DaVinciflies

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Posts posted by DaVinciflies

  1. Quote

    The problem isn't that people are skydiving bullies around here, it's that they are Internet bullies. I may be a low timer in the skydiving world, but I have been working professionally with Internet services and communities for almost 20 years and what I see around here is all too common in the Internet world. People taking conversational tones, attitudes, and addressing people in manner that if used in the real world, would eventually get them popped in the mouth.

    For me, I'm used to it. I've been around this block many times before most people even realized the block existed. I cut my teeth on Internet communities way more vicious than this one so I don't mind sifting through the crap to find the gems. However that is not the case for most people. Most people aren't used to it, and will not put up with the amount of vitriol that can be produced around here. This is why the vast majority of experienced skydivers I know in the real world think this site is a joke. If I mention anything about this site other than something I saw in the classified section, people roll their eyes and go "Oh, that site?" and that's the end of the conversation. The Internet board-warrior attitude that rears it's ugly head around here all to often serves only to increase the noise to signal ratio on this site.

    So sure, people can keep thinking they are doing a good thing by being a dick to somebody, but just keep in mind that for every highly experienced person with a wealth of knowledge to share that posts here, there are 10 out in the real world who wouldn't even bother typing the url for this site because of the attitudes you can find here. For every newbie that might get some help here, there are 5 who have been told don't even bother with the people at DZ.com. Unless of course, they are checking the classifieds for equipment.

    I think this is a sad state of affairs and truly a shame given the potential resource this site could and should be. But it isn't because some people don't realize you don't have to be an asshole to get people to listen to you.



    Well put.

    For all the self-righteous horseshit on here, there is a wealth of experience in the real world that can be tapped without the self-aggrandizing, counter-productive aggression found here. It's virtual masturbation and it's bullshit.

    It's one thing to offer firm, blunt advice. It's quite another to verbally beat the shit out of someone.

    And apparently now it's cool to be a bully. :S

  2. Quote

    Maybe not this guy, but maybe the next guy who doesn't know what he doesn't know. Remember, the people these messages reach are often unknown because they read it and say "Huh, never thought about all those angles, maybe I'm not ready to start doing [X] yet." But they never post and say "Wow, thanks for opening my eyes." They just make a better decision.



    You could well be right - but those are the people who listen to reasoned argument and don't need to "cop a blast" in the first place.

    In either case, the bullying serves no purpose other than to massage the ego of the bully.

  3. In my opinion......

    If you think you are saving people by typing some harsh words on an internet forum, then you are deluding yourself.

    If those people will not listen to being told in person at the dropzone by people who have just seen what they are doing wrong, then they are certainly not going to respond to someone in internet-land coming on all high and mighty.

    All this sort of animosity does is create an environment where a few vocal people drive away well-meaning jumpers with questions.

    Look at this thread for example. How far has it got us? I think by now most us believe that Chad will not be hanging up his Velo at all, or if he does he may go to something "docile" like a Crossfire2 99.

    There is a lot of self-delusion going on here.

  4. Quote

    >Is that the kind of forum behavior we want here?

    Given that it's saved a few lives - there are pluses to it.



    That is pure supposition. We should really try to deal in facts. It may have saved lives but we can never know.

    Quote

    >It reminds me of a bunch of high school bullies picking on a nerd.

    Sort of. But it would be like high school bullies picking on the 15 year old drug users until they stop doing drugs. O the horror.



    It is still bullying and in my opinion that is always wrong. Not only is it wrong, but it is counter-productive.

    This sort of brow-beating makes people shut down and not want to come back to dz.com. If they are gone from here - how can you expect to influence them through the forums at all?

  6. It is not the whole story in determining how the canopy will fly (design, shape etc all have a part to play in that), but generally a lower wingloaded canopy will behave in a more docile manner than the same canopy loaded higher.

    Examples of exact what more docile means include:

    - less forward speed
    - less sink (ie. downward speed)
    - less responsive to control inputs
    - loses less altitude in a given turn
    - recovers faster to full flight after a given turn

    In general terms, higher WL means higher performance (until you exceed the max WL for that canopy design) but it also means less margin for error and more risk.

  7. Total weight of you and all your gear in (pounds) divided by the square footage of your canopy.

    Eg. You weigh 190lbs and all you gear (including clothes and your rig with canopies) weighs 30lbs and you jump a 220 square foot canopy - your wing loading is 220/220 - 1lb/sq ft

    It is an indicator of how your canopy will perform.

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    this the same guy??



    Thanks for posting that link, it's a fun video. I always get a kick out of newbies who jump out of the plane and then check their altimeter 2 seconds out of the door. News flash pal, you're 100 ft lower than when you jumped 2 seconds ago.



    Pssst.... 46 feet.



    Wouldn't it be 64 feet?

    32 feet per second per second.

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    At that’s why a line dump smacks you.



    Nope. Line dump doesn't smack you.


    Bag strip might though.



    Tell us what your description of each is, please.



    Line dump is when the lines come out of their stows before line-stretch. This may cause knots but since the stows do not appreciably slow the opening it will not be harder. You could free coil your lines in the bottom of the container and have perfectly acceptable openings (I am not recommending this).

    Bag strip is when the canopy comes out of the bag before linestretch. In this scenario the canopy is exposed to the wind and may start to open up and/or the slider may come down the lines. In this scenario, a hard opening is very likely at line-stretch.

  17. Quote


    Take this case. Exit winds 80kts on the nose, so ground speed is zero. Wind 0kts at 3000 feet. Your separation will be zero no matter how long you wait.



    So these 80kt winds are not causing any freefall drift. Is that what you are saying?

  19. Quote

    >What Can We Do?

    Stop the deaths and injuries from swooping. That will go a long way towards convincing DZO's that the pond isn't a liability.



    Do we know that this is due to liability issues as opposed to, say, upkeep costs or water availability?

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    If I were you I'd be more concerned about running your hero rocket into the ground than I would be about telling everyone else about the dangers of staying alive with an RSL.



    Hay thanks Chuck, I'll remenber that the next time I jump it :ph34r:


    I'll link to your reply in the incident forum. Hope you don't suffer long.;)


    That's a pretty cuntish comment.


    I'd tell you what I think of your comment but I don't issue opinion to people too chickensh*t to identify themselves.

    No name, no respect.

    I don't really care about your opinion of me, but I wanted you to know my opinion of your comment. Mission accomplished.

  24. Quote

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    If I were you I'd be more concerned about running your hero rocket into the ground than I would be about telling everyone else about the dangers of staying alive with an RSL.



    Hay thanks Chuck, I'll remenber that the next time I jump it :ph34r:


    I'll link to your reply in the incident forum. Hope you don't suffer long.;)

    That's a pretty cuntish comment.