gear junkie

Maybe it's coincidence but I noticed when intro's weren't mandatory anymore, a flood of diy'ers came on board. Also makes me wonder if perhaps this should be a closed forum as it's obvious so many non plumbers are using our forum to take their information as needed.

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Ridgid

Indie

I think the mods are doing a good job at taking care of those who might try to take advantage. Even when one might slip by, the regular posters do a good job of helping reveal the person for a phony.

I may be wrong however.

ROCKSTARPLUMBER

I have mentioned on many occasions, this forum should be locked from outsider view. Why leave it that way. Maybe the owner wants the outsiders to view, and click on the ads that bring in the bucks?

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Indie

If we really got down to brass tacks, then how many would have to be banned from site. It does say



Now, my definition of that is someone who holds the appropriate license in the area they are working, or are retired from, and was a license holder. Here in Indiana you are supposed to hold a State Plumbing License to engage in Plumbing work. How many here are not actually Professionals by that standard? Better question is. What is a professional Plumber?

ROCKSTARPLUMBER

Ask Plumbcrazy.

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ILPlumber

This dead horse has been thoroughly beat multiple times by you gear junkie.

Nothing is going to change.

pauliplumber

I think your definition is spot on. I think this is the best plumbing forum out there, but would still love for it to be a closed forum. If someone started a closed forum I think it's something most plumbers who visit plumbing sites would eventually want to be a part of.

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Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react.

Everflow

Just make the chat room for members only, if it is not that way already. I'm all for being politically correct on the main board, but there should be a place that we can talk like real plumbers.

ToUtahNow

I think the term Professional Plumber is fine but it seems many here are not Professional Plumbers.

We have, Professional Plumbers, Apprentices, Owners, Drain Cleaners, Manufacturers, General Contractors, Inspectors and more. Some post and some do not. It seems if you really want to be limited to "Professional Plumbers Only" you would eliminate a lot of people. Perhaps "Plumbing Industry Only" would be a better banner.

Mark

Miguel

meh To me it makes little difference if it's a closed forum or not. The DIYers, insurance salesmen, airline pilots and even the handyman types have very little to gain from this site. Well, unless they're looking for code snippets, best YP ad copy or what the inside of Dunbars truck looks like.
The lurkers that want "easy button" advice and how-to's just aren't going to find it here. Most of the time they can't even figure out what the heck we're talking about anyway and they'll move on to DIY and other sites more suited to them. But if they truly want to learn then I'm all for it. However it's a 12,000 hr training program and most of 'em will only get (read: "take") enough rope to hang themselves with.

I could never understand what the big "secret" was all about. There's no secret handshake and initiation ritual by the shamans of the piping gods. If someone genuinely wants to know how to be a plumber then I'm more than willing to help them out. That's why I've sponsored and trained apprentices. *

The typical HO or jackleg could spend years of careful coddling and tutoring on this site by literally hundreds of well trained experts in their field and at the end of the day they'll still f*k up their plumbing.
If, by soaking up the little bits of information they find here, they actually do learn something and do better work and not endanger their families then I see that as a good thing.

My 2¢

*Note: Don't misconstrue this to mean that I'll be teaching ppl how to do plumbing work in an online forum. If there was decent money in it then I prolly would.

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BOOM-diyada! Life is good!