Poll: should EcoModder ban certain forum topics? (HHO, magnets, Ram Implosion Wings)

[Weather Spotter]

I vote for a sub forum / quarantine area. give it a good name like "need a laugh? check these non proven claims "

[gone-ot]

..."The Snake-Oil Den"?

[order99]

My vote? let the Unicorns run free throughout the site.

My reasoning? I happen to be one of those poorly-educated Plebes described earlier. My High School filled my head with Grammar, Literature, History since revealed to be more propaganda than fact, and just enough Physics, Chemistry and Biology to be a danger to myself, and the rudiments of a foreign language(French for some reason...). The entire curriculum lacked any basic mechanics courses(Just buy a replacement!) economics(just swipe the credit card) or philosophy(why would you need to learn Critical Thinking in school?). In short, the entire school was designed to feed us full of things we needed to fastrack us into College...

Reaganomics put paid to all my Pell Grant hopes and I have since spent my life working low-wage jobs where they teach you Just Enough to do the job but not enough to help you get a better job. A few years ago I went in debt for the first time in my life to get IT certified-one A+ and Network+ later, I work in a Call center for a Medicare-based private insurance company, listening to an endless stream of complaints from customers so the Bigwigs don't have to(just above minimum wage, thanks for asking)....

Er, got off topic a bit there. Point is, i'm not technical-minded, and lack a certain...depth in my education (trying desperately to rectify that a bit at a time). I'm just the type to fall for a feasible-sounding scam-

But then I wound up here at Ecomodder, and got the benefit of all your collective experience. Despite my lack of technical skill(and money, and time, etc) I and my '93 Festiva have benefitted from the collective wisdom here. I have also been disabused of some reasonable sounding theories concerning Engine Theory, Aerodynamics, HHO etc...and may I add that I would have never bothered to click on a Unicorn Pen or Junk Science Sub-forum in order to be so disabused.

So I vote the Threads continue...use Stickies or a gentle "We discussed this before (link) and welcome New Guy" or similar measures.

And in case I haven't mentioned it...Thank You for all the help i've recieved here.

[Piwoslaw]

This discussion is becoming magnetizing

Originally Posted by Old Tele man

...simply create a separate, special page, called "THE TRASH CAN", with the subtitle: where garbage is discovered, researched, mulched, fermented and decomposed (wink,wink).

Trash can be recycled, but only if it is valuable. Throw everything into the Padded Trash Can for Unicorn Droppings subforum and let it live its own life. If inteligent life sprouts (it is proven to actually work), then it can start knocking on the side of the can in Morse code to tell us that it's ready to get out and be invited into our parlor. Wipe your shoes first, please.

I would not ban the snake oil discussion. As mentioned earlier, people may come here with HHO and/or magnets not knowing any better. They read some threads and see that there is no hard evidence for, but quite a bit against, so they let it go. We can count how many people have tried to turn us into HHO fans, but who knows how many have understood that it's not worth diddly-squat thanks to reading what we had to say about it?

[JasonG]

We need to find a balance here.
"The trash can" etc is a bit harsh.
Perhaps a subforum "Unproven Theories" may seem better.

Heck, I would've posted the thread about the tool box in the bed of my pickup there. I still can't find proof of why it helps.

We should welcome the new guys but not add to the hoaxes. While a thread may get closed, the electrons stay around and add to the Google searches for hoax ________.

[Frank Lee]

But much of the garbage isn't "unproven", it's proven to be garbage and it is a waste to rehash it ad infinitum.

[JackMcCornack]

I'm on a sports car homebuilders forum that was losing the signal-to-noise wars to these same characters (different people, but same characters) and it helped immensely when we added a "In theory it could work" forum. It seemed a neutral enough name that it didn't cause offense. I favor a bin, not a ban.

[Christ]

Sorry, Darin - Not reading the whole thread this time.

However, I implore you to consider that some of these threads, while providing comic relief for some, are also educative to others.

For instance - though there is no known science to back up the claims of improved engine characteristics through the use of magnets, et al on the fuel lines or other parts of a vehicle, one might consider it true or false in their own mind. Through looking and searching both online and in the annals of history, I'm sure, One might find that the "idea" has been disproven countless times.

History has already proven (repetitively) that repetition is a form of education - so the more times we disprove a theory or idea, the more likely it is that someone else will stumble upon that thread and enlighten themselves.

Plus, I feel like a ban on topics would be relative to censorship. Not a fan.

[Ang84Indy]

Against a ban, better to have a forum for such subject matter.

[dremd]

Ban ONLY the totally bunk topics. HHO, Fuel line magnets are all I can think of, otherwise let it roll.