Proposal to eliminate virtual chasing from Target Area

[Sheila_Ward]

The "virtual" chase posts in the NOW threads may have valid nowcasting info, but I'll never see it because once I see the first sentence I move on. Waste of my time and bandwith (which is premium in the field sometimes).

You got my vote Jeff. If some enjoy the virtual chases then I see no reason why one couldn't be started in the W&C section. The NOW threads used to be geared toward chasers in the field. Not so much anymore, especially with the change of allowing images. There's a big ol' screen shot in yesterdays NOW thread that sucked up so much bandwidth I just quit trying to load it. (think on_the_road, trying to get data via cellphone).

It all comes back to the same old question, is the NOW thread for chasers in the field, or folks watching events unfold from home. I think the answer to that question answers all the others.

 

[David Wolfson]

... and you've got my vote, Sheila. Having been there myself, I know that can be a major issue. One large image sucks up much more bandwidth than dozens of posts of text blather. IMO anything bigger than a thumbnail belongs in Post-storm Discussion. If you're looking at a real-time image you just have to share, then post it as a link people can load if they wish.

 

[Ryan McGinnis]

They kinda bug me too. I guess it's akin to any useless information, even if it's embedded with useful information. Take the following hypothetical post: "I'm eating a grilled cheese sandwich and drinking an orange juice. The LLJ is really ramping up in southern Kansas right now. Sometimes, when nobody is looking, I like to fold my napkin up into a paper crane and make it fight the other napkins. The dryline is bulging in SW Nebraska, but the moisture is getting cut off by the convection in Texas. I need to go to the grocery store soon, I'm running out of Cookie Crisp." I think we can all figure out which parts of that post the world probably doesn't need to hear about. I think it goes the same with "virtual" chases in the NOW threads -- there are enough people ACTUALLY chasing that nobody really cares about the imaginary chases people are running inside their heads. Well, I guess I can only speak for myself. There have actually been a few posts in the NOW thread that consist entirely of "I'm virtually repositioning to Witchita..." with no weather data added at all. I mean, that's nice and all that you've changed the scenery in your head, but why do I need to read about it in the NOW thread?

BTW, I'm not knocking armchair chasing -- I do it too from time to time. It's the only way to drown the tears on days I'm stuck at work during outbreaks in my back yard.

 

[MatthewCarman]

Mabey have a speacial sub board for virtual chasers?

 

[Tim Vasquez]

Mabey have a speacial sub board for virtual chasers?

That idea might have merit, since we don't have the "chase game" hooked up this year. Maybe we can have a subforum that runs as an informal chase simulation. The only problem is preventing an information drain from Target Area into the simulator. We don't want chasers on the road to have to access the simulator board to get data that should be in Target Area. Anyhow we can probably kick the idea around a bit... please discuss it openly rather than PMing me with comments.

As far as the original question, I am still awaiting input from the moderators. Long wave out west, it's May, and everyone is chasing... no problem there.

And, hey, don't anyone be putting down Cookie Crisp! Though right now I could go for some Count Chocula.

Tim

 

[John Diel]

I believe a sub-forum for those doing the "arm chair" chasing (Like me! No cash for gas!) this would be a decent outlet. I agree though with we don't want to take away from valid and hard info that does present in a NOW thread.

After thinking about it a lot today it's a fine line of what's good and what isn't. It's very subjective, but there are some posts that just plain don't belong.

I personally, try to restrict myself from posting iin Now threads unless I can make a valid field observation that may be beneficial to someone on the road. If they can read it on the raod, then generally, they can also get radar information, model information, etc. However, hard eyeballing information is a little harder to come by.

For instance (purely hypothetical) If you're sitting in Wichita, Ks, yes, you can get the latest satellite photo. However, this doesn't always show subtle information seen from the ground. If you want to know what's happening in Stillwater, and know the prevailing winds are blowing whatever is there, your way, then a post of the observation from someone in that area can be helpful. Temp, DP, sky obs, winds, etc. The things you can't always get from radar or METAR. Add to that an opinion of the person posting, and you have a better view of what's south of you than you did before.

One liners suck. Plan and simple. Radar info isn't expressed well in words unless you're a scientist or very well accomplished in that area of meteorology. I can get most of that info myself. If I can't, I can generally call someone who can get that info to me. Posting something like, "I'm virtually heading west to Byers because there's a big hook south of there" does me very little good in the field. It's based on info I already have or can get fairly rapidly. Being in Byers and telling me that there's a striated Supercell with a rapidly rotating wall cloud 3 or 4 miles south moving ENE at 30 mph is information I can use.

Maybe I'm all washed up and look to the Old School of things. But that IMHO works out.

 

[MatthewCarman]

I see it as a way to do "Chase Cases" with events that have not even happened yet. We all love chase cases and virtuall chasing is the same thing. Just my thoughts.

 

[Andrew Pritchard]

I see it as a way to do "Chase Cases" with events that have not even happened yet. We all love chase cases and virtuall chasing is the same thing. Just my thoughts.

What's stopping one from doing that on their own then? I'm not against that... but we don't go and post results from a chase case in a NOW thread that chaser's have to sift through.

While I'm all for virtual chasing itself, I think it should be done seperate from the forecast section threads. If you aren't actually chasing the event, then add your input as a nowcaster. Don't make in the field chasers sift through "make believe" so to speak. If you are not in the field chasing, and want to add input, add it in a format that is beneficial to a chaser. Someone who is actually at the location where you are "virtually" located might be seeing something different, or have very different feelings about the location than you are sitting back at home because it just isn't the same thing. Being somewhere in the target area, and being there virtually are two very different things, and while I don't thin k someone virtually tracking themselves is bad, I don't think a chaser on the go should have to sort through the two different post formats.

 

[Mikey Gribble]

I think everybody needs to lighten up. If a post has meteorological content why should it matter if they are actually chasing or "virtually" chasing. If it doesn't having any useful content then it probably shouldn't be in any thread on the forecast board.
I personally think the "virtual" chases (especially David's) are hilarious. I think the "virtual" a$$ whoppin I am going to put on him the next time I catch him blocking the road is pretty funny too. A little off topic, but in David's defense I did "virtually" bump into him on Friday near DDC and he was pulled off the road all the way this time. He did reek of alcohol, but I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt this time and assume it was from the night before.
There ought to be some room for humor on here. Maybe I'm biased though because I don't use the NOW threads while out chasing.

 

[David Wolfson]

I think the issue some members may have with posts that designate themselves "virtual" can be distilled down to certain words and stylistic phrases within those posts that would fit in a paragraph if collected all together. So I suggest the bandwidth issue be put to rest.

TTI when I'm out burning Saudi oil by the ton next week trying to find photographic merit and spiritual fulfillment from convenience marts, the two restaurants in the state of Kansas still open after nine o'clock, etc., etc., I'd be a little pissed, too. [Gawd. I hope the models get more hopeful!] Here's some guys/gals sitting in air conditioned comfort with an atlas in one hand and a mouse in the other, connected to megabit broadband, fantasizing about how they got a good night's sleep in virtual DDC and are "on the road" to their "target". Meanwhile you just paid the $60 bill for Flea Bag Inn and $40 to fill your tank in Colby, etc. I get it.

With the above in mind I'd suggest for discussion the following with respect to virtual posting in F & N:

A virtual post is comments about conditions and chase movement intentions that do not represent the poster's own situation and direct experience or knowledge. It may be "chase case" gaming, nowcasting, wanna-be nowcasting, or posts made by one field team regarding conditions elsewhere. It's all virtual posting, IMO.

I think virtual postings in F & N should always clearly identify themselves as such. A consistent, geeky low-bandwidth way to do this might be just to include a 'V' in brackets ([V]).

Posts should not load images larger than 10kb or so. Anything bigger should be linked for optional loading.

Virtual posters should be aware and "keep the channel clear" when real-time events are unfolding.

On-point location and movement commentary is useful in both direct and virtual posts. Virtual posters are often in fact focused on specific areas, with better access to data and maps. This can be A Very Good Thing for a chaser in the field who doesn't happen to be hooked up to their own personal nowcaster.

I've personally started to adopt a possible way to accomodate "chase case" virtual posters while hopefully addressing the other issues. A virtual poster gaming a particular day only enters at most one post in each of FCST and NOW. The posts are identified up-front as a virtual "chase case". The poster then edits the post, adding time-stamped entries as their virtual day unfolds. I think this should be very easy on the temperament and bandwidth for uninterested members because they will remain scrolled-back in the thread. On the other hand a field chaser might want to contact one of the day's gamers/nowcasters, and knows who's on-point.

 

[Glenn Dixon]

As far as I can tell the unknown chaser is the only one posting these virtual chases. So unknown chaser, if you would simply refrain from the virtual chase comments, while still contributing radar observations, etc., that would pretty much solve the whole problem. Would you be interested in doing that?

 

[B Ozanne]

As far as I can tell xxx is the only one posting these virtual chases. So xxx, if you would simply refrain from the virtual chase comments, while still contributing radar observations, etc., that would pretty much solve the whole problem. Would you be interested in doing that?

Sounds like an easy solution.

 

[David Wolfson]

Well, a number of people have brought up issues with respect to "virtual chasing" and F & N posts that are not addressed at a particular individual. So I'd certainly go along with common solutions and improvements, but I'm not favorable to being singled out for scrutiny. In fact TTI I resent it a little bit.

[Edit: On reflection I'm more than a little bit resentful at being publicly singled out by some drive-by one-liners after putting some time, thought, and reflection on how to make this board better. I would appreciate it if mods would delete this and any other posts in these threads that single me out by name.]

 

[Darren Addy]

I'm going to stick by my virtual comments on this topic that were virtually posted earlier in the thread (by which I mean that there were none).

 

[B Ozanne]

Well, a number of people have brought up issues with respect to "virtual chasing" and F & N posts that are not addressed at a particular individual. So I'd certainly go along with common solutions and improvements, but I'm not favorable to being singled out for scrutiny. In fact TTI I resent it a little bit.

[Edit: On reflection I'm more than a little bit resentful at being publicly singled out by some drive-by one-liners after putting some time, thought, and reflection on how to make this board better. I would appreciate it if mods would delete this and any other posts in these threads that single me out by name.]

I think this whole thread should be deleted.