- Joined
- Nov 25, 2007
- Messages
- 9,295
I thought this might be most appropriate for the "off topic" forum.
I can't remember when I first found the Service Academy Forum website, but I do know it was after I had graduated from the Coast Guard Academy.
What I've seen is both impressive and disturbing. What's impressive to me is the discourse and collection of experiences, from old academy grads (I won't say who that label applies to) to old vets to recent graduates to current cadets/midshipmen to prospective cadets/midshipmen.
What I've found disturbing is the over-dependance some prospective cadets/midshipmen have on the forums. I get the feeling some people hop on the forums and just start asking questions, having never researched the subjects themselves. Heck, it's called google, that's how many people answer your questions.
SAF is great for answers that aren't found on a website or in a book, answers that come from the collective experience of people here.
There are questions....most questions in fact, that was available online. Want to know the differences between each service's OCS program? LOOK IT UP!!! Want to know when things are due to each school? LOOK IT UP!!!
I skip over a number of questions that arise because of the laziness of the poster. People applied to service academies LONG before SAF....before Google.... before the internet....and before computers.
SAF and its members are great resources....but don't abuse them. Do some of the work on your own.
I can't remember when I first found the Service Academy Forum website, but I do know it was after I had graduated from the Coast Guard Academy.
What I've seen is both impressive and disturbing. What's impressive to me is the discourse and collection of experiences, from old academy grads (I won't say who that label applies to) to old vets to recent graduates to current cadets/midshipmen to prospective cadets/midshipmen.
What I've found disturbing is the over-dependance some prospective cadets/midshipmen have on the forums. I get the feeling some people hop on the forums and just start asking questions, having never researched the subjects themselves. Heck, it's called google, that's how many people answer your questions.
SAF is great for answers that aren't found on a website or in a book, answers that come from the collective experience of people here.
There are questions....most questions in fact, that was available online. Want to know the differences between each service's OCS program? LOOK IT UP!!! Want to know when things are due to each school? LOOK IT UP!!!
I skip over a number of questions that arise because of the laziness of the poster. People applied to service academies LONG before SAF....before Google.... before the internet....and before computers.
SAF and its members are great resources....but don't abuse them. Do some of the work on your own.