Where are they?
I love this forum and use the live feed services quite a bit. But, I wonder where are the active General Aviation Forums or Professional Aviation Forums? I've been on JetCareers and that other Airlines Pilot forum, only to be very disappointed with the massively large dose of ego driven people, feinting to be helpful, polite and courteous. The level of ego on those two forums in particular, is staggering and I won't waste anymore of my valuable time on those two forums in particular. But, I've heard the same things about other "aviation" forums as well and I just don't understand this kind of "online aviation culture."
I'm just starting out getting involved with aviation from a certification standpoint, but I've been interested and involved with aviation since I was a young kid. Most of the people I met years ago in aviation were good quality human beings. The kind of people you would not mind going out to lunch with, or spending some time flying with occasionally - really nice people. However, if I had never actually been out there in contact with people in the General Aviation Community and my only experience was encountering such people that you find in places like JetCareers or Airline Pilots Forum, then I'd be completely turned off from ever wanted to get involved in the business or the community.
Why is there such a huge divergence between the pilots you meet in places like JC and APF -vs- what you meet out on the ramp? Quite frankly, with the "attitudes" that you find in places like that online, I think that they are doing themselves and the entire industry a disservice with their arrogant online behavior.
Better yet, why not just open up a General Aviation sub-forum on this site! This is the best site I've seen thus far and for the most part, people here seem to at least show some respect for each other. As a new guy to the certification process, I don't want to have to log-on to forums like that, with questions, nor do I want to have to seeking advice from such arrogant people as you find on some other forums.
For some reason, I just took it for granted that all the pilots in the world of aviation were descent people with good attitudes. I guess I just hate to think that the thing I live so much (airplanes and flying) can also contain such high levels of self-centered individuals and rude attitudes. I was hoping that the world of aviation was going to be that last great slice of humanity, where everyone involved behaved like a quality human beings - kind, polite, cordial, professional, selfless, ethically and intellectually honest - you know, descent - the way we were all reared by our parents.
Maybe I was just dream'n?
I vote for a General Aviation component to THIS forum!