howie ll = not active

the12volt wrote: kreg357 wrote:    Can't speak for anyone else, but I sure miss Howie II's vast experience, accurate answers and satirical humor.   Same here.

So we all want to know, will he be back????? We miss Howie - without him the rookies will take over!Kevin Pierson

Kevin, I certainly hope so. the12volt • Support the12volt.com

I noticed he is no longer Platinum, but silver... wth? I am Gold with a mere 3k posts. Howie II has more than treble that. Not that IMO numbers count - it's the quality of the reply, and Howie leaves me for dead on that score. (IE - specific detail & knowledge, and concise!) And his humor is way superior (bonus!). I did notice he became merely Gold () sometime ago for reasons I don't understand. I can only assume he was told why. (I expect such feedback and interaction from "amateur" forums. As to professional forums, I'd expect matching professional conduct. FYI - to demote a worker here without reason is illegal.) But now Howie II is a paltry Silver! I did see a recent thread where his reply was apparently deleted. I heard it might have been because of misunderstood humor. If so, I hope it was a result of a complaint though that too should have been handled interactively. [FYI - it is illegal here to take offense on behalf of someone else {unless an elected representative}. That was done to stop exponentially rising social trouble - eg, religious groups offended by Christmas [indeed! LOL] and similar assumptions or allegations.] I had a "3 points and I'm out" from groups and forums. Maybe Howard has something similar? If the trouble is Howard's sometimes apt albeit unruly curt replies, maybe it is time for an additional rating that is separate to member's technical rating? I know elsewhere people have a "Platinum" rating but with an "approach with a stick" adjunct.

oldspark wrote: If the trouble is Howard's sometimes apt albeit unruly curt replies, maybe it is time for an additional rating that is separate to member's technical rating? I know elsewhere people have a "Platinum" rating but with an "approach with a stick" adjunct.

This made me laugh. In Howie's case you would need three separate ratings - technical knowledge, interaction with sensible people, and interaction with people who think they already know everything while in reality they are rookies with no knowledge at all! Kevin Pierson

Ha! I think I'd need that rating too. On the12volt I still seem to turn my sarcastic thoughts into diplomacy (eg, calling it a common or understandable mistake, or transferring blame to those that promote diode isolators for dual batteries etc). But there have been MANY times when I have thought "Holy cow Howard, tell the dude she/he is an fwit!". Howard's tolerance and persistence IMO far eclipses any occasional (and totally understandable!) lapses he has. I know I regard him as superhuman, but for Pete's sake, he is only human. Actually I regard Howard's comments as being a safety valve. They probably often express our thoughts. In my case, they definitely prevent me launching into sarcastic tirades. It's probably for that reason that I now have an increased interest in this situation. Similar situations elsewhere have had a profound effect on my status with them. This situation touched things I have not yet had to consider here. Certainly I expect Howard to have a right of reply - EVERYONE has that whether it be a murderer's right to a Defence, or a retailer/manufacturer etc like those hereon "making good" product defects etc) - even if it's only to explain, or correct a misunderstanding, or apologise etc. And I still feel that admin & mods should communicate (to the writer) why or what is wrong etc (except perhaps if it's obvious). I have even started to reconsider why certain "attacks" on me or (IMO) other ridiculous statements (eg, using VA to measure amplifier performance, or voltage dividers for high-current applications) weren't actioned. But luckily I am a mere contributor. I have no career with car installs etc. LOL - I think I was Silver before I even knew this site had a rating system!

Howard's really missed, i hope the mods bring him back soon. :(

      A BIG Ditto to the T&T Tech post!  

Soldering is fun!

A BIG UNDERLINED ITALICIZED DITTO

i am an idiot wrote: A BIG UNDERLINED ITALICIZED DITTO

Saw this warning on another forum... Thought of Howie... "WARNING" The views and opinions of this forum user might not be suitable for others, this user may appear to be heavily over-medicated, under medicated, intoxicated, listening to the voices in his head or just plain being an ass, so some viewers may be offended!~!!!M.E.C.P & First-Class

Go slow and drink lots of water...Procrastinators' Unite...Tomorrow!

I reckon Howard is gone. I think his last post was around new year though I only found a post circa 22Dec12. (the12volt's records/stats are flawed - a thread update modifies the post date of its contributors. Even google didn't help - except maybe searching its caches.) To me that indicates he is gone. He is not on holiday - IMO something has upset him. I suspect it's for reasons that I outlined earlier. However I note that admin seem to empathise with other replies hereon; maybe even concur with my views! That encourages me since I think it will require communication by admin to bring Howard back. An alternative may be discussion with or amongst his peers, eg, if others hereon were to give consideration to his recent demotion and whatever caused it, and how to avoid similar in the future.