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

I have been trying to be more involved in the forums over the last couple weeks, and I'm noticing a trend already. It seems that when someone asks for a recommendation for a piece of equipment, they provide little to no room/system context. In a couple threads, I've asked the OP to provide more information, such as system information, preferences, requirements, and the like, and ended not getting much more information. The thread ends up being a running list of members' favorite gear, whether it really helps the OP or not. Is this the norm? If so, I'll probably stop trying to be more involved.