New-ish to Audiogon Forums... Is it always like this?

I’ll go out on a limb and say the reason for the difference between here and audio circle is this site is here primarily to sell stuff and make money...the forum is in support of that and pretty much anything goes, as long as no laws get broken.

@daveman2 you're clearly on your way, stay positive. There are plenty here happy to help you. 

@mapman good question! My overly simplied take:

audionirvana and whatsbestforum - the wealthy will enjoy them most. audionirvana does have many former & current knowledgeable Agoners, especially about analog.

asylum - seems like hardly anyone participates any more

audiophilestyle (was computeraudiophile) - lots of digital-specific knowledge from some. Plenty of trolls & fights too. Many less experienced with much outside of desktop & headphone rigs.

ASR - subjectivists (aka listeners) need not apply. 

For me, Audiogon is still the best overall. Sure there are warts, but we've got @whart. Cheers,
Spencer

  

I think an open ended question like recommendations for a new piece of gear is an invitation for people to chime in with their favorites, wish list items or in some cases, what they own. There are some deep pockets of knowledge here, depending on the thread- for example, if you searched set up for Avantgarde Duos, a subject in which I participated some years ago, you’ll get invaluable info from owners and from Jim Smith, who used to be the US distributor and is known as a set up maven for systems (he comes to your house by appointment and spends a couple days with you).
Ditto on other subjects, including tube variations, old tone arm applications, etc.
I use Audiogon for what it is, and don’t begrudge anybody for what it isn’t. There are/were some great participants here and you can get very granular on certain topics. One member had figured out how to replace the pump in his Audio Desk US RCM and laid out the specifics. That’s gold in my book.
I was going to say "welcome to the asylum" but that name is taken by another forum.

What community forum doesn't have its share of nonsense, hostility, ignorance, conceit, naivete and conversely insight, empathy, experience and humor? Seriously, name one. 

Yes, it's the norm.