Contributing

[flyfishfairwx]

I have been very guilty of not contributing as much as I can, Lately.. Hope things improve and I pot more content in 2011..

[ausable_ny]

To illustrate what DUB said go to Google and click on images then enter "Bead Head Nymph". Over 2 millions hits.

Tim

You sure they're not referring to something "kinky"....using the word nymph?? Just saying, that's all

[Bass_Bug]

I have the answer to 90% of the questions already http://www.google.com/

I think the point was if YOU have the answer to someone elses question.

It's fun to do until you accidentally hit the overly prominent blue Reply the Thread button instead of the post quick reply button after tying out an answer for 30 minutes.

Done that a few times, and it sucks. Remeber to save often if typing more then a sentence or two. Hightlight all your text and hit 'Ctrl-C'. This will copy to the clipboard. If you hit that reply instead of send (guilty!) you can re-reply and paste (Ctrl-V) your text back in.

Like Nighthawk says, I contribute when I have something to contribute. I'm guilty of lurking as much as the next person, but with the hundreds and hundreds of threads, there are many that once opened don't interest me, those I never go back to.

[DUB]

I think the point was if YOU have the answer to someone elses question.

Yeah, the answer is "GOOGLE", look it up first.
I'm kinda scratching my head now. I better go GOOGLE.

[Kerry Stratton]

To illustrate what DUB said go to Google and click on images then enter "Bead Head Nymph". Over 2 millions hits.

Tim

Try asking Google about "fly fishing for steelhead in Lyman, WA". Then ask me and see who has the best infromation

[Buddy Sanders]

Yes, you can get lots of information from 'googling'.

IF you want to sort through it all.

IF you know enough about the topic to even recognize the answer.

IF you don't mind geting it from someone (sometimes millions of someones) you've never heard of and don't trust.

Don't make it sound like asking a question here is 'lazy' and folks should 'google first' or some such nonsense.

Not everyone is a google freak that wants to spend hours going through hundreds of pages on a simple topic.

Ask HERE if you have a fly fishing related question. That's part of what this place is all about. Sharing relevant information, helping someone out, getting into discussions about fly fishing. If you don't want to participate, don't. But don't discourage others by suggesting that they just 'google it'. This should be the first place they try.

You'll get enough answers from folks here so that you can make a reasonable decision. And the information will come from anglers who care enough about their reputations on this site not to BS you. You'll get information from people who you recognize.

Besides, there are enough folks HERE who will google for you anyway, then post the relevant links. Saves time for those of us who do have a life....

.

Buddy

[kbproctor]

What's funny is that if you Google a fly fishing question after being told here to "Google it", you will see the post with the original question as one of the top 3 or 4 sites more often than not.

[luckie88]

Ya, GOOGLE, thanks, when I don't know the correct spelling to send me off to something I'm not sure of. But thanks to the folks here to help with some of the more direct answers to my question. I also contribute when I can and hope to help others when I can. THANK YOU all who have helped me! Google "thank you":

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&expIds=...ef8cda26d1a6ec

379,000,000 hits (in 0.10 seconds)

[maodiver]

Yes, you can get lots of information from 'googling'.

IF you want to sort through it all.

IF you know enough about the topic to even recognize the answer.

IF you don't mind geting it from someone (sometimes millions of someones) you've never heard of and don't trust.

Don't make it sound like asking a question here is 'lazy' and folks should 'google first' or some such nonsense.

Not everyone is a google freak that wants to spend hours going through hundreds of pages on a simple topic.

Ask HERE if you have a fly fishing related question. That's part of what this place is all about. Sharing relevant information, helping someone out, getting into discussions about fly fishing. If you don't want to participate, don't. But don't discourage others by suggesting that they just 'google it'. This should be the first place they try.

You'll get enough answers from folks here so that you can make a reasonable decision. And the information will come from anglers who care enough about their reputations on this site not to BS you. You'll get information from people who you recognize.

Besides, there are enough folks HERE who will google for you anyway, then post the relevant links. Saves time for those of us who do have a life....

.

Buddy

a big +1 to this

[kbproctor]

I think a happy medium can be met on this. First, using Google is easy. The thing to remember is that you need to use specific terms. Google will generally correct spelling for you and search for the right thing. I have very little problem finding relevant answers with Google most of the time. Using the right search terms will give you a good answer on the first page almost every time. Who cares how many hits the terms got? The best and most relevant answers to the search terms you used are listed first. I also recognize that many others are not able to get the results I do. I also recognize that a person has to have enough knowledge to know what terms to use to search with. New folks are less likely to have that knowledge. Long time members exploring a new area may not have it, either. We need to be aware of who is asking the question to know the best way to answer it.

While I try to give a complete answer, there are times that rather than cut and paste a ton of URLs that folks could have easily found themselves, I simply give the terms I searched with in quotes for them to use and find the answer themselves. I see nothing wrong with this kind of answer.

Another reason to say, "Google it" is when someone asks where to get this or that in a pretty general way, I do a quick search and get 2 pages full of good relevant answers. The person wanting to know where to buy a Lamson reel that refuses to Google, "Lamson Reel" is just plain lazy. On the other hand, if a person has looked to find a place to buy Orvis blanks and is perplexed that only one answer comes up is justified in getting clarification that Mudhole is the only place to get them. I do not think it is too much to ask for folks to make an attempt at finding the answer for themselves before posting a question.

Since we are in the fly fishing education business here, isn't it reasonable to try to educate folks on how to use a valuable tool like Google? Along that line, isn't refusal to try to learn how to use a tool like Google akin to whining because you can't cast but refuse to pick the rod up to learn?

Yes, this board is about helping others and promoting our avocation, I truly appreciate all the help I have received from the good folks here and am more than happy to reciprocate when I can. However, telling someone to, "Google it." is not always a bad answer.