I used to teach scuba diving in Hawaii. As an instructor, I saw a huge difference between beginners. Some people were like me and were very comfortable in the water. On the other hand, I sometimes saw certified divers who freaked out over a little wind chop and wouldn't get off the boat. It wasn't about the gear, it was about their skill and confidence level.

The same thing applies here. We have everyone from people with thousands of days in the back country to newbies who've never done an overnight trip posting on this site. This forum in particular is for beginners and I agree to a certain extent with Jim that sometimes posters forget that when recommending particular pieces of gear or technique to someone they don't know.

A "beginner" who is ex-military or grew up hunting is going to have a lot more confidence in the outdoors than someone who has never done anything except maybe walk through a local park. But, most of the time, we don't know anything except that someone has asked a beginner question.

I think the most prudent approach is to assume someone who says they are a beginner is a true beginner unless they say otherwise, which sometimes they do. I can't dictate what people post, but as a moderator, if I see something totally inappropriate, I may, in consultation with the other moderators and the site owner, pull certain posts. Is that censorship? Yes. But keep in mind, this site belongs to the site owner. You have no First Amendment rights here. I'll skip the ConLaw lecture, but don't bother whining about it, you are wrong.

Erring on the side of caution is a virtue. People get hurt or killed in the backcountry all the time for all kinds of reasons. Inexperience is one of them. Let's not contribute to those statistics.