Member descriptors

[1stTankie]

We have loads of vacancies for ' gurus ' but you've still got a long way to go !! Dave

Hi Dave

I know. But where the rules admit entry to this august body purely on the basis of the number of posts submitted, regardless of content, rather than posts with relevance to the furtherence of the knowledge of the hobby and mutual support of the members seeking such supprt, the appointment becomes somewhat misleading.

If we are to continue to recognise the submission of 1000 posts as an indication of defined knowledge perhaps the appointment requires further refinement to qualify both the extent of that knowledge and the degree by which it can be determined as reliable.

May I humbly suggest that that such titular appointments should be be granted by a select committee of members, chosen by the members, regardless of the number of posts but judged on content (ie quality not quantity) rather like an honararium and that to be damned difficult to achieve.

The words pigeons and cats come to mind!!

Best wishes

Gordon

PS This is in no way intended to a self-seeking submission, only one which I really believe could benefit the Forum's recognition and integrity.

[GriffMJ]

DEMOS KRATOS

An elected bunch..... to elect "The Boffs"

[davec2]

Hi Gordon,

Tongue in cheek seems to have missed the mark by a distance but I do have one problem with relying on people who " know " and that is a favourite of mine.... " experts in their own minds ".

If I were to quote from all the reference books for a few months, that may and I use the word may on purpose, make me seem more knowledgeable than I actually am but would it qualify me to be a ' guru ', I don't think so but at least I know my limitations and as Mike has said in the past, it is only a bit of light relief.

What ever is said by anyone, can be refuted, believed or disagreed on and even experts get it wrong, I think experience can be just as valuable as knowledge and in that respect I would say yes, in your case you would no doubt qualify as a ' guru ' without having to write a thousand posts but that is the system at the moment.

Several people had a great laugh at my latest title but we all know it was done by Mike for a bit of fun, to be perfectly honest, I would be quite happy to just have members etc, etc, etc.

Dave.

[Bill A]

Moved the above posts to this new thread, as it is was a different topic from the photography thread.
Worthy of some discussion.

[badjez]

Gents,

If I just add 'agreed' to all the old threads I would get my guru status- seems hardly fair does it as some of you know what orrifice I have been known to talk out of!

I'm sure there is a better way. If we are to judge the value of each thread upon its content there is no need for us to have descriptors. Why not ditch them and reduce the administration?

Stephen. (only 998 more threads to reply to!)

[matti467]

I'd like the title 'Journeyman' should I ever be so allowed and read the distant four figures..
Matti

[1stTankie]

Hi Bill

Thank you for your consideration.

I found this on Wikepedia:

"A guru is one who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to guide others."

My nominations for such a descriptor would include, in no particular order, people on a par with the likes of the late Hugh King, the late Walter Lambert, the late Major Edwards, the late Bob Cox, and the late John Gaylor. You begin to see the problem. There will be many more and we have not yet extended the nominations to the farther corners of the Forum overseas.

But, on this basis for excellence in attempting to meet the highest standards attributible to meet the above definition, I believe there is a certainty that we can match members to this appointment if we accept that part which states "in a certain area". By this I mean no one member can possibly know everything but lots of members can be a specialist in one or some.
To me these are the members we could identify and perhaps give them an appointment such as Guru (HM Guards), Guru (Welsh) , Guru (CEF), Guru (SF) etc..

It is just an idea I thought we could kick about and see what comes up.

If nothing comes forget it!!

Best wishes

Gordon

[GriffMJ]

Best exmple is "Cardiffbloke"..... we all wait for him to confirm all things KDG/QBays & QDG....... for me he has the GURU (Welsh Cavalry) status.

We have members who have their own specialist area (GURU Status)

Then we have the "BOFF" status....a good all round general knowledge.

[Mike]

Well the 'ranks' are set by number of posts, you can have as many, or as few steps as you like.

(But they can be changed on an individual basis too, in exceptional circumstances.)

Are there a number of exceptional members we should elevate to a higher plane as a mark of our appreciation and respect? what should the rank / title be?, and allocated to whom? how do we decide? (and not forgetting knowledgeable specialists in each country section) but is there a risk in this - that they may be pm'ed for advice more frequently -which they may not wish?

Best exmple is "Cardiffbloke"..... we all wait for him to confirm all things KDG/QBays & QDG....... for me he has the GURU (Welsh Cavalry) status.

Perhaps just that then - specialist guru status when it's obvious, like Cardiffbloke "KDG & Bays Guru" or something? "Specialist: KDG, Bays, QDG" ?

[GriffMJ]

Boff = A very indepth knowledge of the whole subject.

Guru or Specialist = A very indepth knowledge of their "specialist" subject.

[Peter Brydon]

A bit like the system of "ranks" on the GWF, does it really matter ? I get a lot of enjoyment out of the Forum and am happy just to be a member.

P.B.

[2747andy]

I'd be happy to leave things as they are! There are other areas that need a tweek, that IMO need more attention! e.g.

* To be able to move Album photos around, rather than last in first shown! I have brought this up in the past and it is putting me off loading more albums. As a Guardsman I like things to be in order and as new items are obtained, it would be preferable to place them in some order of march!!

After all it is only a tag and in many cases does not mean a lot!

Andy

[matti467]

Peter,
When it comes to Kings Liverpool you are a guru.
Matti

[davec2]

This is me with my serious head on !!

It doesn't happen too often, life's far too short ( I have a personal experience of this ) but some people are naturally more sober about this hobby than others and why shouldn't they be ?

I tend to lean towards Mike's statement to me some time ago, the titles are a ' bit of fun ', meant to lighten one's mood I suppose.

We are all members and the forum could quite comfortably function with us all being just members, obviously there is an Administrator, Mike and I have proved personally in the past that some sort of control is required, hence the moderators, two people who give their time trying to keep order when things get a little fractious.

I will admit that a wry smile crossed my face one day when I noticed that they had been promoted to ' super moderators ' but again, I'm sure Mike had his tongue stuck firmly in the side of the his cheek ?? at the time ??

I can agree with Gordon re people qualified to be described as ' guru's ' but I think he is taking the description to the extreme on this occasion and sadly, most on his list are departed.

There are numerous members who have quite an extensive knowledge of their own subjects and Military Insignia in general and taking the title ' guru ' in the context of the forum, would be more than ideally suited but on the down side, as mentioned earlier on a different thread by a renowned member, lack of basic research by newer members and myself in the past and asking easily answered questions are also being loaded onto said ' guru's ' and I agree that this must be a little tiresome sometimes.

I know my ' title ' was meant as a bit of fun and I will admit that I enjoyed the spotlight for a few hours but in all honesty, I would be just as happy with the title of veteran ( explains time served, at least ) and just as happy with member.

I don't think I've upset anyone, I have no intenton to do so but there you go, this is me not cracking a joke................................did you hear about the jockey and the Bish................

Dave.

[whizzbang]

Is one allowed to argue with a "guru"? There will be a tendency, especially if gurus are elected on merit, to accept their pronouncements as gospel. I think we have seen proven time and time again that there are things in the badge collecting world that defy black and white conclusions... yet there are experts that see things only in black and white. A true guru system could stifle discussions and lead to a great deal of fractiousness. I am happy to be a member and to develop a reputation for knowledge in my collecting area based on forum discussions - without the need for a title.

Cheers, Ian.