I learned more there and found it very educational and fun.
I would plan on several days of reading as it is very comprehensive and thorough.

The guys in Ft Collins have made it very interesting with all their projects both successful and their failures

It's EASY to make your own power FROM SCRATCH
The main problem as I see it is that most people coming on here as newbies just don't appreciate the scale of the trial and error that's gone into the previous work, and that is why they (we, I have to include myself) ask the stupid questions at the start.  In my case, I was always trying to make something smaller than I saw on here, and failed in every respect to understand which aspects of the designs I could scale down (I don't think I asked any questions about it by the way, it was soemthing I found on my own). But I can understand the frustration that you must feel from questions such as " I want to make a wind turbine, what magnets do I need?"

I too in the past have been short tempered in answering some posts that clearly should've been researched first. I can certainly understand how people can get tired answering the same questions over & over & over again.

Perhaps you're correct in that a better way to find the FAQs or maybe a "sticky" note can be put on here somewhere for people to click on the "otherpower" link and have a good days read before posting questions and such.
I read on the Otherpower site and as much of the old postings long before I even posted my first question. The old forum had less cross words BTW.
By reading the other posts here, you can see that your points are very well taken.

Keep asking and have fun:-)

I honestly feel the board software is a big part of the problem. Here's why.

The software doesn't have a private message feature:
When the noob questions hit the board it gets all cluttered up. Old timers, like me, get frusterated. Tempers flare. Bad vibes all around. Canned responses could be sent, via "private messages" from our tireless mods and Admins. The postings could be dumped with explination in the first few lines of the canned responses. These PM's could be filled with links to the FAQ's and other vital info. No wierd antispam email links needed or allowed. Many messages could be done right through the software and avoid the need to send email ar all.

The software doesn't list contributors posting numbers:
I am not suggesting this for vanity reasons. The posting numbers shown beside our "handle" indicates venteran status and contribution activity. This would allow noobs to quickly see that he responder has a track history. Persons such as Flux, and others, should be recognized as the valued posters they are.

The software doesn't allow users to easily find threads:
The search feature may be old hat for us regulars, but to noobs that really don't know what to search for the issue looms large. If there was a sidebar to narrow searches this would be much easier.

The software doesn't update:
As a new thread appears here it is then scrolled down as newer threads appear. If the threads were bumped back to the top as newer postings were added many of these issues would vanish. When the fron page has 2 or 3 threads about home made solar panels and the one someone is interested in is not immediately seen most times a new thread is started. This just creates a mess of postings about the same thing over and over. It seems it would be better if a thread about home made solar panels grew to several pages rather than being scattered and buried across the board.

The software doesn't have a easy to use interface:
The front page is a mess. Rather that displaying a list of random threads it should be a directory showing main topics and the latest posting within that topic area. When a person is interested in home made solar panels there should be a section on PV's with all threads listed and held there.

The software doesn't have a make donation link:
Many many boards across the net have a make donation option right up front. This should be distinct from the magnet sales on otherpower.com. Proceeds could go to actualy paying our mods for the work they do, and to keep the software and servers up to date. I would make such a contribution to the board if it were more user friendly.

The software formatting method is as clunky as it gets:
Most forums these daysallow the user to highlight a given piece of text, click a formatting button, and the tags are automatically added. Here we have to type in the tags and then preview to make sure were have not made a syntax error.

The software doesn't allow for subscribing to a thread via email:
If one is really interesting in keep updated ona particular thread here one must check back over and over to see if there has been additions. Other forums allow the user to select a subscription option, or deselect subscribe later.

I suggest vBulletin. A quick example of this software in action can be see at;
http://www.rantsnraves.org/index.php

Many many forums across the net use this software an it works great.