How do we know who we are giving advise to?

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Joethemechanic

Joethemechanic

Senior Member
Location
Hazleton Pa
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Electro-Mechanical Technician. Industrial machinery
I couldn't figure where this should go,


But I see questions from people I assume are in foreign countries asking how to hook up large generators, transformers, or whatever. How do we know these people are friendly to the USA?


Sometimes I get a little queasy feeling.
 
The forum is open to anyone who fits into the criteria listed on the signup page. No need to worry about who is posting or where the posts originate, the moderators have a pretty close eye on what's going on. As always if you see something suspicious or not right just click the report post icon and someone will scrutinize it further.
 
Thanks, I was kind of wondering. I was a sub on a railroad project a few years ago and was very friendly with the engineers on the project. They knew I posted on the internet, as did they. But at the beginning of the project they warned me not to post anything about the project on the internet, and showed me the nondisclosure agreement that the company's principals had to sign with the railroad. I asked why and they told me the biggest reason was national security. I never questioned them even though I thought they were going to have a hard time keeping things all that quiet due to the scope of the work.

But it has always made me think twice about who I am talking to.

In WW2 the saying was "Loose Lips Sink Ships"
 
As with forums and all forms of social media someone posting needs to be smart with the anticipation that their conversation will never be private. If their employer has a specific prohibition as to what they can say to the public then they need to use their own judgement. I've seen people on internet forums brag about illegal activity. Not too smart.
 
Joethemechanic said:
Thanks,.. I asked why and they told me the biggest reason was national security. I never questioned them even though I thought they were going to have a hard time keeping things all that quiet due to the scope of the work.

But it has always made me think twice about who I am talking to.

In WW2 the saying was "Loose Lips Sink Ships"
Click to expand...

Thanks for the second thoughts... A simple security clearance covers LLSS, you were granted that by association to the project, they get to state the rules.

You submitted authorization for them to look at you, and they did!

Things have changed as to the measurement of respectable security forever more...

Frankly this place does a great job, I know... :bye:
 
Joethemechanic said:
I couldn't figure where this should go,


But I see questions from people I assume are in foreign countries asking how to hook up large generators, transformers, or whatever. How do we know these people are friendly to the USA?


Sometimes I get a little queasy feeling.
Click to expand...

Got a chuckle from your post

Politics and religion resolve as economics and science. Many people who are unfriendly to US politics still want to be an American for the economic opportunities. Even people who get a gov check disagree with gov politics. The US is an idea that can be accepted voluntarily. But foreign competition in economic areas can be unfriendly (the dire surplus of productive capacity). The US has more to fear from morons than from enemies.

If you gave up caffiene, processed food, and grease for six months you may be surprised how much your views about things may change.
 
Joethemechanic said:
But I see questions from people I assume are in foreign countries asking how to hook up large generators, transformers, or whatever. How do we know these people are friendly to the USA?


Sometimes I get a little queasy feeling.
Click to expand...


It is very very simple, if you get that feeling just click to the next thread.
 
Joethemechanic said:
I couldn't figure where this should go,

But I see questions from people I assume are in foreign countries asking how to hook up large generators, transformers, or whatever. How do we know these people are friendly to the USA?


Sometimes I get a little queasy feeling.
Click to expand...
I've looked at this thread a few times and been a bit unsure of how to respond.
For a start, I'm not from USA. My wife is.
In a sense, I have a foot in both camps. With close relatives in both.
So maybe I'm not the right person to be giving my two cents worth. But I will anyway.

Those who post here are individuals. Hostile or otherwise but, I think, mostly otherwise.
If anyone had nefarious intentions, excellent as this forum is, I don't think it would be where they'd glean their information.
Most of what gets discussed here is somewhere on the web. The information could be obtained without an individual having to join this forum. Or any other.
So why would they take a chance on it?
I'm a moderator in a couple of other forums and I can, and have, used that to get information about members. Trouble makers and sock puppets. Six members all with the same IP addy - aggravation and some have to go. Now if I, with my limited skills can do that, I'm sure others can delve deeper.

As I said, why would they take a chance on possible exposure?

So, on the whole, I don't think what gets posted here helps the unfriendly.

Just my thoughts.
 
A little knowledge is, they say, a dangerous thing.

Let's assume Dr. Evil from Maniacistan posts a question on wiring a widget. Perhaps his intent is to learn how to make that widget dangerous.

Since electrical systems vary greatly, and European widgets are sure to be quite different from American widgets, there's really no way a simple forum posting can teach him all he needs to know. He's just as likely to get bad advice form well-meaning folks who were misinformed by his deceit.

Perhaps of greater concern is the possibility that Dr. Evil might come into the forum and offer bad advice.

Or, perhaps, it's more likely that my continuing cynicism regarding AFCI's will inspire some bottom-feeding lawyer to inflict a nuisance suit on the industry. Does that mean we should all become like Sgt. Schultz, and answer every question with ""I see nothing, I hear nothing, I know nothing?"
 
renosteinke said:
Perhaps of greater concern is the possibility that Dr. Evil might come into the forum and offer bad advice.
Click to expand...

Bad advice gets jumped on by many and usually quickly whether the person that suggested it was serious, ignorant, or whatever.


A recent thread about the power outage at the Monday night football game in San Francisco shows a little bit about how one could easily find out a lot of information that could be used to effect a lot of people. Members using Google earth had looked around from the comforts of their home or office from hundreds or thousands of miles away and had some idea of how power supplied the park. This was all done through websites that are free for anyone to use and well known about. That information could easily be obtained just by going there and walking around also.

We also have rules about non electrical professionals and their participation in this forum, but they are not excluded from reading it and using the information any way they choose.

I found this forum by typing a question into a search engine and it came up with some hits from this forum.
 
Besides by the time the people on this forum got done telling him how the wiring on his bomb wasn't code compliant and that many of the part's weren't UL listed and how a non-electrician should not be working on wiring any way, he would probably just figure that it wasn't worth it and move on to something else.:happyyes:
 
cowboyjwc said:
Besides by the time the people on this forum got done telling him how the wiring on his bomb wasn't code compliant and that many of the part's weren't UL listed and how a non-electrician should not be working on wiring any way, he would probably just figure that it wasn't worth it and move on to something else.:happyyes:
Click to expand...

Not to mention OSHA and 70E requirements also.:D
 
How about this solution: if you see a post from a terrorist asking how to wire a transformer, report the post and the moderators promise to look into it. Problem solved.

This is a fairly off topic thread, I'm closing it.
 
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