Jeff's right, Sag, your opinion is quite valued here, just as everyone elses' is! Doesn't matter how good you shoot. I know "Pro" shooters who have only been in the sport a couple of years, and couldn't tune their own bow if their life depended on it! A "Pro shooter" is just that, but a "Pro Archer" is something on a much higher scale. I know many "Pro Archers" who have never even toed the line in a National competition that can tear any bow completely apart and re-set it up to shoot the exact same hole in minutes. Some of these techs I hold in the highest esteem, and have become great friends with.
On the other hand, there are alot of guys out there who think they know alot about the sport and tuning but are only really fooling themselves, too. Sure, everyone wants recognition, (human nature) but I see far too much bad info being passed around, which is IMO detrimental to our sport. Manufacturers even do it for the almighty dollar! I see alot more of this going on nowadays since the messageboards came along, bad info spreads like wildfire, just as fast or faster than good info. (usually faster)
So credentials, if people have them, are good to state beforehand, people take pride in them as they should, and it gives you a foundation to work off from and more people are apt to listen to you. The only real credential that matters however is the years of hands-on experience a tech or "Pro Archer" has when it comes to really knowing "who's who in the zoo". Can't learn all of this stuff from reading pages on the net for six months or a year, that's for certain. (tho it does help! <img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>)
So I think everyone should post their thoughts and feelings and opinions, we all learn from them. I do feel it is wise to listen to those older techs and "Pro Archers" who have "run the gambit" and know their stuff, just as those techs and Pro Archers listened to the previous generation before them. Correct info gets passed, and Archery as a sport stays intact. Just my own thoughts, Pinwheel 12