Where’s Tinkerer, I hope he's okay. Does anyone know him personally to check on him.
Delmer also. He hasn't been here in a while.
@Tinkerer @Delmer !
I just sent Delmer a message yesterday asking him the same thing. Tinkerer said he was going to take a break.
He PMed me back in July when I was looking at a truck over in WI. Hasn't been back since.
Did you guys ever noticed that I was gone for couple of years? Looks like John C not here either. He had a long break in his YouTube videos, but posted one not long ago.
I take it back about John C - just saw his post on weather check thread.
He hasn't posted since August
Hoping they haven't dropped off the perch.
I know Tinkerer is taking a break, he said in his last post.
I remember when he just came to this forum, asking some dilettante questions about hydraulic power steering. And some of people here ( and I remember exactly who, but I’m not going to say) gave him a hard time.
I think Tinkerer will come back. He is very knowledgeable and is always willing to try and help people out. He's not a spring chicken with over 50 years of operating experience. He deserves to take as long a break as he needs. He will be missed in the mean time.
Vetech has been awol.
He was around Saturday. All these other guys have been gone for a month or half a year
Wifey would agree with this.
Hey!!! They are best of friends now!!!
I did. Lost my favorite guy to pick on LOL TS took your place
I don’t remember you ever picking on me!
Awol vetech is always worth a Ha Ha.
1693TA disappeared back in the spring, I PM'd him, but no response.
He's not on another forum either--might have passed.
That was my thought . . .
@1693TA @Delmer @clintm @mitch504 @lantraxco @Landclearer @Colorado Digger These are just a few that seem to have given up on us.
Perhaps if people appreciated when they got help and thanked members who went above and beyond we wouldn't lose good people. It's not hard to say thanks. I'm worried we may lose a couple very knowledgeable members for this reason. I know members have left in the past because they got a bunch of unnecessary flack just for trying to help someone out.
There is also the group of {Oh So Serious} that just can't handle some sarcastic humor. Some of this stuff needs to be handled on the lighter side too. But in several cases and this really bugs folks, a high percentage of public like to consider themselves as a ------- ----{Mechanic} and those same often inject a lame mechanical opinion when their opinion should be kept under the rug. {My favorite term {Dabblers}. People don't come on HEF looking for non-professional help/opinions--no they come here looking for professional help. One thing to notice----I don't see very many top mechanics on here discussing how a trench should be dug, but I do see allot of construction folks involved with mechanical problems that don't do it for a living.
Usually don't have to go to Mayo Clinic for a hangnail.
Tinkerer can’t drop out yet! I hopefully still have a few years of breakages on the backhoe. He (and others) have slow walked me through several issues….
Sometimes it's hard to tell if someone is being sarcastic, especially on a forum. You can't see them grinning while they're typing. Different people have a different sense of humour than other's. Some people are 100% serious all the time. You never know what state of mind someone is in when they reading a response. They may be having a terrible day and have no patience for jokers. I think if someone has experience with a specific problem or repair they can offer what has worked for them to resolve it or at least make it easier. Don't need to jump on someone if they were mistaken or made an honest mistake. I think for a lot people, it could have been years and years ago they did a particular repair and maybe forgot some of the specifics. Just like on the job it's a lot better if people try to get along and don't sweat the small stuff... and it's all small stuff unless someone is seriously injured following bad advice. A recent example that wasn't real serious but still bad advice was how to weld without a welding helmet. Getting flashed isn't fun and you should still go the hospital to make sure you didn't get something in your eye. A bad flash will have you wearing an eye patch for a few days.
Many times I wish I had learned about this forum or one like it years ago. If there had been something like this back say in the 1970's I could have been helped or actually help some people much more that I can ever do these days! Only in the last years working on heavy equipment did I get the chance to use things like Cat ET. Had to check and see that I joined this forum in 2012 so only was active for 3 years before I retired so I was trying to be a mechanic for close to 40 years before that! Not even sure when this forum actually was started did a quick look and have seen some messages from 2003 I believe, so almost 10 years before I joined according to what I see.
Like I said above, the forum is really helpful and if someone helps you with good advice the least you can do is thank them.
Forums are a great place to meet others and give and get advice. Unfortunately there are those jackasses who think they are funny but are rather just ********. I like a good sarcastic crack like the next guy but you really need to be careful because tone does not come across when typing. I have given advice here or on other forums only to get ridiculed or told I am not knowledgable. Ok, whatever. I just laugh because those usually are the morons who don't know their ass from their elbow. I hope the guys that have gone radio silent are just taking a short break and will come back.
And they know who they are and so do we............
Some people are just nasty like they have a grudge against society. They don't know or were never taught how to be respectful of other people's opinions. Sometimes you can feel a little sorry for them but not often. Just like a lot of people feel entitled and are above others. Being nasty is part of their DNA.
What happened to that Bloux guy? Sometimes. Sometimes other people bring it out.
Had a pis5ing match with tctractors. Almost caused Tony to never come back. He rarely posts anymore because of it. Bob was pretty knowledgeable, but was also a prick.
Some people act differently on a forum than they would in person. Perhaps if people met first over a couple drinks or lunch they'd realize the other person isn't the enemy.
Sometimes old mechanics are like two bulls squaring off. They will never get along.
In my experience, some small town tradesmen were looked up to and idolized because there was nobody to compare them to and they developed outsized egos that were not conducive to acknowledging or training young guys because then the student would know as much as him. Its easier to be a big fish in a small pond than try to be a big fish in a big pond. Just sayin
And worst part is that a large percentage of them can't recognize sarcasm when they see it.
This….. Local car mechanic cant program injector trim files but is fully booked 3 weeks ahead and has the ego to match.
But it's a vicious cycle. It's because of this that "dabblers" like me have a go. The "mechanics" are either incompetent or unavailable (or as above, both) so you have to have a go yourself. It takes me 5 times as long, I'm out buying tools and asking on here for help. But most times it gets done right (eventually) and I learn a new skill, but my time could be better spent invested into my business. I don't have an answer, but I do know that no cares about your stuff like you do.
So true Pony. The dealer for a machine I bought was hard pressed to tune a chainsaw yet considered himself to be an expert in fixing my machine. A phone call to America fixed that problem, he lost the dealership and I got it fixed by people who did know under warranty.
OzDozer is another one gone AWOL.
Is OzDozer, still missing?
@OzDozer
We are missing a bit of the crew, hope all is well.
Where is Delmer!?
Went AWOL in July. He messaged me about a used truck place, and that was it.
The internet is a harsh place. It's easy to be critical of others when you are hiding behind a computer screen. I try to avoid it, but I always head to the comments section, and sometimes it takes a bit of scrolling, but there is always that jacka$$ that has something negative to say about a cute puppy video, or the years some guy put into restoring something. Since getting my phone, my 14 year old daughter says, whatever you do, don't download tick tok, you don't need that in your life.
AKA "The Peanut Gallery"
Your daughter is smart.
When someone posts information from a trusted source to try and help someone but somebody else comes along and calls them out saying they are wrong, it tends to turn people off and they stop posting.
Gotta have thick skin on the internet some days.
Bunch of sissies youse guys. Joe H
Losing knowledgeable people who are just trying to help isn't good.
That's it! I'm taking my ball and going home!
If someone didn't post incorrect information from a trusted source while dismissing correct information that has already been posted just because they have a hard-on for correct poster they wouldn't get called out now would they.
And this is the best way to make sure he doesn't come back.
I put a thread up a while back asking for help. I got a ton of great information from some really knowledgeable people and I got the job done correctly. Its hard to judge tone over text but I do believe one poster got a bit pissy with me at the conclusion for whatever reason. Kinda makes it tough to want to ask for help.
And don't you even dare question the opinion or methods expressed by some veteran contributors even if you know you're correct or **** list here we come.
There are better ways to post differing info than to aggressively call someone out, especially when the info posted came from a knowledgeable source and may also be correct depending on different factors. Have seen on many occasions where there are more than one correct answer to a particular inquiry. Just because someone thinks they have the right answer doesn't mean someone else can't also have a right but differing answer.
This ^^^ exactly and also why some are reluctant to give a reply. There can be more than one right answer but why chance being called out because someone doesn't agree with you. I could give many welding examples where people would disagree but no one is wrong.
Once again your input is "brilliant and insightful" thanks for your contribution beating a dead horse.
The above reply is a test
How else to tenderize tough meat??
I am not dead. I left during covid and just never came back. I drop in every 2-3 months and have a quick snoop around. I pretty much left all social media behind. Don't miss it anymore.
I'm always wrong, don't believe me--just pm anyone on here!
I read far more than I post - other than resurrecting a couple cantankerous Sullairs my work lately has been squarely drill/blast with only a few hours of operating and a bit of wrenching. If I'm not knowledgeable on a topic I tend to keep quiet.
That was my dad's early career, he learned it on the job from an old blaster. I heard some cool stories growing up.
Old Nitelite has gone quiet too
Hi Nicky Dad bought a new truck the day you posted this..... unfortunately he passed away just 33 days later. He always enjoyed this group.
It's very true that it's really easy to misinterpret the written word, but it's good to learn to ignore the jag-offs anyway. That's par for the course almost everywhere on the Internet. I am a moderator at a large machinist message board. Some of those fellers can get downright mean. And for all you guys saying "some people can't recognize sarcasm" - it's not always so easy when your talking about written messages. No body language, no expressions, no tone of voice, etc. That's why they invented these things: Use them and you'll prevent a lot of misunderstandings.
I have seen Tinkerer posting lately. Seems like a really helpful dude. I am someone who likes to joke around and bust balls. I belong to a group of guys who are all over the country. Most of us have met. Well one guy just touched a nerve one night and I clocked out for a few days. Not sure why that triggered me but it did. Happens to all of us.
After so many decades on the internet, I've learned to do that too. Probably the best thing you could have done. Knee-jerk reactions never go well...
Sadly Nitelight will no longer be posting here anymore. HeavyEquipmentForums
Thank you Jim. Was sorry to here if this at the time. I liked your dads posts.