I've just started posting here, so I may be one of the people referred to. Hope not.

One of the reasons I started posting here is that I saw so much incredible misinformation. It's not the fault of the mods or good posters as far as I can see--it's pretty clear who has their s*** together. The problem is what happens a lot on message boards...a lot of questions posted by people who

a) Don't know basics.
b) Don't read clearly identified FAQs/important stuff.
c) Ask questions that have been answered 1000 times in the last year and/or can;'t be answered at all. ("Im growing two bagseed plants. what do u think I will yeild?")

After a while, it must get pretty tiring for the good posters seeing the same basic questions asked over...and over...and over. I'd get tired of answering too. I'm a mod on a (totally different) web site's message board. Same thing. So a lot of the people that do respond to these questions give wildly inaccurate or not-very-helpful answers.

I think some of it is unintentional. I posted a fairly long post in indoor lighting about CFL and HPS lumens vs. watts for newbie growers, because I've seen so many people talk about watts without knowing what they are or how they're different depending on lighting type. I'm old--relatively speaking--so I know enough to keep it simple. Lumens are more accurate than watts for figuring out light needs. Use reflectors when possible so you use the light you've got instead of just throwing in more lights/heat/stress. Paint walls white or use mylar. Have good ventilation, etc. A very nice poster responded with a cut-and-paste about PAR watts. It was technically right...but few lights list PAR watts, it's not markedly more accurate than just using lumens (which pretty much everyone lists), and it's next to impossible for people outside the U.S. to get that sorta info. I tried to respond politely--most of the questions in that particular thread are by people growing in small to medium size areas, and a lot of them get more lost than anything when you introduce something else into the equation. Like a couple of others, I'm trying to offer small, practical advice where it seems necessary.

It's got to be a pain for mods to try and respond to Every. Damn. Stupid. Question. And it's just as painful to watch lousy information go out. At a certain point, though, it's the responsibility of the individual to take charge of his/her education...there are certainly enough stickies and clearly named topics to get a mildly motivated person started. It's not like "Grow FAQs" or "*** PLEASE READ AND GOOGLE SEARCH BEFORE POSTING A QUESTION ***" are confusing. Seems to me that given the amount of, uh. stuff that the mods have to wade through, they do a good job. Just my long winded .02.