I think that one of the worst places to get valuable information about most topics is on forum type sites. Forums on the internet are sites where members can log on and comment (post) about pretty much anything they want.    Most forums are very loose as far as who can join so this means that anyone can join pretty much any forum and post anything they want despite how much they actually know about the forum topic.  An example of this is if I joined a forum about being a mother like the one my mom goes on.  I could join this forum and pretend I’m a mom and post all sorts of false information even if I know nothing about being a mom.  The most common forum in the fire service is thewatchdesk.com. This is a forum where firefighters and EMT’s (or so we think) talk about firefighting news and several other fire/EMS related topics.  It is unbelievable how many people sit on these forums and stir up trouble and spread false rumors.  Years ago there was an incident where one of my officers was trying to gain access into a car.  He ended up trying to kick the window with his steel toed boot, but the window wouldn’t break.  One of those people I was writing about earlier happed to have filmed the event and the video found its way all over the internet.  People online still bash our entire fire company because of this one insignificant event.  It’s unfortunate that people go on to these forums looking for valuable information when there are people who devote themselves in proving false information for others to read.  I caution all readers about using forums to find information.  They may be good for ideas and suggestions, but there a huge portion of the information on these forums is bogus.