Re: Medical FAQ dilemma

Henry van Cleef (vancleef@bga.com)
Sun, 4 Jun 1995 23:15:26 -0500 (CDT)

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As Mark Bixby said
>
> I am the maintainer of the alt.support.tinnitus FAQ. A while back I received
> some information from a medical device dealer that quite frankly sounds
> "too good to be true" in parts. I have no formal medical background against
> which I can judge his claims since I'm just a net.geek who stepped forward
> as FAQ maintainer.
>
> I figure my choices are:
>
> 1) Add the info to the FAQ, with full attribution, in effect giving the guy
> free advertising. I've already done this for "mainstream" products.
>
Hmmm---I face similar problems, more in that I have readers who feel
that certain procedures are entirely appropriate, safe, etc.; and
others feel just as strongly that they are not. I am in a somewhat
different position because I have forty years of engineering experience
to draw on; though that means I have a few opinions of my own that a
lot of people don't agree with---and have to acknowledge that some of
them may have a "better way," particularly for the novice.

My FAQ is not "free advertising" for anyone. Two sections list
commercial enterprises that are resources for people working with the
technology (acoustic phonos and 1920-50 electronics) that are posted
regularly. This is in response to questions that are genuinely
"frequently-asked," with responses that make clear that the sources
listed are used, with satisfaction, by several of the experienced
people who post to the group. I have received a few E-mails from
various places that have "information" that hasn't made its way into
the FAQ because some of them are addressing NAQ---"Never-Asked
Questions."

If I come across something that may be useful to the group, I'll
generally post it as a posting, asking whether this information is
appropriate to put in the FAQ. That saves me from having to be the
resident wizard. Recently, there have been requests to expand the FAQ
in an area where I have some very stout opinions---and twenty-plus
years of developing journeyman skills working with some processes, and
have gone to other newsgroups where specifics of these things are
discussed. Sad to say, this hasn't always worked---some newsgroups are
suffering under the weight of flame wars, hit-and-run commercial
postings, and carpet-bombing "spam." But in other cases, I have had
E-mail replies from people who have stated their credentials for
commenting.

Of course, when you are dealing with medical topics, and are not an
M.D., you are stuck with trying to find professionals who both know
their stuff and who are willing to work with one of the great unwashed
who is not an M.D. However, in my professional life, I have worked
with medical end-use objectives, and have found that sooner or later
top talent will come out of the woodwork. Also, I make it my business
to have some knowledge of the field and its jargon. Some time spent at
a good library learning some of the basics can pay off handsomely. And
spending a little time asking questions where the people who are in a
good position to comment will hear your questions can pay off as
well---certainly, if what you are looking at is "off the wall," you'll
hear about it quickly enough.

-- 
***********************************************************
Hank van Cleef  vancleef@bga.com  vancleef@tmn.com
***********************************************************

Next message: Yisrael Hersch: "RE: Where is FAQ charter?"
Previous message: Pat Berry: "Re: How did *you* get into this business?"
In reply to: Mark Bixby: "Medical FAQ dilemma"
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