[Geysers] Online logs

[TSBryan at aol.com]

See below...
 
In a message dated 10/11/2011 9:03:35 A.M. US Mountain Standard Time,  
dmonteit at comcast.net writes:

1) How  important are the online logs to capturing geyser  information?
One needs to carefully ponder this. Clearly, we'd like to have every  
eruption of every geyser logged someplace. Obviously, that's impossible.  
However, within the limits of how many people are making observations at a  given 
time, seasonal openings-closings, day-night, and etc., it would be nice to  
have what geyser information is available in any form readily AND  
conveniently available to all.
 
That "conveniently" is, to me, a bug-a-boo. Jake mentions how smart phones  
will be the next big thing in gazing and geyser reporting. Fine. If you 
have a  smart phone. I don't, and I am rather sure to not have one in the 
foreseeable  future. (I'm not about to pay yet another $250+/year for "data 
service" on top  of all the other charges I'm already paying. Just not worth it. 
So much for  that.


2)  How do we minimize errors in that log?
In essence, you can't. There have been faulty geyser reports a huge number  
of times in the past. It happens every summer, with frequency. Usually, 
this is  somebody's simple and unintentional error, and usually they quickly 
get  corrected. But even those, if relayed to an online log and if not 
corrected,  then they will be out there as "fact," presumably "forever."
 
And yes, there have been occasional liars. People who intentionally  
produce/post completely false data/information. Such people exist. They will  
exist in the future, too.


3)  [[not asked by Dave, but...]] I know  the ultimate decisions affecting 
the online logs are up to Jake
and Alan,  but I'm wondering what others think.
What I wonder is... wouldn't one of these logs be sufficient, especially  
since they appear to be readily sharing/exchanging data. Yes, I know they are 
 both personal projects and all that, but...
 
Scott Bryan
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