Would you be willing to validate info?
 

They don't get more unofficial than this just curious what you'd think since so many here in the regional section seem to be a little upset over the public watching everything you say.

Would you consider validating your information, ie pilot cert# or airline employment, to better filter the members of the site?

(validation would be with the site only and not visible to any members)

I would be for it, I don't think personal privacy would be an issue since pilot name / certification is already public record on the FAA website. https://amsrvs.registry.faa.gov/airmeninquiry/

Anonymity could be reduced and we would likely see fewer keyboard warriors. (I think we should use our real names versus made-up handles.)

Well thats what the ALPA forums are for! ;)

Sure we could... however to play devil's advocate, how would you know that the cert# was valid? And I would be against real names, I think most of us if you really worked at it you could sort out enough to get close... no reason to make it simpler.

cert # could be validated against the FAA published list.

But then I could register as YOU...I can get your cert number off the FAA Db if I know your name. APC would have to get a credit card number to verify your identity.

Another downside is that certain bottom-feeder regional CEO's might want to sue you personally for stuff you say on the internet. If APC has your name, it can get subpoenaed.

I think this should be a given - period. my -> .02

I say no... There are a lot of people that want to become pilots that read these forums to gather information, they would not be able to post or participate because they wouldnt have a PL#...
Heck, Ive gotten a lot of good info on this site about the airlines (thinking about getting out of corporate/135) that I wouldnt have been able to get if I needed to submitt an airline ID#...

*************.com - The Information Exchange for Professional Pilots

Spend $10/year and submit your name and pilot certificate number for review...and avoid 99% of childish behavior. In my opinion, that money is well spent if you're looking for information.

With that said, APC does an excellent job of keeping flamebaiters off these forums due to their email policy.

I've always liked the idea of having some discussion private between "validated" pilots. Of course some pilot forums require a copy of the cert. to join....along with some cash.

We created APC as a free community resource and have no plans to change that. And there is the rub - the manpower required to verify participants goes well beyond what's reasonably expected of a volunteer's time.

APC is a pilot community resource, and like a union, it sometimes requires some volunteer effort to become/remain the resource everyone wants it to be.