To Site Admin

[Jimbo]

I have been away for a few weeks and have just logged on, having had a look round I am rather concerned about the amount of diyers on here asking for help. Whilst i would willing help other Sparks if possible I am rather worried about giving advice to people who's sole idea is to save money, granted Sparks are not cheap but put a price on safety, I for one will not be replying on the Forum if I feel the person who is asking the question is not qualified to do the job. All in all this is an excellent place to exchange ideas and advice amongst professionals but I dont see the sense in telling someone how to kill themselves. Regards Jim

[cavester]

hi ya jimbo,

i completely agree, if everyone gives advice to the untrained how on earth will i earn any money when i get back on the streets. well apart from going out and replacing what ever they have blown up!!

daz

[ForumAdmin]

Hi Jimbo and Cavester - point taken !

This forum is intended to be used by Electricians, prospective Electricians and others involved in the electrical industry.

However, you will always get DIY'ers dabbling in things they are not qualified to do, wether they get advice on it or not. At least the posters on this forum are trying to get advice on the correct way to do the job before attempting it themselves! I think that type of person will 'have a go' anyway, regardless of wether they find the advice they are looking for or not.

What do you think of an 'Ask an Expert' section where DIY'ers can at least get advice on wether they should even be attempting to do the job themselves. For example, if an unqualified person posts asking for advice on a job that is dangerous or beyond the average DIY'ers capability, at least they can be strongly advised to get a professional to do the job and the dangers and risks of carrying out the work themselves can be pointed out.

We're open to all suggestions on this forum and are very grateful for your input. :idea:

Kind regards,

Forum Admin

[Jimbo]

I think an ask an expert section is a brilliant idea, but, a warning should be made at the start that whilst all advice is given freely nobody can be held responsible for people undertaking work outside there capabilities.
Also people requesting help must understand that a refusal to give in depth advice is not a slight on the persons ability to do the job just that the expert fears that the person might get themselves into deep water. Regards Jim

[cavester]

i have just read about the idea of the new ask the expert section and jimbo is quite right in what he says about informing the users of the responsibility that comes with touching electrics and the legal implications involved. spoke to a member of my family who is a part time solicitor about the site and she said that you have to word it very carefully to ensure that you will have no come backs when people try to carry out the tasks they ask advice on. will let you know more about it when i have spoke to her more on the subject.

daz

[ForumAdmin]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for your input once again.

We've added an 'Ask an Expert' section. It's clear from the number of questions asked by DIY'ers on this forum that there's still a lot of people out there willing to take risks with electricity, so it would be a pointless exercise to continually delete their posts. I think it's far better to put them on the 'right track' even if it's only to advise them that they should not be tackling the job themselves due to the dangers involved.

We have a legal disclaimer on the forum that should cover all eventualities, but I'm sure the professionals on this forum would not give advice encouraging diy'ers to tackle jobs beyond their capabilities.

We'll see how it goes for now and may change it in the future if it doesn't work out!