Ted,
Thanks for the reply. Yes, we both apparently absolutely agree.
Time on Niku for expedition team members is often filled with hard labor, blazing heat, ceaseless avoidance of insects and other critters, and generally harsh conditions. No one is saying otherwise. All I'm trying to say is, with all that dedication to the cause, isn't it interesting that apparently those same people don't seem to be participating in the forum? Seems to me, if I had returned from an expedition and read a forum post asking a general question about Niku, I'd be excited to be able to reply as a former "on the ground" observer.
Also, seems to me a person following the forum is possibly going to be better equipped to make thousands of minute, immediate decisions potentially better when on the ground. Although time on Niku is spent following a strict "scientifically determined" schedule, everyone is constantly making judgment calls on things like which path to take to get to the work site, which rock or shell to turn over and which to leave untouched, which item in the mesh screen may be important and which not, and on and on.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to fault anyone. I'm just curious why historical team members seem to apparently not be interested in following the forum. Also, I'd have to guess that in any endeavor a more informed researcher might simply catch things that a less well informed person might miss. For example, recently there was a forum discussion about the "G" feature on Niku. Seems to me having read the forum posts regarding that feature that then when I'm actually there on the ground I might see it or something about it in a different way that possibly unlocks some kind of key that would lead to a meaningful discovery.
That's all I'm saying/asking. Just casually curious as to why team members that volunteer a month of their lives to travel half way around the world for hard work and harsh conditions seem apparently not so interested in the discussions on the forums about the work they've done. That's all. Thanks,