Where does this individual launch/attend meetings?

Tweak, I neither launch rockets nor attend meetings. I have launched rockets as a young boy many, many years ago. I am curious why it should matter or not that I launch rockets or attend meetings, to ask where some individuals do so? As far as I know asking such a question is just that, and a fair question to ask according to Kevin. As I replied to Kevin, we assume some of the individuals have chosen not to reply, and we respect that, but also find it unfortunate that they did not. Simple courtesy would have been to have a response from each of them.

Jim,

It's normal for newbies and/or strangers to volunteer a little info about themselves and about their intentions when asking such questions. You don't have to, and I'm not saying you're rude not to, but if you expect answers from strangers it helps to prime the pump, so to speak.

BTW, that's normal as in normal everywhere, not just normal in usenet.

Regards, Doug

Normal is as normal does, my momma always said...

Interesting.

You should launch them still. Great fun, you know.

Did I imply or state there was issue with your "rocketeer status" in regards to queries posed upon others?

Was not aware that Kevin was the arbiter of propriety on RMR. Be that as it may...

(Hi Kevin ;-)

Simple uncertainty and suspicion would preclude many from answering such queries. You might be a fed, an agent provocateur, or even an evil terrorist. Perhaps a revenge minded former rocketeer intent upon bloody vengeance for some past (real or perceived) slight. Or maybe even just a pervo looking to "cop a feel". Who knows?

Then Jerry is his man. To bad Jerry didn't answer.

I find it odd that he would ask where we are yet seems to be unwilling to say where he is. Also, he hasn't said what his name is. Maybe it's little Iz.

Ahh, memories of Chris and Diane come to mind...

David Erbas-White

If it's a reasonable for you to ask where people launch and attend meetings, then it is also reasonable for others to ask you the same question. I see you have answered that now, thanks!

The question I have is the one you have not answered.(at least in the posts I've seen) Why does a person, (you) who claims to not be involved in the hobby, care where others launch at? I think that's a reasonable question for you to answer, yes?

BTW: Just for the record, I launch with the same club that Trojanowski does.

Posting his geographic location was VERY specific to the answer to his original question.

Jerry

Does he owe you money or something? Did his great-great grandpappy insult your great-great grandpappy...and you are just wanting to settle some century-old feud?

:o)

Your asking such a question, in the setting of this group...is *very* creepy.

Doug Sams wrote:

Doug, I appriciate the insight of what you have said. Not being familiar with news groups, I was unaware such was needed to get an answer to a question. My full name is Reverand James Hodges. I am the chairman of a board of regents of a privite school. We oversee a group of 22 young adults, aged 13-18, both male and female. Several months ago some of our students, and their parents, approched us about getting our group involved in the rocketry hobby. As we always do, we started researching information to better make a decision about this request. While I was involved in another aspect of the research, two of our board memebrs came to me with some questions, and concerns, developed from their part of the research. They asked me if I would ask where these individuals participated in these activities. The father of one of our students had been monotoring his son's internet activities with respect to the hobby, and helped me get access to this news group which his son visits. I asked, and have reported back to them the responses I received. It is unfortunate that some of the individuals apparently chose not to respond, but perhaps even more unfortunate is the suggestion that uncertainty and suspicion would have a place in answering a simple question. And refering to who I am, perhaps "it's little Iz", whom, or what, ever that is, sheds quite a bit of light on ones character, and does nothing to stregenthen ones integrity, nor provide a genuine appreciation of nothing more than simple respect. I personally find this attitude very distressing, and have pretty much made up my mind as to what my recomendation to the entire board will be concerning the validity of providing this as an acceptable activity for our young adults to become involved in.

______________________________________________________________________

Jim,

The internet in general and usenet in particular are wide open, unmoderated forums for people to use for their own (usually both benign and banal) purposes.

As such, normal prudence dictates that I know a little about someone whom I have never met or heard of, asking me where I live and where I will be on a given date (this is essentially your question).

I'm very sure that if you had prefaced your original post with the information contained in this one the responses would have been overwhelmingly positive.

Perhaps a sad commentary on the state of society and the internet, but a fact nonetheless.

Consider your friend who came across this group while monitoring his son's net access (a very good idea IMHO). How do you think he would feel about a total stranger asking his son where he lives and where he hangs out?

Just my $0.02.

I personally agree with you, Greg. While it lies in my professional nature to be suspicious of the agenda of an unknown individual desiring information of such a nature, I also find such interrogative behavior unsettling...probably more so if I were one of those he was inquiring about.

James,

Your BOD should find that model rocketry is a great pastime for young Christian folks, no matter how old.

They might also find that Usenet on the internet is not a place for them, only IMHO.

Jim,

You're likely gonna get a pretty distorted view of rocketry here (on rmr) unless you have lots of web forum experience, especially usenet experience. If you can filter out the noise and chaff, there are occasionally some remarkable useful tidbits of information here. There are qutie a few rocketeers here who I've had the pleasure to meet in person, and I'm better for having done that.

Now, about the kids getting involved in rocketry. Please go to

and find a section in your area. Most NAR sections are willing and eager to work with youth groups and help them get going. My group in Dallas) for example, conducts many presentations, build sessions and launches every year with a variety of different organizations. Getting a section involved is a great way to help prevent 10-thumbed dads from screwing up Junior's rocket :)

Regarding web activities: This forum - rmr - is one of the first I found when I re-entered the hobby ~6 years ago. I loved it then, and I still find some nuggets here that are worth the panning.

While rmr is quite tame compared to some forums, it isn't really suitable for kids. There's too much cursing and juvenile-acting adult behavior that kids shouldn't be exposed to :)

But there are some moderated forums out there that may be better suited. Yahoo groups have several, and there are a couple others as well. Kids are welcome at all these, especially The Rocketry Forum. Here are a few links to get started with:

?s=&action=getnew

You gotta turn the other cheek :) (& I mean that.)

Rocketry? Or rmr?

Regards, Doug

Sorry if you took offense to my little Iz crack - all it was was a wise crack that I thought some who have gotten to know Iz form rmr would find humorous.

Good luck in your quest. If in the beginning, you had said what you said in this post, you would have had much better results. Althopugh we bust on each other here, pretty much everyone is willing to help people in situations such as yours.

Although rocketry is a good activity for the kids, I think a different discussion place is better suited for kids.

Well...to be fair, the reason for his "inquisitive" was finally revealed. If the person had simply, at first, stated: "Hi, I am Mr. MyName; and I represent MyGroup; and we are interested in entering the hobby, and perhaps getting to know a few of your members, and learning from you..." then I think he would have been given a better response.

Speaking both as a rocket hobbyist, and as a long-time user of various online discussion forums, including Usenet, I'd like to elaborate on a few points that others have made, and hopefully help you with your decisions.

First, you need to bear in mind that Usenet, and the Internet in general, are worldwide public forums, and anyone (and everyone) can and does have access. For that reason, I hope you can understand people being a bit "put off", and suspicious, of a random stranger asking them to basically identify whre they will be, and when they will be there. After all, that's the information you gain by asking someone where and when they fly.

Without recognizing you as a regular participant in this online discussion, and with your first introduction to the group being a seeming demand for personal information, it's natural (and safest) to assume that you are a prototypical "bad guy", and be somewhat cagey in one's responses. Unfortunately, that's the reality of life in the big bad real world.

With that being said, I can honestly say that, in many years of meeting and flying with lots of people from around the world (mostly from the west coast of the USA, but we've had a few from the UK and elsewhere attend our launches on occasion), I have never had anything but cameraderie and helpfulness from anyone I've met in person at a launch.

The club I regularly fly with (ROC) typically has several hundred people attend our monthly launches, and I don't know of a single person who is afraid of leaving their stuff unattended when recovering a rocket. Nobody worries about theft, especially because everyone is friendly, and talks to their neighbors, and they all look out for each other.

Please don't confuse the healthy skepticism of random strangers on the Internet with any kind of personality defect endemic to rocketeers. The seeming anonymity afforded by (and the impersonal nature of) online discussions tends to bring out the impolite side of many people. If you met the same people in person, they would, in all likelihood, be much more well-behaved.

I don't have any kids of my own, but, if I did, I'd be sure to monitor their Internet activities. I don't think I'd shelter them completely; being exposed to the ugly underbelly of society on occassion does tend to reinforce lessons about why manners are important, and I'd hate to prevent that learning from taking place. But, I'm certain that I'd participate, as well, in any discussion groups that my children joined, just to keep an eye on things, and guide them away from emulating the wrong type of people.

But, based on long experience, I'd not hesitate to encourage them to get involved in rocketry. It's a great scientific and educational hobby, but that's not the main reason. The biggest benefit would be the fact that the kids would get to spend time with large numbers of people who, without exception in my experience, all exemplify the values I'd hope my children would learn. Things like a willingness to help, to loan needed tools and/or equipment, to chip in when it comes time to set up or to clean up, etc.

As a minor, but relevant example, when members of our club have participated in fundraising events for various charities, all it has taken is a single post on our club mailing list, and they have, in every case, exceeded their fundraising goals in the course of a single day. Rocket folks are *always* willing to lend a hand whenever asked, and I've never been disappointed in seeing that happen.

Even though you didn't ask me (and I'm feeling just a little bit left out by that ), I launch with ROC, the Rocketry Organization of California, at Lucerne Dry Lake in Southern CA on the second Saturday of almost every month. Our web site is at , and it has lots of great information on the technical side of things. I encourage you to come out to a launch with *any* rocket club, to see the personal side of things up close, and be able to judge for yourself.

I trust that you won't be disappointed.

- Rick "Any questions?" Dickinson

The hobby can indeed be a great experience for the students at your school. Your best path would be to hook up with a local club and find one or two members there to help you get a program started. You'll find some great help that way, and can easily work with the individuals to make sure that the relationship meets the needs and goals of your organization.

Something you might consider looking in to is the Team America Rocketry Challenge sponsored by the National Association of Rocketry.

Please, don't take this as representative of the entire hobby. Unfortunately, far too many people become quite brave behind a keyboard and exhibit behavior online that they would never dream of doing in public, or face-to-face. They're the same people who will tell you how wonderful you are to your face, then stab you in the back when it serves their own purposes.

I would encourage the hobby participation, but discourage their participation in newsgroups as a whole, especially considering the age of the folks you are referring to. The really sad thing is that the vulgarity and other inappropriate behavior you see here is tame compared to some other newsgroups.

The Internet can be a great resource, but it also seems to bring out the absolute worst in some people.

In regards to the hobby, if you are interested and can give me a geographic area your school is located in, I might be able to recommend some people for you to contact.

-Kevin

Dear Reverand,

Um... Hi... Frankly you would have been much better off if this was your first post, instead of where does so and so launch rockets. Also if you really are basing a reccomendation on the replies of sorted anonymous people you do not even know??? I mean really. All you know is someones email and that they post here. Why must someone respond just because you ask?

If I were on your list I certainly would not have responded to your original non informative first post. I may have responded if this message was your first post.

I am confused. And perhaps this is not the correct activity for you and your group.