Originally Posted by
moondog
My position with regard to internet research has evolved during the course of the past 4.5 years since you started this thread. My original position was "only answer questions that you 90% clear about". However, as we got into some of the more challenging question sets, I realized that many questions were sufficiently challenging to prevent nearly all of us without timetables in hand to even ascend to the "educated guess" stage.
But, with a little help from Google, it's possible for us to enter the ring, and learn a lot in the process. For example, when you asked questions about 727-100 operators on various routes, wiki helped me establish the playing field...and, I learned a lot during the process. Similarly, reading up on defunct airlines is also enjoyable for me.
What I like most about most of the questions here, is that they are simply unanswerable via straight up Google searches (impressive on the part of the askers, including yourself).
In light of the fact that the internet is here to stay, and FT is internet based, I suggest that you permit us to use Google in cases in which we are clueless.
I hear you,
moondog, and to that end I don’t believe I or anyone else here has ever expressly prohibited the use of outside resources toward answering the questions posed here. At the same time, I do think there’s been an unspoken understanding that participants will make a good faith effort based upon what they already know to answer questions without resorting to outside resources.
Though I stand by my earlier statement regarding the journey from an initially submitted wrong answer to finally coming up with the correct one, it must be said that the Old Timer’s Airline Quiz & Discussion has been percolating along quite nicely for almost five years now, regardless of how participants have come up with their answers to the questions posted here. Its success as a thread is due in no small measure to the participation of everyone here – be it asking or answering questions.
Here’s to the next five years and beyond!
And now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a plane to catch.
I would like to add a little more detail to this response though and so I’ll check back once I return home to Alaska this evening. (Added 6/11 1:24pm ADT)
Over the years, the majority of the questions presented here have become schedule oriented. That’s likely because your two primary presenters of questions -
jlemon and myself - have a lot of schedules at hand along with similar interests in airline routes and aircraft movements. Honestly, I’d really like to see more airline and aircraft history oriented questions posted here but speaking for myself at least, my knowledge of airline history is not sufficient to develop such questions on a regular basis. Additionally, my interest in airline history, while warm, doesn’t burn hot. And so – for my part, most of my questions have revolved around schedules or inflight services.
I agree with
moondog’s assertion that some of the questions posted here on the Old Timer’s Airline Quiz & Discussion – particularly those that are schedule oriented - are so challenging that the average person with normal or “layman” level interest couldn’t begin to have a clue toward providing the correct answer without employing some level of outside assistance.
As to the use of outside resources in order to answer these questions, I recognize that this is the “Old Timers” airline quiz and some participants may not have been around during the 60s or 70s. Even so, I purposely avoid using schedules that are available over the internet or asking questions where the answer can be easily revealed via a simple Google search. I recognize that some people may opt to open their nearest timetable to get the answer and for my part, I put too much time into researching and formulating these questions to knowingly create questions where the answer can be revealed so easily.
A friend of mine once looked at some of the questions I was getting ready to submit and asked – quite reasonably - how anyone could possibly have a clue about such things off the top of their head. Long years of dedicated timetable and OAG perusal, was my response. But why? he asked. How many people actually care about such things?
How many people care about restoring old Studebakers or collecting more exotic things such as railroad china or miniature airline liquor bottles, was my response. With seven billion people on the planet, there is no shortage of varied and esoteric interests. That is especially true for those of us who actually consider an old OAG a “good read”.
I should also note that if most of the schedule oriented questions here seem “extreme” or “challenging”, it’s because our core participants are so intelligent and well-rounded in this regard that the answer to a simpler question such as “Name the only airline to fly Boeing 720Bs into Colorado Springs” would come almost instantly to mind for them. Given the fact that it’s been over 30 years since any airline flew the 720 commercially here in the U.S. and almost as long for most overseas airlines, I’m pretty certain that the average “layman” or even a fair percentage of casual avgeeks, despite their interest in commercial aviation, might very well be double checking to ensure they knew just exactly what type of plane Boeing’s 720 was, much less what the “B” variant represented.
Just for fun sometime, go Google “Airline Trivia” and look at how comparatively easy the various questions are.