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68 Overlander · 10-19-2017, 08:37 PM

is a bad way to begin a reply to a thread. See it too often. Don't offer people a chance to pass on your comment. They will if you start with "I don't really know what I'm talking about... but" I saw two posts today that were brilliant but also prefaced with "I'm no expert." Give yourself a break. Nobody is going to humiliate you if it's not correct or needs a little tweaking. Many nice helpful folks here on many subjects. If you have studied something enough to feel compelled to make a comment, you probably have most of it figured out and the rest of the folks will pick up the rest.

Protagonist · 10-19-2017, 08:53 PM

Agreed. Most of us aren't experts. But we are experienced; from our very first outing or project to our very last, it's all experience. And your experience is just as valid as anyone else's experience.

So don't make light of your experience. Instead, offer your insight, explain how or why you came to have that insight— and trust me, no one will ever say, "Because I'm an expert…" as their justification if they want to be taken seriously— and allow the OP and your fellow responders to decide whether your offering is of value.

I'm a prolific poster here on the Forums, rapidly closing in on 10,000 posts. But you might be surprised at how often I'm wrong, or misinformed, or only have a partial answer. It's still worthwhile to me to say what I think, because when other people correct me, I learn something, too.

xrvr · 10-20-2017, 04:43 AM

Two kinds of experts. Internet and on the road. Each is impoirtant, each is worth listening to, each adds greatly to the discussion here and is with listening to!