A Hard Hitting Expose' on Sideboards

This may seem like a boring post and I'm sure it is because I'm bored already but it's important to me so there it is. Some Dolly Grips, mainly new ones, tend to immediately surround the dolly in any accessory they think the operator might need as soon as it's landed. They'll throw two sideboards a seat off set and a front board on and then try to roll the thing around busting shins and breaking furniture as they go. Forget that crap. You don't need it for every shot. If the operator needs a sideboard because he's doing a walk around, then fine, of course go get one. But generally operators are pretty agile and sometimes this stuff just gets in everyones' way. Or if an operator asks for something, you should of course put it on. Part of your job is to make it possible for him to do his job as safely as possible. But don't get overzealous and just throw that crap on because you think he might need it. As for seat offsets, for some reason I hate these things and have made it my mission to do as many movies as possible without using them. I'm up in the double digits at this point and have convinced myself that they're all but useless. Of course it also depends on your operator. If you get one that thinks he needs to ride the arm for every shot then you'll probably end up using one. Don't feel bad if you do. I'm sure this is just a pet peeve of mine and I'm the only one it bothers.