DB
Elite Member
- Joined
- Apr 29, 2003
- Professional Status
- Certified Residential Appraiser
- State
- Tennessee
How much time do you spend on online forums?
As a moderator of this forum, I keep it up in the background all day and into the night. On average, about 12 hours a day±
What have you learned from online forums?
Forums in general, at least the ones that I have looked at or participated in, call on the varied experiences of the membership to provide information to those who are seeking support or resolution to problems. Sometimes general, sometimes specific. This particular forum has been invaluable in its ability to capitalize on the wide and varied experiences of its membership to help those with questions, problems, and readily accepts humor and general comments from both peers and the general public. It has also been invaluable in bringing together a group of professionals who generally do not get to network with others in the field, except at CE or other educational meetings, where time is limited and focus is required. Some of the best friends I have in this world participate in this forum. Some I have met, face to face, and some I have not, but it doesn't seem to matter. As an appraiser I have been able to learn more, stay up to date on the latest trends, laws and rules, and have been able to develop superior relationships with those who have a lot to offer and those who have a lot to learn.
Has there ever been a time when a forum poster helped you online? With a real problem? (taking over an appraisal, sharing comps, etc.)
Too many to count really. I have posters on this forum provide me with information that I could not have otherwise gotten. I have had poster on this forum provide financial assistance when I was unable to work due to an accident. Posters on this forum sent Christmas decorations to my family when my parents house burned. Posters on this forum pray and send positive thought for my daughter and I, daily. This forum in particular, operates more like a family, than a lot of families do. There are times when we bicker, there are times when we disagree, there are times when we laugh and there are times when we cry... but at the end of the day, we can all put our feet under the same table and realize that we have come together in an attempt to help others, improve a profession, give a downtrodden friend a hand up, a kind word, a slap in the face, and yes, even a stab in the back ... and we know that tomorrow when we log in, it is going to start all over again.
What do you like most about forums---the camaraderie or the actual information? Or are both equally important?
I agree that both are equally important. Try making a cake with only eggs, or only flour and see what you get. The advantage to a professional forum like this, is that you can get a wide variation of opinions, on a single subject. You can test the waters, so to speak and find foundation and basis for assumptions, or you can find out that you about to jump in the deep in of the piranha pool, and decide if that is what you really want to do, without actually doing it first. On this forum, in comparison to the only other forum I actually participate in (www.chocolatelabs.com) is that you have access to no only those with superior time and experience in this profession, but you also have access to government officials, state officials, local board members, and other local and not so local appraisers who are ready, willing and able to help you with an answer, or to help you find an answer, to just about any appraisal related question that you can think of. This kind of information is, sometimes, invaluable to the successful completion of an assignment. The other thing is that the majority of us work alone. In one man offices, from our homes, (from the back of a van...
) and rarely have the opportunity to interact with others in the field. When meeting with the public (i.e. a homeowner) we have to be professional and relatively to the point and can't afford to develop a friendship with them for fear of the appearance of collusion. As previously stated, time spent at classes and CE is brief and one has to stay focused because a lot of information passes very quickly. So that only leaves outlets like this, to be able to interact with others in our field.
What are the forum addresses you check regularly? Links will be provided in the article, and I already have this one!
Other than this one, the one I mentioned previously www.chocolatelabs.com and occasionally I will go to one of the Dodge Truck forums, if I am looking for specific information, but mostly, I stay right here.
As a moderator of this forum, I keep it up in the background all day and into the night. On average, about 12 hours a day±
What have you learned from online forums?
Forums in general, at least the ones that I have looked at or participated in, call on the varied experiences of the membership to provide information to those who are seeking support or resolution to problems. Sometimes general, sometimes specific. This particular forum has been invaluable in its ability to capitalize on the wide and varied experiences of its membership to help those with questions, problems, and readily accepts humor and general comments from both peers and the general public. It has also been invaluable in bringing together a group of professionals who generally do not get to network with others in the field, except at CE or other educational meetings, where time is limited and focus is required. Some of the best friends I have in this world participate in this forum. Some I have met, face to face, and some I have not, but it doesn't seem to matter. As an appraiser I have been able to learn more, stay up to date on the latest trends, laws and rules, and have been able to develop superior relationships with those who have a lot to offer and those who have a lot to learn.
Has there ever been a time when a forum poster helped you online? With a real problem? (taking over an appraisal, sharing comps, etc.)
Too many to count really. I have posters on this forum provide me with information that I could not have otherwise gotten. I have had poster on this forum provide financial assistance when I was unable to work due to an accident. Posters on this forum sent Christmas decorations to my family when my parents house burned. Posters on this forum pray and send positive thought for my daughter and I, daily. This forum in particular, operates more like a family, than a lot of families do. There are times when we bicker, there are times when we disagree, there are times when we laugh and there are times when we cry... but at the end of the day, we can all put our feet under the same table and realize that we have come together in an attempt to help others, improve a profession, give a downtrodden friend a hand up, a kind word, a slap in the face, and yes, even a stab in the back ... and we know that tomorrow when we log in, it is going to start all over again.
What do you like most about forums---the camaraderie or the actual information? Or are both equally important?
I agree that both are equally important. Try making a cake with only eggs, or only flour and see what you get. The advantage to a professional forum like this, is that you can get a wide variation of opinions, on a single subject. You can test the waters, so to speak and find foundation and basis for assumptions, or you can find out that you about to jump in the deep in of the piranha pool, and decide if that is what you really want to do, without actually doing it first. On this forum, in comparison to the only other forum I actually participate in (www.chocolatelabs.com) is that you have access to no only those with superior time and experience in this profession, but you also have access to government officials, state officials, local board members, and other local and not so local appraisers who are ready, willing and able to help you with an answer, or to help you find an answer, to just about any appraisal related question that you can think of. This kind of information is, sometimes, invaluable to the successful completion of an assignment. The other thing is that the majority of us work alone. In one man offices, from our homes, (from the back of a van...
) and rarely have the opportunity to interact with others in the field. When meeting with the public (i.e. a homeowner) we have to be professional and relatively to the point and can't afford to develop a friendship with them for fear of the appearance of collusion. As previously stated, time spent at classes and CE is brief and one has to stay focused because a lot of information passes very quickly. So that only leaves outlets like this, to be able to interact with others in our field.What are the forum addresses you check regularly? Links will be provided in the article, and I already have this one!
Other than this one, the one I mentioned previously www.chocolatelabs.com and occasionally I will go to one of the Dodge Truck forums, if I am looking for specific information, but mostly, I stay right here.
