Re: 73P/Schwassman

CNJ999 wrote:
I offered my earlier post simply to dispell any misunderstanding of the
situation regarding 73P following many posts about how much fainter the
comet was relative to the predictions. If visitors here were to come to
believe that 73P's brightening and visibility were acting in a most
unusual manner it could lead to all sorts of misconceptions about the
object's behavior...when, in fact, what is currently being seen is
precisely what was anticipated by those observers familiar with a
comet's prominence (or lack thereof) at small geocentric distances.

Gregg, the reason that you have not recieved support from members of
the serious comet observing community in you endeavors is the result of
the manner in which you conduct yourself. Your frequent rants and
tirades against a host of other well known observers on comets m-l has
caused you to be regarded as an eccentric by most folks there. Your
last such outburst would have likely resulted in the moderator removing
you from comets m-l had you not withdrawn temporarily on your own. If
you wish to be accepted on such a forum as a peer, you need to make a
serious attitude adjustment.

You are living in a fantasy world, John. I was never kicked off that group and no moderator ever said I was in danger of being removed.

The fact is I was mistreated as a newbie who wanted to learn. It's well known among newbies that they are not welcome at comets-ml. It's not just me. I wanted to learn how to do magnitude estimates. Given my training as a professional photometrist I thought I would be able to get a handle on it pretty quickly. By quickly, I mean by practicing on my own first for several years! But then I discovered, like so many others, that I could not reproduce the observations of you and the other "elite." When I turned to you for help, your answer, again and again, was that I was too inexperienced! How unhelpful. What I eventually found out was that the entire estimate process used by the "serious" comet community is inherently flawed and entirely subjective! If pressed, they send you on a wild goose chase, saying on the one hand that you should never try to reproduce anyone else's observations and then on the other claiming that it's the only way to make observations that will eventually be accepted as useful. Catch-22.

Unfortunately I have come to realize that the comet community is dominated by a few egomaniacs like you who are drawn to comet hunting simply because they want the attention they can get from having their name attached to one.

For the record folks, the really big argument on comets-ml centered on whether or not the comet observations reported should be withheld for a period of time so that other observers wouldn't report what they expect to see. I have two problems with that, one practical and one entirely philosophical. In practical terms I'm trying to interest more people in Comet Chasing (recreational comet observing) and the latest data is necessary to help ordinary observers be successful. My philosophical argument is that if so many comet observers employ such poor observational practices and have such a poor understanding of basic scientific methods then there is a much larger problem that should be addressed. Withholding observations is a band aid solution that does not address the real problem. In general I see a need for an education program for "serious" comet observers. To top it off, the number of observers in North America making estimates has dropped to a mere handful. Unfortunately the culture that exists in the comet community--the same culture that has led to these problems--leads to self-centered people who refuse to get off their asses to make things better.

Not once did you, John, simply say: well, that's your opinion and here is mine. Instead it was one disrespectful, condescending tirade after another, that eventually disintegrated into hurtful personal attacks. And I can say with my head held high that I did not respond with personal attacks of my own. If it sounds like I'm blowing off some pent-up steam here now, then that's likely so. Whew! Glad to finally get it off my chest.

--
Greg Crinklaw
Astronomical Software Developer
Cloudcroft, New Mexico, USA (33N, 106W, 2700m)

SkyTools: http://www.skyhound.com/cs.html
Observing: http://www.skyhound.com/sh/skyhound.html
Comets: http://www.skyhound.com/sh/comets.html

To reply take out your eye
.

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