The Future of JC

I hope this forum sticks around. It was the first flying forum that I came across when Googling questions I had in my private pilot training. It has been a great community, and I have learned a lot from the other members. It has also been fun to fly with a few of the other members.

I guess some dynamics have changed as many of us have reached our career goals, and new generations aren't in here asking questions / networking. At the end of the day it is still a worthwhile place to share opinions about industry happenings, and provide some fellowship.
 
Taking a contrarian view: I don’t think The Lav should be restricted in any way.

Those discussions and remarks are still going to happen. That will go down in one of three ways:

1. The Lav doesn’t exist and they work their way into regular threads. Things get derailed, some threads get toxic, everything’s watered down. Not good, but people can still express themselves.

2. Current state. Some discussions start or migrate there on their own. Others get moved. Things are relatively peaceful; the derailments that happen are organic, friendly banter and tangents. Good.

3. Lav access is restricted. People find their posts moved to somewhere they either can’t see or is restricted behind a paywall. They feel like their ideas are being censored or otherwise disallowed. Those ideas don’t stop, though, so instead, they move somewhere where they can be expressed. JC loses a member. Worst.

JC has a unique user base in that a lot of members aren’t entirely anonymous, like on much of social media. Because of that, people are generally better behaved than comparable networks, like Facebook groups or even APC.

There’s outliers, sure. But I really don’t see things getting so out of hand to the point that it’s actually turning away users - I mean, it’s called The Lav, people are smart enough to know what that means. When the rare ban happens, it’s clearly needed and widely supported.

Mods and users are self policing well. I see downsides to changing that.
 
Everybody bitching about the Lav is a snowflake. Allow me to retort.

The Lav is potentially an important tool. It is assumed that the most inept at flying an airplane will be washed out at some point in the training process. It seems the big holdups are getting hired at a major, and/or various career progression issues. These all go deep into the "Is this person an ahole or not"? and "Is this someone I want to spend hours with locked in a little room"? The ability to communicate, disagree, artfully engage (or disengage) will not be found in any of the more focused, airplane related forums. We are all amazed at the progression of @jhugz because we've witnessed him go from feral, extremely opinionated kid to respected major airline captain who is paying it back. I would submit that the rhetorical beatings and lessons he learned in the Lav, mixing it up, helped him in this way. Likewise, it also helps deselect people that seem reasonable in other forums to save the CP asking "What the hell were you thinking when you walked this jackasses resume into my office?". So, just another point of view here.
 
WacoFan said:
It is assumed that the most inept at flying an airplane will be washed out at some point in the training process.
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This is the falsest assumption I've ever held to be true in my life. Becoming a check airman was... fascinating?
WacoFan said:
I would submit that the rhetorical beatings and lessons he learned in the Lav, mixing it up, helped him in this way.
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@jhugz was just afraid that he would end up sleeping on a pool floatie and living in a flop-house that was periodically raided by the police.
 
Nobody asked me and I'm two weeks late but coming back to JC after a 10 year (completely unjustified smdh) ban, my observations were:

1) Holy crap these guys talk way too much about politics now
2) Where's all the industry talk

I guess the zeitgeist has changed overall where political discussion seemingly happens in every online space, and pilots being the "Often in error, never in doubt" type of folks espouse their political opinions with the surety that only someone who doesn't have to maintain social ties with their coworkers can do.

I don't know how you do it but the solution imo would be something that discourages 5000 page threads about how the politician with the X colored tie is fascist/communist/reptilian/a cyborg and encourage more discussion in General Topics (but the homogeneity of the industry vis-a-vis 2005 is something that may make the latter harder to do)
 
I used to be an active member here, but I am just a lurker now. I thought I might throw my two cents in here, and that it pretty much all it is worth. I have medicaled out of the profession and don’t have much to offer. I came to Jetcareers in 2006 looking for some career advice. I found the community very welcoming and eager to help each other. There was definitely a sense of people trying to “pay it forward” in whatever way they could. I definitely miss that version of JC.

JC was a much more friendly place when the majority of members were flight instructors and regional pilots. There is definitely a sense of elitism that did not used to be here. I am all for trying to move up and better yourself, but you should never forget where you came from. Elitism is definitely a turn off to new visitors.

Then there is the Lavatory. Sweet baby back ribs up in heaven, look at all the political threads! I think that charging a small fee for access to the Lav is a good idea. Those that really want to post there will gladly pay the fee. Those that just want to focus on aviation related threads will be dissuaded from going there.

Starting a Discord channel or using some other medium to reach the younger generation is also a good idea. When I mention a web forum to a younger person, they look at me the same way I look at someone who says that they still use dial up internet.

I have great respect for @derg for starting JC and keeping it going. This website helped me and so many other people. Although the aviation career did not quite work out for me, I would love to see JC thrive and help a new generation of aviators. Paying it forward is still something that I try to do in all aspects of my life.
 
Hi - crazy to be back and see my name posted twice in this post. As pointed out I was here from day one, when @derg was in 732 ground school, having sat side seat in the 727. He was writing articles on www.mindspring.com/~Dtaylor about taking the trash out before your trip, as he was still living alone.

Jetcareers, back in the day was the one stop shop to learn about becoming a pilot, and having a forum to interact. Today, that type of information/interaction is done mostly on TikTok via influencers - with swimsuits, videos of flying and then answering questions. Reddit and podcasts have likely taken over some too.

Having been on hiatus as I got married, started a family, etc, it appears JC has become 'Doug's living room' a close group of friends with a common interest in aviation. My vote instead of making it a site for clueless people who want to learn about becoming a pilot, let's focus on the comradery we have developed, and just make it a place for us to kick back and let others do the teaching about becoming a pilot.

I think a discord could work well - just to keep the relationships going.

Also if we do Vegas again - do Ed and I need to take the young ones to the strip club again. That was an expensive night, which as a grown up I can not afford.
 
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Most online communities these days are pretty terrible places. Honestly, this place isn’t much fun anymore as our sense of community has been hijacked by attention seekers who use relative anonymity to run their mouths without consequence.

What used to set this place apart was that we aren’t an online forum but a community of actual people. The leadership and message spoke to some of the best people in our industry and the core group of this place made it what it was. Largely, I think this community still exists, but we have moved to different avenues and communication methods like group chats because the forum has lost its way.

Like others, I think I found JC through Doug’s career perspective page and very quickly found my “home” here. I think that could be a great way to lure in new members. To bring back the old feeling of community I think non-anonymous real time interaction is a great idea. Even at our peak level of awesomeness, we have been a diverse group, but most of the time there was a level of respect because we knew each other as people and not just screen names. While we have gotten older and busier, it’s harder to get together in person, but I think a discord and/or group chat might be a good start.

We do need a change. I’ve taken a step back from here because it simply isn’t fun anymore. I love helping others who are coming up in the industry, but it kind of broke my heart a little when I was giving a presentation to a local high school and I just couldn’t bring myself to recommend this place for those seeking more info. The realization that instead of finding a community of people ready to help they’d be reading about when some crazy dude saw his dad’s penis was kind of eye opening to me.
 
I’m a long time member here and at PPW. I’ve noticed the same thing on both sites. Like many have said, both used to be very educational, free exchanges. Now new lurkers who wander into the open are mercilessly crucified for not conforming to he unspoken groupthink rules. Over there it’s overtly part 91 conservative. Here it’s 121 far left. Nothing wrong with either but the political stink permeates everything now. It’s great entertainment for the members well versed in all of the inside jokes, that is all that’s really left.

Newbies are just jesters for the royal court’s entertainment, soon to be tossed to the coliseum floor to be ingested by the lions.

APC will survive because it’s where the real job chasers will always be. JC and PPW are closer to country clubs than anything else, they serve a purpose if you like this sort of thing.
 
I_Money said:
Hi - crazy to be back and see my name posted twice in this post. As pointed out I was here from day one, when @derg was in 732 ground school, having sat side seat in the 727. He was writing articles on www.mindspring.com/~Dtaylor about taking the trash out before your trip, as he was still living alone.

Jetcareers, back in the day was the one stop shop to learn about becoming a pilot, and having a forum to interact. Today, that type of information/interaction is done mostly on TikTok via influencers - with swimsuits, videos of flying and then answering questions. Reddit and podcasts have likely taken over some too.

Having been on hiatus as I got married, started a family, etc, it appears JC has become 'Doug's living room' a close group of friends with a common interest in aviation. My vote instead of making it a site for clueless people who want to learn about becoming a pilot, let's focus on the comradery we have developed, and just make it a place for us to kick back and let others do the teaching about becoming a pilot.

I think a discord could work well - just to keep the relationships going.

Also if we do Vegas again - do Ed and I need to take the young ones to the strip club again. That was an expensive night, which as a grown up I can not afford.
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The Boobie Bungalow….
 
One thing that I have noticed has died off, that made Jc unique, is the various meetups of various degrees of impromptu-itousness. It seemed like back in the day every couple of months someone was trying to get folks together in one of the major airline metropolises. Not sure if Covid killed that or if it has kind of all moved to less public coordination via PM and SMS. Got thinking about it because I know there’s a bunch of us based in SFO and the closest I’ve come to seeing anyone was spotting shark/fox across the terminal while boarding my commute one morning.
 
Roger Roger said:
One thing that I have noticed has died off, that made Jc unique, is the various meetups of various degrees of impromptu-itousness. It seemed like back in the day every couple of months someone was trying to get folks together in one of the major airline metropolises. Not sure if Covid killed that or if it has kind of all moved to less public coordination via PM and SMS. Got thinking about it because I know there’s a bunch of us based in SFO and the closest I’ve come to seeing anyone was spotting shark/fox across the terminal while boarding my commute one morning.
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I think it's because the community hasn't grown much, and a lot of us communicate out of the forum.
 
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