newsgroup signal
to noise ratio. I see the requisite knowledge to provide the
news-reader client software with an nntp server address as sort of a
flitter of the inept.

"Greg Esres" wrote in message
...
|
| I don't personally know ANY pilots who visit this newsgroup. Most
| aren't even aware of its existence.

I have met several pilots who post on this group.