Proposal to eliminate virtual chasing from Target Area

[Robert Dewey]

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?

Did you not read the 4th or 5th post in this thread? the one where Tim specifically states that he's removing the name of the offender(s) -

I'm also removing the poster's name from your message to prevent this from escalating beyond the basic issue at hand.

I don't think calling people out solves much of anything; David (and a few others) are the only one here actually trying to come up with a solution. Without their posts, this whole thread is nothing but garbage.

 

[Paul Knightley]

Over in the UK, on another weather board, we do virtual chasing, as we're not in the US, but arer very interested in the synoptics, dynamics etc, and it's good practice for when we come over. Now and again I'll post my target area on Stormtrack, just to see where I would "hope" to be if I was over chasing (which I will be in 1 week's time).

However, I don't then post tons of "pretend" chasing stuff on Stormtrack, as there's plenty of real-time, in the field posts coming in - we can do our UK virtual chasing on the other weather board. I can see that the threads on ST would become very cluttered if virtual chasing and real chasing were being reported/discussed side by side.

 

[Darren Addy]

How about a one question survey on the topic? I'll share the results with the class.

Also, there is no need to single out a particular forum member in this thread. You can do that using the forum's Advanced Search feature and restricting your search to a given poster and a given forum.

 

[MatthewCarman]

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.

Yeah I was refering to the idea of a sub forum but guess you did not see that. Ouch Glenn no need to single out any one person here.

 

[Darren Addy]

This is an issue for the board mods. But those of you (including you mods) who do not think this is a problem (and breaking Target Area rules) I say (with all due respect) you are not paying attention.

Honestly, what do you think of the quality of posts like these to a NOW thread?

Will virtually be in Shattuck, OK, about 2130Z. Gas, data, and window time. The XXX nowcaster is waiting for the vis sat to update, but thinks he sees a vertical development Of Interest back behind me near Canadian.

Ive been virtually hanging in Shattuck, torn between the thought of blasting south to catch the Shamrock cell, and hitching onto the rather ponderously developing storm just to my east. #1 just doesn't tickle my nickel, so I'm choosing the east option toward Woodward. If the LBB and CHD developments reflect a little wave running up toward me, then where it meets the best low-level flow is where I'd want to be (at least until the southern storms TOR, as they probably will....)

Have virtually relocated to Seiling, OK, ESE of Woodward, to anticipate development on the inflow side of the old Shamrock cell(s) running my way. All in all, though, I'd say Silverton was the place to be today. Congrats to all!

This is my personal opinion, but I think that there is a big difference between somebody who is posting nowcasting info from their office and somebody who is doing it while stating that things are moving "towards me" ("me" being the pretend me who is "virtually" out there, while the nowcaster back in XXX is the "real" me). There's nothing wrong with playing make-believe from in front of your monitor, but SERIOUSLY is it welcome in a Target Area NOW thread?

 

[Glenn Dixon]

Did you not read the 4th or 5th post in this thread? the one where Tim specifically states that he's removing the name of the offender(s) -

No, I didn't

I don't think calling people out solves much of anything; David (and a few others) are the only one here actually trying to come up with a solution. Without their posts, this whole thread is nothing but garbage.

Well, here's my two cents. I did a search on the words virtual and virtually in the F&N forum. All the 'virtual chase' posts I found were from one person. Then I find that same person in this thread discussing how best to handle the situation, as if he were merely one of dozens of people posting virtual chase info in the F&N threads. Logic overtook me and I addressed that one particular individual directly. The fact is, if this ONE PERSON just stopped posting the extra virtual-chat stuff in those threads this whole issue would be gone and this thread would be unneccesary.

I'm not trying to be rude, seriouvly, just pointing out the obvious (which obviously isn't quite so obvious as I thought)

 

[Jay McCoy]

To me its pretty simple. If your going to post about chasing then you should be chasing. If your just looking at a monitor interpreting data then it should be in a nowcaster type setting. Pretending to get calls from nowcasters and get gas and food is a bit childish. I am all for people posting wx related information like they can see an impulse coming in through west texas or towers building here or there but to say "I am virtually heading to xxx because xxx just doesnt feel right is nuts. There is a world of difference in what you see on a screen and what you see in the sky "in target". I will take what I see over basic data anyday. Nowcasters can be vital and posting that info is fine but to have pretend nowcasters so you can pretend to be out there in the field?? just suck it up, spend the $$ and get out there. when it comes to chasing nothing else matters.

Ofcourse it wont bug me if the mods allow it to continue. It has become quite the running joke among many chasers out there. At least most of the ones I heard talking about it at the usual convergences. I dont read tghe now threads while in the field anyway so doesnt influence me in the least. I prefer to do my own interpreting of data and skies.

 

[Ryan McGinnis]

I don't think Glenn meant any harm; this issue really IS about one specific poster. The poster isn't being singled out so much as singling themselves out, since they're the only one on Storm Track posting virtual chases to the F&N threads and they're choosing to participate in this thread, too. Still, we can easily debate the merits of allowing people to post their virtual chases in the F&N threads without mentioning that person, since, at least IMO, it's a pretty dumb thing to have floating around the F&N threads no matter who's doing it.

However this turns out, remember that you can add users to your ignore list in your control panel and their posts won't show up for you. In fact, if you're worried about making the NOW threads useful in the field again, you can probably acheive this yourself just by picking a random big event thread and blocking everyone whose posts bother you.

 

[Will Astle]

Not trying to beat a dead horse...but I was thinking that if you chastise someone for posting virtual chases you might force them to start lying about the chase (not saying Glenn would do that...) which would be even worse than someone posting a virtual chase.

I know we all hold each other accountable for our comments and content but lets not poo-poo the entire idea of virtual chasing. It does have it's merits and it does have a great deal of 'learning value'.

 

[Rob Herman]

A virtual chaser would probably not be aware of closed roads during his chase. If an actual chaser where to glance through the post and not notice that it's a "virtual" chase may be mislead by this and find his escape route is blocked, thinking that a previous chaser made it through just minutes before. Just my $0.02 worth.

 

[Bryan Putnam]

I understand that virtual chasing may provide helpful nowcasting insight, but I agree that its just full of meaningless clutter. Over this past weekend I would check ST while I was out chasing and found several virtual chasing posts that just annoyed me because i wanted to hear from the people actually out there.

 

[John Diel]

I've seen some interesting points brought up. Especially in the interest of safety. I've also seen this starting to disolve into a "He said, She said, flame like war (though not as bad as some in the past.

Tim asked that those who wished to, discuss this freely. It's happening and that's a good thing.

Reference the "Virtual" posting. I think this may need to take in a larger perspective rather than just a single persons post. There are other posts that don't mention "virtual" in word, but are plainly "Arm Chair" chasing. This is an example: "Hmmm... I think I would be heading up 283 to catch that meso with the big hook"

Not "Virtual" but certainly not first hand, nor a good nowcast. The things that get me are the ones that simply say, "the storm outside XXX has got a monster hook, Wow, those folks better look out!" Something like this, IMHO, should inlude the direction of the storm, Conditions surrounding the storm, Information that would actually be helpful to someone looking at this.

Now, I would also bet that most chasers in the field aren't looking at ST once "Tally Ho!" has been sounded and they are actually on the storm. I have seen a couple of posts though that go that direction with someone stating that they are looking at a particular cell and trying to determine the best way to intercept it. Same goes for your favorite flavor of radar viewer. It's a great tool, but once your actually on the storm, you're only going to glance at it and keep your eyes on the road and storm.

My belief is to keep the forcasting section a useful tool as well as a learning tool. Not a section where it's a free for all in posts that tell us something we already know or have no real use at all.

I do believe, however, that virtual/arm chair chasing can be a very useful tool in learning how to read the info we are given and then compare this to what we actually read about from a Now Thread or Report thread. I just don't think it's place is in a Now thread.

 

[David Wolfson]

I am restraining myself on this thread with respect to a few posters. If a few posters believe there is a problem with a single member than forum rules are quite specific that it should be taken up privately in PM and/or with the mods. Snidely replacing a name with "unknown poster" and piling on are double fouls unworthy of those people IMO.

People have to account to themselves and to higher powers about what and how they think of other people. I hope they give it more thought, but no one needs to read it on this forum.

I think the issue of stylistics in virtual posts has been fully and fairly addressed, and certain lessons learned. Now how about we return to the substantive discussions with respect to virtual posts, and to unnecessary content in direct posts in F & N threads? While we're at it, let's try to respect one another a bit more.

There's plenty of grist for discussion from many virtual posters aka self-perceived nowcasters in F & N to move things along here.

 

[Bill Tabor]

To me its pretty simple. If your going to post about chasing then you should be chasing. If your just looking at a monitor interpreting data then it should be in a nowcaster type setting. Pretending to get calls from nowcasters and get gas and food is a bit childish. I am all for people posting wx related information like they can see an impulse coming in through west texas or towers building here or there but to say "I am virtually heading to xxx because xxx just doesnt feel right is nuts. There is a world of difference in what you see on a screen and what you see in the sky "in target". I will take what I see over basic data anyday. Nowcasters can be vital and posting that info is fine but to have pretend nowcasters so you can pretend to be out there in the field?? just suck it up, spend the $$ and get out there. when it comes to chasing nothing else matters.

I haven't been reading / keeping up with all this related to virtual chasing, but you make a good point here, and so does Darren Addy above with the examples.

The few times I've noticed it, it didn't bother me that much, but now I see that it isn't just saying I am now virtually here, and would be moving to here about X if I was chasing. These examples are of complete fictional chasing - not just virtual. Fiction meaning that it contains an element that is not real and is in fact just made up. As such it violates the bandwidth rule of all this Target Area and is just background noise. Those that know me from Wx-Chase all know I can be extremely verbose in a chase report, etc. Imagine if I started making up NOW or REPORT threads, etc...Virtually me and X are sitting at the Exxon at Seymore near the intersection hwy 80 where the big Jack In The Box is. Long story short X had a bit of a problem with the Super Tacos and is stuck in the John while the inbound convection is taking off. Don't know if we'll be able to make Wheeler now. Got a [v] call from my nowcaster Y and he said it looks to him like the southern most cell has the most potential. If X can get out of the John we might have a shot, but I'm starting to seriously doubt it.

LOL! Trust me I could go on and on and on. There is no purpose to this in Target Area. If enough people want to do it then it should have it's own section. I could see it if it is just limited to being a viewpoint that a nowcaster or forecaster uses to illustrate their basic information and it is kept short, and concise, but when it becomes completely fictional and verbose it is a problem.

Let me add others have expressed a frustration when they read a post such as NOW and think it is someone in the field when it is not. This can be frustrating and confusing. People don't really have time to sift through and determine what is real and what isn't.

 

[Jason A.C. Brock]

There is a little botton on the bottom right of your screen that looks like a down arrow. If you push it....it will go to the next post you want to see. Takes .5 seconds....trust me....its there.
Im actually impressed how accurate some of the virtual posts are compared to even some who are out in the field and write one sentence. I do agree that it needs to be let known these are virtual posts. However I see no harm in them. If your net connection isnt fast enough to get you past one post then its usually useless anyways.
Not everyone can chase every system every day every week of every month. If they chase virtually to derive some pleasure out of life then so be it. J
Just another example of someone chasing someone else away because they dont like a little change.